A way to see all of the Best Picture 2011 nominees in one sitting

Photo Credit: http://www.amctheatres.com/bps/

For the last few years, AMC has offered a package to see all of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture on one ticket.  Used to be much easier when there were only 5 nominees, but now that there are 10 nominees, it becomes logistically more difficult to organize.  They are also offering a 1-day marathon of all 10 nominees on Feb. 26th. 

I have tried to get tickets in the past.  But they go pretty quickly, so I haven’t had any luck and usually just got tickets individually to what I thought would have the best chance of winning.  This year I took a different approach and just watched the movies that I think have the best shot.  Almost done, with the exception of The King’s Speech, which looks like a pretty strong contender based on the awards season so far and what I have read.  Hopefully, I’ll go this weekend to finish off the list. 

Below are my opinions on the other nine nominees for Best Picture this year:

1. Toy Story 3: I still think this movie was the best this year.  But it is pretty close, so I wouldn’t be disappointed if The Social Network won. 
2. The Social Network: Great movie, spectacular script (having Aaron Sorkin helps a lot, but the story itself is pretty amazing).  Jesse Eisenberg does a very good job as Mark Zuckerberg.  I think Andrew Garfield should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor though.  I can’t speak about Geoffrey Rush or John Hawkes, but I think Andrew Garfield did a better (marginally) job than Mark Ruffalo did in The Kids Are All Right.
3. The Fighter: Christian Bale should have Best Supporting Actor locked up.  He did a phenomenal job as Dicky Eklund.  I thought Melissa Leo did a fine job as Alice Ward, but I’m not quite convinced she should win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
4. True Grit: Possible dark horse candidate, but I don’t think it should win.  Don’t get me wrong; it is a good movie, especially as the most straightforward offering from the Coen’s.  The real takeaway from this movie was Hailee Steinfeld for Best Supporting Actress.  Should she have been nominated as Best Actress?  Probably.  But as Best Supporting Actress she has a better shot and the Weinsteins aren’t stupid when it comes to running an Oscars campaign.  And when I look at that category, I thought she did a better job than Melissa Leo. 
5. Black Swan: Natalie Portman should have the Best Actress award in the bag.  I think she is probably the biggest favorite in any category.  You can see how I felt about the movie here: Beware of spoilers.
6. Winter’s Bone: Haven’t seen it yet.  Will probably wait until it comes out on DVD.
7. 127 Hours: I think this movie is a real long shot that hasn’t been getting much buzz.  If Tom Hanks can’t win for Castaway, I don’t think James Franco can win for this movie.  The amount of screen time doesn’t always translate into an Oscar. 
8. Inception: I thought this movie was very good, but I didn’t fawn over it the way everyone else did when it came out.  I think it deserves Best Screenplay consideration.  As for the supposed Best Director snub for Christopher Nolan, which of the 5 nominees do you recommend not getting nominated?  Marion Cotillard should have probably have been considered for Best Supporting Actress instead of Amy Adams for The Fighter.  
9. The Kids are All Right: Pretty big long shot.  Loved the movie though.  I thought everyone (Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, and Josh Hutcherson) did a great job.