So here is the one everyone is waiting for....my picks for the Oscars!
Please keep in mind this is a subjective viewpoint based on movies I have seen. No, I haven't been able to see every movie nominated, although we did manage to see 7 of the 9 nominations for Best Picture (we missed out on "War Horse" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.") Also, I will not comment on every category. I have not seen any of the nominated documentaries, have little knowledge of the films up for best visual effects and make-up, and still have a hard time figuring out the difference between sound effects and sound mixing.
I want to emphasize that these are not who I think will win the Oscar; it's the nominees that I would vote for were I a member of the Academy.
So without further comments, the "CinaJimOscar" goes to....
Live Short: Pentecost
Animated Short: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
I won't go into detail on these since you can read my previous blogs on these categories.
Film Editing: Moneyball
Although I wasn't a big fan of this movie, I did admire the technical perfection of the editing in this film.
Art Direction: Hugo
Cinematography: Hugo
Without a doubt the most stunningly beautiful movie I've seen in 2011. The set design is elaborate and impeccably perfect, and the creators did a fantastic job of recreating the milieu of Georges Melies.
Animated Feature:
The biggest outrage of this years nominations. Kung Fu Panda 2 is nominated? Really?!
My pick goes to the movie I went to see twice and and which was the most fun I had at the movies all year: The Adventures of TinTin:The Secret of the Unicorn.
Best Song:
The second biggest outrage of the year. For a song that was the essence of the film it appeared in, I would have nominated and picked Mary J. Blige's The Living Proof from The Help.
Best Score: The Adventures of TinTin
Yes, I'm biased, but I would still give John Williams the award for this one. This was not his usual bombastic charging themes. Yes, it had exciting themes through most of the action sequences, but what really struck me was the opening and main motif which was jazzy and similar in tone to the Pink Panther theme.
Adapted Screenplay: Hugo
I've seen the book this was adapted from, and the creators of the film nailed it!
Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris
I'll say it again...Woody Allen's best movie in years.
Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer
The seasoned actor was the best part of Beginners. And he was a delight!
Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer
The heart of The Help. Sassy, funny, and yet touching. Just don't eat her chocolate pie...
Actress: Viola Davis
The soul of The Help. Heart-breaking, vulnerable, and eventually strong. She completely dissolved into the character and gave the performance of her career (so far.)
Actor: Jean Dujardin
This was a tough call. I loved George Clooney in The Descendants. However, I have to give the award to Dujardin for embodying the perfect silent film star. He had the swagger of Douglas Fairbanks, the pathos of Charlie Chaplin, and the charm of John Gilbert.
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Who would have thought that a French director would come up with a black and white silent film in 2011 and turn The Artist into such a crowd pleaser!
Picture: The Artist
There were several movies that I truly loved this year, but this one stands above the rest. Charming and touching, technically brilliant on all accounts, and performed by an incredible cast....this is what going to the movies is all about!
So now you have my picks. Feel free to agree or disagree. Just remember, you know where I'll be Sunday night (and yes, I took off from work on Monday!)
Haven't seen Moneyball, but am very familiar with Billy Beane and what he did with the Oakland A's. Probably watch on DVD.
ReplyDeleteI've seen all of the nominees in the main 6 categories, except for Albert Nobbs. My choices just from the nominees:
ReplyDeleteBest Picture: The Tree of Life. Sorry if you didn't like it, but I found it to be emotionally heartbreaking and touching. I'm not going to pretend I understood everything about it, but I've seen it three times, and I've had the same interpertation in those three viewings.
Best Director: Terrence Malick. He really has the vision of a genius. He was the only director nominated to truly have the brass balls to make a film that challenged its audience.
Best Actor: Gary Oldman. I'm probably in the minority on this one as well. This year, the theme seemed to be "less is more" with a lot of performances (such as the unnominated Michael Fassbender in Shame and Ryan Gosling in Drive, both of whom I found slightly superior to the actual nominees). Oldman, who sometimes has the capacity to overact, does the exact opposite here. He underplays Smiley's weariness and sadness. By doing so, he created a more compelling and surprising performance than an actor who played it with more emphasis would have. He created a truly interesting and intriguing character. Kudos to the other nominees, though. They have created one of the strongest Best Actor fields I've ever seen.
Best Actress: Rooney Mara. I can't comment on Close, but I doubt she'll make an impact on me the way Mara did. The other nominees were great, even if My Week with Marilyn and The Iron Lady were lackluster films. Mara created a truly fascinating character in every single way, shape, and form. I was worried she'd be snubbed. Thank God she wasn't.
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer. What. A. Disgrace. Plummer wins by being the only good nominee of the bunch. I am seriously confused. What the hell did Nick Nolte, Jonah Hill, and Kenneth Branagh do that was so special? Nolte blubbered, Hill only restrained himself of saying something funny, and Branagh was alarmingly one-note. What Academy member did Albert Brooks kill to be snubbed? I can understand not apreciating Brad Pitt's work in The Tree of Life (the should-be winner) but Brooks you'd think would be a little more univesal in his appeal. Oh well. At least a veteren actor will recieve an Oscar for a good performance.
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa McCarthy. Because I'm just as low-brow as Bridesmaids was. She gave the second-funniesdt performance of the year (the first-funniest was Brenden Gleeson in the underseen indie The Guard). She even had a nice scene where she tells the main charachter to stop moping around. She ended up giving the film a moral!
As for what "should" have been nominated, here's a link to my Alternate Nomination list: http://www.facebook.com/#!/note.php?note_id=302292989818782
Bob, Thanks for the post! You have me intrigued to see "Tinker, Tailor...." However, I don't think anyone will convince me to see "The Girl with..." I just found the book to be repellent.
DeleteI agree and disagree with you on "The Tree of Life." When we first saw it, I too wanted to see Brad Pitt up for Supporting actor. But my view on the film as a whole, I found it confounding while you found it challenging. I guess Malick did what he set out to do.
We too love Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids," but just the fact that she was nominated was a miracle. And Octavia won us over right from the start.
Guess we'll see what happens Sunday!