Oscar Fever

Let's have it then, dear Oscar...

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Oscar season is upon us, and what an odd time it is indeed. I don't get this. Good films come out all year long but most of the films with even a fighting chance of getting an Oscar have only come out in the last couple of months...

Mini-moan aside, I've been fascinated by the Oscar's since the first time I saw Bugs Bunny pick up his little gold statue and make his acceptance speech. Its the only time of the year I will make the effort to sit and watch films I wouldn't have otherwise bothered to see. I mean, I'd never even have attempted to watch Lincoln had it not been nominated for Best Picture and Best Director [Steven Spielberg's seventh nomination. He's won twice before for Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Schindler's List (1993)].

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As it happens, I didn't manage to get through it. I normally love talky, heavily politics laden films so I'm going put it down to the fact that I was tired that I fell asleep around half way through. While critics have praised the film and its performances, Tommy Lee Jones' very presence was distracting for me – all I could think about was his character from Men in Black and the more personal aspects of Lincoln's life, for example his relationship with his elder son, just left me a little cold. Like I say, I was tired and that's why I couldn't sit through it, don't let me put you off if you're thinking about watching it.

Of the films in the Best Picture category I have attempted to watch 5 out of the 10, and managed to sit all the way through three.

My biggest Oscar disappointment by far – and I mean ever – has been Les Misérables. It's not often that I can't get to the end of a film simply because it becomes unbearable to watch. Other noted examples, often ending in a snooze, include Electra and the truly painful Nikos the Impaler – during the latter of which, I willed myself to pass out rather than sit through ano

ther minute of it.

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Running time is 158 minutes. I managed just under half that before I couldn't handle any more singing. I've never been a huge fan of musicals – the few exceptions include Chicago and Oliver! The over-acting and terribly saccharine lyrics are particularly hard to stomach in a lot of them. And Les Misérables delivers plenty of all of that. The appeal of it was in the very clever decision to make all the actors sing live on set. The execution is quite impressive regardless of the films other flaws – most notably pacing, set design and Russell Crowe. Redeeming moments that made the first half tolerable were Anne Hathaway's brief but memorable performance, climaxing with a beautifully, yet simply shot, emotional delivery of I Dreamed a Dream; and Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Botham-Carter's version of Master of the House, a fun performance with laugh-out-loud comic timing. But I'd wait until clips of it are up on Youtube before paying out actual money to see it. Movie critics have said that it's not worth watching after about half way through so I'm in no rush to attempt to see it in its entirety.

I wouldn't be surprised if this film won Best Picture. I won't be happy about it, but not surprised.

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Another big contender for Best Picture is Amour. Its script is entirely in French, and only one of nine nominations for a non-English language film in the Best Picture category in the history of Oscar. If Amour wins it would be an Oscar first. It's also up for Best Director, and its easy to see why. The direction is captivating. Though the dialogue isn't the most enthralling its 127 minute running time passes quickly because of the Hitchcock-ian-esk sense of claustrophobia the protagonist, played heartbreakingly by Jean-Louis Trintignant (overlooked for a Best Actor nomination), is slowly overwhelmed by. It's a beautiful film I wouldn't have seen had my mother not insisted. A worthy winner, though not my favourite in the category.

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Django Unchained is the Best Picture nominee I would have seen with or without Oscar's encouragement, because when director Quentin Tarantino name is attached to any project, it's worth a look in. Django Unchained has been marred by controversy, with many such as director Spike Lee accusing it of 'glorifying slavery' before even having seen the film. Most people who have seen the film would agree that it does precisely the opposite, highlighting the great cruelty and dehumanisation of slavery, and in one memorable scene, show the utter stupidity and simple mindedness of the KKK. Though the middle of the film slows down to a frustrating pace for some time, probably done on purpose, its an immensely fun film about revenge and friendship with great performances from Academy Award winning actor Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx, who was disgracefully left out of the Best Actor in a Leading Role category. It's upsetting at times, but it didn't dampen my enjoyment of it. I'll be watching this one again very soon.

Though I'd love it to win Best Picture it's unlikely to happen. Quentin Tarantino's missed out on a third Best Director nomination and looking at Oscar's history, it's clear it's very rare for a film to win Best Picture without at least a nomination in the Best Director category – more often than not a film will win with both statuettes in the bag.

Finally, my favourite for Best Picture and Best Director is Ang Lee's beautiful and hypnotising Life Of Pi. The story, the colours, the imagery .. I'd have to be nit-picking to find fault. I'll be singing this film's praises when I'm an old woman, curled up on the sofa watching the 2063 Oscar's with my grand-babies. It's just too good. I've already watched it twice. I'm not going to say any more – just go watch it. Go, seriously. I'll even let you watch it in 3D if you really want to. Go.

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Also nominated in the Best Picture category are critically acclaimed Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Silver Linings Playbook, and the controversial allegedly-and-most-likely-considering-its-director-made-the-pro-war-propaganda-fest-though-awesome-and-suspence-filled-The-Hurt-Locker-pro-torture film Zero Dark Thirty.