And the winner is.....

i watched midnight in paris. it was one of the 2 movies i watched in their entirety this year. it was pretty good, the cheese factor was really high.

someone was telling me the artist was good. i think the idea sounds interesting, still not too sure about a full length silent movie. i can barely stay awake through 1 hour tv shows.

How does "Extremely Loud" get a best picture nomination when it only has a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes?

I haven't seen any of them either. We've talked about seeing Moneyball, but the rest do not appeal to me. I read the book "The Help" and thought it was meh. The previews didn't sell it for me.

i'd like to see the descendents.

i just watched the tree of life, and i rated it three stars on netflix. it was a little too pretentious and slow. that said, it was kinda touching, in a noncreepy sort of way. however, i wouldn't see it again.

i loved midnight in paris!

Yea, that's kinda Terrence Malick's MO.

Watched MoneyBall last night. Good movie. Best of the year? Meh.

I've only seen 3: Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball

Moneyball was my favorite of the three, but you have to expect a geek is gonna like a movie where you can win at sports because you're good at math. A pretty good movie, but not one I would label great.

MIdnight in Paris was a fun movie, but not earth-shattering. It was better than most of Allen's recent films, but that's setting the bar kind of low.

Was I the only person in the world who thought Hugo was just a mediocre movie? I saw the magic in the part of the movie that involved remembering what the early film studio was like - but for me most of the rest of the movie failed to be engaging in plot, character, and performance.

I saw The Help. I thought it was pretty good, and some of the performances were really outstanding.

However, Bryce Dallas Howard was in it, and while a deplorable character, was excellent.

Aaaww, I was hoping for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo because my boss' niece, Rooney Mara was in it.

Moneyball is surprising. I thought the movie was great, but unless you're really into baseball and sabermetrics I'm not sure it'd be as entertaining a film.

Um, she got nominated. For Best Actress.

Hugo is absolutely beautiful but I don't know about best picture.

I saw Midnite and while I loved the literary characters [Hemingway, Stein, etc] I hate the way Allen trots out the tired cliches every single movie -- the shallow, shrewish girlfriend...the pedantic academic...the wealthy snobby parents who disapprove of the affable protagonist...

Thanks, I didn't bother looking. I'll have to ask him if he is going since there will be no Super Bowl for him this year.

\

9/11 9/11 9/11!

I would not recommend The Descendants. I found the story line to be quite predictable and the first 45 minutes to be quite slow. The director relied heavily on the scenery in Hawaii to fill time. There were some touching moments associated with death and adressing the issue of modern DNRs. I don't think this movie would have gotten nearly the attention it did if Clooney wasn't the lead.

NB> I'm really picky when it comes to movies. I think most of what Hollywood churns out is crap.

Midnight in Paris was the only one I saw. It was Ok. Lighthearted and enjoyable but definitely not best picture worthy; and I'm a big Allen fan.... I heard Hugo was really good although I have no problem enjoying animated films of any kind.

I think you're right about Midnight in Paris but anything after Hanna and her Sisters... Seriously? Radio Days? Mighty Aphrodite? Crimes and Misdemeanors? (one of my top 5 films ever), Sweet and Lowdown? Vicky Christina Barcelona? (way better than 'Paris' IMO)

Woody Allen hasn't made a decent movie since he married his daughter.

Nothing beats Bananas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF-AcR14Km8&feature=related

completely disagree. either you're not watching or your opinion is tainted by his personal life ...and married his ex-girlfriend's adopted adult daughter would be more accurate.

I've noticed it mentioned multiple times that Hugo was animated.
Um, it wasn't.

It has some digital effects, but it wasn't "animation".

Allen's relationship with Mia Farrow ended when she discovered his nude photos of Soon Yi, her adopted daughter whom he later married. Since he never formally adopted her, you're right: she wasn't technically his daughter.
I've seen most of Allen's movies over the year and while a few are decent, most are mediocre and some are just unwatchable. Even with the star power he attracts, most of his movies are just average. Even Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem couldn't elevate Vicky, Christina, Barcelona into more than just a "cute" movie.

this is the first year i haven't seen any of them. i've gotten rather selective and think "it'll be nominated for best picture" so i wait for the Best Picture Marathon to see them all. the only one that offends me is Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. i've heard it's not a good translation of the overrated book (brings to mind Lovely Bones) and it's subject matter crass. i'm wondering if it'll supplant the Blind Side as the worst best pic nom i've ever seen.

I know what Allen did or what was portrayed in the media anyway.... and yes it looks bad but we really don't know what happened. judge lest ye be judged and all that. and when you get right down to it they were two consenting adults. I still disagree with you on the quality of his movies. I thought 'barcelona' was excellent and i think he's as close to a genius filmaker as there is.

I have seen all of these movies. I didn't used to see many movies at all but now you can buy them for a dollar on DVD at flea markets even while they are still showing them in the movie theaters. Plus you can make your own popcorn at home and that is really cheap too. I didn't like the Artist because I kept wondering why I couldn't hear the people talking. I thought my TV was broken and it was playing a radio station with old-timey music on it. Then I found out it was supposed to be that way and I felt cheated. I paid a whole dollar for a movie and they can't bother putting voices in it? What a ripoff!

I liked The Help. It inspired me. I want to hire some people to work in my house now.

We pretty much do know what happened: he married his ex-partner's daughter. That aside, he made great movies a couple of decades ago but nothing comparable since. Though Midnight in Paris is the best thing he's done in a while.

I liked Vicky Christina Barcelona but seriously -- Scarlett Johansson playing a brilliant academic? She was barely believable as a zoo keeper in We Bought A Zoo. At least Woody finally stopped playing the leading man.

nope. The films I mention in my first post in this thread are all excellent, highly entertaining and often profound films, comparable with anything he did decades ago and surely better than any of the "Hollywood crap fests" typically made today. ...so now I'm curious. What are some of your favorite recently made films?

Mighty Aphrodite was Woody Lite. Crimes and Misdemeanors -- maybe my absolute favorite -- was done almost 20 years ago. If you want to argue that the worst of Woody is better than what's out there [Date Night, for example], I'm ok with that but I think he peaked in the 90s. Recent movies I've like are Melancholia, The Guard, Double Hour.

Impossible Thad!

I kind of wish Spiral would come back in his unadulterated form. Was there an era when Frank, Spiral and Stein were on here at the same time? I may have purposefully erased it from my fishtown.us archives.

goodness I looked up Crimes and Misdemeanors and it was 1989! ....but I think all the others were made after he married his daughter so I guess i was focusing on that. Never heard of the movies you mention I will try and check them out.

Admittedly, aside from barcelona and midnight in paris, I have not seen the films he made in the last few years but they seemed to have gotten some acclaim. All that said I still consider him a great and prolific filmaker so dont be hatin' on Woody. Wiki says he's returning to acting in his next movie. I hope you're excited!

Jeez, nobody mentioned Woody's 1973 "Sleeper"??? I was little but remember my dad falling off his chair laughing when they unwrapped him like a baked potato. He was probably drunk too but he WAS laughing really hard.

I'll give you prolific but, ok.

Y E S!

I know it wasn't nominated for anything but has anyone seen Drive? Holy Smokes. Made Animal Kingdom look like a Disney film.

I'd like to see Drive but I don't buy into that Ryan Gosling as an actor.

Yea. Watched it twice last week. It blew me away.

That same director made Pusher I - III. I just finished the third one last night. Really amazing movies. Disturbing, but amazing.

Gosling is great in Drive. As he was in Blue Valentine, All Good Things, and the weird Lars and the Real Girl.

His pretty face and mild demeanor set up the last third of the movie and make it that much more shocking.

Exactly. I'm still a little stunned by what happened in the elevator.

Oh, right. I forgot about that. Forgettable movie but I thought he was good.

I liked the pace -- added to the build-up. And sure, one could probably guess about outcomes but what movie entirely surprises?

I also thought Hugo was not very good. Hollywood loves Hollywood, overacted (except for the Sacha Barron Cohen character who was very good) and kind of boring. Moneyball and Midnight in Paris were good but not excellent. Maybe this is like 2006 when the best movies were only just OK.

Drive is film noir. Most film noir movies are paced similarly. I loved Drive, found it to be excellent in its simplicity. Hollywood oftentimes finds it necessary to bombard us with special effects because they can so its refreshing to see a good movie with little to no special effects.

Oh -- I got one for you: Double Hour. French movie. Get it.

I also enjoyed the pacing of Drive. But then again, one of my all time favorite movies is 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Anyone see "the Killing" by Kubrick? I'm a big Sterling Hayden fan. Some of the scenes, especially the rooftop chase really reminded me of his later stuff in 2001, and the Shinning because it felt so vast and isolated.

Another very slow movie I really enjoyed was "The Conversation" by Francis Ford Coppola with Gene Hackman.

Sorry -- it might be Italian. I can't remember. I never saw The Killing.

I don't even know which entry won, but the Oscar nominated short animated films are really great and still playing at the Ritz. Shocking how many people are involved in making a 10-minute Pixar.