Best Animated Feature:
Nominations: Rango, Chico and Rita, A Cat in Paris, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots
Who I Want
To Win: Chico
and Rita
Who I Think
Will Win: Rango
Rango was a funny
movie if you got all the references. I
enjoyed it, but Chico and Rita was
better. It had wonderful hand drawn
animation and a fantastic Cuban jazz soundtrack. The story was cute, but really the movie was
all about the music. The Academy is
probably going to reward Rango for it’s witty writing, but I’m hoping for Chico
and Rita.
Best Documentary Feature:
Nominations: If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Hell and Back Again, paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Pina, Undefeated
Who I Want
To Win: Paradise
Lost 3: Purgatory
Who I Think
Will Win: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
I don’t think
Paradise Lost 3 lives up to the previous two documentaries in the trilogy on
the West Memphis Three, but none of the other nominated films did much for
me. If a Tree Falls: A Story of the
Earth Liberation Front just made me dislike environmentalists more, Pina didn’t
hold my interest at all, and I didn’t get a chance to see Undefeated because it
hasn’t been released yet (not sure how that works, must have been shown at
festivals). The only one I thought was
close to as good was Hell and Back Again which did a good job documenting the
strong emotions surrounding a wounded soldier returning home without making him
seem totally hopeless. I would have much
rather seen Conan O’Brien Can’t Be Stopped and Being Elmo be nominated then the
group the Academy put together. Both of
those films felt more worthy.
I’m pretty sure
Paradise Lost 3 is a shoe in. The amount
of support Hollywood threw behind
the freeing the West Memphis 3 has
to make it a favorite, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Pina may make the
race closer then I would think. This is
always a fun category because you’re never sure which way it’s going to go,
unlike many categories that seem to have been decided months ago.
Best Original Screenplay:
Nominations: The Artist, Bridesmaids, Margin Call, Midnight in Paris, A Seperation
Who I Want
To Win: Midnight in Paris
Who I Think
Will Win: The Artist
It pains me a
little to name Midnight in Paris
the movie I want to win over Bridesmaids.
I feel very strongly that comedies don’t get the recognition they
deserve when it comes to awards and finally we have a comedy getting some
attention, so nothing would make me happier then Kristen Wigg winning. But the fact of the matter is Midnight in Paris
is a stronger screenplay. It’s an
entertaining film that was able to be smart without ever feeling heavy and I
can’t credit that to anything except fantastic writing. This movie was Woody Allen at his best and
deserves to be recognized as such. This
is its best chance at getting that recognition.
Unfortunately, I
have an uneasy feeling that this is going to be The Artist’s night and it’s
going to sweep all these awards. As much
as I disagree with everyone who found the movie entertaining, it has a ton of
media buzz and momentum going into the night and looks to be the night’s big
winner. I’m not sure how the screen play
of a silent movie that stole it’s plot from Singing in the Rain even gets
nominated in this category forget about winning over a movie as wonderfully
written as Midnight in Paris, but common sense and the Academy have never been
bed fellows.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Nominations: Hugo, The Descendants, The Ides of March, Moneyball, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Who I Want
To Win: Hugo
Who I Think
Will Win: The Descendants
As usual, I’m
pretty out of step with the media that seems to influence the Academy
voters. I enjoyed The Descendants much
more then The Artist, but still don’t get the amount of love the movie has been
getting. It wasn’t even in the same
category as Alexander Payne or Allen Sorkin’s best work. Hugo, on the other hand, was a work of
genius. In my eyes, this isn’t even
close, Hugo should get the award hands down, but I’m as certain that The
Descendants will win as I am that Hugo deserves it.
Best Supporting Actress:
Nominations: Berenice Bejo, Jessica Chastain, Melissa McCarthy, Janet McTeer, Octavia Spencer
Who I Want
To Win: Melissa McCarthy
Who I Think
Will Win: Octavia Spencer
I have no strong
emotions on this one at all. All the
woman nominated seemed worthy enough and there weren’t any performances that I
felt were snubbed or stood out above the rest.
That being the case, I can’t help but root for Melissa McCarthy for the
reason I mentioned when talking about Best Original Screenplay. I’ve been a fan of McCarthy’s since her days
on the Gilmore Girls. It would be so
huge for her to win. But in all honesty,
I can’t see Spencer losing. The acting
in the Help was amazing and Spencer was probably the stand out. I won’t be upset when she wins, but I’m still
fully behind McCarthy.
Best Supporting Actor:
Nominations: Kenneth Branagh, Christopher Plummer, Nick Nolte, Jonah Hill, Max von Sydow
Who I Want
To Win: Christopher Plummer
Who I Think
Will Win: Christopher Plummer
None of these
nominated performances did anything for me.
This award should belong to Albert Brooks for the job he did in Drive,
but he didn’t even get nominated for some odd reason. Without Brooks’ presence I’m left not really
caring who wins. It seems like its
Plummer’s year to win and I wasn’t offended by his performance so I’d be fine
with that. If for some reason Max von
Sydow pulls out a win I won’t really be upset, even though I see the fact that
he was mute as a crutch. I don’t think
Kenneth Branagh did anything to deserve an award. I don’t understand why Jonah Hill was
nominated. And I didn’t see Warrior; I
have no desire to see Warrior and I can’t imagine Nick Nolte doing anything in
Warrior that would warrant an Oscar nomination.
So, let’s go Christopher Plummer.
Best Actress:
Nominations: Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Glenn Close, Rooney Mara,
Nominations: Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Glenn Close, Rooney Mara,
Who I Want To Win: Viola Davis
Who I Think
Will Win: Meryl Streep
Everyone in the
media seems to think Viola Davis is a shoe in for this award. That would be fine by me, The Help hinged on
her performance and she did a great job.
The thing is, as a rule, the Academy loves, I mean LOVES, performances
that include handicaps or imitations and Davis is running against two
imitators, Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher and Michelle Williams as Marilyn
Monroe. The Academy also happens to love
both of these actresses, so I can’t imagine one of them not winning. Williams is still young and it’s been 30 years
since Streep has won an award even though she’s been nominated 15 times over
those years, so I think the award will go to Streep. I’m not a fan of imitations as award winning
performances. I think it is much easier
to look at tape of a real person and mimic their behaviors then it is to take a
fictional character off the page and make them interesting and compelling. For that reason have my fingers crossed that Davis
gets the win. She deserves it way more.
Best Actor:
Nominations: Jean Dujardin, George Clooney, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Demian Bichir
Nominations: Jean Dujardin, George Clooney, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Demian Bichir
Who I Want
To Win: Jean Dujardin
Who I Think
Will Win: Jean Dujardin
As much as I didn’t
like The Artist, I totally respect the job Dujardin did and think he deserves this
award without any doubt. Clooney just played
Clooney and should even be sniffing this award.
Oldman was good and should get an
award at some point but this just isn’t the year. Pitt is playing a real person, but not
someone with enough of a public persona that the Academy would be in awe of the
performance. And I didn’t get to see A
Better Life, but I can’t imagine Bichir pulled off what Dujardin did. Dujardin was able convey humor and pain
without uttering a word and as bored as I got with the plot and the other
characters, I never tired of watching him.
This is the only award The Artist should be walking away with this year.
Best Director:
Nominations: Martin Scorsese, Michel Hazanavicius, Woody Allen, Alexander Payne, Terrence Malick
Nominations: Martin Scorsese, Michel Hazanavicius, Woody Allen, Alexander Payne, Terrence Malick
Who I Want
To Win: Martin Scorsese
Who I Think
Will Win: Michel Hazanavicius
Every aspect of
Hugo was amazing and I give all the credit to Scorsese. He really made a wonderful movie, filled with
solid performances and wonderful cinematography and he was the one who pulled
it all together. As I’ve pointed out
many times in this post, all the media momentum seems to be pointing at The
Artist and The Artist is very much Michel Hazanavicius’ movie, so I can’t see
him not winning. I can’t tell you how
wrong that would be.
Best Picture:
Nominations: The Artist, Moneyball, Hugo, War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Descendants, Midnight in Paris, Tree of Life, The Help
Nominations: The Artist, Moneyball, Hugo, War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Descendants, Midnight in Paris, Tree of Life, The Help
Who I Want
To Win: Hugo
Who I Think
Will Win: The Artist
I’m going to
steal a bit from comedian Doug Benson and play a quick game of “Watch This Not
That” with a few of this year’s nominees fro Best Picture…
The Artist is
this year’s front runner for Best Picture.
It’s a silent movie, a type of movie that fell out style 80 years ago,
and if this movie does anything, it proves why that was the case. After the first 15 minutes I was bored to
tears. The Artist was directed by Michel
Hazanavicius and stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo. OSS
117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is a 2006
French spy spoof with directed by Michel Hazanavicius and starring Jean
Dujardin and Berenice Bejo. It’s hilarious
and at no point during the movie did I start watching the time on my DVD player
waiting for it to end. So, watch OSS
117: Cairo, Nest of Spies not The
Artist.
The Descendants
is movie most people think could challenge The Artist for the top prize. It’s an okay movie with some funny moments
and a few tears, but nothing that really blew me away. Alexander Payne wrote and directed it. Sideways is another movie that Payne both
wrote and directed. It’s ten times
funnier and more poignant then The Descendants.
So, watch Sideways not The Descendants.
Extremely Loud
and Incredibly Close is a story about an autistic kid who is trying to deal
with the loss of his father, who he was very close to, after 9/11. It is a very moving movie but feels a little
over the top at times. It is based on a
book written by Jonathan Safran Foer. Everything
Is Illuminated is a little known 2005 movie starring Elijah Wood and is also
based on a Foer novel. It should have
won Best Picture that year even though it wasn’t nominated because it was 100
times better than Crash. So, watch
Everything Is Illuminated not Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
War Horse is a
God awful movie that shouldn’t even be nominated for Best Picture. Lassie Come Home is a movie with the exact
same plot as War Horse but isn’t set during World War II. I was a small child when I saw Lassie Come
Home, so it didn’t see as stupid and hokey as watching War Horse as an adult. So, watch Lassie Come Home not War Horse.
That leaves us
with five other films. Midnight in Paris
is a really good movie that I am glad got nominated but don’t think was quite
good enough to win the award. Tree of
Life was a powerful flick that I’m not sure I quite understood, but I was blown
away by the imagery. There were a lot of
flaws or things to not like about Tree of Life but this is the type of movie
the Academy should be rewarding, it took risks, it pushed the limits of what
film making is, it wasn’t just a rehash of old styles or plots. The most common comment I heard about
Moneyball was, “I’m not a baseball fan and even I liked it.” Well, I am a baseball fan, a huge baseball
fan and I think that’s why I didn’t like it at all. I’m way to close to the subject matter to
enjoy a fictionalized version of it.
This movie may have worked for people unfamiliar with the subject
matter, but it just annoyed and pissed me off.
The Help was a good movie that I figured would get a nomination when I
saw it, but still not good enough for a win.
This leaves Hugo which was by far the best of the nominated films. I haven’t heard anyone talking about this as
the best picture, which makes no sense to me, and there certainly hasn’t been a
Shakespeare in Love type campaign to get it the award, so I doubt it will win,
but I’ll have my fingers crossed on Sunday night.
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