There Will Be...well, Blood

As I was posting my February update, I decided there was a topic I would like to discuss. This last week I saw the Academy Awards (kind of boring, in and of themselves) and for the first time in a long time I managed to see all of the best picture nominees prior to the awards. It's interesting to contrast the differences in these films, of course, but even more interesting this year, I think, were the similarites between them. Specifically, as Jon Stewart was happy to point out, were similar themes of death, destruction, vengeance, and violence (with the exception of "Juno," each nominated movie featured at least one violent death scene). The gruesomeness didn't bother me particularly, but it did seem to emphasize the idea that in order to be considered for a prestigious award, a movie needs to have some sort of "shock-value" or thematically intense element. When was the last time a comedy or action/adventure movie was nominated for best picture? What I'm saying here is not that the "There Will Be Blood"s and "No County For Old Men"s out there need to change (I thoroughly enjoyed all of the noms), but that there needs to be better quality films in a wider range of genres. "Juno" was not a perfect movie and didn't seem to be quite the same calibre as the other nominees, but I believe its nomination brought attention to an award it did deserve, which went to Diablo Cody for her screenplay. Writers should take a cue from her and give us an intelligent, thought-provoking comedy or horror or adventure...something different. That's all.