2012 Oscar Death Race - It's The FINAL COUNTDOWN!

di da du du, di da du doot doot...

As the last days of the Oscar Death Race wind down, I am very proud to report that as of this writing I have seen 58 of this year's 61 Academy Award nominated films. FIFTY-EIGHT!!! And I only have 2 Oscar categories left to complete.
Back in January when the nominations came out, I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to get even close to 50 movies under my belt. But in just one month's time I have been able to see 28 movies. I don't know if people should be impressed or horrified by that statistic.

As I feared, the Foreign Language Film category has been my undoing. Israel's "Footnote" is supposedly opening this weekend in Seattle so I may be able to knock off another one before Sunday's ceremony, but it's not looking good. The other foreign entry I'm missing is a Belgian film called Bullhead which I have heard neither hide nor hare about whether it will ever show up in one of the art theaters here.
Finally, the other category that I haven't completed is Animated Feature. Damn you Chico & Rita! [Ed. note - I just got an email from a friend that Chico is supposedly available on Amazon on Demand. I will be checking this out tonight.]
So technically, annoying Belgian films aside, I could possibly complete the Death Race this weekend. I don't know if it's more annoying to be one film shy or to be 30.

I'm a film buff and glorified "movie dork", so I know this endeavor sounds crazy or ridiculous to most people. But just as I felt last year, doing the race has exposed me to some great films that I possibly wouldn't have seen or given a chance otherwise.
Last year's diamond was the Australian thriller Animal Kingdom, this year I think it might be the animated short The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Sigh...It was so good you guys.

And my favorite of the 61 nominated films you ask? Hmm, that's tough. It's probably a 3-way tie between Hugo, War Horse, and Pina.