The Oscars: The Year’s Best Movies

On Sunday, March 7th, Hollywood’s elite will gather in Los Angeles for the annual biggest night in movies – The Oscars. Hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, this year’s Academy Awards promises to be a night full of glitz, glamour and glory.

Another year in movies has come and gone. The past year has taken viewers from the deepest reaches of outer space to the end of the world, and somehow we’re a lot better for it. Maybe out a few dollars, but many of them very well spent.

2009 was a year of eye-candy. With new technology and computer graphics as real as that social studies homework you’re putting off till later, filmmakers seemed eager to show off their visual supremacy. While some like Avatar and District 9 (both nominated for Best Picture) took advantage of this to complement some extremely fine movie-making, others seemed to have forgotten everything else about filmmaking except making stuff blow up – but in the case of Transformers 2 and 2012, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing – the end of the world has never looked so good!

Sharlto Copley in District 9 (Photo: TriStar Pictures)

Animation too made progress in leaps and bounds, and movies such as Up, The Princess and the Frog and the technical wonder that was Coraline remind us why the art form still holds its charm – and they all earned Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature Film. Up has even made the cut for Best Picture.

Carl, voiced by Ed Asner, in Up (Photo: Disney Pixar)

This year has graced us with some truly astounding performances from some truly astounding performers, especially from some industry icons. George Clooney put forth one of his best ever performances in Up in the Air, as did supporting actresses Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, earning the film three nominations for acting performances alone. Morgan Freeman made us believe he was in fact the great Mandela himself in Invictus, earning himself a nod for Best Actor.

Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air (Photo: Dale Robinette/Paramount Pictures)

Famous for fluff flicks like Miss Congeniality and Speed, Sandra Bullock has finally earned her first Oscar nomination and some industry cred with her Golden Globe-winning dramatic performance in The Blind Side. She has some tough competition though with Oscar veteran Meryl Streep nominated for her brilliant portrayal of Julia Child in Julie & Julia.

Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side (Photo: Ralph Nelson/Warner Bros. Pictures)

In terms of blockbusters, Avatar clearly takes the crown, knocking off Titanic as the new highest grossing film of all time – and the Academy clearly agrees with the public, giving the film a total of nine nominations. The Hurt Locker surprised us with its portrayal of the ever-changing and controversial war in Iraq, and continues to surprise as it ties Avatar for the most nomination at this year’s Oscars.

Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker (Photo: Jonathan Olley/Summit Entertainment)

But those two films should not be thought of as the only ones in the race for the prestigious title of Best Picture as the Academy nominated 10 films for Best Picture for the first time since 1943. Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air, Precious and District 9 have all shown to be serious contenders – and the other four are strong films that should not be discounted.

Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds Photo: François Duhmel/Alliance Films	Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) in Precious (Photo: Anne Marie Fox/Lionsgate Films)
Carey Mulligan as Jenny in An Education (Photo: Kerry Brown/Sony Pictures Classics)	Michael Stuhlbarg in the Coen brothers’s A Serious Man (Photo: Alliance Films’ release)

With so many amazing films to come out of 2009, it really is anyone’s game.

What are your Oscar picks? Download a ballot here >