Oscar season a lot of fun this year for me

The Oscars are this Sunday night and G. and I are on a mission – watch as many Oscar-nominated movies as we can before the awards show.

This idea was prompted after seeing The Artist. G. and I loved the movie. L. thought it was "OK." But truth be told, G. took a film history class this past fall that focused on silent movies and then "talkies" during the 30s and 40s. I enjoyed watching the old Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, etc. movies with her during that school quarter and we had many discussions about them. G. also made her own silent movie with many of the classic elements that helped her understand this particular movie genre. There is something to be said for having a different level of appreciation when you've tried to do it yourself. G. used animals and music in her own silent film so she paid careful attention to those elements in The Artist. We also both made note of the guy's hair in the movie. If you watch with a keen eye you'll see that the man's hair reflects his mood and/or foreshadows what's to come. A very minor element in a series of clever ones we liked in that film.

I could ramble on about different aspects of The Artist but I'll spare you. G. and I think it's still our favorite for winning Best Picture.

This is however tempered by the fact that we've only seen a handful of Oscar-nominees so far.
G. saw Hugo in 3D with a friend and really liked it. And again, she appreciated knowing the silent films referenced in that movie (it's a silent movie Oscar year). I saw Hugo with L. without the 3D and liked it, but not nearly as much as G. I don't like 3D because it is a blurry picture to me (I believe my astigmatism prevents me from fully appreciating the effect). But I've been told that the 3D effects in Hugo are what make it especially compelling.

Last night G. and I rented The Help. Both of us really enjoyed the movie and thought Octavia Spencer was our first choice for Best Supporting Actor. Although we both agreed Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids was great so we could root for her to win as well. And just for the record, I am well-aware that Bridesmaids was not likely my best movie-watching decision for my 15-year-old. Yet it prompted some interesting (and oh yes, uncomfortable) conversations at our house after that viewing! But I don't regret it because it sure did bring to light the issue of bogus boyfriends. That movie was hilarious and I was happy to see Melissa McCarthy get a nod for an Oscar. She made that movie oh so much better with her character.

Anyhoo, G. and I have looked through a bunch of other nominees. We actually would love to see Jane Eyre since it's up for a Costume Design award. We didn't think Hugo, or The Artist for that matter, was really all that great in this category. But based on the trailer, Jane Eyre looks more to our liking. But alas, we can't seem to find a rental of the movie online and can't get it at our local Redbox as of yesterday. But our search will continue at Videoport tomorrow.

We've watched trailers for The Tree of Life and it looks like a snooze. A couple of people have told us they either (1) thought it was horribly slow and/or (2) "didn't get it." Based on the comments we're going to skip the $3.99 rental on that title. We kind of felt the same way about "Moneyball" but it is in the queue for us to decide for sure either way tomorrow night.

The Descendants is playing at the Nick this weekend. I dislike depressing suck-the-life-out-of-you movies so I'm still on the fence about seeing that one. Although a friend just emailed and said it was good and not overly depressing. There is also Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close to consider as well but to be honest, neither jumped out at me as being movies I'd normally seek out. So, we're still making up our minds about spending the steeper price for a movie theater ticket.

Tonight G. and I are jazzed about our plan to watch Midnight in Paris. Several friends have told me - in the context of "not being a big Woody Allen fan" - how much they liked that particular movie. We think this will likely be the last of Oscar-nominated movies we'll really enjoy.

We won't be seeing every movie nominated (obviously). Yet this year's Oscar season is particularly enjoyable because I can share in the experience with my 15-year-old. Teens can be fickle creatures but when you can find a genuine interest and common ground... boy they sure are fun to have around!

Here's the trailer of Jane Eyre we saw that is prompting us to seek it out for rental to gauge its costuming....



And in case you want to see how accurate you are will predicting who will win the Oscars, you can participate in the Press Herald's Oscar poll. But hurry, the poll ends at 5 p.m. tonight.