If you still need to catch up on your Oscar-nominated movies before the awards show Sunday and you live near an AMC Theatres chain, you’re in luck. Though, given the bleak subject matter in most of this year’s nominated films, I’m not sure if “luck” is the right word. On Saturday, AMC will screen all five films up for best picture in a row. The marathon will start at 11 a.m. and end at 11 p.m.

Now, I’ve seen all five films, and I watched three of them within a 24-hour span recently. Just that alone was rough. So I really can’t imagine seeing all of them in one day, particularly given most of their unrelentingly nihilistic takes on humanity. There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men are definitely not what I would call feel-good films. While Atonement and Michael Clayton are slightly more hopeful, little ray of sunshine Juno is the only one with the audacity of fun. It’s also the only nominated film centered on a female lead.

Both There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men are practically devoid of female characters. It’s a man’s world, and those men are bad, really bad. Seriously, Daniel Day-Lewis’ oilman Daniel Plainview and Javier Bardem’s hitman Anton Chigurh are two of the scariest psychopaths ever committed to film. … continue reading