Last year I did a comprehensive 3 post review of the Academy Award nominees in the major categories. Well this year I don't have time to do all of that, so I'm just doing a shortened version of the same thing.
Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin in Argo
Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master
Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln
Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained
Who Will Win:
This is a tricky and sort of unpredictable category. Christoph Waltz won the Supporting Actor Golden Globe, but Tommy Lee Jones won the Supporting Actor "Actor" at the SAG Awards. My guess is that it will probably go to Waltz, but I would not rule Jones out by a long shot.
Who Should Win:
My personal pick would be Alan Arkin. I feel like he plays his role very well. I would be fairly happy if it went to Tommy Lee Jones as well, because I felt like he played his role well. To be fair and honest I have not seen Philip Seymour Hoffman or Christoph Waltz's performances so I can't say anything about them.
Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams in The Master
Sally Field in Lincoln
Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables
Helen Hunt in The Sessions
Jacki Weaver in Silver Linings Playbook
Who Will Win:
Anne Hathaway. I have no doubt in my mind that she will take this award. First of all, she has been a darling of the Academy for a while, already having been nominated for an Oscar in the past and having hosted (or maybe butchered would be a better word) the Academy Awards in the past. The other reason is that there is a ton of emotional appeal to the role, even if it did require minimal acting.
Who Should Win:
I'll preface this by saying that I have not seen Helen Hunt (for personal reasons) or Amy Adams performances. I feel a little sorry for Adams because this will be her fourth nomination in this category and she is yet to win an Oscar. That being said, I can't make much of an argument for someone to win this award over Hathaway. Sally Field and Jacki Weaver both gave good performances, but they were not large roles within their respective movies.
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook
Joaquin Phoenix in The Master
Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln
Denzel Washington in Flight
Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables
Who Will Win:
Daniel Day-Lewis. Lewis has won every award he has been nominated for up to now. He is also a two previous Oscar wins and this nomination makes a total of five nominations. Many have been calling Lewis' interpretation of Lincoln an amazing embodiment.
Who Should Win:
Daniel Day-Lewis did a good job, but in my opinion Bradley Cooper deserves this award. Cooper's role required a greater range of acting skills. That's not to say that Lewis did not do a good job, but, "if it's me reading the signs" Cooper gave the best performance this year. (That last part was a little Silver Linings Playbook reference) Joaquin Phoenix's performance in the only one I have not seen.
Best Actress
Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty
Quvenzhane Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild
Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook
Naomi Watts in The Impossible
Emmanuelle Riva in Amour
Who Will Win:
This is easily the tightest race of any of the acting categories. Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence both won Golden Globes for their performances, while Chastain won the Critics Choice Award, and Lawrence won at the SAG Awards. The Academy has a tendency to give awards to actors portraying real people and historical pieces, so that might be a slight lead for Chastain. On the other hand, actors who are a part of the Academy are the people who vote on this award, so maybe the SAG given to Lawrence is a better indicator.
Who Should Win:
In my opinion, Lawrence gave the acting performance of the year, male or female. She was outstanding in her performance. That being said, I have seen all of these acting performances, and every one of these actresses gave good performances. If the award were to go to anyone other than Lawrence it should be Quvenzhane Wallis who at age six showed acting skills that far surpass the skills of actresses four times her age. Interestingly enough, I felt like of the five Chastain's performance was the least worthy of the award.
Best Animated Feature Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
Which Will Win:
This one is a little harder to predict, mostly because there is less of a president. Brave won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature, but it was one of the less favorably received Pixar movies in the span of their career, so I wouldn't necessarily say it's a sure thing. The other president is that things with Tim Burton's name on them tend to get attention, so Frankenweenie way also have an edge in this department.
Which Should Win:
Brave is a good movie, but in my opinion the competition it received from ParaNorman and Wreck-It Ralph this year makes it the second or third best. Personally, I believe that Wreck-It Ralph is the best of the animated features this year.
Best Picture
Amour
Life of Pi
Argo
Lincoln
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Silver Linings Playbook
Django Unchained
Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables
Which Will Win:
Best Picture is always a bit of a wild card category. I would say there are three frontrunners: Lincoln, Argo, and Zero Dark Thirty. Lincoln is a biopic about the country's most popular president abolishing slavery. It also helps that Lincoln has Spielberg's name on it. Zero Dark Thirty's advantage is the same as Lincoln's in that it's a true story (or so the writers say) and that the director, Kathryn Bigelow, has had a movie of a similar nature win Best Picture in the recent past (That movie is The Hurt Locker). Argo has many things going in its favor. It is based on a true story, and it took home the Golden Globe for Best Picture in Drama, and Best Ensemble Cast award at the SAG Awards. On the other hand, a movie hasn't won Best Picture without the director also being nominated for Best Director since Driving Miss Daisy, and Kathryn Bigelow and Ben Affleck were both passed up for that nomination this year.
Which Should Win:
My favorite movie of the year is easily Silver Linings Playbook. It has a nice blend of humor and drama that I think gives it a more human touch than many of the other nominees. That being said I've seen all but one of the films (Django Unchained, mostly because of violence and language issues) and I think they are all good films. I would say it was a stretch to have Amour nominated for best picture. My second favorite of the films is a tie between Beasts of the Southern Wild and Argo. Honestly I would be happy with any of these three films winning best picture.
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