I Would Like to Thank the Academy…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It’s that time of the year!  I absolutely LOVE movie award season. The 2013 Oscar®nominees were announced last week and I am super excited  Let’s look at the Best Picture nominees shall we? To see movie trailers, please click the link.

Zero Dark Thirty - In the aftermath of 9/11, as the trail in the hunt for Osama bin Laden seems to grow cold, a determined CIA agent begins a painstaking, decade-long search for the Al Qaeda leader.  For Maya, direct experience of terrorism steels her resolve to find bin Laden and leads her to trust her own instincts regarding the best course of investigation to pursue.

Silver Linings Playbook - Pat Solatano is released into his parents’ care after eight months of treatment for a bipolar disorder.  His recovery seems far from certain, however, when he stops taking his medication and becomes increasingly obsessed with winning back his estranged wife, a plan that leads him to embark on a complicated relationship with a troubled young woman whose husband has died.

Lincoln – With the Civil War coming to a close and the freedom granted to the slaves by the Emancipation Proclamation called into question, Abraham Lincoln seeks to pass a thirteenth amendment to the Constitution that will outlaw slavery everywhere in the United States.  Facing opposition from many quarters in Congress, Lincoln uses his vast political powers to gain allies in his fight.

Life of Pi - Young Pi, the son of zookeepers in Pondicherry, India, finds the world he knows swept away when his family sells the zoo and sets sail for Canada with a few of its remaining animals.  A storm capsizes the ship and only Pi escapes, set adrift in a lifeboat that is also the refuge of an enormous Bengal tiger.

Les Misérables - In early 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned years earlier for stealing a loaf of bread, decides to break his parole following his release and assume a new identity.  Although he succeeds in building a new life for himself, the relentless pursuit of Inspector Javert threatens the security of Valjean and his adopted daughter, Cosette.

Django Unchained – German bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz buys a slave named Django and promises him his freedom once he has helped Schultz track down the criminals he is seeking.  But Django has a wife who was sold off years ago, and his partnership with Schultz may offer him a chance to find her.

Beasts of the Southern Wild - In an isolated Louisiana swampland known as the Bathtub, young Hushpuppy and her father are part of a community that lives outside of the structure of modern society.  When rising flood waters threaten the area, the young girl’s resourcefulness and lively imagination are called into play as the region’s residents face the approaching disaster.

Argo - When six Americans take refuge in the Canadian embassy in Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis, U.S. government agent Tony Mendez turns to Hollywood for help.  Working with a producer and a makeup artist, he devises a rescue mission that centers on the creation of a fake film production company scouting locations in Iran.

Amour - In the final months of her life, a retired music teacher and her husband of sixty years struggle with the debilitating effects of two strokes on both her health and her quality of life.  As Georges cares for the increasingly unhappy Anne, the pair finds the nature of their life together irrevocably changed.

Seven of the nine films were on my radar as possible nominees. Silver Linings Playbook was not, so its nomination has me intrigued and I had not heard of Amour. Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Django Unchained, Beasts of the Southern Wild, and Argo have all been surrounded by controversy. Les Miserables has received unusually positive praise for a musical adaptation. The cinematography alone of Life of Pi is breathtaking.  Needless to say, I’m looking forward to viewing them all during the AMC Best Picture Showcase.

Currently in its 7th year, the AMC Best Picture Showcase event features the showing of all nine Best Picture nominees just in time for the Oscars®! The popular movie theatre chain splits the movies between two days so you can:1) choose to attend one day or 2) go both days and see all the movies. For super fans, there is also an option to attend a one-day event with all nine movies!

This Marathon event is only for the most enthusiastic of  movie fans but I always have a good time! There are usually plenty of giveaways, trivia  and social media integration to boot! This is a nationwide event, so be sure to check for locations near you here.

Have you seen any of these nominated films? Any hits or misses? Is the Best Picture Showcase something that you would attend? What are your thoughts about the satirical posters? Leave your sunshine below.

*Satirical movie poster images are courtesy of The Shiznit. 

Comments

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments