Let's All Go To the Movies.. 85th Academy Awards

Here we are, that time of year where Hollywood comes together for the 85^th Academy Awards to see who will be taking him tiny naked Oscar trophies.  While 2012 broke box office records, it seems like it was a weak year amongst the elite when it came to the films with the most nominations.  While I was able to make it to most nominated films, I couldn’t get to all of them, but c’est la vie. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the biggest categories and my picks for all categories.  Enjoy, and feel free to chime in.  I’ll be wearing a tux all day Sunday to get in the mood


 
Animated Feature Film:
Brave
Frankenweenie
Paranorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck It Ralph
 
Who Should Win? You’re asking the wrong guy on this one, I know people who loved Brave, and people who loved Wreck It Ralph.  The other three I don’t think have enough to win.
Who Will Win? Coin flip… Wreck It Ralph

 

Actor in a Supporting Role:
Alan Arkin (Argo)
Robert DeNiro (Silver Linings Playbook)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)
Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
 
Who Should Win? This one’s easy, Christoph Waltz. Any other year, Philip Seymour Hoffman would win with his performance, but not this time.  DeNiro and Tommy Lee Jones were good, Leo DiCaprio should have been nominated, but this is a two horse race.
Who will win? Christoph Waltz


 
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams (The Master)
Sally Field (Lincoln)
Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Helen Hunt (The Sessions)
Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)
 
Who Should Win? In my opinion, Amy Adams should win among this group of nominees, but Les Miserables is a movie made for Ozcar nominations and that’s why there’s been so much love for Anne Hathaway who I believe was only in 10% of that movie.
Who will win? Unfortunately, I think it will be the insufferable Anne Hathaway

 

Actress in a Leading Role:
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)
Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Naomi Watts (The Impossible)
 
Who should win? This one is easy in my book, Jennifer Lawrence.  She made Silver Linings with a performance that took what she did in Winter’s Bone to another level.  I think Hush Puppy was more of a result of an amazing script, Jessica Chastain was the most overrated part of that movie, I love Naomi Watts but I’m not a fan of dramatic reenactments based on a real event, and Emmanuelle Riva is too French.
Who will win? This one will come down to Lawrence and Chastain, and it really depends on if people who voted watched the movies.  But it will be Jennifer Lawrence



Actor in a Leading Role:
Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)
Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
Denzel Washington (Flight)
 
Who should win? In a pretty strong field, where I don’t think Hugh Jackman belongs, it’s hard not to go wrong with the other 4 nominees.  Bradley Cooper showed a lot of range, Denzel Washington was his captivating self, and Joaquin Phoeniz I though was so good in The Master and didn’t get enough love. With that said, it’s just so hard to pick against Daniel Day-Lewis.
Who will win: Daniel Day-Lewis
 


Directing
Ang Lee (Life of Pi)
Amour (Michael Haneke)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)
Lincoln (Steven Spielberg)
Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)
 
Who Should Win? This is kind of an odd list.  I thought Quentin Tarantino deserved to be here, same with Bed Affleck who won the Golden Globe and there was a lot of ballyhoo about Kathryn Bigelow being rightfully snubbed.  If you look at the available options, I would love to see Benh Zeitlin win because I loved Beasts of the Southern Wild more than the other movies nominated
Who Will Win? Steven Spielberg
 


Best Picture:
Amour
Life of Pi
Argo
Lincoln
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Silver Linings Playbook
Django Unchained
Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables
 
What should win? The only films I didn’t see were Amour and Les Miserables, and based on what I saw and this less than remarkable list it should be Argo or Django. Life of Pi was probably the best animated film I saw thanks to nothing but beautiful CG, Beasts was such a good story and so well done, but didn’t quite have enough. Silver Linings was surprisingly good, but it’s still just a predictable rom-com. And Zero Dark Thirty was my biggest disappointment of the year.
What will win: Based on how other awards have gone, Argo
 
 


There are so many who gives a damn categories as far as the general public is concerned, so I will just list my picks to click for these

Cinematography – Lincoln
Costume Design – Anna Karenina
Documentary Feature – The Invisible War
Documentary Short – Inocente
Film Editing – Argo (how the hell was Zero Dark Thirty nominated?)
Foreign Language Film – Amour
Makeup and Hairstyling – The Hobbit
Music: Original Score – Lincoln (Because John Williams always wins)
Music: Original Song – “Skyfall” from Skyfall
Production Design – Lincoln
Short Film:Animated – Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”
Short Film: Live Action – Curfew
Sound Editing = Django Unchained
Sound Mixing – Les Miserables
Visual Effects – Marvel’s The Avengers
Writing: Adapted Screenplay – Silver Linings Playbook
Writing: Original Screenplay – Django Unchained