| Oblivion | The Place Beyond the Pines | WINNER
(1 point per category) |
| Clearest Title | This sounds like a one-word action film. | This sounds like a multi-word dramatic film. | Both descriptive, but vague, movies will split the point for clearest title. |
Best Genre
and Rating | Action/Sci-Fi
Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, brief strong language, and some sensuality. | Crime/Drama
Rated R for language throughout, some violence, teen alcohol and drug use, and a sexual reference. | Two different genres! Two different ratings! Another point I’m happy to split. |
Best Plot
(in haiku form) | Humans have left Earth
Government sends back one man
He discovers truth | There’s a stunt biker
Robs banks to support his son
Police after him | Sci-Fi plots usually trump drama plots, which is the case today. Point Oblivion. |
| Best Trailer | PROS: nice CGI, action, and a fun futuristic setting
CONS: hasn’t the “man finds out who he is really working for” plot been done before? | PROS: Good looking cast, dramatic, looks a little gritty
CONS: hasn’t the “guy does bad things to support his struggling family” plot been done before? | Neither trailer knocked me off my chair, but Oblivion’s trailer didn’t put me to sleep. Another point Oblivion. |
| Coolest Lead Actor | Tom Cruise from Top Gun, Mission Impossible, and Jerry Maguire. | Ryan Gosling from Crazy Stupid Love, The Notebook, and Young Hercules. | This next sentence might anger millions of people, but Tom Cruise is the coolest actor this week. |
| Best Cast | Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption) and Melissa Leo (The Fighter) | Eva Mendes (Hitch), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), and Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) | But no one is as cool as B-Coop. Automatic point for The Pines. |
Best Street Cred
For the Production | Writer and Director Joseph Kosinski also directed Tron: Legacy. | Writer and Director Derek Cianfrance also wrote and directed Blue Valentine. | Both directors seem to be starting out...so I’ll give each of them a half point. |
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