Reactions to the 2011 Oscar Nominees

Nominations are in, and there a few small surprises worthy of some discussion.

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
-I only predicted 7 nominees instead of 9, but I got all of those seven, including The Tree of Life which some were weary to predict. The remaining two are a bit more surprising, as despite a total no show of guild support, War Horse managed to conquer its dying buzz and reach the finish line. Even more surprising is Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, making it in as it faces harsh critical reception and low industry support. There’s still a clear frontrunner here, but there’s a couple things to spice it up a bit.

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
-Went 5/5 in this category. Even though I’m a Fincher fanboy, it would have felt like pandering if he had made it in for Dragon Tattoo. At the same time, I’m not the world’s biggest Malick fan, but I know those who love him and the film are ecstatic. And I’m happy for them.

Best Actor
Demián Bichir - A Better Life
George Clooney - The Descendants
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
-Clooney, Dujardin and Pitt were locks from the get-go, and we see Fassbender and DiCaprio fall out. I’m especially saddened by the former who gave my favorite performance in this category. At the same time, I’m very happy to see Gary Oldman finally get his due in a terrific, if not his best, role, and Bichir is another delight as I really did like A Better Life. So much so it landed on my top ten. I miss Fassbender not being here, but this is still a fine slate of nominees.

Best Actress
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn
-Like Best Actor, my personal winner here is not nominated. I guess Tilda Swinton and We Need to Talk About Kevin were just too emotionally effective on the voting body at large, in a similar fashion as to how Angelina Jolie got snubbed for A Mighty Heart. I admit if feels strange for Mara to get nominated, yet her film and director aren’t. The other four names were expected.

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
-Look, I really like Moneyball, but did we really have to make Jonah Hill an Oscar nominee? It’s a good performance, but nowhere near the top tier in this category for me. Otherwise, the only real surprise was von Sydow showing up, and with his film also nabbing a Best Picture nomination, it makes me wonder if he can actually go the distance and surpass Plummer for the Lifetime Achievement award. I still think it’s Plummer, but the von Sydow mention is very interesting.

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help
-The only one I missed here was McTeer, although I knew there was a very good chance she’d be nominated. I betted on the Academy liking Shame more than they actually did. However, I did see Shailene Woodley not making it in for The Descendants. A pretty stable slate of nominees, and go Melissa McCarthy.

Best Original Screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
Midnight in Paris
A Separation
-I really did have a feeling A Separation was going to get nominated here, as this is the category where foreign films can do quite well. The biggest surprise was Margin Call, a film that I’m not a huge fan of, but I do kind of like this mention. It’s a better written and acted film than it is executed, and as such a passion project, that is enough to put a smile on my face.

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
-The Help doesn’t make it in here, which definitely puts a nail in the coffin of its Best Picture chances. I’m kicking myself for not going with my original prediction of The Ides of March in the screenplay section. Happy to see Tinker Tailor show up here.

As I said, there are a few surprises, but honestly, there’s nothing here that feels completely out of left field. As with every Oscar year, there are nominations I really like and snubs that really hurt, but what can you do. Envelopes open February 26.

Longshot Shoutout (2011)

With the Oscar nominations coming tomorrow morning, I take this as an opportunity to give a mention to some films and performances that have little to no chance at being nominated, but would thrill me if their names were called. It’s a little good luck tradition that I’ve started, as usually one of my mentions manages to sneak in surprisingly. I’m not expecting it this year, though, but here it goes anyway.


Best Picture: Weekend
Absolutely no chance at getting nominated for this award, but it would thrill me to no end if it did. This movie affected me on an emotional level like very few films did this year, sporting wonderful performances from leads Tom Cullen and Chris New, and writer-director Andrew Haigh crafts just a beautifully heartbreaking love story. It’s one of the finest achievements of the year.

Best Director: Lynn Ramsay - We Need to Talk About Kevin
I could grab all five directors from my lineup, as none of them have a real chance at being nominated, but even though Nicolas Winding Refn would be my winner in this category, the way that Ramsay was able to assemble this unnerving psychological piece was an achievement that has gone unsung by too many. It is by her efforts that this film is as affecting as it is, and it is a directors’ piece if there ever was one. Sadly her name probably won’t be called.

Best Actor: Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 50/50
The only performance of the year that managed to make me weep. Gordon-Levitt is a great actor who was been great in pretty much anything he does, and this is another example. The way he juggles all the emotional shifts in his character feel real, and he is one of the main reasons why the film succeeds so well. He makes you laugh and cry, sometimes at once, and I do hope there are a few others out there who have been taken in by his performance as I have.

Best Actress: Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene
While I had my fair share of problems with this Sundance hit, the one thing I did think was truly marvelous was Olsen’s performance. It’s an outstanding debut, and she manages to maintain that thread of mystery throughout the entire film. There’s always a hint of complexity going on with her character, and even when stretched to the breaking point. It’s a case of liking a performance more than a movie, which sometimes is enough to deem someone Oscar worthy.

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Parks - Red State
Talk about longshots. He has absolutely no chance, but I would jump for joy if if his name were called. It’s a terrific, menacing performance that truthfully is used to doing well in this category. Unfortunately it’s a Kevin Smith film with no campaign money so it’s dead in the water. Too bad, because Parks is riveting and totally engaging as the murderous preacher who commands the film in every scene he’s in. For a film that is most of the time saved by the ensemble, he’s the best part of it.

Best Supporting Actress: Anjelica Huston - 50/50
While I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the film, a part of me would be even happier if Huston managed to sneak in as well, which I think could be a distinct possibility. She’s devastating in this role, never taking the easy path of the grieving mother. There are a few deeper elements to her character as well, and Huston sells it with so much authenticity. The scenes between mother and son are some of the most tragic in the film. It would thrill me if she got a nod.

Best Original Screenplay: Weekend
I go to the bat once again for Weekend, as it is a film that is built upon its incredibly rich screenplay. I’ve spoken enough about Andrew Haigh’s screenplay for the film, which creates a rich world that keeps the audience invested in the relationship between these two characters. Their revelations about the situations around them feel profound and honest. Sometimes a screenplay mention is a saving grace for a film, not that I expect that to happen.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
This one is a little bit out there for a mention, because I am actually predicting it to get a nomination. However, of all the films I am predicting, this one is one the weakest terms. It shouldn’t be, because it is a layered story that tells it at a slow and steady pace. It’s detailed and intricate, and manages to slowly pull back the shades until it gets to a great reveal at the end. This might be the only mention among all my shoutouts that manages to sneak in, and I’d be fine with that.

There it is. All will be answered in the morning.

2011 Oscar Nominations Predictions

With Oscar nominations coming Tuesday, I usually take the time to offer predictions in the categories. However, this is the first time in which I can really say that I do not care for these awards at all, and instead of going through a richly detailed analysis as I have done in the past, I'm just going to throw up all of my predictions in a single post. I'm not extremely confident about any of these, but here's my thoughts.

Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life

Best Actor
George Clooney - The Descendnats
Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Michael Fassbender - Shame
Brad Pitt - Moneyball

Best Actress
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks - Drive
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Brad Pitt - The Tree of Life
Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Carey Mulligan - Shame

Best Original Screenplay
The Artist
Midnight in Paris
Rango
A Separation
Win Win

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Animated Feature
The Adventures of Tintin
Cars 2
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film
Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsieur Lazhar
A Separation

Best Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Help
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Costume Design
The Artist
The Help
Hugo
Immortals
Jane Eyre

Best Cinemaotgraphy
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

Best Original Score
The Adventures of Tintin
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
War Horse

Best Original Song
Albert Nobbs - "Lay Your Head Down"
Captain America - "Star Spangled Man"
The Help - "The Living Proof"
The Muppets - "Life’s a Happy Song"
The Muppets - "Pictures in My Head"

Best Makeup
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life
The Iron Lady
Hugo

Best Sound Mixing
Hanna
Hugo
Super 8
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Sound Editing
The Adventures of Tintin
Hugo
Super 8
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Tree of Life

Best Documentary Feature
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Project Nim
Undefeated
We Were Here

You're guess is as good as mine. Tomorrow, on Nominations Eve, I'll have my shout-outs to the longshots.

2011 Blog Awards

With so little to get excited about in the last few months of 2011, I found it really difficult to get excited about anything enough to write about it. Still, I did manage to fill out a top fifteen films of the year, and the detailed list you can find here. Also, with the Oscar nominations less than a week away, here are my own personal selections for all of their categories. Naturally, expect a majority of these mentions to be completely invisible come Tuesday morning.

**winner**

Best Picture
**Drive**
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Weekend

Best Director
Tomas Alfredson - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Andrew Haigh - Weekend
Bennett Miller - Moneyball
Lynn Ramsey - We Need to Talk About Kevin
**Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive**

Best Actor
Tom Cullen - Weekend
**Michael Fassbender - Shame**
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 50/50
Ryan Gosling - Drive
Chris New - Weekend

Best Actress
Viola Davis - The Help
Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
**Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin**
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks - Drive
**Nick Nolte - Warrior**
Michael Parks - Red State
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Andy Serkis - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Best Supporting Actress
Anjelica Huston - 50/50
**Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids**
Carey Mulligan - Drive
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Shainlene Woodley - The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay
50/50
The Artist
A Better Life
Rango
**Weekend**

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
Drive
**Moneyball**
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Animated Feature
The Adventures of Tintin
Kung Fu Panda 2
**Rango**

Best Art Direction
The Artist
**Hugo**
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
X-Men: First Class

Best Costume Design
Anonymous
Hugo
**Immortals**
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Water for Elephants

Best Cinematography
Bellfower
**The Girl with the Drgaon Tattoo**
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Tree of Life
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Film Editing
**Drive**
The Girl with the Drgaon Tattoo
Moneyball
Senna
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Original Score
Contagion
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
**Hugo**
I Saw the Devil

Best Original Song
*There were no original songs released in 2011 that I deemed worthy enough for this award.

Best Makeup
Attack the Block
The Iron Lady
**There Be Dragons**

Best Sound Mixing
**Drive**
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Sound Editing
Rango
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Thor
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
**War Horse**

Best Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
**Rise of the Planet of the Apes**
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Tree of Life