Wowzers. I haven't written anything since I stated my goals back on January 3rd...That doesn't bode well! However, in my defence, I've been pretty busy. I've been watching Oscar-nominated movies (and the Olympics for two weeks in February). 

It seems like no matter my intention almost every blog that I've ever started ends up being about movies (and the first two I started were for that specific reason). The reason for that is very easy to explain - I love movies, a lot. I watch as many as I can, sometimes with a critical eye, sometimes without. And every year, I do my damnedest to see them all, and more often than not, I fail miserably. In checking my spreadsheet from last year (everyone has Awards spreadsheets right? That's super normal...) I only managed to watch 16 out of the 62 nominated films. SIXTEEN! That's just shy of a quarter of the nominated films. This year I was DETERMINED to succeed where I'd failed so miserably last year. I'm happy to report that with just over 48 hours until the ceremony starts I only have four movies left to watch. 

How did I do this? Well, it started in December, when I had the most chill of Christmas holidays, staying in the Lower Mainland instead of heading up to Prince George to visit my family. I watched 12 movies, all of which save one are now nominated for a little gold man on Sunday, so that really helped. However, when we were still 40 days out from the ceremony I had 40 movies I still had to watch, so I went into movie-watching overdrive, trying track down every nominated film I possibly could. The four I now have left are two foreign language films and two 'mainstream' movies that have one acting nomination each. 

Despite only getting around to seeing 16 of the nominated films last year, I think this year's crop of nominees are more 'watchable'. I don't know if it's a sign that the Academy is finally getting with the times and nominating less snooty films, or that those films are becoming more 'mainstream', or what, but for the most part, my movie watching over the last 2 months has been a pleasure. Sure, there have been a few films that were a bit more intense than the fare I'd usually choose to watch, but overall, it's been a joy to really immerse myself in the nominees this year. Mostly, it reminds me of how much I enjoy film, be they big or small, epics or love stories, I love getting lost in the dark for a few hours, surrounded by strangers who are doing the same. 

There are a few categories where things seemed to be locked down (best director and actress) but apart from that I think this may be one of the tightest Oscar races in recent memory, all of the films are that good. My favourites of the nominated films are, in no particular order, The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, Faces Places, and Lady Bird. 

Check out the nominees here, and follow me on Twitter @awestaway on Sunday to see how I do with my picks!