Best Picture
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Best Actor
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Jim Rash & Nat Faxon, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin & Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Peter Straughan & Bridget O’Connor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Looks like I have a lot of movies to see. Every year, I make it my mission to see all of the Best Picture nominees. I am not always successful at this. Sometimes a movie just never plays in my area. Last year had a great selection of nominees. By the time they were announced, I had already seen 8 out of 10. And the 2 that I hadn't seen were already on my must see list, just waiting for me to have the time. I really loved all of those films and felt that they were all deserving of recognition.
This time I really have my work cut out for me. I've only seen 3 of the 9 nominees. I wasn't really expecting there to be this many nominees based on the new rules which meant there could be anywhere between 5 - 10 films. And since there are so many nominees, I'm a little disappointed that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo isn't among them. I also think Fincher is deserving of a nod as well. So what have I seen? The Artist, The Help and Moneyball. The Descendants has been on my must see list for a while and I am hoping to get to it this Friday. I was almost going to see Tree of Life in theaters and then decided that it was the sort of movie I would rather see at home. The film is so polarizing, I decided it's better not to be trapped in a theater seat for such a long time. The last Malick film I saw, The New World bored me to tears, so I played it safe. It's been in my Blockbuster queue for a long time, so it's time I move it to the top of the list. And it seems I also have to downgrade my viewing from Blu-Ray to DVD. The Blu-Ray hasn't been available since it came out and now I have a time limit. The other nominee that I haven't seen yet that is available on DVD now is Midnight in Paris. This one was also in my queue already and is also getting moved to the top. I'm not a fan of Woody Allen, but I will watch anything for Marion Cotillard.
So that leaves 3 more films that need to be seen in theaters. I know there is a lot of love out there for Hugo, it is the most nominated film this year with 11 nods (1 more than The Artist). The trailers never really got my attention and this is a movie that I would probably just rent someday. I will make an effort to see it in theaters before it disappears. Who knows, I may love it. It is a Scorsese film after all. To be honest, I was hoping that War Horse wasn't going to be nominated. I know it was losing some steam as a Best Picture contender. It's not that I have anything against it. I was just in no rush to see it. I do love Spielberg's films, but this one and Tin Tin just aren't as appealing as his other work. I'm already looking forward to his future work with Lincoln and Robopocalypse. I'm actually far more interested in the War Horse stage show. The use of puppetry looks really fantastic. I guess one plus of catching it in the theaters is that the cinematography is probably best served by the big screen. Last and perhaps least is Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. I think this is the most surprising nominee considering it is pretty poorly reviewed. When I first saw the trailer, it actually made me want to read the book more than watch the film. I think this spot was more deserved by The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Just a couple of notes on the acting nominations. I'm glad to see that Rooney Mara is getting recognized for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo although Tilda Swinton is a casualty of this decision. While I still haven't been able to see We Need to Talk About Kevin, I'm pretty confident that her performance was more than deserving. This year's break out performances belong to Jessica Chastain and Michael Fassbender. Both managed to give memorable performances in several different films. Unfortunately only Chastain is getting the deserved recognition, which is a shame. And then there is Ryan Gosling. Was he just too good in too many movies this year? Drive, The Ides of March and Crazy, Stupid, Love...I guess we'll have to chalk it up to him competing against himself.
The Oscars will air on February 26th on ABC. Click here for a complete list of nominees.
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