Since the nominations for the Oscars were announced, the Golden Globes and BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) have since happened, giving us more insight on who will mostly likely win. It’s time for Movie Issues to weigh in on our picks for this years Academy Awards.
There were some shocking moments in the nominations this year, mostly in the Best Directing category with Affleck, Bigelow, and Tarantino not getting nominated. All three really put their stamp on some of the best films of the past year. Granted each of their movies is up for best picture, but it’s odd to not have the director praised as well. The nominees this year for directing are good, and their movies are all fantastic. But it’s going to come down to David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook and Steven Spielberg for Lincoln. It’s going to be hard for voters to make a choice between these two powerhouse films with wonderful performances. But you never know with the Oscars. Ang Lee’s Life of Pi could come in at the last second and win.
The Best Pictures this year are just as random as they always are. A few years back when the Academy began allowing more than five films to be nominated in a year, this category started getting really strange. Almost anything could be up now. With so many slots to fill, it won’t be out of the ordinary to see a comedy or a comic book film nominated. But it always feels like they nominate the big five films for the year and then throw in a few more that not many people saw. It’s most likely it going to come down to Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Les Miserables. All are filled with great acting, themes and storytelling. It’s going to be a surprise which of these films does win; they are all so different and wonderful in their own way. But Argo has won all the awards up to this point, it has the biggest chance to be the big winner of the night.
All The Best Actor nominees this year have been praised in the past, and two have already won the Best Actor Oscar. Right out the gate, Daniel Day-Lewis’s portrayal of Lincoln is nothing short of amazing. But we know he’s good. He’s won twice in this category already, so will there be a third time? Or do Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper finally get to have their time? All three did amazing this year, but when it gets to the Oscar night I’m sure Day-Lewis will get the award. Personally I’d like to see Jackman or Cooper get it. Jackman was extraordinary in Les Mis, and I didn’t know Cooper could be so amazing. Each is deserving of the award.
The Best Actress category is just as perplexing as best actor, with four strong woman and one child actress who blew the audiences away. But it is going to come down to Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty and Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook. Both played strong, complex characters and each brought something to the role to make it their own. Jennifer Lawrence has most likely got this already. She is the fan favorite, and as the youngest person ever to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Actress, she could walk away with it, and rightly so, for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook is so powerful that it will break your heart. But so does Chastain for different reasons. Both should win, but we’re leaning towards Lawrence for this one.
Best Supporting Actor this year is one of the harder picks. Each actor has already won an Oscar and has been praised several times over. Each gave it their all, but who gave it their all better? Bottom line: Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained probably has this in the bag. And justifiably so, as he was awesome in the film. Or does the academy go for the “old-vote” by giving it to Alan Arkin for Argo or Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln? I’d love to see Tommy Lee Jones get the Oscar. I loved his performance in Lincoln. His portrayal of a Pennsylvania senator who fiercely opposes slavery is a powerhouse performance, which should be remembered.
Best Supporting Actress this year is the easiest category to predict. It will come down to Sally Field for Lincoln or Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables. Not saying the other actress didn’t deserve to win, but when you look back at each performance, Field and Hathaway shine brighter than the others. Hathaway is the fan favorite for this for good reasons. She embodied her character, and you can physically see the transformation and hard work she put into her portrayal of the dying prostitute Fantine. She is wonderful in the movie and deserves to be recognized.
Best Original Screenplay for writing this year should be pretty straightforward: Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained. He should have also been nominated for director, and as good as a director he is, he is a better writer. For him to win Original Screenplay is the right choice. Wes Anderson for Moonrise Kingdom also has a high chance to taking this award as well. Both are wonderful talented writers, this will be a major 50/50 that night.
The last category I will talk about is Best Animated Feature Film. With each bringing a completely different art style and vision, it’s going to be hard to see where the voters’ minds are. As seen on the Golden Globes, Brave won, although it wasn’t that great of a movie. I feel most people didn’t even see it, they just looked at Pixar’s name and voted. That sucks for the two better films: Wreck-It-Ralph and ParaNorman. I’d like to have either of these two win and get the respect they deserved. But Pixar does have a great track record for winning. As long as Frankenweenie doesn’t win I’ll be happy. Compared to ParaNorman that was just horrible.
Well that’s it for the Movies Issues picks and thoughts on this years Oscars. But at the end of the day, it’s all speculation. There will always be up roars, shocking moments, and winners no one saw coming, and that’s why we watch. This year’s Academy Awards will air February 24th, with a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, and hosted by funny man Seth MacFarlane. Most of the films this year are long and boring, so to have someone like MacFarlane come in and make the show entertaining and watchable. I think we’re in for a good show.