Which Best Picture lineup would you rather watch?

Cafe Society
1

For the past few years, I’ve been going to AMC Theater’s annual “Best Picture Showcase” where previously they’ve showed all of the Best Picture nominees back-to-back in one Saturday marathon.

This year, because there are 10 nominees, the event is taking place over 2 consecutive Saturdays. And due to what they say are issues with procuring enough prints, there are two different screening schedules going on at different locations. There are two conveniently located theaters that I can choose between. All else being equal, which lineup would you choose?

OPTION 1:
DAY 1:
Avatar
Up
A Serious Man
Precious
District 9
DAY 2:
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Up In The Air
The Blind Side
Inglorious Basterds

OPTION 2:
DAY 1:
Avatar
Up In The Air
Precious
The Blind Side
Inglorious Basterds
DAY 2:
Up
A Serious Man
The Hurt Locker
An Education
District 9

I think I already know which I’m going to do, though I’m curious about what the Dopers say and why…

2

Oh, and, if you think it makes a difference, the only film of the 10 that I’ve seen already is Inglorious Basterds.

3

Well, the 3 best films of the 10 (IMHO)–Locker, Serious, District–are clustered together on the same day in Option 2, which also has two other good films mixed in. For my money, Day 1 of that Option is pretty missable (consisting mostly of the bad or fine-but-overrated).

4

I voted for option 2, but if I were to create such a list, I’d insist on *Inglorious Basterds *to be the final film on Day 2. After two days of watching 10 movies, I’d want to finish with

blowing up a movie theater.

5

The website also says that in select markets, there will be a one-day marathon of all 10. :eek:

6

I don’t understand what difference it makes, if you plan on seeing all 10 anyway. Is there a particular reason you’re even wanting to choose between options?

Oh man, I could totally do that! I think I will do that! I’m going to take that Friday off so I can sleep all day. Thanks for the heads up.

I’ve already seen all of them, most of them multiple times (in the theater, not on DVD), so even if I unintentionally fell asleep I wouldn’t miss something I hadn’t seen before. I just saw A Serious Man again last night so I could nap during that, though I probably won’t, because I love it so much. This is going to be fun!

Here’s the lineup:

Show Schedule:
12:01AM: AVATAR 3D [this would be my 4th viewing]
3:00AM: A Serious Man [this would be my 4th viewing]
5:00AM: Up 3D [this would be my 3rd viewing]
7:00AM: District 9 [this would be my 3rd viewing]
9:10AM: Inglourious Basterds [this would be my 3rd viewing]
12:00PM: The Blind Side [this would be my 2nd viewing]
2:30PM: An Education [this would be my 2nd viewing]
4:30PM: Precious [this would be my 2nd viewing]
7:00PM: Up in the Air [this would be my 3rd viewing]
9:30PM: The Hurt Locker [this would be my 2nd viewing]

7

It has to do partly with spreading out the films I’m most looking forward to seeing, and partly with guessing what the “emotional flow” (for lack of a better term) will be like; how does one film follow another in terms of tone and feel, that sort of thing. I know that 's kind of intangible, but having seen all 10, don’t you have any opinion on that at all?

I agree that it doesn’t make a lot of difference, but I thought it would make for an interesting topic of discussion.

8

Ah ok, I get it now. Hmmm, maybe I’m not the person to ask because I’m used to seeing multiple movies in a row that are usually very VERY different from each other, and I can usually shut the previous movie off while I’m watching the next, even if the one before was emotionally devastating or frightening or intense or whatever, and it doesn’t affect my opinion of that one*. Some people can’t do that, but I’ve had years of practice.

With that in mind I think it would just depend on which movies you’ve already seen and which you haven’t. You don’t want to fall asleep during movies you haven’t seen, when you can afford to doze if need be during ones you have seen. Which ones have you seen?

  • For instance, last week I saw Frozen, which is a very intense, low-budget and simple, “situational horror” film about 3 people stuck in a chair lift at a shut-down ski resort. Then I saw From Paris With Love, which is a dumb but fun moving-a-mile-a-minute action film, then Dear John, which is a slow-paced love story which wasn’t bad, but kinda left me cold but mainly because I’m not generally into those kinds of movies.

The last two were gone from my head almost the minute I left the theaters, but Frozen has stayed with me and I keep thinking about it.