Feb 222013
 

Once again the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have created a feeble list, but it is what we’ve got, so I’ll sort it.

Let’s see: Amour is a linear affair that holds off for two hours what was obvious in 10 minutes and manages to be oddly distancing for a story that has nothing to offer but emotion. Argo and Zero Dark Thirty are semi-true tales that are only interesting if they are true. Beasts of the Southern Wild is on the list because the Academy likes indies and fantasy films that aren’t fantasies. Django Unchained is clever and timely; not Tarantino’s best, but one of his better works. Les Misérables is a horrendously shot, poorly sung, never ending festival of tedium with only a single true moment (and that should be rewarded in the supporting actress category). Life of Pi looked beautiful, and was fairly successful, but Lee just couldn’t elevate it to what it should have been. Lincoln was powerful with great moments. One of the few films that should be on this list, but the script meandered, departing from its real story of the 13th Amendment to Lincoln’s personal life far too often, but not often enough to say anything. Silver Linings Playbook could have been a zany romantic comedy, or a complex drama about mental illness. By trying to combine these, it became an unfunny comedy that deals with mental illness in a thoughtless, closing in on offensive, manner. So:

9 – Amour

8 – Les Misérables

7 – Silver Linings Playbook

6 – Beasts of the Southern Wild

5 – Zero Dark Thirty

4 – Argo

3 – Life of Pi

2 – Lincoln

1 – Django Unchained