Oscar's Positive Picks by Adam R. Holz on 01/27/2012 at 9:01 AM

In my “day job” over at Plugged In, (Focus on the Family’s media review website), I see lots of movies. Over the last year, I’ve had the privilege of reviewing quite a few films that I walked out of afterward saying something like, “Man, that was a good movie.” And I know my other colleagues at Plugged In felt the same way. More so than any year in recent memory, 2011 was full of films that were aesthetically mesmerizing, emotionally engaging and packed with positive, inspirational messages.

And it turns out the folks behind the Academy Awards apparently feel pretty much the same way.

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its slate of Oscar nominees for this year’s Academy Awards (which ABC will televise on Sunday, Feb. 26, for those of you who want to set your TiVo really early). Compared to some of the grim, nihilistic and existentially bankrupt fare the Academy has nominated for its top award recently — I’m thinking of films like Black Swan last year, as well as The Departed, No Country for Old Men and Atonement in the two or three years before that — this year’s list is both upbeat and, for the most part, accessible to a wide audience.

For example, only one film this year, George Clooney’s The Descendents is rated R (and I'll talk more about that in a moment). Comparatively, six of the 10 nominees last year earned that restrictive rating.

Thematically speaking, there are some other common threads worth noting as well. A number of the films this year deal with poignant stories about family. Hugo and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, for instance, both emphasize the importance of fathers when young boys in each of those films lose theirs and struggle mightily to make sense of their worlds after the fact. And speaking of dads, three other films focus a great deal on the struggles — and critical importance — of fathers: The Descendents, Moneyball and Tree of Life.

As I mentioned above, The Descendents is the only R-rated film on the list, primarily for some harsh language. Even so, George Clooney's portrayal of a dad struggling to raise his two daughters after his wife suffers a massive head injury and slips into a coma is deeply moving stuff. Honestly, I thought it was one of the most compelling portraits of a family grappling with real-world issues (loss, infidelity, substance abuse, poor communication, showing affection) that I've seen in a long time. As for Moneyball (a story about a maverick baseball manager) and Tree of Life (a story about the legacy of a flawed-but-loving father's influence on his children), well, both of those films starred Brad Pitt in moving roles as dads striving to balance the tricky tension between career and family.   

Still another trio of films, the silent offering The Artist, Martin Scorsese's Hugo and Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris all take sentimental looks (in different ways) at the golden years of the cinema early in the 20th century.

Oscar's final two Best Picture picks, The Help and War Horse, each deliver moving, heartfelt stories about perseverance and overcoming ... in two very different contexts. The Help tells the story, courtesy of a feisty young white journalist, of African-American maids' secret lives and their struggle for dignity. Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg's latest effort, War Horse, invites us to glimpse the horrors of World War I from the unlikely perspective of a heroic equine protagonist.

As always, I'd recommend checking out Plugged In's reviews before seeing any of these films, as several (especially The Descendents) include content you may want to consider carefully ahead of time. Still, compared to virtually any of Oscar's Best Picture collections recently, we're happy to report that 2011 was a banner year at the multiplex.

So what about you? Which of these movies, if any, did you see this year that moved you deeply?

Oscar's Positive Picks by Adam R. Holz on 01/27/2012 at 9:01 AM

In my “day job” over at Plugged In, (Focus on the Family’s media review website), I see lots of movies. Over the last year, I’ve had the privilege of reviewing quite a few films that I walked out of afterward saying something like, “Man, that was a good movie.” And I know my other colleagues at Plugged In felt the same way. More so than any year in recent memory, 2011 was full of films that were aesthetically mesmerizing, emotionally engaging and packed with positive, inspirational messages.

And it turns out the folks behind the Academy Awards apparently feel pretty much the same way.

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its slate of Oscar nominees for this year’s Academy Awards (which ABC will televise on Sunday, Feb. 26, for those of you who want to set your TiVo really early). Compared to some of the grim, nihilistic and existentially bankrupt fare the Academy has nominated for its top award recently — I’m thinking of films like Black Swan last year, as well as The Departed, No Country for Old Men and Atonement in the two or three years before that — this year’s list is both upbeat and, for the most part, accessible to a wide audience.

For example, only one film this year, George Clooney’s The Descendents is rated R (and I'll talk more about that in a moment). Comparatively, six of the 10 nominees last year earned that restrictive rating.

Thematically speaking, there are some other common threads worth noting as well. A number of the films this year deal with poignant stories about family. Hugo and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, for instance, both emphasize the importance of fathers when young boys in each of those films lose theirs and struggle mightily to make sense of their worlds after the fact. And speaking of dads, three other films focus a great deal on the struggles — and critical importance — of fathers: The Descendents, Moneyball and Tree of Life.

As I mentioned above, The Descendents is the only R-rated film on the list, primarily for some harsh language. Even so, George Clooney's portrayal of a dad struggling to raise his two daughters after his wife suffers a massive head injury and slips into a coma is deeply moving stuff. Honestly, I thought it was one of the most compelling portraits of a family grappling with real-world issues (loss, infidelity, substance abuse, poor communication, showing affection) that I've seen in a long time. As for Moneyball (a story about a maverick baseball manager) and Tree of Life (a story about the legacy of a flawed-but-loving father's influence on his children), well, both of those films starred Brad Pitt in moving roles as dads striving to balance the tricky tension between career and family.   

Still another trio of films, the silent offering The Artist, Martin Scorsese's Hugo and Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris all take sentimental looks (in different ways) at the golden years of the cinema early in the 20th century.

Oscar's final two Best Picture picks, The Help and War Horse, each deliver moving, heartfelt stories about perseverance and overcoming ... in two very different contexts. The Help tells the story, courtesy of a feisty young white journalist, of African-American maids' secret lives and their struggle for dignity. Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg's latest effort, War Horse, invites us to glimpse the horrors of World War I from the unlikely perspective of a heroic equine protagonist.

As always, I'd recommend checking out Plugged In's reviews before seeing any of these films, as several (especially The Descendents) include content you may want to consider carefully ahead of time. Still, compared to virtually any of Oscar's Best Picture collections recently, we're happy to report that 2011 was a banner year at the multiplex.

So what about you? Which of these movies, if any, did you see this year that moved you deeply?

Comments

[1. Tami said the following at 10:00 AM on Jan 27:]

1

This lists reminds me that, in some ways, this was a good year for movies with good stories.

I LOVED The Artist. It was moving. Were there things I found objectionable? A bit. But I also found them to be part of the characters' stories. (What I found REALLY odd is why it used one of the musical themes from Vertigo in a scene or two... that movie is from the late 50's, and I couldn't figure out the music's relevance to the scenes in The Artist. Usually music is used to stir emotions, or in some cases call something else to mind, and I couldn't understand what it was about Vertigo that I was supposed to think about in that scene. There are plenty of musical themes that might have worked better... why that one? Just seemed like an odd choice.)

I normally don't love Woody Allen... at all... but I also really enjoyed Midnight in Paris. It was pretty fun to be thrown back into that world, and the reasons WHY Owen Wilson's character felt more comfortable there, as opposed to his current situation, were compelling. And the actors playing the historical figures were, for the most part, great characters rather than caricatures. Again, not a perfect movie (in terms of "do I find this morally OK") but an effective story.

I hope to see Extremely Loud... (and perhaps The Descendants) this weekend. I'd also like to see War Horse. The Help seems a little schmaltzy to me... was it?

[2. james said the following at 11:35 AM on Jan 27:]

2

Several films really have no business on the list. But I'd love to see Tree of Life win - that was probably the best made film I saw last year. I'd also be happy if Hugo won, Scorsese deserves all the awards they can give him. Enjoyed War Horse and Moneyball, but they didn't strike me as best picture worthy.

Also I can't recommend Warrior highly enough.

[3. Jim said the following at 11:51 AM on Jan 27:]

3

Yes, I also thought The Descendants was terrific and the best movie I saw last year, although I was disappointed it had an R rating, which was obviously because of the foul language in parts (the language really could have been toned down without doing any substantial harm to the movie). But that same type of language appears in the original book (ironically, spoken primarily by the youngest daughter, who is in the 8-10 year old range), and the author was pretty deeply involved in the making of the movie (and even had a bit part in the movie as George Clooney's secretary), so I guess the decision was made to keep the language in to be true to the book. Nevertheless, it was a great movie, and the acting of George Clooney, the actress who played his eldest daughter, and the guy who played her dopey boyfriend was superb and pretty true to the book version.

[4. Prickly Pete said the following at 1:20 PM on Jan 27:]

4

I think most people would agree that this wasn't a very good year for movies, and as always, there were some bizarre nominations (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?) and bizarre snubs (anything for Drive, David Fincher, several wonderful documentaries, etc.) from the Oscars. I for one am glad to see Woody Allen finally getting some love again, though!

The Help seems a little schmaltzy to me... was it?

A little bit, but not too terribly much. It was very much a feel-good movie and thus fairly predictable with largely archetypal characters, but it was still a solid film with a number of good performances.

[5. Sasha said the following at 5:58 PM on Jan 27:]

5

I loved Midnight in Paris, Hugo, and The Help, and was delighted to see them all make the list! I was pleasantly surprised to see the list include several films I had seen and several more that I would like to see -- as you mentioned, this group of films seems a lot more accessible than the general Best Picture nominees!

[6. MizattA said the following at 6:19 PM on Jan 27:]

6

"I think most people would agree that this wasn't a very good year for movies"

I don't know about that there were plenty of good, to if nothing but enjoyable and fun movies that came out this year...

The Adjustment Bureau was pretty darn good and the Trailer did not do it justice at all. Went high above my expectations...

Scream 4 came out and if you like anything Horror then the Scream series is probably one of the smartest and most well written of the series and the twists poked a lot of fun at the way we have life in reality now...

The Help, Soul Surfer, Captain America, Kung Fu Panda 2, X-men First Class, Super 8, Cowboys and Aliens,

Crazy Stupid Love had to be one of the most funny, even if at times not very appropriate movies I have seen in years...,

Fright Night Remake, 50-50, Real Steel, Footlose Remake, Muppets, Sherlock Homles Game of Shadows, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy, The Change up while probably filled with some junivlie Humor looked to be funny and based someone on the realities of both situations characters like that were going through at the time...

I would say that the amount of Good/Great to Decent movies is not really lower than the ones of any of the last 5-10 years...

[7. Joy #2 said the following at 6:29 PM on Jan 27:]

7

I really enjoyed the movie "The Help," but the book was even better. The book was one of the best books I have read in the past few years.

[8. Sasha said the following at 12:37 PM on Jan 28:]

8

Agreed, Joy #7 -- the book was fantastic! I was pleasantly surprised by its high quality.

I agree there were plenty of enjoyable films last year -- I also really liked several of the superhero flicks last summer, including X-Men: First Class, Thor, and Captain America. And the last Harry Potter film was very well-done too.

[9. Alex C. said the following at 3:25 PM on Jan 28:]

9

I was definitly Moneyball nominated for Best Picture. I really don't get what the big deal with Moneyball is. It didn't seem "Best Picture" worthy to me, at least by the standards that they usually use for best picture. Its not really a super dramatic epic period piece or vehicle for some star to give a stand out performance (Like The Iron Lady or J. Edgar, which I am surprised weren't nominated instead) and it wasn't pretentiously artsy either. It was just...there, if you ask me. I thought Warhorse was better than it, although I didn't expect it to be nominated either. A lot of that movie had a Disney-esc "aimed at young families" vibe that I would normally expect to be overlooked. Was glad that Midnight in Paris was nominated, Though its not one of his best works, it was still good, and I love almost all of Allen's stuff.

Can't believe Jonah Hill got nominated for an Oscar. I didn't think the role he played in Moneyball was that substantial or stand out. Seems like they just gave him the nom because he's normally a comedic actor who is now doing something serious.

There should have been more Dragon Tattoo love, if you ask me. No best picture/director nom? I think it deserved those more than Moneyball.

I really want Kung Fu Panda 2 to win best animated, but it probably won;t :(

[10. Alex C. said the following at 3:27 PM on Jan 28:]

10

grrrr. submitted my last post without doing a proper check. I meant to say "I was surprised Moneyball got nominated" at the beginning of the post, lol. Forgive any other errors please, I may have missed some more.

[11. MizattA said the following at 5:27 PM on Jan 28:]

11

"I really want Kung Fu Panda 2 to win best animated, but it probably won;t"

Kung Fu Panda 1 was one of the best CG animated movies I ever seen up there with movies like Up and the Incredibles and Hoodwinked...KFP2 one was a bit of a let down, but still one of the best CG movies in years so I hope it does as well...

[12. brx said the following at 9:33 PM on Jan 28:]

12

I got dragged to The Decendents by a female friend and was pleasantly surprised!

Considering those kinds of relational situations and considering them from a Jesus perspective, I'm reminded:

even in messy situations, God is still there & still loves; He gives wisdom generously to those who ask without finding fault...Though He doesn't promise to make difficulties disappear, He offers resources for for wisdom, discernment, healthy boundaries, humility, courage, communication, strength, and faith.

And, His LOVE is always there, made tangible especially through those who know Him.

God is persistent in caring even in the difficult and sometimes messy situations.

[1. Tami said the following at 10:00 AM on Jan 27:]

1

This lists reminds me that, in some ways, this was a good year for movies with good stories.

I LOVED The Artist. It was moving. Were there things I found objectionable? A bit. But I also found them to be part of the characters' stories. (What I found REALLY odd is why it used one of the musical themes from Vertigo in a scene or two... that movie is from the late 50's, and I couldn't figure out the music's relevance to the scenes in The Artist. Usually music is used to stir emotions, or in some cases call something else to mind, and I couldn't understand what it was about Vertigo that I was supposed to think about in that scene. There are plenty of musical themes that might have worked better... why that one? Just seemed like an odd choice.)

I normally don't love Woody Allen... at all... but I also really enjoyed Midnight in Paris. It was pretty fun to be thrown back into that world, and the reasons WHY Owen Wilson's character felt more comfortable there, as opposed to his current situation, were compelling. And the actors playing the historical figures were, for the most part, great characters rather than caricatures. Again, not a perfect movie (in terms of "do I find this morally OK") but an effective story.

I hope to see Extremely Loud... (and perhaps The Descendants) this weekend. I'd also like to see War Horse. The Help seems a little schmaltzy to me... was it?

[2. james said the following at 11:35 AM on Jan 27:]

2

Several films really have no business on the list. But I'd love to see Tree of Life win - that was probably the best made film I saw last year. I'd also be happy if Hugo won, Scorsese deserves all the awards they can give him. Enjoyed War Horse and Moneyball, but they didn't strike me as best picture worthy.

Also I can't recommend Warrior highly enough.

[3. Jim said the following at 11:51 AM on Jan 27:]

3

Yes, I also thought The Descendants was terrific and the best movie I saw last year, although I was disappointed it had an R rating, which was obviously because of the foul language in parts (the language really could have been toned down without doing any substantial harm to the movie). But that same type of language appears in the original book (ironically, spoken primarily by the youngest daughter, who is in the 8-10 year old range), and the author was pretty deeply involved in the making of the movie (and even had a bit part in the movie as George Clooney's secretary), so I guess the decision was made to keep the language in to be true to the book. Nevertheless, it was a great movie, and the acting of George Clooney, the actress who played his eldest daughter, and the guy who played her dopey boyfriend was superb and pretty true to the book version.

[4. Prickly Pete said the following at 1:20 PM on Jan 27:]

4

I think most people would agree that this wasn't a very good year for movies, and as always, there were some bizarre nominations (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?) and bizarre snubs (anything for Drive, David Fincher, several wonderful documentaries, etc.) from the Oscars. I for one am glad to see Woody Allen finally getting some love again, though!

The Help seems a little schmaltzy to me... was it?

A little bit, but not too terribly much. It was very much a feel-good movie and thus fairly predictable with largely archetypal characters, but it was still a solid film with a number of good performances.

[5. Sasha said the following at 5:58 PM on Jan 27:]

5

I loved Midnight in Paris, Hugo, and The Help, and was delighted to see them all make the list! I was pleasantly surprised to see the list include several films I had seen and several more that I would like to see -- as you mentioned, this group of films seems a lot more accessible than the general Best Picture nominees!

[6. MizattA said the following at 6:19 PM on Jan 27:]

6

"I think most people would agree that this wasn't a very good year for movies"

I don't know about that there were plenty of good, to if nothing but enjoyable and fun movies that came out this year...

The Adjustment Bureau was pretty darn good and the Trailer did not do it justice at all. Went high above my expectations...

Scream 4 came out and if you like anything Horror then the Scream series is probably one of the smartest and most well written of the series and the twists poked a lot of fun at the way we have life in reality now...

The Help, Soul Surfer, Captain America, Kung Fu Panda 2, X-men First Class, Super 8, Cowboys and Aliens,

Crazy Stupid Love had to be one of the most funny, even if at times not very appropriate movies I have seen in years...,

Fright Night Remake, 50-50, Real Steel, Footlose Remake, Muppets, Sherlock Homles Game of Shadows, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy, The Change up while probably filled with some junivlie Humor looked to be funny and based someone on the realities of both situations characters like that were going through at the time...

I would say that the amount of Good/Great to Decent movies is not really lower than the ones of any of the last 5-10 years...

[7. Joy #2 said the following at 6:29 PM on Jan 27:]

7

I really enjoyed the movie "The Help," but the book was even better. The book was one of the best books I have read in the past few years.

[8. Sasha said the following at 12:37 PM on Jan 28:]

8

Agreed, Joy #7 -- the book was fantastic! I was pleasantly surprised by its high quality.

I agree there were plenty of enjoyable films last year -- I also really liked several of the superhero flicks last summer, including X-Men: First Class, Thor, and Captain America. And the last Harry Potter film was very well-done too.

[9. Alex C. said the following at 3:25 PM on Jan 28:]

9

I was definitly Moneyball nominated for Best Picture. I really don't get what the big deal with Moneyball is. It didn't seem "Best Picture" worthy to me, at least by the standards that they usually use for best picture. Its not really a super dramatic epic period piece or vehicle for some star to give a stand out performance (Like The Iron Lady or J. Edgar, which I am surprised weren't nominated instead) and it wasn't pretentiously artsy either. It was just...there, if you ask me. I thought Warhorse was better than it, although I didn't expect it to be nominated either. A lot of that movie had a Disney-esc "aimed at young families" vibe that I would normally expect to be overlooked. Was glad that Midnight in Paris was nominated, Though its not one of his best works, it was still good, and I love almost all of Allen's stuff.

Can't believe Jonah Hill got nominated for an Oscar. I didn't think the role he played in Moneyball was that substantial or stand out. Seems like they just gave him the nom because he's normally a comedic actor who is now doing something serious.

There should have been more Dragon Tattoo love, if you ask me. No best picture/director nom? I think it deserved those more than Moneyball.

I really want Kung Fu Panda 2 to win best animated, but it probably won;t :(

[10. Alex C. said the following at 3:27 PM on Jan 28:]

10

grrrr. submitted my last post without doing a proper check. I meant to say "I was surprised Moneyball got nominated" at the beginning of the post, lol. Forgive any other errors please, I may have missed some more.

[11. MizattA said the following at 5:27 PM on Jan 28:]

11

"I really want Kung Fu Panda 2 to win best animated, but it probably won;t"

Kung Fu Panda 1 was one of the best CG animated movies I ever seen up there with movies like Up and the Incredibles and Hoodwinked...KFP2 one was a bit of a let down, but still one of the best CG movies in years so I hope it does as well...

[12. brx said the following at 9:33 PM on Jan 28:]

12

I got dragged to The Decendents by a female friend and was pleasantly surprised!

Considering those kinds of relational situations and considering them from a Jesus perspective, I'm reminded:

even in messy situations, God is still there & still loves; He gives wisdom generously to those who ask without finding fault...Though He doesn't promise to make difficulties disappear, He offers resources for for wisdom, discernment, healthy boundaries, humility, courage, communication, strength, and faith.

And, His LOVE is always there, made tangible especially through those who know Him.

God is persistent in caring even in the difficult and sometimes messy situations.