The 2009 Oscars

Every year I make a list of Oscar nominated films and then do my best to see enough of them so that I have an opinion on as many of the categories as possible.

This year’s list is an interesting one. I’ve only seen nine of the fifty which is a lower number than usual, there are only eleven that were already on my list of films to see which is also low, and frankly, of the remaining thirty I only would normally care to see about half of them. This is the first year I can remember being this indifferent to the films nominated.

I care most about the acting and writing categories so I like to see most of those movies. I am not very much interested in The Reader or The Wrestler, but I will probably see them if they win awards. My main priority this year will be to see all of Meryl Streep’s competition for best actress. I think she was simply fantastic in Doubt – one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. After that, I think I want to see the five actors whom the academy deem more deserving of the best actor award than Clint Eastwood. I’ve seen Gran Torino twice and I find it hard to believe he did not give one of the five best performances of the year.

What I’ve Seen

Changeling
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Encounters at the End of the World
Iron Man
Kung Fu Panda
Presto
This Way Up
Wall-E

On My List Before Nominations

Bolt
The Class
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Man On Wire
Rachel Getting Married
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
The Visitor
Waltz with Bashir
Wanted

Added To My List After Nominations

Australia
The Betrayal
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Duchess
The Final Inch
Frozen River – writing, actress
The Garden
Happy-Go-Lucky – writing
In Bruges – writing
Milk
Simple Pinki
Trouble the Water
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306

Movies I Will See If They Win Awards

The Reader
The Wrestler