Ok. As a father of two, most movies I see have a cartoon dinosaur or a loveable kid and his dog.
But every year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, my wife and her parents take the kids shopping. I get to see as many grown up movies as I can jam into a single day.
This year, I am shooting for three!
Now, I am one of those movie fans that really likes to see all the films nominated for best picture BEFORE the Oscars.
So, one of my three is definitely The Departed. I am also adding Borat to the day regardless of whether the Academy chooses to acknowledge it (I could see it being a darkhorse NOM).
So, I have one more spot in my viewing schedule.
What else should I target?
I have it pretty much narrowed down to Babel or the Queen. I am leaning toward the Queen because I believe Helen Mirren’s performance may drag the film into contention much like Hoffman’s performance pulled in Capote last year.
Do you think Babel or The Queen has a better shot at getting a nod for Best Picture?
Or is there another film, such as Fast Food Nation, that has a better chance?
Thanks.
I can’t say about Best Picture, but Helen Mirren is stunningly good in The Queen. A Best Actress nod awaits.
The Queen, definitely. I can’t see Babel getting any nominations (but don’t quote me) but not only do I think Helen Mirren will get nominated, she might very well win.
With Borat, The Departed and The Queen, you’re going to have a GREAT day at the movies!
Not that you wouldn’t if you added Babel to the mix instead of TQ, but I just don’t think it’s going to be recognized by the Academy voters. Maybe for Editing. As a movie, I can’t say I loved it, but I was fascinated throughout, and I’m glad I saw it, even if, at the end, I was scratching my head. The performances are excellent, especially by Adriana Barraza as the Mexican housekeeper Amelia (I’d like to see her get a Supporting nomination) and Rinko Kikuchi as the deaf-mute Japanese schoolgirl Chieko. Some of it is quite shocking, and none of the characters are very likeable (except for Chieko’s dad Yasujiro, played by Kôji Yakusho, one of those actors you don’t know his name but you’ve probably seen him before). I think I liked Babel better than The Queen, but that’s just personal, because the events of The Queen made me very uncomfortable. Not that the events in Babel didn’t, but…it’s weird. I related more to The Queen because I was such a huge Diana fan and was so depressed when she died, so understood the grief shown by the public. I came to be very scornful of her in later years, but I still remember how much I cared at the time. Strange, I hated Charles for a long time before and after Diana died, but he comes off very sympathetic in The Queen. Anyway, there’s more but it doesn’t matter. I didn’t relate to anything in Babel so was more detached.
Anyway, tell us what you ended up going to see.