Her

Well people asked for a sci-fi movie to be respected in the Oscars discussion and now they have one. But with no lightsabers or Avengers in sight, I don’t think Her is really what people meant. The movie follows Joaquin Phoenix, who plays a lonely, newly separated man as he buys a new computer operating system. As the “OS,” voiced by Scarlett Johansson, and Phoneix’s character get to know each other, they develop a relationship. Written and directed by Spike Jonze, Her is an odd film, but odd in a way that is totally believable.

Throughout the majority of the movie, Phoenix is the only actor on screen. But with a strong performance, it’s very easy to forget that. Johansson also deserves significant credit for her performance as Samantha, the OS. We can talk about the commentary on modern love that the film represents, but it needs to be said that there are moments where the film is just plain weird. Iconic images like Phoenix dancing in the cabin actually come off better out of context than in the movie. It’s not really the fact that the character is dating a computer; it’s the world Jonze has created.

But as many of the award shows have agreed, the screenplay is well written. Jonze establishes the characters and their relationship in a short amount of time as we see a couple take a natural course in a standard length motion picture. Her is paced well and will be remembered for Phoenix and Johansson’s chemistry. So this isn’t the type of sci-fi movie you were looking for at the Oscars. But it’s likely the only type of sci-fi story the stodgy Oscar voters would get behind.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.