The Academy Awards Coverage Nobody Asked For
Welcome, friends, to Irrelevant But Awesome's coverage of the 85th Academy Awards.
Best Picture:
Amour - One of the films I haven't seen but mostly due to my own ignorance and only watching what interested me. Obviously this will probably win Best Foreign Film because it's the only foreign language movie in this category. From what I understand it's about an elderly couple coping with declining health, specifically that of the wife, who suffers a stroke. Doesn't sound like a bad movie but it doesn't sound too uplifting either...or like it's even comfortable to sit through.
Argo: Chronicling the rescue of 6 US diplomats during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, this film shows just how gullible people were back in 1979. I enjoyed the movie, don't get me wrong, but why would members of the Iranian government believe that a US film crew would want to shoot a Sci-Fi movie in their country? Surely even they would recognize that, given the choice to film in a hostile country for the scenery or filming on a sound stage with a decrease of risk, the film crew would pick the one where they weren't going to be shot at. But still, this is history, it actually happened and that's what makes this story that much better. It's a great film, I enjoyed it a lot and I think the fact that Affleck wasn't nominated for Best Director is one of the biggest snubs ever (even though there's 2 more snubs just as big but I'll get to that later).
Beast of the Southern Wild: Another film I haven't had the chance to see but everyone that I trust most with film choices have told me that I really do need to see it and to do so ASAP. It's about a community in Louisiana that's essentially cut off from society by a levee, specifically it's about a young girl and her father in the community.
Django Unchained: Arguably one of the weaker Tarantino movies of recent memory, in my opinion but the bright spot, for me, is the performance of Christoph Waltz. It's obviously a revenge film, a specialty of Tarantino, but this one goes for more of shock value with their infamous use of the "N" word that seams to have a bunch of people uptight. Personally, none of that stuff affects me in a personal since but it's more of an annoyance once you recognize certain themes and uses as a crutch to give the characters something to talk about.
Les Miserables: This awards season has been a contest between everyone as to who can say the title of this movie in the most pretentious manner. I'm not really gonna review the movie or say anything about the plot because its a old book/play/musical that's been around forever and most people know what happens by now. And yes, the way they shot and recorded the music was innovative and interesting the first 5 times we were told. I also became annoyed with the overuse of the close-up shot, I really did not need to be all up in everyone's pores the moment they squeezed out a tear. Also, Amanda Seyfried's singing sounds like a dying, scared, little mouse and Russel Crowe didn't seem to fit.
Life of Pi: A kid gets stranded in a lifeboat with a big tiger, hilarity ensues? Haven't seen this movie because if I wanted to watch something that was filmed entirely on green screen, I'd rewatch the Star Wars prequels. (THIS got nominated but yet we couldn't let Dark Knight Rises, Avengers or Seven Psychopaths get in?)
Lincoln: Not a bad movie but, other than Daniel Day-Lewis' performance, everything seemed a bit dull. Tommy Lee Jones had some good moments but most of the time, he just seemed to stare in the distance like he was lost. The biggest downfall to this movie was Sally Field. I get that Mary Todd was crazy and all but I think they overdid it a bit in this case. I really believe that the only reason this movie was nominated was partially due to Spielberg's name on it but mostly because DDL carried the entire film.
Silver Linings Playbook: Just a really good movie with great performances from Jennifer Lawrence and Brad Cooper. It's a movie that has some dark, gloomy subject matter but addressed it in a way so the audience can almost laugh about it. Great storytelling met with an outstanding performance, if Argo doesn't take Best Picture then I believe this one will.
Zero Dark Thirty: Just like The Hurt Locker, a great movie that's gritty enough to believe it's validity but slightly uncomfortable to where you don't really want to watch it all that often. Certainly, it's difficult to know exactly what went on, depending on how much information the US government is willing to expose, but this is probably about as close to the actual event as we're gonna get. Another great movie by Kathryn Bigelow who is another director that's been inexplicably snubbed in the Best Director category.
Best Leading Actor:
Brad Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) - Had he given this performance any other year, I'd say that Cooper would definitely get the award. But unfortunately, he's up against DDL.
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) - Nothing may be quite as good as DDL's portrayal of Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood but he came pretty close with Lincoln. I don't think there's any other actor this year that had a chance.
Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) - Not even the biggest standout in his own movie. Eddie Redmayne blew everyone else out of the water but doesn't get any sort of nomination but yet Anne Hathaway is the favorite for Supporting Actress even though she was in the movie for a fraction of what Redmayne was. But yeah, Jackman was fine.
Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) - Just no.
Denzel Washington (Flight) - A less murderous version of his Man on Fire character. Denzel is pretty much playing the same character in every movie these days, I'm surprised he was flying a plane and not a train.
Best Leading Actress:
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) - One of the more underrated performances this year, hopefully winning an Oscar will fix all of that. Given the other nominees, I say she has to be the hands-down favorite.
Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) - Jennifer will win an Oscar for Leading Actress, I just don't think it'll be this year. I do think this will be a vehicle to parts that will allow her to take bigger risks and will be able to showcase what we've only been able to seem glimpses of.
Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) - Again, I didn't watch the movie but I'm not necessarily hearing any buzz about her chances.
Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) - Don't count her out just because she's only 9 years old and the youngest to be nominated in this category, she just might take this one. Again, haven't seen the movie but I've heard she carries the movie incredibly well.
Naomi Watts (The Impossible) - *shrug*
Final Thought: How Looper wasn't nominated at least for Screenwriting, I'll never understand.
Here be our picks (who we think will win, not necessarily who we want to win)
Best Picture:
Chris: Argo
John: Argo
Nate: Beasts of the Southern Wild
Jeff: Life of Pi
Daniel: Django Unchained
Best Leading Actor:
Chris: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
John: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Nate: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Jeff: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Daniel: Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)
Best Leading Actress:
Chris: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
John: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Nate: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Jeff: Naomi Watts (The Impossible)
Daniel: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Supporting Actor:
Chris: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
John: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Nate: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchaned)
Jeff: Alan Arkin (Argo)
Daniel: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Supporting Actress:
Chris: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
John: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Nate: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Jeff: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Daniel: Helen Hunt (The Sessions)
Best Director
Chris: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)
John: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)
Nate: Benh Zeitlin (Beast of the Southern Wild)
Jeff: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)
Daniel: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)
Best Original Screenplay:
Chris: Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty)
John: Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty)
Nate: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola (Moonerise Kingdom)
Jeff: Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Daniel: Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Chris: Silver Linings Playbook
John: Argo
Nate: Life of Pi
Jeff: Argo
Daniel: Life of Pi
Production Design:
Chris: Les Miserables
John: Lincoln
Nate: Les Miserables
Jeff: Life of Pi
Daniel: The Hobbit
Cinematography
Chris: Skyfall
John: Lincoln
Nate: Life of Pi
Jeff: Life of Pi
Daniel: Skyfall
Foreign Film:
Chris: Amour
John: Amour
Nate: Amour
Jeff: War Witch
Daniel: Amour
Original Score:
Chris: Lincoln
John: Life of Pi
Nate: Lincoln
Jeff: Skyfall
Daniel: Skyfall
Animated Feature:
Chris: Wreck-it Ralph
John: Brave
Nate: Brave
Jeff: Wreck-It Ralph
Daniel: Wreck-it Ralph
Costume Design:
Chris: Les Miserables
John: Lincoln
Nate: Anna Karenina
Jeff: Les Miserables
Daniel: Les Miserables
Visual Effects:
Chris: Life of Pi
John: Life of Pi
Nate: Prometheus
Jeff: The Avengers
Daniel: The Avengers
Original Song:
Chris: ugh...skyfall
John: Skyfall
Nate: Skyfall
Jeff: Skyfall
Daniel: Ted
Editing
Chris: Zero Dark Thirty
John: Argo
Nate: Argo
Jeff: Life of Pi
Daniel: Silver Linings Playbook
Makeup and Hairstyling:
Chris: The Hobbit
John: The Hobbit
Nate: The Hobbit
Jeff: The Hobbit
Daniel: The Hobbit
Sound Editing
Chris: Skyfall
John: Life of Pi
Nate: Les Miserables
Jeff: Skyfall
Daniel: Zero Dark Thirty
Sound Mixing
Chris: Skyfall
John: Life of Pi
Nate: Les Miserables
Jeff: Skyfall
Daniel: Lincoln
Documentary Feature
Chris: The Invisible War
John: The Gatekeepers
Nate: The Invisible War
Jeff: How to Survive a Plague
Daniel: How to Survive a Plague
Documentary Short
Chris: Open Heart
John: Kings Point
Nate: Kings Point
Jeff: Mondays at Racine
Daniel: Redemption
Animated Short
Chris: Head Over Heels
John: Head Over Heels
Nate: Paperman
Jeff: Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare"
Daniel: Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare"
Live Action Short
Chris: Death of a Shadow
John: Curfew
Nate: Curfew
Jeff: Death of a Shadow
Daniel: Buzkashi Boys
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