Subjective Best Picture Nominees

The Artist: Severe sound problems, but a sound story nonetheless. Considered a lock because it's a silent, black-and-white French film.

The Descendants: Trouble in paradise. George Clooney plays a native Hawaiian of a more marketable complexion, and finally a role sans his signature disarming charm and good looks. It’s a nuanced movie about family and heartbreak, my favorite of the nominees but not of the year.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close:  The only one I missed. But with a dismal 47 percent rating on rottentomatoes.com, what did I miss?

The Help: The softer side of Mississippi bigotry, systemic racism with a woman’s touch.

Hugo:  A movie that finally answers the question - What if Martin Scorsese grew up not a sickly asthmatic in Little Italy but an orphan inside of a train station clock in Paris?

Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen comically exposes the Golden Age of art and culture as a fraudulent lie. Then again, what fun is time traveling without a DeLorean?

Moneyball: Adapted for screen by Aaron Sorkin, so it’s good. Understandably though, baseball fans might not relish seeing the magic of America’s pastime turned into a frigid algorithm.

The Tree of Life: The best documentary the Discovery Channel never made. Gorgeous and cerebral and I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody.

War Horse: Steven Spielberg makes a World War movie not about II. Battle scenes were dirty and gritty, the most climactic of them reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan’s Omaha Beach opener, though better fit for the family. Good enough to make me want to see the play.