Final Oscar Nomination Predictions

Oscar nominations are being announced on Thursday morning.  Here are my final nomination predictions:

Best Picture

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

The Master

Moonrise Kingdom

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director

Ben Affleck, Argo

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Denzel Washington, Flight

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Helen Mirren, Hitchcock

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin, Argo

Javier Bardem, Skyfall

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, The Master

Judi Dench, Skyfall

Sally Field, Lincoln

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Best Original Screenplay

Amour

Django Unchained

Looper

Moonrise Kingdom

Zero Dark Thirty

Best Adapted Screenplay

Argo

Life of Pi

Lincoln

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Silver Linings Playbook

Editing

Argo

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

Zero Dark Thirty

Cinematography

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

The Master

Skyfall

Production Design

Anna Karenina

Cloud Atlas

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Les Miserables

Lincoln

Sound Mixing

The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises

Les Miserables

Zero Dark Thirty

Skyfall

Sound Editing

The Avengers

The Dark Knight Rises

Life of Pi
Lincoln

Zero Dark Thirty

Costume Design

Anna Karenina

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Lincoln

Snow White and the Huntsmen

Original Score

Anna Karenina

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Original Song

“Ancora Qui” – Django Unchained

“Learn Me Right” - Brave

“Skyfall” – Skyfall

“Suddenly” – Les Miserables

“This Gift” – The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Foreign Language Film

A Royal Affair

Amour

Beyond the Hills

The Intouchables

Kon-Tiki

Documentary Feature

5 Broken Cameras

The Gatekeepers

How to Survive a Plague

The Imposter

Searching for Sugar Man

Best Animated Feature

Brave

Frankenweenie

The Painting

ParaNorman

Wreck-It Ralph

Best Visual Effects

The Avengers

The Dark Knight Rises

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Life of Pi

Prometheus

Makeup and Hairstyling

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Lincoln

Men in Black 3

Best Animated Short

Adam and Dog

The Eagleman Stag

Fall of the House of Usher

Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare

Paperman

Best Live Action Short

Asad

Curfew

Death of a Shadow

9meter

when you find me

Best Documentary Short

Education of Mohammed Hussein

Mondays at Racine

Open Heart

Paraiso

Redemption

Commentary 

• I have Lincoln earning 13 nominations, which would leave it one shy of tying for the most-nominated film in Oscar history.
• I really hesitate nominating "Maggie Simpson in the Longest Daycare" for Best Animated Short.  If something replaces it, it will be "Dripped."
• I have Skyfall earning six nominations, which would make it the most-nominated film to not earn a Best Picture nomination.
• I know I'm wrong on Best Picture because there are no curveballs. Contenders I considered for the curveball spot were Amour, The Impossible, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Skyfall.
• There's almost always a non-famous animated film in the Best Animated Film category. I expect that to be The Painting.
• My most "shockeroo" prediction would be Matthew McConaughey. He has received no support for his performance in Magic Mike except from critics. However, I think anyone that wants to vote for him based on the year he's had (Bernie, Magic Mike, The Paperboy, Killer Joe) will vote for his performance in Magic Mike.  Also, I think anyone that actually votes for him will place him high on the ballot.

The Muppets

I'm not sure why I was hesitant to see The Muppets. I LOVED The Muppet Show, and would watch it every day after kindergarten.  My sister and I had Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy dolls, and she even took the Kermit the Frog doll with her when she had to go to surgery once as a kid. My favorite lunch pail was, of course, a Muppet Show lunch pail.  Muppet Babies were a staple of Saturday mornings. I've seen the original Kermit the Frog in the Smithsonian (Museum of American History), and made it a point to have my picture taken with him. But I was scared. Scared that The Muppets might not be worth my time, wouldn't be that enjoyable, or that maybe I had outgrown the idea of the Muppets entertaining me.  I was wrong.

You can't help but smile the entire time you're watching The Muppets.  The film introduces a new Muppet to the fold - Walter - who needs a guiding force in his life.  He finds that force in the love he develops for the Muppet crew and Muppet Show culture.  When he gets the chance to go to L.A. with his brother (Jason Segel) and his brother's fiancee (Amy Adams), he can't believe it. A scheduled tour of Muppet Studios turns into a disaster as they quickly realize the place where the magic used to happen is deserted, dilapidated and nearly ruined.  Walter sneaks into Kermit's old office and overhears a meeting with a businessman who plans to buy Muppet Studios, bulldoze it, and seize the oil that's supposedly underneath the land.  This leads to a reunion of the Muppet crew, who plan a telethon to raise money to keep the studios from being bought.  Once they start cleaning, practicing and planning the show, the crew quickly realizes the magic of the Muppets never died.  At the same time, Jason Segel's character must balance his love and support for his brother with the effect these escapades are having on his relationship with Amy Adams's character.

Man, did I love this! The musical numbers are cheesy, but awesome. I fully expect some Best Original Song nominations to come from this.  It perfectly employs classic movie cliches, including two EPIC 80's-style montage sequences. That's what's so great about this movie.  It's not afraid to be silly.  It's not afraid to be heartwarming.  It's well-written.  It's accessible, even if you know nothing about the Muppets.  Plus, Amy Adams and Jason Segel are great, which doesn't hurt one bit.  Don't be surprised if this gets a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy.

This is a very funny movie, and you'll enjoy it.  I don't care how old you are or how young you are - go.  Go now.  Until then, check out two of the songs you could very easily see nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars:

"Life's a Happy Song"


"Man or Muppet"


Image Courtesy of Disney, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

National Board of Review Winners

50/50 again?  It seems to be making a wave, doesn't it?

The National Board of Review, an exclusive New York-based group of film historians, filmmakers and film students, released their annual list of award winners today.  On the surface, one might wonder what sort of influence a group like this could have, but it's long and storied history provides it with the credibility to be noticed by critics, studios, and ultimately, Oscar voters. 

What I can say about this group is that they're never afraid to think outside the box when voting for their "best in film."  Often, their endorsement of a candidate helps that candidate gain traction with other critics awards.  The list is below.  Hugo being honored as Best Picture and it's director, Martin Scorsese, getting the win for Best Director should help Hugo tremendously.  As well, Tilda Swinton getting Best Actress for We Need to Talk About Kevin (which I haven't seen but have heard fantastic things about), should give her candidacy some great energy as we move through the next few months.  What do you think?  Have you seen any of these yet?

Best Film: Hugo
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Breakthrough Performance: Felicity Jones, Like Crazy
Breakthrough Performance: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Debut Director: J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Best Ensemble: The Help
Spotlight Award: Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)
NBR Freedom of Expression: Crime After Crime
NBR Freedom of Expression: Pariah
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Documentary: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Special Achievement in Filmmaking: The Harry Potter Franchise - A Distinguished Translation from Book to Film
 
Top Films
(in alphabetical order)
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
The Tree of Life
War Horse
 
Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(In Alphabetical Order)
13 Assassins
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
Footnote
Le Havre
Point Blank

Top 5 Documentaries
(In Alphabetical Order)
Born to be Wild
Buck
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna
 
Top 10 Independent Films
(In Alphabetical Order)
50/50
Another Earth
Beginners
A Better Life
Cedar Rapids
Margin Call
Shame
Take Shelter
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Win Win

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

The New York Film Critics Circle has released their list of honorees for their annual awards.  In my previous post, I mentioned a new found need to see Drive, and that need is confirmed, as they've chosen Albert Brooks as their Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.  Critics are known for creating, fostering, or killing buzz, but it's important to remember that critics don't actually vote for Oscar nominees.  However, the Golden Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of international journalists and critics.

The Artist was chosen as Best Picture, and if you haven't heard of it, check out the trailer - it's a silent film that takes you back to 1920's Hollywood:


Here are the list of winners:

Best Picture The Artist
Best Cinematography Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Best Screenplay Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball
Best Director Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Foreign Language Film A Separation
Best Actor Brad Pitt, Moneyball & The Tree of Life
Best Actress Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Best Supporting Actor Albert Brooks, Drive
Best Supporting Actress Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life, The Help, and Take Shelter
Best First Feature Margin Call
Best Non-Fiction Film Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Spirit Award Nominations

The first major award show to release their nominations each year, the Spirit Awards (formerly Independent Spirit Awards) is always willing to take risks and honor films that the Oscars hesitate to adopt. Of course, the films honored have to meet budget and production restrictions, which makes it a perfect opportunity to give public attention to films that may have only played at local, independent theaters.

On the list of nominations includes a Best Feature nomination for 50/50, which I had actually forgot I had seen until I saw it listed amongst these nominations. That being said, it shocks me that I forgot, because I enjoyed 50/50 quite a bit.  So far, and it's very early, of the films receiving nods here, I've seen Midnight in Paris, 50/50, and Martha Marcy May Marlene.  I keep being pulled away from seeing The Descendants, but I will see that shortly.  I was not planning on placing Drive high on my priority list, and I don't think it will gain much traction anywhere else, but I guess I will add it.

Also interesting is that many are saying Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs is one of two or three people who might beat Meryl Streep this year for Best Actress (the others being Viola Davis for The Help and Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn.)  However, Glenn isn't even nominated here, although her costar Janet McTeer is nominated for Best Supporting Actress. This won't mean a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it's an odd oversight.

For anyone that saw Grand Rapids, was John C. Reilly particularly good or memorable?

Best Feature
50/50
Beginners
Drive
Take Shelter
The Artist
The Descendants

Best Director
Mike Mills, Beginners
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Best First Feature
Another Earth
In The Family
Margin Call
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Natural Selection

Best Male Lead
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Ryan Gosling, Drive
Woody Harrelson, Rampart
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Best Female Lead
Lauren Ambrose, Think of Me
Rachel Harris, Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye, Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Male
Albert Brooks, Drive
John Hawkes, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
John C. Reilly, Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris

Best Supporting Female
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Anjelica Huston, 50/50
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

John Cassavetes Award for films made under $500,000
Bellflower
Circumstance
Hello Lonesome
Pariah
The Dynamiter

Best Documentary
An African Selection
Bill Cunningham New York
The Interrupters
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
We Were Here

Best Cinematography
Joel Hodge, Bellflower
Benjamin Kasulke, The Off Hours
Darius Khondji, Midnight in Paris
Guillaume Shiffman, The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron, The Dynamiter

Best First Screenplay
Mike Cahill & Brit Marling, Another Earth
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Patrick DeWitt, Terri
Phil Johnston, Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser, 50/50

Best Screenplay
Joseph Cedar, Footnote
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Tom McCarthy, Win Win
Mike Mills, Beginners
Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Best International Film
A Separation
Melancholia
Shame
The Kid With a Bike
Tyrannosaur

Piaget Producer’s Award
Chad Burris, Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin, Take Shelter
Josh Mond, Martha Marcy May Marlene

Someone to Watch Award
Simon Arthur, Silver Tongues
Mark Jackson, Without
Nicholas Ozeki, Mamitas

Truer Than Fiction Award
Heather Courtney, Where Soldiers Come From
Danfung Dennis, Hell and Back Again
Alma Ha’rel, Bombay Beach

Robert Altman Award for ensemble
Margin Call (Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci)

Martha Marcy Mae Marlene

I went into Martha Marcy Mae Marlene with no knowledge of the film whatsoever, except the fact that it played to rave reviews at Sundance, Elizabeth Olsen was in it and that she's related to some other famous Olsens. Funny enough, a disaster related to showing up fifteen minutes early for a screening of The Descendants and there only being front row seats left led us to this little film.

Martha is the story of a woman who has escaped from a cult and has taken refuge with her uptight sister and her sister's well-to-d0 husband. Throughout the film, little things trigger her memories of the cult and the sometimes awful things that occurred there. She's always scared that the cult leader (played by John Hawkes) will find out to where she's escaped and come for her, which causes her to not only distrust the family she's staying with, but also herself. The title makes sense as you watch her progression through the cult ranks and through her interactions with her sister and brother-in-law.

The film leaves many unresolved questions, like how she wound up in the cult in the first place, and the ending (which, of course, I don't want to reveal) leaves you wondering as well. Honestly, I felt a little cheated by the ending, not because there wasn't a definitive answer, but because what they did explore in the final scene felt undeveloped.

This is certainly a film that requires time and patience. Watching the first of it, if you don't know what to expect, it's easy to get confused quickly. I know I did, which I know caused me to miss some small details. But now that you've read this, hopefully that won't be a problem for you.

What I noticed is that I never really liked the lead character. I just watched her and appreciated the fear and uneasiness she was going through. But I never felt an attachment to her or ever found myself rooting for her. Despite that, Elizabeth Olsen does a great job at showing restraint when she needs to and emotion when she needs to. She's getting a little bit of Oscar buzz, but I don't think we'll see her contending for Best Actress. John Hawkes, as the leader of the Amish-like cult, does a great job playing the cool, calm, collected, yet scary as hell cult leader. He knows how to keep his followers in check with a soothing voice and a "if you cross me, that's the end of you" implication to everything he says. Watching him in Winter's Bone and now this, I'm convinced he should be to go-to-guy for a grizzled, sinister patriarchal character.

A particular scene that really made me gasp was a shot of Hawkes's women gardening out in the yard. The camera pans over a wide shot of each of them tending to sort part of the yard. In the distance, you can see ominous storm clouds in the sky, and as the camera stops panning, you can see two white crosses in the background (obviously implying that people are buried under those crosses). It's at this point you realize that, for at least some of these women, there may not be a happy ending.

If you decide to see this, be ready to pay close attention and have some lingering questions when you're done. But really, that's a good thing, right?

Image courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

My Week with Marilyn

It's Oscar season! So begins my five month journey into watching lots of artsy films and trying to predict who will win different film awards. I won (tied) AMC Theatre's Oscar Prediction Contest in 2011, so we're looking for a two-peat! And away we go...

I watched the first Oscar-y contender of the year, Midnight in Paris, earlier in the year, but I neglected to write a blog post on it. I guess I'll need to catch it again on DVD in order to properly summarize it for you, my seven loyal readers. Well technically, I guess I've seen two Oscar-y films so far. Bridesmaids is starting to get buzz for Melissa McCarthy as Best Supporting Actress and for Best Original Screenplay, two things that are completely shocking to me. I would love it if Melissa McCarthy got a Best Supporting Actress nomination, but no way was I going to stick my head out and predict that before she started having the best year of her life, career wise.

On to the task at hand - My Week with Marilyn. I received free passes for this film, so I decided to check it out. It's getting Oscar buzz for Michelle Williams as Best Actress and Kenneth Branagh as Best Supporting Actor. The story revolves around a young man getting a job with Laurence Olivier's film studio, meeting Marilyn on set, and developing a kinship with her during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl.

I was entertained throughout the film. It was a story that kept me interested and intrigued. However, it didn't leave me passionate about either Michelle Williams or Kenneth Branagh and their chances for Oscars. I never got past the fact that it was Michelle Williams playing Marilyn Monroe. I was never absorbed enough to forget that it was Michelle Williams I was watching. Michelle had Marilyn's mannerisms down, and had more than a passing resemblance, but I never got sucked in. Kenneth Branagh's portrayal of Laurence Olivier did nothing for me, really. Honestly, my two favorite parts of the film were Judi Dench in her miniscule role as Dame Sybil Thorndike, a senior actress who ends up supporting Marilyn when the rest of the film crew dismisses her talents and her antics, and Eddie Redmayne, who played the eager third assistant director who got to spend the titular "week with Marilyn." Both Dench and Redmayne provided humor to the film, and provided great support to Michelle Williams in critical scenes.

Most Oscarologists won't share my opinion of Michelle Williams's portrayal, and she'll coast to a nomination. Kenneth Branagh will likely receive one as well. But don't expect either to win. But even with these minor criticisms, this still is a very good film.

I'm seeing The Descendants tonight, again thanks to a free screening of the film before it hits theaters. For now, let me begin my yearly ranking of Oscar-y films:

1. Midnight in Paris
2. My Week with Marilyn
3. Bridesmaids
4. Super 8
5. The Hangover 2

And the blog is being funky, so if you want to see older blog posts, please click "Older Posts."

Image courtesy of The Weinstein Company, 2011. All rights reserved.

Ranking the Oscar-Eligible Films

I didn't see many movies during the first half of 2010, so now I'm playing catch up - I realize my list below is pretty pathetic. Plus, this is heavy film season (aka Oscar season), so the selection increases. Here is a ranking of the films I've seen this year. This ranking will change as I see new films.

1. The King's Speech
2. The Social Network
3. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
4. 127 Hours
5. The Fighter
6. The Kids Are All Right
7. Toy Story 3
8. Black Swan
9. Restrepo
10. The Last Exorcism
11. Exit Through the Gift Shop
12. Date Night
13. The Lottery
14. Alice in Wonderland
15. The Ghost Writer
16. I'm Still Here

To be watched very soon...
Inception
Inside Job
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Waiting for Superman

I might get around to it....
Easy A
How to Train Your Dragon
The Tillman Story
The Town
True Grit
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (ONLY because friends and I are planning to watch it with Riff-Trax).

Now What?

This....



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1231587/

Should I go ahead and put it in my early Oscars predictions?

I haven't lost my sense of humor. I laughed harder at The Hangover than I have at any movie in a long time. But man, does this look bad or what?

Roger Ebert - The Man, The Myth, The Legend

After former forays into blogging, I'm giving it another go.

I'm not in the habit of watching Oprah, yet today's episode made it on my DVR. For one reason, it was an Oscar-related episode (you'll learn about my Oscar obsession in the next few days), but mainly because of this man....

Yes, Roger Ebert. Roger is basically my hero. One of my dream jobs as a kid was to be a movie critic. I didn't go to the movies much as a kid, but I wanted to. If I could get paid a decent amount of money to be a film critic, I'd start tomorrow. Although I didn't always agree with Roger's opinions (sidenote: most of the time, I did/do), I respected him.

Well, today he went on television for the first time with his voice recognition software. He had multiple surgeries for papillary thyroid cancer, which removed most of his lower facial structure and the ability to speak, eat or drink. With a mixture of pre-determined questions and off-the-script banter, Oprah interviewed him and his wife, and showed a preview of new voice recognition software he will soon receive from a team in Scotland which is using his own voice from old reviews on Siskel & Ebert to create his new "voice." It was actually quite remarkable and, of course, sounded like him. Trivia: Oprah once went on a date with Roger Ebert.

I will always want to be a film critic, so I respect greatly that despite his setbacks as of late, his reviews are still published in over 200 newspapers and his web site http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/ is as informative as ever. Plus, he's a Twitter demon.

The show also said that he had a meeting recently for a new TV project. I hope that happens. I'll watch.

Photo Courtesy of Esquire Magazine, 2010.