84th Oscar Best Picture Courier Picks:
The Courier staff picked their favorite five movies from the ten nominations.
The Artist was simply a masterpiece, cinematic perfection at its finest. After capturing the hearts of critics and audiences worldwide, director Michel Hazanavicius has received worthy acclaim for his film that harmoniously combines a variety of human emotions with the purity of silence. Hazanavicius pays tribute to the golden age of the ‘20s, characterizing the history of talking film from an actor’s perspective. Despite my effort to hold back tears of joy, I was captivated by this noteworthy tale deserving of the award for best picture at the 2012 Oscars.
Amanda Rosengarten – Entertainment Editor
Sometimes it nearly impossible to find light in dark situations. However, Golden Globe winner The Descendents manages to clash two opposite genres: comedy and tragedy. An estranged father and husband is forced to reevaluate his past and future following his wife’s tragic boating accident. As he battles whether or not to sell the family’s home, King attempts to reconnect with his two daughters, played by Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller. From start to finish this timeless classic will forever capture the hearts of audiences.
Casey Tamkin – Entertainment Editor
It is the ninth inning and the bases are loaded, and every Oakland A’s fan is on the edge of their seat. The A’s, a team the world had given up on, are one game away from winning it all. Moneyball is the uplifting true story about a few brave men who take on the conventional scouting system of Major League Baseball to change the game forever. General Manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, and Ivy League grad Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill, team up using statistics to run the game. From the movie’s subject matter to its ability to make this non-sports fan cheer wildly from her seat, Moneyball is more than deserving of an Oscar.
Alison Roth – Editor-In-Chief
Every so often an audience member comes across a film that does more than relay a monotony message. A motion picture has a responsibility not only to give viewers insight to another lifestyle, but to provoke questions within one’s own morals and decisions. Tate Taylor’s The Help effortlessly accomplishes both. It is a remarkable movie about a girl who risks it all to write a book from the standpoint of African American maids. Set in Mississippi during a time of racial injustice, both the maids and Skeeter played by Emma Stone, forge a new type of sisterhood that defies the limitations established by racism.
Paige Yamron – Editor-In-Chief
Woody Allen’s shots of Paris alone could have intrigued any viewer; add the vivacious Zelda Fitzgerald and rowdy Ernest Hemmingway and Midnight in Paris the ideal combination of reality and fantasy. The advice to enjoy the time one lives in is often cliche; however, when the advice comes from the dazzling Marion Cottilard and Allen’s equal dazzling screenplay, audiences find themselves appreciating the beauty that exists within their individualized eras. And as I will attempt to follow Allen’s advice, I will continue to imagine the days where I could walk the rain-soaked Paris pavements with F. Scott Fitzgerald.
