And the Oscar goes to...

I'm not sure which one of us came up with the idea, but my wife and I have been going through the 2011 Oscar nominated movies. Just before the long weekend we finished the last movie currently available on DVD which brought our total to 6 of the 10 movies nominated. Here's the breakdown:

Inception: I really enjoyed this one, S was a bit more luke warm about it. To me it was pure plot slick. A maze of a movie which captured you as only an intricate, and possibly pointless, machine can. That said, I wish we could get more science fiction movies that were not about virtual reality.
The Kid's are all right: It was a twist on a conventional comedy of a couple at middle age. The twist (lesbians)  gave the plot some novelty and I found myself attached to the characters (well some of them).
Winter's Bone: A very unconventional movie in the sense it follows a thriller from the standpoint of someone pretty detached from the action. The atmosphere was well done (a poverty stricken Ozark community), but the pacing was brutal and a lot of the dialogue was eye rolling. It's beauty gave when to the banal, similar to a walk in the woods, eventually the trees blur together if your course is too long.
The Social Network I really enjoyed the dialogue in this movie, quick and fun (it was written by the West Wing guy; Sorkin), but there were major plot problems for me. The motivation of the main character seemed very contrived (particularly as it is a major distortion of reality, his girlfriend was completely written out). It also feel back a jock vs. nerd dynamic which felt outdated to me. Still, it was enjoyable.
Toy Story 3  A fun movie, but I'm not sure why it got nominated, I mean Toy Story 1 would have made sense as it was something new, but the 3 movie is a children series? Seems odd to me. Still, I enjoyed the movie for what it was; a predictable kids movie with pretty graphic and some winks to the adults in the audience.
True Grit A western, but a well done western. It's a remake and one I prefer to its original. I enjoyed the wordy western dialogue (No "like" or "you go girl" for a hundred years). Similar to some of the other movies about, the plot didn't really throw me for too much of a loop, with dialogue and character carrying the day.

Which one should win? Out of the lot I have seen, I'm leaning towards Inception or The Kids are All Right. Social Network is up there too because despite its many flaws, it was a well made movie (reminded me of Citizen Kane).

We still have four movies to see, which will be difficult as they are only in theatres. Our current plan will allow us to see Black Swan and The King's Speech. So unfortunately the Oscars will happen before we can see The Fighter or 127 Hours. Still, at the end of the day, we got to see 8 well made movies. What more can you really ask for?

Happy viewing.