82th Academy Awards: A Review Part II

Now let's tackle an important pair of categories of the Academy Awards: the writing. The first year there was a category called Best Title Writing, but ever since Al Jolson ad-libbed, "Wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet", that category went kaput. Therefore, let us put down my reflections on Original and Adapted Screenplay.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer: Scott Neustader & Michael H. Weber

1. Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino
2. UP: Bob Petersen & Pete Docter, Story by Petersen, Docter, and Tom McCarthy
3. The Hurt Locker: Mark Boal
4. The Messenger: Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
5. A Serious Man: Joel & Ethan Coen

Is it cheating by throwing in (500) Days of Summer when it was NOT nominated? Perhaps, but I claim Executive Priviledge in this matter: it SHOULD have been. Given that, I find myself going for Tarantino, a film-maker I loath. I'd like to be hip and with-it, but I always get the sense he can make only 70s-era films. I can't bring myself to be a fan...yet. I will say that Inglourious Basterds was well-written (albeit a bit long).

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. District 9: Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell
2. Precious: Geoffrey Fletcher
3. An Education: Nick Hornby
4. In The Loop: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, & Tony Roche
5. Up in the Air: Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

If truth is to be told I would have made a tie between District 9 & Precious, with An Education being very close behind. I'd have to give the edge to the former ONLY because I fear the fan boy in me got the better of me. However, I admired the fact that District 9 worked on two levels: a rare trick nowadays. Then again, Precious was an extremely difficult subject to write for, but Fletcher did a masterful job in creating a sense of hope out of all that horror. Really too close to call.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Avatar
3. The Hurt Locker
4. The White Ribbon
5. Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

I haven't shifted my position that Inglourious Basterds was a fine-looking film. The climax was visually well-done. I also am a throwback to when CGI wasn't all the rage. Avatar had the images created on the computer, so I wonder if it is cheating. However, perhaps I should bend with the times. I do not have strong objections to the winner.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. A Prophet (France)
2. El Secreto De Tus Ojos (The Secret In Their Eyes) (Argentina)
3. Ajami (Israel)
4. The White Ribbon (Germany)
5. La Teta Asustada (The Milk of Sorrow) (Peru)

How can I talk about films I have yet to see? I am going only by reputation and by reading the plots. However, this allows me to point out that I would rather see something like A Prophet or Ajami than I would Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen or Did You Hear About the Morgans?. El Secreto De Tus Ojos and La Teta Asustada (which my Spanish would translate to The Frightened Tit) would play well in the Hispanic-dominated town of El Paso. Alas, we will have to wait for DVD. Thank Heaven for DVD. It makes films like these available.

Next time, the two Short Films (Documentary & Live Action), the two Sound (Mixing & Editing), Visual Effects, Editing, and Make-Up.