And the Winner is...

Oscar post!  I wouldn't be a true blogger without one.  I do enjoy watching the show, but this year's left quite a lot to be desired - like humor and entertainment value.  I came out of the viewing experience liking James Franco a lot less than I did going in, which is too bad - I admire his English degree.  Either way, I was invested in the awards because I had a few horses in the race.  For the first time in recent memory, I have seen more than 1 of the Best Picture nominees, which fully qualifies me to pass judgment on who deserves the big prize.  It also allows me to get angry when the one movie I've seen in any given category doesn't win.  Looking at you, Alice in Wonderland - how dare you take the golden man away from Inception and Harry Potter?

Here's my breakdown:

Toy Story 3:  Who didn't see this movie?  And who didn't shed a tear contemplating the childhoods we've lost and the lessons we've learned?  And who didn't recognize the Randy Newman score from the first two notes?  Of course 3 won the Best Animated Picture, because it was.  Fun fact:  Matt and I desperately wanted to go see this kid-centered movie without any children around us - same thing for Harry Potter.  So we always pick the latest show possible, and try to go on school nights.  We were eagerly looking forward to our 10:30 showing, I think on a Tuesday.  And for a few glorious minutes, we were the only people in the theater.  Until a family of toddlers came and sat RIGHT BEHIND US.  The boy kicked my seat for the whole second half, but it's tough to turn around and glare at a child with Woody and Buzz looking down on me from the big screen.

Inception:  I loved, loved, loved this.  I thought it was a brilliant story, and I love anything that I'm still thinking about days/weeks/months later.  We got it on Blu-Ray, and watching it the second time was even better, because I wasn't so focused on following the story I could enjoy the visual spectacle even more.  And can you beat that Hans Zimmer?  (ROBBED!  Stupid Social Network.  I heard the 15 second clip of that score during the ceremony and Inception's was way better!)

True Grit:  Not my usual kind of movie, but I did enjoy it.  Loved the little girl and Matt Damon's silly mustache.  I wonder if my opinion would differ if I'd seen the original, but I haven't, and maybe that's why I didn't have an especially strong reaction to this movie.  It was good, I'm glad I saw it, but I'm not rushing out to buy the DVD.

The King's Speech:  Now this is my kind of movie.  There are few things I love more in this life than a British history period piece, and only about two things I love more than a British history period piece staring Colin Firth.  And boy did he put on a show.  I had an actual, emotional, physical reaction watching him choke out his words.  It's been a while since I've seen a movie that has such a poignant message of resilience and hope.  And if that wasn't enough, you can play a great round of Harry Potter actors bingo.  Dumbledore!  Bellatrix!  Wormtail!  I sure love the British.

I was very glad The King's Speech won, and I will definitely be watching it again.  Other movies that were nominated that I might want to see include The Black Swan, but I'm scared it might freak me out, and The Fighter, because the acting is supposed to be so good.  Not so interested in 127 Hours anymore...I've seen about enough out of James Franco.