I noticed we had a "rate the nominees" thread in the 2009 edition. Perhaps a few of you will be interested in doing this again. Pretty simple really, rate all the Oscar nominees, minus the shorts.

The nominated films:

Ajami
Avatar
The Blind Side
Bright Star
Burma VJ
Coco Before Chanel
Coraline
The Cove
Crazy Heart
District 9
An Education
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Food, Inc.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Il Divo
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Inglourious Basterds
In the Loop
Invictus
Julie & Julia
The Last Station
The Lovely Bones
The Messenger
The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada)
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Nine
Paris 36
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
The Princess and the Frog
A Prophet (Un Prophète)
The Secret of Kells
The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)
A Serious Man
Sherlock Holmes
A Single Man
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Up
Up in the Air
Which Way Home
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)
The Young Victoria


My take:

Avatar - 8/10
Coraline - 8/10
District 9 - 8/10
An Education - 8/10
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 7/10
The Hurt Locker - 8/10
Inglourious Basterds - 9/10
In the Loop - 8/10
Invictus - 7/10
Julie & Julia - 7/10
The Messenger - 6/10
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire - 7/10
A Serious Man - 7/10
Star Trek - 8/10
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - 5/10
Up - 8/10
Up in the Air - 7/10
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) - 9/10
The Young Victoria - 6/10

Sounds fun:

Avatar - ***
Coraline - ***
District 9 - ***
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - ***
The Hurt Locker - ***1/2
Inglourious Basterds - ****
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire - **
A Serious Man - ****
Sherlock Holmes - **1/2
Star Trek - ***1/2
Up - ***1/2
Up in the Air - ***
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) - ****

That was fun.

Fun! I'll borrow AyDward's scale.


The Blind Side - 3/10
Burma VJ - 6/10
Coco Before Chanel - 5/10
Coraline - 6/10
The Cove - 7/10
District 9 - 5/10
An Education - 8/10
Food, Inc.- 6/10
The Hurt Locker - 8/10
Inglourious Basterds - 10/10
Julie & Julia - 5/10
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers - 7/10
Nine - 3/10
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire - 5/10
A Serious Man - 10/10
Star Trek - 6/10
Up - 7/10
Up in the Air - 8/10
Which Way Home - 6/10
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) - 9/10]

Avatar (A-)
The Blind Side (C)
Bright Star (B)
Coco Before Chanel (B-)
Coraline (B)
The Cove (A-)
Crazy Heart (B)
District 9 (B+)
An Education (B)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (A-)
Food, Inc. (B)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (B)
The Hurt Locker (A-)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (B+)
In the Loop (A-)
Inglourious Basterds (A-)
Invictus (B)
Julie & Julia (C)
The Last Station (C)
The Lovely Bones (B+)
The Messenger (A-)
The Milk of Sorrow
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (B)
Nine (C)
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (B)
The Princess and the Frog (B)
A Serious Man (A-)
Sherlock Holmes (C)
A Single Man (B+)
Star Trek (B+)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (D)
Up (B+)
Up in the Air (B+)
The White Ribbon (A-)
The Young Victoria (C)

Ajami
Burma VJ
Il Divo
Paris 36
A Prophet
The Secret of Kells
The Secret in Their Eyes
Which Way Home

I guess when all is said and done, I don't hate a lot of things.

Btw, you forgot to add In the Loop.

Avatar 8
Bright Star 6
Coco Before Chanel 6
Coraline 7
The Cove 8
District 9 7
An Education 9
Food, Inc. 6
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 8
The Hurt Locker 8
Inglourious Basterds 9
Julie & Julia 8
The Messenger 8
Paris 36 6
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire 8
A Serious Man 6
A Single Man 8
Star Trek 6
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 3
Up 8
Up in the Air 9
The Young Victoria 5

Ajami NA
The Blind Side NA
Burma VJ NA
Crazy Heart NA
Fantastic Mr. Fox NA
Il Divo NA
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus NA
Invictus NA
The Last Station NA
The Lovely Bones NA
The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada) NA
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers NA
Nine NA
The Princess and the Frog NA
A Prophet (Un Prophète) NA
The Secret of Kells NA
The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) NA
Sherlock Holmes NA
Which Way Home NA
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) NA

Avatar: ***
Coraline: ***
District 9: *** 1/2
Harry Potter and the ...: ***
The Hurt Locker: *** 1/2 (And my choice for movie of the year)
Inglourious Basterds: *** 1/2
A Serious Man: *** 1/2
Star Trek: *** 1/2
Up: *** 1/2

Ajami
Avatar: 3/4
The Blind Side: 2/4
Bright Star
Burma VJ
Coco Before Chanel
Coraline:3/4
The Cove
Crazy Heart
District 9: 3.5/4
An Education
Fantastic Mr. Fox: 3/4
Food, Inc.: 3.5/4
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:3.5/4
The Hurt Locker
Il Divo
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Julie & Julia
The Last Station
The Lovely Bones: 2/4
The Messenger
The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada)
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Nine
Paris 36
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire: 4/4
The Princess and the Frog
A Prophet (Un Prophète)
The Secret of Kells
The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)
A Serious Man
Sherlock Holmes
A Single Man
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: .5/4
Up
Up in the Air: 4/4
Which Way Home
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)
The Young Victoria

I'll have to brush up on my movies this weekend.

Avatar ****
Bright Star ***
Coraline ***1/2
District 9 ****
An Education ***
Fantastic Mr. Fox ****
The Hurt Locker ***1/2
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus **1/2
In the Loop ***1/2
Inglourious Basterds ****
Julie & Julia ***
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire ***1/2
The Princess and the Frog ***
A Serious Man ***1/2
Star Trek ***1/2
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen **
Up ***1/2
Up in the Air ***1/2

Whatchutalkinbout, Pedro?

...and ignore the "Edit" in my original post. That was for...um...to correct a spelling error.

From what I've seen.

Avatar - **** out of ****
The Blind Side - *** out of ****
Coraline - *** out of ****
District 9 - *** 1/2 out of ****
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - **** out of ****
The Hurt Locker - **** out of **** (Best of the Year, IMO)
Inglourious Basterds - **** out of ****
Julie & Julia - *** out of ****
The Princess and the Frog - *** out of ****
A Serious Man - *** 1/2 out of ****
Star Trek - *** out of ****
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - *** out of **** (Don't judge me)
Up - **** out of ****
Up in the Air - **** out of ****

Avatar B+
The Blind Side B+
Coraline B
Crazy Heart B+
District 9 A-
An Education A
Fantastic Mr. Fox A
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince A-
The Hurt Locker A-
Inglourious Basterds A
Invictus B-
Julie & Julia B- (C for Julie, A- for Julia)
The Princess and the Frog C+
Sherlock Holmes B
Star Trek B-
Up A-
Up in the Air A

Ranking the As: Up in the Air>Inglourious Basterds>Fantastic Mr. Fox>An Education, but they're all excellent and deserve all their nominations.

Gonna follow the same star rating as JB for the films I saw, and a NA for those I didn't.


Ajami NA
Avatar 3/4
The Blind Side 3/4
Bright Star 2.5/4
Burma VJ NA
Coco Before Chanel 3/4
Coraline 3/4
The Cove 3.5/4
Crazy Heart 3/4
District 9 2/4
An Education 3.5/4
Fantastic Mr. Fox 3/4
Food, Inc. 3.5/4
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 3/4
The Hurt Locker 3.5/4
Il Divo NA
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus 2.5/4
Inglourious Basterds 3.5/4
In the Loop 3.5/4
Invictus 2.5/4
Julie & Julia 3/4
The Last Station 3.5/4
The Lovely Bones 3/4
The Messenger 3/4
The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada) NA
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers NA
Nine 1.5/4
Paris 36 2.5/4
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire 3.5/4
The Princess and the Frog 2.5/4
A Prophet (Un Prophète) 3.5/4
The Secret of Kells 2/4
The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) NA
A Serious Man 3.5/4
Sherlock Holmes 3/4
A Single Man 2.5/4
Star Trek 3.5/4
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 0.5/4
Up 2.5/4
Up in the Air 4/4
Which Way Home NA
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) 4/4
The Young Victoria 3.5/4

Cool idea. My ratings, with annotation:

Avatar: ***1/2. Sure it feels reminiscent of The Last Samurai, but it's one of the few films I've seen in a long time that I "experienced" as well as watching.
The Blind Side: *1/2. Lowest rating I've ever given to a Best Picture nominee. A hate-worthy film
District 9: ***. The last third sucked a bit, but it had enough good parts to be worth recommending.
An Education: ***. Fun little film. Wish the final narration had been a little less hokey
Fantastic Mr. Fox: **. I enjoyed the first half, but the story got self-indulgent and dull when the source novel ran out.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: ***. One of the lesser books made one of the better movies.
The Hurt Locker: ***. Has compelling moments, but the pacing is often slow and I was disappointed. Hope it doesn't win.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: **1/2. Typically muddled Terry Gilliam. Alternates between being visually arresting and dreadfully dull.
Inglourious Basterds: ****. Gave it 3.5 on my initial viewing but 4 upon watching it last night. Tarantino's best film since Pulp Fiction and a piece of pure cinema. It might enter my favorite movie list soon.
In the Loop: ***1/2. One of the smartest, funniest movies I've seen in a long time. I'm glad it got a nomination.
Invictus: ***. A little too "inspirational" at times, but with individual, mainly quiet moments of grace and power.
Nine: **. I went in assuming it had to at least be less boring than 8 1/2. Sadly, I was wrong.
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire: ***1/2. Didn't stay with me as much as I thought it would, but a well-made film.
The Princess and the Frog: **1/2. Nothing impressive here aside from Keith David's splendid villain.
A Serious Man ****. A really rather brilliant film that realizes the ultimate black comedy subject is the cruelty of the universe.
Sherlock Holmes **1/2. Downey and (especially) Law were quite good but the central mystery was inane and the original ideas were quickly eschewed for more boring ones.
Star Trek **1/2. A great start to the series in the sense that it introduced a group of characters who I will totally pay to see again (despite being a Star Trek neophyte) but as a film it was pretty meh.
Up: ***1/2. My favorite Pixar film in a while with a clever script and a distinct--and gorgeous--visual palate
Up in the Air: ***. This movie was so good until it took a detour into formula in the third act. Still decent overall

What I hope will win Best Picture: Inglourious Basterds. What I think will win: The Hurt Locker

The Blind Side nomination is getting a lot of flack...perhaps deservedly so, but I'm hearing nothing about Penelope Cruz? Was she any good? Nine looks absolutely dreadful and the film took a critical beating and yet Ms. Cruz has gotten a nomination. Deserved? Or, is this as I suspect: a case of the Weinstein Company influencing things ala The Reader Best Picture nomination in 09?

Penelope Cruz was fine, I guess, in Nine but nothing special. There were more deserving nominees out there, but she certainly didn't disgrace herself. Oddly, most of the negative reviews I read for Nine did single out a performer for rising above it but it was Ms. Cotillard instead of Ms. Cruz. I didn't hear any buzz for Penelope at all until she got the nod.

I think it's more autopilot voting than anything else.

On a **** scale:


Avatar - ***
The Blind Side - ***
Coraline - ** 1/2
Crazy Heart - ***
District 9 - *** 1/2
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - ***
The Hurt Locker - ***
Inglourious Basterds - ***
Invictus - ***
Julie & Julia - *** 1/2
The Lovely Bones - ***
Nine - *** 1/2
Sherlock Holmes - ***
Star Trek - ***
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - ** 1/2
Up - *** 1/2
Up in the Air - ***

Though I can't abide most of your pics, I'm happy to see the one other person on the forum who thought The Hurt Locker wasn't that good

I thought it was good, even very good. But not great.

I'm still rooting for it to win over Avatar though.