Before we get started, can we please agree that End of Watch was one of the best flicks of the year? Amirite or amirite? And that Michael Pena was incredible? That movie was severely overlooked and if they are going to allow what seems like 100 movies into the Best Picture category, then End of Watch should have been considered.
Anyways, I guess we should talk about the movies and actors that have been nominated this year. Instead of trying to cover everything, let’s take a look at the six categories that everyone will be focused on tonight and talking about tomorrow.
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway will win. Kill me. I am in no way saying that she doesn’t deserve it for her performance in Les Miserables but I’m just not looking forward to the barfing I will be doing during her acceptance speech. She’s insufferable. Listen Anne, you’re a good actress. You seem like a nice person. That’s good enough! You don’t have to try and be funny (you’re not). You don’t have to try and be quirky (you’re not), and Zooey Deshanel already has that covered. And I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one with a hate on for Anne. But she’ll still win.
Jacki Weaver is one of my favorite actresses and yes, she was great in Silver Linings Playbook, but have you seen Animal Kingdom? She should have won for that performance. She is such a badass. As for the others – Sally Field deserved the nomination for Lincoln, sure. And Amy Adams was very good in The Master. I can’t imagine how intense it must have been on that set with both Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Talk about a party! Did you know that the director of The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson, lives with Maya Rudolph (SNL)? This is a guy who also directed Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood. I need to know what they talk about. Anyways, I should probably mention Helen Hunt here too. She has been consistently strong over the course of her career and The Sessions was no exception but I don’t want to get into how I think The Sessions was overlooked in general (because it was).
Best Supporting Actor: I want to give it to Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained. He easily outshines both Jamie Foxx and Leonardo Di Caprio (who were both great). I loved this movie. Felt that it was one of Tarantino’s best. Tarantino may also be calling it quits after ten films. Let’s just hope that he continues to employ Waltz in the meantime. Robert De Niro is a strong contender for Silver Linings Playbook, so don’t be surprised if he walks away with a golden man tonight (what?). Am a big Alan Arkin fan, and he was good in Argo, but when is he not good? And this role was really quite small compared to some of the others in this category. I mean, wasn’t Waltz in almost every scene? Not saying he didn’t deserve the nomination, just saying he won’t win. We also need to talk a bit about Philip Seymour Hoffman. One thing I read about The Master when I was trying to figure out what the hell it was that I had just watched, was that it’s very possible that the film is simply a study in acting. Joaquin Phoenix vs Philip Seymour Hoffman. Two of the best going head to head. Thought that was a really interesting way to approach the film. It amade me appreciate it that much more. Regardless, Hoffman is consistently incredible in his movies, but he won’t win this year. Oh, and Tommy Lee Jones is nominated for Lincoln but he’ll probably just be grumpy the whole time. If Jones does win, it would rule if this was his happy look:
Best Actress: This is going to be a really interesting category. Jennifer Lawrence, for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook, was the early front runner. I love Jennifer Lawrence and thought that she not only gave a wonderful performance, but that she held her own against the formidable Robert De Niro. I still can’t get over the fact that she is only 22. Then there’s Jessica Chastain who has come on very strong with her role in Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain is a beast! She is on a whole other level and I so look forward to watching her over the course of her career. Watch out for Emmanuelle Riva as she is the most recent favorite. Do NOT be surprised if Riva wins this category for her performance in Amour. Even if you have never heard of her or this movie. She is also the oldest person to ever be nominated for the best actress Oscar (she’s 85). As much as I love Naomi Watts, I don’t think that she has a chance, but she was very good in The Impossible. That is an excellent film about the tsunami in 2004 and if you haven’t seen it I suggest doing so in theatre while you still can.
Beasts of the Southern Wild was one of the best films I have seen in a long time. And Quvenzhane Wallis was just awesome. She is such a bright light in this world (both on screen and off) and the youngest actress to ever be nominated in the best actress category. Assuming she stays the course and has good people around her, the future will be nothing but incredible, no matter what she chooses to pursue. Please see this movie.
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis will win, and this will be his third academy award in this category. No actor has ever won three Oscars for acting in a leading role. A few have won two, but not three. He really is in a league of his own. How are you someone like Channing Tatum, who isn’t a bad actor, and think that you could ever be as incredible as DDL? It’s almost not fair. As for the other contenders…Hugh Jackman is great and he is always great. But he’s not quite DDL status just yet. And Bradley Cooper can chill. He did a good job in Silver Linings Playbook but let’s not kid ourselves. He has plenty of time to make many more good movies, and he should be totally honored to have simply been nominated. I mean, really. Look who else is in this category! It’s completely intimidating! Denzel was great in Flight and it was really interesting to see him in a role that required him to be quite pathetic, battling some pretty dark demons. Not his typical tough guy role. It was a strong performance in a movie that was just ok. But he’s not gonna win. Oh, and a quick note on Joaquin Phoenix in The Master – no, that movie was definitely not for everyone, but Phoenix is one of the most talented actors out there. By far. He’s done some stupid stuff, but his performance in The Master was great. You can actually see that he has completely transformed into someone else.
Director: The award should go to Behn Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild. This guy put together one of the best movies I have ever seen with a cast made up of people from a small community in Louisiana. He employed non-actors for some of the major roles. And Court 13, the production company that he founded also directs some pretty awesome music videos. I get that it’s not Behn’s time, and perhaps the movie was too fantastical for the voting members of the Academy, but this guy is creative, and humble and a genius. His time will come.
The award will probably go to Steven Spielberg because they won’t give him best picture, and Lincoln needs some love. David O Russell could sneak in for Silver Linings Playbook, but he isn’t exactly well liked, or as George Clooney has said, he is “insane to the poin10 t of stupidity”. But if Lawrence doesn’t win for best actress, please god let the camera land on Russell so we can witness him give the same reaction he did at the Bafta awards.
Best Picture: Argo will win this. Should it? Meh. It will win because the academy screwed up and didn’t nominate Affleck for best director. So now they have to make it up to him. Lincoln should arguably win this award, but Argo was exactly the type of film that people love: Based on true events, but kept us on the edge of our seats even though we know what happens. And it has John Goodman. When is this guy gonna win the award for scene stealer of the year? He had small roles in both Argo and Flight and destroyed every scene he was in. The banana boat’s coming. Zero Dark Thirty was an excellent movie but may actually prove too controversial for some voters. I would not be unhappy if it won though. Django Unchained is also nominated, and won’t win, even with the backing of the Weinstein company.
I would love if Beasts of the Southern Wild won, but it’s unlikely. It’s also unlikely for both Life of Pi and Les Miserables to come out winners in this category.
It should be a good show, assuming Seth MacFarlane doesn’t completely suck, which is entirely possible. Definitely looking forward to some upsets, some uncomfortable speeches, and fingers crossed that I can keep my dinner down when Anne Hathaway takes the stage!
And that’s your knowledge drop of the day! Enjoy the show everyone.
