IMDB 250 - Oscar Roundup

Since my last visit to the IMDB 250, Oscar season has come and gone. I watched all the nominees and many of them made their way onto the list... before being bumped off. There are two left, however. Unfortunately they're my two least favorite. Can you sense my excitement?

Django Unchained (2012)

Plot: A bounty hunter frees a slave and employs him in his business.

If you want to play the averages, you should definitely see this movie. People apparently love it. Obviously - it's still on the list. But I don't like it. Continuing with his "grindhouse" style, Tarantino has made a blacksploitation/revenge movie where the slavery is what sets up the need for revenge. It seems to me that this is taking the topic of slavery way to lightly - it's only a device, it's a "MacGuffin".

Is it ok to invent fictional aspects of slavery (mandingo fighting)? Tarantino would answer "Of course it is! It's just a grindhouse film, afterall." Is it ok that when real horrors of slavery are shown, they're just used as cheap ploys to "shock" the audience and get more people buying tickets? "Sure, it's just a movie."

To me, this is a technically well-made movie, but one that isn't entertaining. To me, it's almost offensive. Even though I know I'm in the minority.

5/10.
Total Top "250" Movies Seen: 368.

Life of Pi (2012)

The main plot of "Life of Pi" is a story within the story. Early on, the main story is set up thusly:

Adult Pi Patel: What has mamaji already told you?

Writer: He said you had a story that would make me believe in God.

That's a pretty good hook to start your movie. If this movie is as good as everyone says it is, this sets up a really intriguing experience. I'm hooked. What story could it be that would make a person believe in God? Interesting! Except the movie never delivers on that promise. I won't give away the ending but I can say that the story doesn't do anything close to that. It's a fact that most reviews seem to overlook or not understand. They'll talk about the special effects and the cinematography - and I agree the movie looks great - but not mention that the "beauty" is totally empty of content.

It's not enough for a movie to have a tiger for me to say "Yayyy tigers are pretty!", it should go somewhere, it should do something. Again, I seem to be in the minority on this one as well but, to me, this is a visually beautiful movie that goes nowhere and does nothing.

5/10.

Total Top "250" Movies Seen: 369.

For what it's worth, if you're curious which Oscar-nominated films I DID like... I liked them all. My two favorites are "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Argo".