Typically, I'm a total sucker for award season. I love nothing more than to attempt to guess winners based on the judging community and public hype. The thrill of the perfect guess, catered specifically to the award and cultural atmosphere is what gets me through the grey and wet Seattle winter. But this year, despite Oscar's wider pool of applicants, I'm pretty bored by the whole thing. I would argue that we haven't seen a season more predicable since Peter Jackson's epic (and rightfully won) sweep of the winter 2003 string of awards. However, unlike Return of the King's trilogy build up and scale of cinematic grandeur, we've been handed mediocre epic spectacle and a handful of film that possess individually appealing qualities.
We've got an actor here or there who did a pretty good job (i.e. Invictus, Precious and Crazy Heart). A handful of well written adaptations (i.e. Up in the Air, An Education). And a single film that seems to warrant the merit of the film community: The Hurt Locker. Frankly, this film has been taking up nearly every major award its been nominated for (save for the Golden Globes and their obsession with box office numbers), and rightfully so. But does it make for an entertaining season? No. Snooze. But honestly, I would rather The Hurt Locker snatch up every effing award it's nominated for, than allow Avatar to steal any other non-technical category. So as much as I'm pretty apathetic about this batch of films, I'll take what I can get. As long as Avatar fails, award season is a win.
But please, Oscar's, when you announce the nominees this coming Tuesday, spice it up a bit. Throw me some shocking results. Just get the ball rolling.
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