The 5-sentence review

Without even realizing it, over the past week I've watched three Oscar-nominated movies. Happily, I was surprised at how much I liked all of them. I don't always get some of the award-nominated movies (Avatar, anyone?), but they definitely got some right this year.

They told us in school that pithy is good; Lo and behold, the 5-sentence review! I'll even try to refrain from making longer sentences with fancy punctuation!

1. Up in the Air

Well done, George Clooney! A romantic plot, yes, but definitely not your typical rom-com - there's a twist, and it's a doozy. Anna Kendrick is superb and most certainly deserved the Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Vera Farmiga (also nominated) was good, but not that good. If you want a neatly wrapped ending, you might not like it as much as I did.

Grade: A (solid)

2. The Hurt Locker

I haven't seen all 10 of the Best Picture-nominated movies, but I can definitely appreciate why this won the award. I heard people disagreeing with the pick after the Oscars and had to see for myself. Hands down, one of the most stressful movies I've ever seen - very intense, suspenseful scenes and not a huge amount of dialogue. I'm so impressed that a woman made this movie. A very poignant, realistic look at terrorism in Iraq.

Grade: A+

3. The Blind Side

I'll say up front that the cheese factor is a bit high here (not that I didn't cry...). Nevertheless, it's a fabulous, really emotional movie. Sandra Bullock is downright tremendous, though the rest of the acting is more like mediocre. I even didn't mind the Nick Saban and Phil Fulmer appearances. A bonus factor for this UK fan is how much Sandra's character hates the Vols!! :)

Grade: B+