I'm not sure about any of you, but this year has truly been an outstanding year in film for me. You can complain about the major blockbusters of the year disappointing (Terminator Salvation, Transformers 2), but it's the movies I personally was looking forward to, or even totally ignored in some cases, that have been totally dominating my complete affection.

With the now 10 nominated movies in the Best Picture categories of the Oscars, there have been some films in particular this year that have caught my attention that seem to suggest that some more changes need to be made in the award show.


First and foremost,
the consideration/nomination of animated movies in the best picture category

Last year's Nominees for Best Picture was full of plain oscar bait filler because they don't want movies like WallE, Persepolis, or the Dark Knight to become a trend for the oscars. Pixar absolutely dominates the animated movie category every single year, but has never been nominated for a single Best Picture award. This should be subject to change at this year's ceremonies due to the increase in nominations and the astounding critical acclaim of (my new favorite animated movie) UP.

For years movies have been categorized as Foreign, Animated, or Blockbusters, however these are not genres that can constitute one full category. No, they are simply styles that can be classified into the other categories presented at the oscars, but instead they are shoehorned into their own groups. If the Oscars want to regain an audience and respect from the public, they need to branch out with their nominations soon.


Second,
A Voice Acting Category

Voice acting is a very tricky thing to take seriously, but with animation companies using effects to emote the voice-over'd faces of the characters, it's becoming hard to ignore the serious talent going into this method of acting. My best example of this year is James Gandolfini of Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are. It has to be one of the most stunning performances I've seen outta Gandolfini, and his face isn't even shown. This is due largely to technology further advancing to the point where it needs to be recognized. we'll see if James Cameron's Avatar can prove to be the next step in this development


Lastly,
Child Actors Included in Best Actor Category

Now I don't know how you feel on the matter, but personally I believe that Max Records (coincidentally playing the role of Max in Where the Wild Things Are) has shown one of the best, if only to be upstaged by Christoph Waltz as the hilariously evil Col. Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds, performances of the year. It seems to me that regardless of whether people unanimously agree that he was fantastic in the movie, he will be cast aside because of his age. I really am sensing a bright future for this kid (catch him in the Brothers Bloom as the cunning older Bloom as a kid in the opening of the film)



Wildcard,
A Comedy Category
It's never gonna happen, but comedy sure as hell deserves some goddamn awards.


Thanks for reading, and please suggest any other changes you'd like to see happen to the oscars!