I’ve been a bad cinema-goer this past year.

Of the nine movies up for Best Picture at the Feb. 26 Academy Awards I’ve seen only one.

Regardless, I feel inclined to give my opinion on each anyway -- just like everybody else does.

“The Artist”: I’ve appreciated many silent films over the years but have only truly enjoyed Charlie Chaplin’s sweet love story “City Lights.” So how entertaining can this contemporary non-talkie be?

“The Descendants”: The tagline about a land baron trying to reconnect with his daughters sounds like a sad snoozer but it stars my man George Clooney and director/writer Alexander Payne was the filmmaker behind “Sideways,” one of my all-time faves.

“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”: Another 9/11 movie. Starring the hit-or-miss Tom Hanks and the highly overrated Sandra Bullock. No thanks.

“The Help”: Admit it, a movie about the hardships faced by African-American maids doesn’t exactly sound entertaining.

“Hugo”: Martin Scorsese’s children’s movie looks spectacular -- but I still wish he would just stick to gangster flicks.

“Midnight in Paris”: The only movie on the list I’ve seen. Woody Allen does a wonderful job of making a fresh, funny romantic comedy with a killer cast that also transports viewers back to the French capital of the 1920s.

“Moneyball”: A fact-based, behind-the-scenes baseball movie with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill? Not very sexy, but I’m game.

“The Tree of Life:” Filmmaking genius Terrence Malick returns from his so-so adventure in “The New World” with this weird one about “loss of innocence.” But it stars Pitt and Sean Penn, the latter being an actor I will watch in just about anything.

“War Horse”: Steven Spielberg is back in the saddle to revisit World War I and tug at the heartstrings. Not sure on this one. Let’s see how it does at the Oscars.

Wade Tatangelo, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-745-7057. Visit heraldbuzzworthy.blogspot.com.