And the Winner is.....

I love movies...love love them!

The lights dim and

I settle into the big backed chair

breathing in the anticipated ride

the ride?

The ride of superb storytelling!

Cause my reason for going

to movies is not to be entertained...

if that was the case I would have

never seen Million Dollar Baby

or Titanic, Schindler's List,

Monsters Ball or Silence of the Lambs

(which I watched admittedly from the hallway.)

I go for the craft of storytelling

its research. I pay close attention

to the wonderment of how the story is told.

And the Oscars for me is the prize,

the ball...

the event that celebrates that storytelling.

And every January I am on a missions to

watch every film nominated for Best Picture!

Friends and girlfriends start to appear

very busy and won't answer their phones

because they know Operation Oscars is in motion!

And they will be talked in to being

a part of that mission!

And tho I don't mind seeing movies alone

so much more fun to dissect them

at length with a companion!

Its is a daunting task I must say.

When they went to ten best pictures

over the former eight,

it became a full time job.

One I am paid for in only

pure indulgent joy!

And for the first time

EVER I saw all of them..

Yaay! Truly a silly feat to be proud of!

And ...most of my friends are still talking

to me even...

which was sort of touch and go over

127 Hours

when my friend M Lou kept

swearing at me under her breath

as Aaron begins to saw off his arm

to save his life....

Tho I really don't have time to do this

and the sun is out

for the first time in three days,

I will ignore the lake calling my name and

write this short review.

(Cause I do not think I can do this

again...I may actually

have a life next year...ha!}

The Fighter

This was my first movie for Operation Oscar

and maybe my favorite.

Mostly, for the colorful characters!

Amy Adams is at her feisty, sexy best!

The mother, Melissa Leo

is without argument

Best Supporting actress.

And if they could give those seven ugly

couch sisters an award

for their hairdo's alone. Ha!

I wanted more of them!

Without too much slow motion

flinging, spurting, sweat and blood,

as most fighting movies have,

they nail the inspirational part!

Black Swan

Artsy and avant-garde which I love.

What's real, what's not? It's a terrifying ride

thru the brutal world of ballet!

Natalie Portman should get Best Actress.

to quote a friend, "she made me

so uncomfortable."

"When an actor can do that you can't

take you eyes from them."

Tho the skin references

rough going personally,

the moment she turns into the

Black Swan feather by feather...

is worth the journey!

Kids Are All Right

At first I was excited a lesbian film

was a mainstream nomination.

Until I saw it... although intriguing

and Annette Bening and Julianne Moore

made adorable lesbians

I was bothered by the seduction of Mark Ruffulos'

character...found the whole story annoying

and wouldn't agree that it is Oscar worthy!

True Grit

Wasn't on my list at all to see!

Never saw the first one and

when the Golden Globes snubbed it

I was hoping the Oscars would too

but they didn't.

In true Coen Brother's style it

was extreme and grim.

Tho new comer Hailee Stienfield

was a wonder to watch...

Jeff Bridges hard to understand

with the marbles he seemed to

have in his mouth!

And the ending dreary dreary! UGH!

( M Lou was mad at me for this one as well)

Winters Bone

Super Ugh... just shoot me now...

a young girl has to kill squirrels and beg for help

in the Ozarks cause her family and neighbors

are horrible and mean and crack users!

And then she has to saw off the arm of her

murdered father who is anchored in a river

to prove he is dead.

Again, Best picture??? really?

Social Network

Hmm? Liked it, thought Jesse Elsenberg

believable and brilliant

and a movie about computer communication?

Wouldn't have worked without the screen play by

Aaron Sorkin.

Wins for the writing!

But I wasn't as moved by it as I wanted to be...

and feel like I missed something?

Did I?

Toy Story 3

As an illustrator no one is a bigger fan

of the rise of animation as an Art Form

and Pixar would be have been my destination

if I was younger.

Its incredible that a cartoon (so to speak)

can be in Best picture category

I don't think its a candidate but

a thoughtful and clever story...

will never look at old toys the same way.

Inception

Loved this concept very thought provoking

a little confusing which made watching it at home

a good choice...!

What? Replay....zzzzzzz okay

that makes sense...the special affects,

a hands down winner!

Kings Speech

Saw this one alone and wish I hadn't...

it was a wonderful piece of history

and superbly acted.

I am predicting a sweep for them

including Best Actor for Colin Firth!

127 Hours

Tho I left it for last

and treated it like something I

HAD to do like a smelly job!

(Not fan of blood or limb severing.)

I was so won over by

the story telling quality

and the editing was

amazing, for a tale that happens all in

one location, a claustrophobic cavern!

Metaphorically stunning!

The only movie that moved me to tears!

On my list of

"Only Watch Once But worth It Movies"

The Town

Tho not nominated I think it should have been.

A worth while watch!

Actor, writer, director, Ben Affleck

creates a action packed well

told story in this movie!

There I did it

saw all of them

and wrote a blog about it

and the winner is???? Me!

Yaay...now that's done

and my Happy Oscar Day messages sent

to my 'rolling their eyes at me' friends

have to fill out my ballot

(one for who will win

and one for who I want to win)

and then get out my cocktail dress

for the feigned red carpet...!

If you are an Oscar nut like me

...enjoy!

Pam Piper rain