“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

What is the deal with nominating ten films for Best Movie for an Academy Award? They needed to add those extra five like I am going to the moon. Sure, they talked on and on about the Golden Age of Hollywood and that they had ten nominees. Yoo hoo, that was when Hollywood was churning out hundreds of movies a month. Of course there were ten nominees. Let’s not compare apples to oranges here. Just because Hollywood is having a blockbuster year, does not make the equivalent of the films comparable to the days of yore. Shall we compare notes?

Here is the list of Best Picture nominees from 1939:

Dark Victory
Gone With the Wind
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Love Affair
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men
Stagecoach
The Wizard of Oz
Wuthering Heights

And here is the list for 2010.

Avatar – OK…this is an obvious choice…hello 1.3 billion dollars.
The Blind Side – At press time they had not determined who the actual nominees are, because they were all so shocked, they didn’t even submit their names.
District 9 – A perfect example here of that we only need five nominees.
An Education – The obligatory small, indie film has their moment in the sun.
The Hurt Locker – Personal favorite…but will not win up against 1.3 billion dollars.
Inglourious Basterds – Great…but won’t win.
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire – Great…but won’t win.
A Serious Man – Are they serious? This was a snoozaroo. Three of us went to see it…we all fell asleep.
Up – I love a good cartoon, and this was fantastic. But, let’s just keep animated films in their own category. I don’t care how stuffy I sound.
Up in the Air – OK, can we all just relax here about this film. I barely cracked a smile. Yes, George Clooney is adorable but this film was just a bit above average at best.