2011

Best Picture Nominees:

The Artist *
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

***

The Artist - The first black-and-white movie to win Best Picture since Schindler's List and the first (mostly) silent film in many years, also.  A very creative gimmick that garnered most of the big awards, but not my favorite film of the year with a lot of really good films.

The Descendants - Another year, another George Clooney film.  Kind of a fun dramedy, most notably for the breakout performance of Shailene Woodley.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - An interesting take on a boy coping with the loss of his father in the 9/11 attacks and the adventure he goes on to try and deal with his sorrow.  The lead, played by Thomas Horn, a young actor with no acting experience (instead, a Jeopardy Kids winner) holds his own with big actors and is very engaging.

The Help - A film that grows on me each time I see it.  Impressive performances by "The Help," resulting in a Supporting Oscar for Octavia Spencer (but Jessica Chastain is equally as good) and almost a win for Viola Davis (but lost out to perennial nominee Meryl Streep).  The film is at times funny and touching.

Hugo - A fun film about an orphaned boy who lives in a train station in France, with a side plot about filmmaker Georges Melies.  A little over-the-top and not as good as many of the other pictures.

Midnight in Paris - Normally, I don't really go for Woody Allen movies, but this one was really magical, showing "what really happens" in Paris after midnight.  Something about traveling back in time and meeting with the artists and writers of the Belle Epoque.  Owen Wilson, who makes his living playing oddballs, is really charming in this movie.

Moneyball - As a lifelong Oakland Athletics fan, I was interested in this film based on the same-titled book about sabermetrics.  The As looked at stats to determine the best team, and often selected washed-up players and little-known rookies.  They ended up winning 20 consecutive games and going to the playoffs, and now lots of other teams follow these statistics.  For what should be a boring topic, Brad Pitt and company make an engaging story.

The Tree of Life - A confusing and weird film encompassing the universe and the growing up of a young boy in an abusive family.  This film bored me, but I assume it was nominated because it had Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, and Jessica Chastain, the latter two appearing in some of the better films nominated this year.  Also, director Terrence Malick releases few films, so he needed to be recognized.

War Horse - Based on an award-winning play, the film follows an amazing horse, who begins life as a plow horse (despite being a thoroughbred) and then is conscripted to be a war horse.  The horse gives a great performance, plus Tom Hiddleston, who appears this year in Thor (as Loki) and in Midnight in Paris as well.

***

My rankings of the Best Picture nominees:

1.  Midnight in Paris
2.  The Help
3.  Moneyball
4.  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
5.  The Artist
6.  War Horse
7.  The Descendants
8.  Hugo
9.  The Tree of Life