First off, the new Best Picture Category, with ten nominees, did exactly what it was supposed to do. The ten nominees represent a wide selection of genre, audience taste, and popular appeal vs. critical niche. While some may complain about popular entertainments like The Blind Side or District 9, both films were better received by critics than The Reader or Babel. I had been rooting for The Blind Side and predicting its inclusion since Thanksgiving weekend. First of all, it's a damn good movie and second of all, it's just the kind of old-school big-studio drama that we don't get nearly enough of. It's popular and critical success can only be a good thing for those who want an occasional break from big-budget franchise pictures.
