It's that time of year again: the Academy Award nominations are out! Ergo, I must make my predictions for who will take home Oscar gold and who will return empty-handed. Let us begin with the Visual Effects: I suspect Marvel's The Avengers will win, for this reason: only a few years ago, we couldn't even dream of an Avengers movie, so they fact we can make one now and have it actually be good is a feat worth celebrating. For Best Writing for an Adapted Screenplay, Argo is a clear contender. Yes, it's up against critical heavyweights like Lincoln (which had the most nominations, with twelve nominations) and Silver Linings Playbook, but the thrill and true-story basis of Argo should score it points with the Academy. For Best Original Screenplay, Django Unchained is a clear choice, given its win at the Golden Globes recently. Best Original Song will most likely go to another Golden Globe winner, Adele's "Skyfall" song for the latest installment in the 007 franchise, Skyfall. Production Design is a real difficult choice; Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, and Lincoln are all up for this award. I choose The Hobbit, mainly because Peter Jackson is an experienced director with set design and has shown in the past his skill in bringing Tolkien's fictional Middle-Earth to life with vigor and originality. For Best Cinematography, Django Unchained could win yet again, because of its use of unique perspectives and the ubiquitous Tarantino "trunk-shot."For best costume design, I expect a tight race between Anna Karenina and Les Miserables, due to their period-piece settings, but Les Miserables should come out on top. Now, I am quite conflicted on Best Director. I am very upset that Ben Affleck was not nominated for Argo (see below), and the dark horse Beasts of the Southern Wild was known as a contender. Lincoln is the best choice by far, being directed by Hollywood god Steven Spielberg. For Actor in a Supporting Role, previous winners Christoph Waltz (for Inglourious Basterds) and Alan Arkin (for Little Miss Sunshine) are in the mix, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman deserves the award for his riveting performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master. For Best Supporting Actress there is no contest that Anne Hathaway should win. As a perfect Fantine in Les Miserables, she deserves the award for not only her acting but raw singing power. For Best Animated Film, I personally feel ParaNorman should win, despite my love for Disney/Pixar. ParaNorman both innovated filmmaking and even managed a decent story in the process, and deserves commendation. Now for the big guns: Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Picture. For starters, it's very impressive that Quvenzhané Wallis was nominated as a seven year old for her performance as Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild. Nonetheless, I expect Naomi Watt to win the award for her performance in The Impossible, but I wouldn't discount Jennifer Lawrence for her work in Silver Linings Playbook. For Best Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis should win for his transcendent portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln. If he doesn't, I would be exceedingly surprised. Now for the big award: best picture. This year is a difficult choice. There is Argo, Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, Les Miserables, and Lincoln, among others up for grabs. Four of those movies, Argo, Silver Linings, Lincoln, and Django were among my favorites for the year. I consider Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Lincoln to be the main competitors. Les Mis had a somewhat target audience of musical-lovers, which limits its appeal. Conversely, Django, one of Tarantino's finest films, also has a bit of a target audience, which I am a part of. Now, Zero Dark Thirty is a contender especially for its timeliness, and is already a catalyst for debate, discussion, and, to an extent, how far we went to kill a single man. Argo has already won big at the Golden Globes and received rave reviews from audiences, critics, and vaguely-known bloggers alike. Lincoln's greatest strength is Daniel Day-Lewis as leading man and Spielberg's unparalleled directing prowess. Despite the fact I have yet to see it (read below), I am choosing Zero Dark Thirty for Best Picture, out of a superb selection of choices.
Now I have to talk about a couple of so-called "snubs" that were, in my opinion, completely unwarranted. Richard Gere had an Oscar-caliber performance for Arbitrage, for which didn't score a single nomination. I am very surprised by this, considering the warm reception he received from critics, particularly Roger Ebert. Leonardo DiCaprio, whom I mentioned a contender for Best Supporting Actor in my review for Django Unchained, also did not receive a nomination. This shocks me in particular, as he did a wonderful job as affluent psychopath Calvin Candie in Django Unchained. DiCaprio is known for his skill as an actor, such as in movies like The Aviator and The Departed. Ben Affleck's lack of a Best Director nomination is utterly shocking. Argo, only his third directorial effort, was a hit and Affleck is a talented director, even in earlier films like The Town and Gone Baby Gone. You must also take into account the fact that only a few years ago, Affleck was a b-list actor starring in films like Gigli, Jersey Girl, and The Sum of All Fears, and now he's crushing it, earning a Golden Globe. Looper's lack of a nomination I expected, but it still manages to disappoint me. Films like it are unfortunately disregarded by the Academy, mainly because of the genre. Looper is no doubt a genre film; it's a science-fiction pulp story that still manages to have some cerebral horsepower. It really is a shame that we don't see excellent films like Looper excel at the award shows, but hopefully we'll see the academy warm up to them as time goes on.
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