For Your Consideration: 50/50

Sometimes I don't get the Academy. It took them over 40 years for them to recognize Christopher Plummer as an Oscar winner. And over 20 years for them to even consider Gary Oldman as Oscar-worthy! So this post is really dedicated to the Oscar snubs from this year that really deserved it over the movies and performances that seemed to have the Academy in it's pocket before they were even released (I'm looking at you War Horse, Hugo and Tree of Life). In fact here's a great video of all those movies that at least deserved it better than some of those movies:



It's actually sad for the Academy when the Golden Globes are getting better at selecting the years best, but we can only hope that they start recruiting people younger than 60 in the actual industry to vote! In my opinion, this next movie was one of the year's biggest snubs.

2. 50/50 (R) - Runtime: 100 minutes
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen
Director: Jonathan Levine

I may seem a little bias towards this film - but I actually think that I am a better person to judge this movie than a lot of others. Yes, what I'm really saying here is that I'm better than most everyone out there because I had cancer. It's true - you can do a Google search. But in all seriousness - this is a great movie. You would think that a movie about having cancer couldn't be funny or if it was it would be insensitive. But that's further from the truth - in fact, a comedy about cancer is probably the best way to tackle the subject. The old adage is true: Laughter is the best medicine. And 50/50 is the right dosage for movie lovers who seem to be depressed about last year's abysmal crop of films.

The story is simple enough - Joseph Gordon-Levitt is diagnosed with cancer and the film follows his story as he struggles with his mortality and his relationships. The movie is more about friendship than cancer. And the film portrays this really well. Seth Rogen I think delivers his best performance here as the friend who can't quite understand what his friend is going through and tries his best to be there. Anna Kendrick (who's adorable, BTW) plays the psychiatrist who's trying to help him cope. Yeah, there's a love connection, but it's handled really well and I loved how it developed.

The whole movie is a triumph. The screenwriter - Will Reiser - battled cancer himself and it's an earnest and genuine account of all the emotions that can happen to someone knowing they may well die soon. It's a genuinely uplifting movie and a great comedy at the heart of it.