Precious - I thought this was gonna drain me emotionally but several people said I should really see it. And I'm really glad I did. It wasn't the Holocaust movie style drag you through the mud kind of emotional trainwreck I expected it to be. It was actually... entertaining. Entertaining the way "Requiem For A Dream" is wholly reprehensible yet still entertaining. So "Precious" isn't as monumental as RFaD, but it certainly has its parallels, particularly in the fact that they both share imaginative dream sequences that by their sheer exuberance shows how deep their delusions are. What I love most is the directing and the acting. Lee Daniels takes your typical black-girl-down-on-her-luck story and makes it imaginative and original (by mainstream standards) as well as intense and entertaining. The acting is stellar. This year's "Doubt" (though again, maybe not to the exact same caliber). I hate to say it, but i think Mo'nique deserves an Oscar for her performance as Precious' mother. I also was surprised to enjoy Mariah Carey's solemn performance (and there's one line in particular that sheds light on why she got the role). Precious wants to know what race Mariah Carey's character is but can't pinpoint it. "What are you? Black? Mexican? What?" Carey never gives her an answer, "What color do you think I am?" It hits Precious pretty hard in context. Best Pic shoo-in? With ten slots open, of course. But I say it deserves it on an indie-level sort of little-movie-that-could. Expect to see some acting noms somewhere. The leading 4 characters deserve recognition. I expect to see a nom for Best Adapted Screenplay as well. I would argue not much happens in the story, but the emotional story being told is phenomenal. Also, the original material makes it particularly difficult to adapt, so congrats to the screenwriter (and director) who pulled it off so well.

500 Days of Summer - This year's "Juno" or "Once". My 2nd favorite movie of the year (seriously, I had a LOT of fun watching "Avatar"). 500DoS is an indie film of my favorite kind in that it's fun and takes different approaches to typical boy-meets-girl fare. It has several stand-out, original pieces including a musical number and some other moments I dare not spoil. This is the movie that I watch a dozen mediocre to bad to highly-acclaimed-but-I-don't-get-it movies for. To find hidden gems such as this. It was so bittersweet when it was over because I know it'll be awhile till I find a movie I like this much again. Complaints against it I can see are maybe, like "Juno", it tries pretty hard to be inventive/original/hip. But I loved "Juno" and I don't think either of these movies reach beyond their grasp.

Paranormal Activity - "Blair Witch" does the same thing only better (btw, I love BWP so take that for what it's worth). Too much set-up, and there's a ripped-from-The-Exorcist moment that had my eyes rolling. However, the bump-in-the-night moments (the scenes where the couple lay in bed each night) really had me peeking through my fingers. I literally had to shut my eyes for the whole last 5-10mins. When it was over, I rewound it and watched the ending without sound just to see what I missed. I have never come close to ever doing that at a movie. Scariest movie of all time? Not hardly. "The Descent" left me unsettled for days. "Blair Witch" had better acting (now what does that tell you). But I'll admit, I wasn't happy lying down to sleep that night because my mind kept wandering back to the movie. ::shudder:: (I should note also that I'm not a fan of horror movies).