Its been a while but...

...I thought I'd post as today was the day that the Oscar nominations were announced (you can find the list here:http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/02/oscar-nominations-2010-full-list). I think it syas something about how big these awards are that merely the nomination announcement, makes the news. Predictably, Avatar leads the way with 9 nominations (including best picture) with The Hurt Locker. I say predictably because Hollywood likes to toast success and, like it or not, Avatar is now officially the highest grossing film of all time. You may not know much about The Hurt Locker, but that is set to change because one thing that an Oscar nomination will do is bring publicity and, often more ticket sales (not that Avatar needs 'em!).

In lesson today we had a look at Empire's worst 50 films and their top 500. I like lists. Even though these have been voted for by thousands of readers they still amount to an opinion. And opinions do differ, no one is right. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't give an opinion, just make sure its an informed one. It oes lead to one interesting question: can you judge one film above another? Its a problem the Oscars are going to have face but can you say that Avatar's 3D alien extravaganza is better than a gritty look at the Iraq war? Surely they're too different to say which is better (there's only one way to find out: FIGHT!) But in the same way what makes an awful movie? How do we know when we're watching one?