The Academy did not assist anyone in coming to this realization, however, with the beginning of its awards telecast. Though the versatile Neil Patrick Harris performed a splendid musical number that seemed to incorporate elements from the old magic of Hollywood, the opening dialogue delivered by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin fell flat. If this replacement for the traditional monologue was performed in any other year, I suspect that the Oscars ratings would have flatlined immediately. Yet, because there were some popular choices for this year’s Oscars, there was still reason for most of the country to watch. When they continued to watch, they were treated to the best that Hollywood had to offer, and the highlights used to show this year’s best picture nominees will have me racing to the theaters, or, in the case of some of the pictures released earlier this year, the mall in order to see some more of the nominated films.

Oscars intro math: Funny + Funny = Not Funny

Though some speculated that run-off style voting used in this year’s awards would lead to a dark-horse nominee winning best picture, the results had all the surprises of all number one seeds making the Final Four. However, unlike in years past, this result was acceptable. The Hurt Locker trumping all others was not like last year’s Academy Awards, in which two films of that year that were not nominated (The Dark Knight and Doubt) had a more legitimate claim to the golden statuette and all of the films of the previous year (No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Juno, Michael Clayton, and Atonement) were better than the winner Slumdog Millionaire. The Hurt Locker emerged from a field that included the most financially successful movie ever, a Quentin Tarantino masterpiece, and an animated classic, among others, in order to win. The fact that I was able to write the previous sentence shows that the victory was well deserved. This year wasn’t another chapter in the Academy’s love affair with independent movies (though The Hurt Locker will be the answer to the trivia question ‘What is the lowest grossing movie to ever win the Best Picture Oscar?’). Instead, it was a celebration of all of cinema. For this reason, all movie fans should be grateful that the Academy expanded to ten best picture nominees last summer.

The only reason I look forward to the bitter deep winter months is because it is also awards season. It recent weeks we have had the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, and the Grammys. However, without a doubt, the most exciting and entertaining of all of the awards is the little golden man–Oscar.

Last year had some thrilling movie-going experiences. Avatar, Up in the Air, The Hurt Locker, Up, and The Hangover were my favorites and the Academy has recognized many of them in this year’s nominees. Yes, there are some surprises in the list.  The Blind Side is a Best Picture Nominee, Maggie Gyllenhaal for Best Supporting Actress, and no nominations for The Hangover. Of all of these, the lack of nominations for The Hangover was the most disappointing for me. This year, there are 10 Best Picture nominees, a move made to include more films and  to highlight some of the largely ignored genres. Except, they really didn’t do that–they still ignore great comedies.

Until I become a member of the Academy and bring some further amendments to the system, I am going to just give my selections from the nominees. In addition to my personal picks, I am going to highlight the films that are most likely to win.

Best Picture

• 

  Avatar

• 

  The Blind Side

• 

  District 9

• 

  An Education

• 

  The Hurt Locker

• 

  Inglourious Basterds

• 

  Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

• 

  A Serious Man

• 

  Up in the Air

Should Win: The Hurt Locker was easily the most thrilling, tense movie I have ever seen in a movie theater. I was constantly holding my breath and sitting on the edge of my seat during the beautifully filmed bomb defusing scenes. However, the drama was nothing compared to the thought provoking message flashed across the screen at the beginning and explored throughout the film: “War is a drug”.

Will Win: Avatar. Although The Hurt Locker has a good chance of winning, the movie didn’t had the widespread appeal that the Best Picture Oscar usually goes to. Hollywood loves James Cameron and his film was certainly a phantasmagorical experience. It’s certainly deserving and its pretty likely that the popularity and critical acclaim will propel the film into the winner’s circle.

The Hurt Locker is a heart-pounding wartime thriller set during the Iraq War that leaves you on the edge of your seat holding your breath from start to finish. The film begins by displaying “War is a drug”. Like all drugs, some become addicted and have a difficult, if not impossible, time adjusting to the life away from war. The Hurt Locker is not a film about dealing with life away from war, but rather highlights the differences in wartime experience. In many serious war films, soldiers long to be home with their loved ones and for a normal existence. The Hurt Locker shows that some soldiers become completely immersed in the wartime lifestyle and enjoy the dangerous day-to-day tasks.

Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner) spends every day of his tour of duty disarming a seemingly never-ending number of bombs throughout Iraqi cities. He does his job enormously well, something that wins the respect of many of his superior officers. Yet his style of disarming bombs is much to the chagrin of the two other soldiers in his unit. James doesn’t follow protocol. Sgt. J.T. Sanborn, (Anthony Mackie) the man tasked with overseeing any surrounding danger while James disarms the bombs, is constantly stressed about possible dangers.

Sanborn wants to play everything by the books because he wants to go home alive. James dives into his tasks headfirst, ignoring and refusing to respond to commentary Sanford tells him about through his headset radio.  Where the men are supposed to send robots to assess the situation and then move in slowly in super protective suits, James often rushes into the situation with little fear of consequences that come with failure.

Although many people are evacuated from the area it’s hardly ever secured. Many people still watch the soldiers attempt to do their job on the street below. On several occasions these men are the actual insurgents who planted the bombs. The missions are made all the worse by the presence of these suspicious bystanders. Men holding possible detonation devices and others filming the area worry Sanborn and the audience alike but do not seem to faze James. He realizes that he will either succeed or that he will be killed.

James doesn’t hold some highfalutin rationale for his serving in the armed forces or for his risky strategy. He simply knows he is the best at his job and believes that the best should be working on the most dangerous tasks.  The character is multifaceted and complex, an anomaly in the so many movies based on the war experience. Staff Sgt. William James is made all the more powerful by the superb work by Jeremy Renner who should definitely rewarded come award season.

The Hurt Locker provides thrills and suspense in part because of Renner’s acting but also because of the way the movie is filmed. Kathyrn Bigelow uses long takes to create tension and doesn’t rely on false gimmicks to affect the audience. It could be surprising to some that a female director could make such a gritty and realistic war film, but her masterful hold on shot length does just that.

Case and point, The Hurt Locker is one of the year’s best films and one that shouldn’t be missed. It is suspenseful, thrilling, and also thought provoking. It’s a film that you will be talking about after you leave the theater and one that everyone will be talking about when discussing the industry’s top awards.