'Cine'cism

I look at how the Academy’s doubled Best Picture experiment worked out and can say how delighted I am that excellent films like “Up,” “An Education” and “A Serious Man” that would otherwise not be nominated can now be recognized. Then I remembered that the title of my column is ‘Cine’cism and that I gag every time I try justifying nominating “The Blind Side.”

“The Blind Side” is simply not worthy, and although there have been recent Best Picture nominees that have been worse in past years, none have been this generic.

“The Blind Side” and “District 9” – another film I don’t think is entirely worthy – fully epitomize the Academy’s choice to be more populist. And we can add those two to other, equally mediocre films with a few minor nods. 

“Star Trek” received four nominations, and people still have the nerve to say it was snubbed. Another multiple nominee was “Sherlock Holmes,” which was honored for its score and its art direction. Art direction? Guy Ritchie made Holmesian London a drab, dreary place and incorporated so much spastic, queasy-cam flashes that to honor it would be like tossing a nod to “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

Oh wait.

That’s  right, “Transformers 2” was nominated for an Oscar, following the trend of Razzie-nominated films like “Norbit” that get nominated because “technically” there’s some work that goes into making a disaster.

The other 16 awards in the Oscars may not mean much to most people, but seeing the films I’ve mentioned get nominated because of a box office receipt and the omission of ones that couldn’t sneak into the major categories is criminal. 

For instance, “(500) Days of Summer” and “Where the Wild Things Are” remain two of the most charming yet deceptively dark films of the year. Their screenplays were the first things that should’ve been recognized; “(500) Days” because it has that lovely indie-vibe and “Wild Things” because it somehow managed to adapt a nine-sentence story. 

But each film has another leg to stand on. The “(500) Days” expected/actual montage is second only to the opening sequence from “Up,” and the following pencil-drawn effect is Oscar-worthy in its own right.

As for “Wild Things,” are we choosing to completely ignore the artistic world that is Max’s kingdom, the childlike cinematography found within every nook and cranny or most of all, the massive, life-like costumes of the Wild Things themselves?

Similarly, “A Single Man” is a film that finds its life force in its appearance. The ’60s vibe is art direction at its best, and what a tragedy it must be for Tom Ford, a fashion designer of all people, to be boxed out of Best Costumes and Makeup.

Again though, the main quibble is about Best Picture. There’s maybe one movie each year that catches people off guard, and with two miscasts this year, we’re back in the same rut of 80 percent.

Although “Wall-E”  was rectified with “Up,” the 10 failed to do the job of nominating a straight comedy, a foreign language film or a documentary like the brilliant “The Cove,” all as hinted at in the press conference in June. And knowing what the five nominees would have been, there might not have been any complaining. 

So my recommendation to the Academy is to stick with tradition because tradition proves things will get all screwed up anyway.