Best Picture

True Grit

1. Excellent acting, especially Hailey Steinfeld
2. A new twist on the traditional western
3. Script was well written, kept an entertained audience. Comic relief
4. The score was well done. I like how personally emotional yet classic the themes are.

Toy Story 3

1. Nostalgic
2. Good for all ages (adults have things to pick up on)
3. Entertaining references


The King's Speech

1. An interesting story to choose, revealing
2. Also excellent acting (these particular actors in these roles was impressive)
3. Cinematography was cool, camera angles and usage of scenery

Inception

1. predictable ending (saw the lack of one coming)
2. I didn't think the dream shots were that cool, could've been more realistic for the audience. Then again maybe it isn't supposed to be.
3. The whole premise of the movie was fun. I know the idea has been out there, but personally the whole idea of inception was relatively new to me.


Winter's Bone

1. The drab setting the color scheme of the movie was well done. The setting shadowed the emotions.
2. Seeing how other Americans live was enlightening.
3. The plot was slow at times, but it was appropriate as far as amounts of violence, gore, action...etc. is concerned.

The Social Network

1. Generational, appropriate (this is our time)
2. Music/college scene--captures attention
3. Too obvious, but good to know.
4. Intellectually stimulating



THE RANKING

1. True Grit

Overall, True Grit was the most satisfying among these films. The blend of old west, strong female lead and the Coen brothers' dark twists, the film kept me interested throughout, as well as left me heart warmed afterwards. The long shots of the wild west combined with the mellow classic west music was beautiful and nostalgic, reminding us of our history film-wise. I have to say my favorite part about the film was the twist on the relationships in the film. Instead of the lone cowboy toying with a woman from a frontier town, the relationship in True Grit was that between a fatherless girl and an old rugged has-been. Over time, the characters of Maddi and Rooster develop a deep bond that little else in life can replicate.

2. The King's Speech

Harry Potter characters anyone? It was fun to recognize all the actors that were involved in the Harry Potter films (always a good starting point). However, what impressed me the most was their versatility. As someone used to seeing them in robes and with wands, watching their performances in The King's Speech was inspiring. To me, the actors dropped all resemblances of their characters in other films, and assumed the roles of The King's Speech quite seamlessly. This attribute, that an actor can truly separate their roles from film to film, is one main point of good acting that I look for when I watch films. But my favorite thing about this film was the story. The fact that the Queen didn't want the film to be made during her lifetime truly backs the gravity of some of the more personal themes of the film, such as the relationship the young King had with his family. Really if you think about it, the overall story is unique; a true story of royalty befriending a commoner. It causes one to stand back and reassess what humanity truly means.

3. Winter's Bone

For what first strikes an audience as a slow, obscure plot, Winter's Bone turned out to be a pretty good film. One of the things I loved about it was the whole atmosphere the cinnemotography brought to the viewers. The rugged documentary-like shots of stray dogs, the faded winter colors, and the country banjo music playing glumly behind it, all truly brought the despair of Ree's situation to light. Being on the verge of losing your house, having lost your father and the help of your mother would truly make life as empty as this film shows. However, what stuck with me after seeing this film was how this story made me realize how secluded from the rest of the world I am. Where I live is somewhat of a bubble of paradise compared to the majority of the United States. In short, there are more situations like Ree's in this country then there are like mine. The innocence of childhood is something to be cherished.

4. The Social Network

The Social Network brought a good point to the table. The whole idea of how our generation is changing the world, how people communicate, and who controls giant sources of information is something to be discussed. In this film, this idea is portrayed rather well. By throwing the college nerds from Harvard, the business world, and the college party/club scene into a blender, the story of how Facebook came to be was made into an entertaining story. Throughout the movie, the audience is entertained by not only the drama of the lawsuits, but also some comic relief thrown in here and there--not to mention the intellectually stimulating script. The writers truly found the line between comprehensible and too far when writing the dialogue of The Social Network. This means in the film, the language the college kids were using let you know just how smart they are without leaving you completely in the dust. But, as entertaining as the story was, it was rather predictable. The world already knew the gist of the Facebook creation story.

5. Inception

What? Just kidding. Many people I talked to after seeing this film thought it was too hard to follow. I disagree. I found it relatively easy to follow, even though the whole concept of inception was pretty new to me. I'll be honesty, the idea of getting inside other people's dreams to control their actions is plain old cool. However, this film quickly turned into a mainstream action movie, something I'm not crazy about. Even so, in action movies I look for special effects, how realistic things are, and how believable the actions of characters are. When looking for these elements in Inception, I was rather disappointed. Yes, I realize most of the movie takes place in some sort of dream and therefore isn't real to begin with. But even so, I thought the effects could have been better, making the dreams more realistic, thus giving the audience a better thrill. Just think of how confusing it would be if there was no distinction at all between dream levels. Yet my biggest disappointment was the ending: how many times has the whole "is it real, or not?" thing been used? Overall, I found the film predictably unpredictable.

6. Toy Story 3

This film was a nice addition to my viewing list. For me, it was all about nostalgia. Remembering the days when I'd sit down with my family and watch Toy Story 1 was fun. I have always liked how these films throw in some humor for every one so even adults are somewhat entertained. I also thought the references to both prior movies of the trilogy and movies outside of the trilogy were clever and tasteful in the situation. However cute and nostalgic it was, it didn't have enough energy and captivation to be at the top of my list. (There have been many more annimations done in the past few years that top this.) Final words: Good, could have been better.