“Hurt Locker,” the intense thriller about an American bomb squad in Iraq–a low budget film with a tiny audience–beat the 3-D anti-military environmentalist blockbuster “Avatar” in the Academy Awards. “Avatar” won the cinematography and art direction, as was proper, but “Hurt Locker” won best picture and best director (to Kathy Bigelow, ex-wife of “Avatar’s” James Cameron), among others.
Sandra Bullock won best actress for the pro-Christian “The Blind Side.” “Precious,” the heart-rending depiction of an abused, neglected, overweight African-American child took a number of awards. On the whole, it was a good night for positive movies.
I didn’t think “Avatar” would win much, despite the record money it is making. Actors make up a big percentage of the Academy voters, and they, on the whole, are scared of the prospect of being replaced with computer-animations. (Yes, I know there were actors somewhere behind the elongated blue aliens, but it isn’t the same as old-school acting.)
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