POSTED: Friday, February 25, 2011, 6:00 PM
 |
| Sony Pictures |
| The Social Network |
Miss some of this year's buzz-worthy films? Here's a quick guide to the Best Picture nominees so you can fake intelligent conversation at your Oscar party.
The Social Network: The heartwarming tale of an everyday asshole who makes it big. When "Mark Zuckerberg," a character loosely based on Mark Zuckerberg, gets dumped, he does what any self-respecting man would do: makes a hugely successful website that changes the face of the Internet forever. Meanwhile, a pair of pesky twins insist that just because they invented the website, they should get some credit. Mark's mentor is the lead singer of *N Sync, who single-handedly brought down the music industry.
Black Swan: A gag-a-minute comedy about the trials and tribulations of a goody-two-shoes dancer seeking her dark side. Among her pet peeves: a jealous mom, a conniving coworker, and the frustration of turning into a giant, water-dwelling bird. Then there's the former star stabbing herself in the face with a letter-opener. Top it all off with a hilarious blooper reel, and you've got a shoo-in for Best Picture.
 |
| raindance.org |
| The Kids Are All Right |
The Kids Are All Right: This film tells the story of a lesbian who falls for her children's sperm donor—but trouble arrives when she realizes she's already married to someone else. Fortunately, everyone has similar taste in music, so everything turns out okay.
Inception: Briefly considered the "best movie of all time" by some people, who turned out to be wrong, this deeply humanistic film explores one of life's great questions: what if, when you sleep, Leonardo DiCaprio sticks a needle in your arm, enters your dream, and fights people for no clear reason? Based on extensive sleep research, this is a movie so complex and richly detailed you need to see it twice—so it's probably better just to skip it.
127 Hours: A guy gets stuck under a rock and there's only one way out. You do the figuring.
The Fighter: In his latest adventure, Batman teams up with Marky Mark for a thrill ride through Boston. It's basically the same movie as
The King's Speech, except it's about a boxer learning to fight instead of a king learning to talk. After his infamous on-set rant, Christian Bale attempts to redeem himself in our hearts by playing a violent crack addict.
True Grit: The requisite Coen brothers nominee, this film tells the story of a 14-year-old girl (Jeff Bridges) and her quest to get revenge on the man who killed her father. Along the way, she learns the true meaning of grit.
 |
| disney |
| Toy Story 3 |
Toy Story 3: The plot, in short: A plastic cowboy and a bilingual astronaut find themselves in trouble when their human accidentally abandons them. Thanks to Pixar, I am convinced that all objects, living or not, not only have feelings but are also remarkably witty. For that reason, I will never throw anything out again: that candy wrapper might miss me! That used tissue might have close friends!
Winter's Bone: The three people who saw this movie adored it, especially the part about Winter, and also his or her bone.
The King's Speech: A true story of triumph over adversity, as King George VI conquers a speech impediment to bring hope to the hearts of Britons—and moviegoers—everywhere. Don't worry too much about this movie, because there's no way it will win any awards.
