Alternative Oscar Nominees...Best Picture!!

-I'm beyond glad that The Hurt Locker took home the Best Picture award at the Oscars this year. If there was ever a film that was so artful, yet intense, as well as relevant, it was The Hurt Locker. Though the film was not a big money maker, it now has a place in history alongside the many other great motion pictures that came before it such as Gentleman's Agreement, The Deer Hunter, and Crash. I have very little doubt that anyone who did not see the film wanted any other nominee to take home the prize. Yet since the Academy opened up the top category to double the nominees, there was certainly a diverse group of choices. Without question, the darkest horse was The Blind Side, whose inclusion I suspect was based highly on box office rather that artistic merit, while others such as A Serious Man and Avatar had moments of brilliance, but their appearance on the list was also somewhat of a "hmm..." moment. Despite opening up the category to 10 possible winners, some of the most intriguing and worthy films of 2009 were shut out of the running. Below are my 5 alternative picks for Best Picture which I feel could easily have been worthy of one of the 10 spots. With the exception of one, none of these picks received any kind of Oscar recognition whatsoever in any of the other categories!! For that very reason, I shall also offer up some additional potential categories besides Best Picture which all of these films could have easliy fit into as well...enjoy!!

1. Afterschool
-The hit of several film festivals, Afterschool is indie director Antonio Campos' fourth feature and by far his most provacative to date. The film tells the story of a young boarding school student who feels unnerved by his surroundings; a feeling that more than escalates when he witnesses upon two popular fellow classmates overdose on drugs and die. Campos' bold move of abandoning the conventional movie camera techniques for a decidely more realist feel proved to be the ultimate comment on the heavily dependent youtube generation. The style of filmmaking only emphasizes the intese maddening feeling given off by the world of private school and one student's determination not to get lost within it. By far one of the most haunting films released this year.

Alt. Nominations:
Best Original Screenplay
Best Director- Antonio Campos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGFbWhlVezo

2. Duplicity
-The title on my list with the least amount of Oscar buzz, Duplicity was perhaps one of the most refreshing film offerings this year. From Bourne/Michael Clayton writer/director, Tony Gilroy, Duplicity concerns two ex-spies who come together to pull off a con on two of America's biggest corporations while at the same trying to stay ahead of one another. Not only does the movie have a sparkling script, lots of great location shots, and more than enough chemistry between the two leads, but Duplicity also successfully reworks the romance caper genre making it accessible to both passive and active audiences. The story structure of the film is laid out like a jigsaw puzzle, begging to be solved, while the romance and the comedy is fresh and present. All in all, a surprising and pleasant entry in an otherwise conventional genre.

Alt. Nominations-
-Best Original Screenplay
-Best Original Song- Being Bad
-Best Editing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PA92vCdgB8&feature=related

3. Everybody's Fine
-A remake of an earlier foreign film, Everybody's Fine is one of those special films that is able to fit comfortably into any era thanks to its universal story and the execution of it. The story deals with Robert DeNiro's elegaic journey across the country to visit his grown children whom he's grown slightly apart from since the death of wife a few months prior. Its so rare for a film to hit as many right notes as Everybody's Fine does. The acting, writing, directing all come together like a classical piece of music: delicate in its tone, yet strong enough to stir emotions. In an era where most films strive to be mind-blowing and life-altering, its refreshing to find a motion picture that simply wants to be fine.

Alt. Nominations-
-Best Original Song- (I Want to) Come Home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGXuhyVxrQM

4. Nine
-"From Rob Marshall, the director of Chicago" spelled death for the harshly judged, Fellini-inspired Nine. Those unfamiliar with the film's subject were constantly comparing it to Chicago while those who knew the story's background felt what they were seeing was a half-baked version of the original Broadway show. Nine is about a revered Italian film director who has come to a career block making him unable to start work on his new film as he tries to come to terms with the various women in his life. Although it didn't live up to the bevy of expectations piled upon it in the months prior to its release, Nine works as a dazzling array of offbeat, showstopping songs performed by an able star-studded cast while at the same time also paying homage to not only the great Federico Fellini, but also filmmakers in general and the practice of making a movie. Any true lover of films should find themselves shedding a tear by the end.

Alt. Oscar Nominees-
-Best Original Song- Cinema Italiano
-Best Director- Rob Marshall
-Best Adapted Screenplay
-Best Editing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B2N_iRUJ7Y

5. Where the Wild Things Are
-THE most underrated film released last year was without a doubt Spike Jonze's visionary adaptation of the classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are. The story of a boy who escapes his home life and finds himself in a world populated by giant creatures who adopt him as their king couldn't have been brought to the screen any better. Jonze has constructed a film not necessarily for children but for anyone who remembers a time in their lives when they felt the need to escape the ugly realities of the real world. Beyond the cathartic feelings it provokes from the audience, Where the Wild Things Are represents that seemingly undefinable moment in childhood when we slowly begin to grow up. Well-written, well-crafted, and beautifully shot, Where the Wild Things Are is my personal pick for best picture of 2009.

Alt. Nominations:
-Best Adapted Screenplay
-Best Director- Spike Jonze
-Best Cinematograpy
-Best Art Direction
-Best Original Score

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFgB6xUzziU

Next Week...Back to my continuous appreciation of underrated films...