85th Annual Academy Awards: My Picks

I still have some issues when it comes to making picks for the short films categories because I have seen only 1 of the 15 nominated but I will throw out some guesses based on buzz alone. Same goes with the documentary feature category. Here are my picks for tonight's Academy Awards.

Best Picture
My Pick - Argo
Winner - Argo

Best Actor
My Pick - Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln)
Winner - Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln)

Best Actress
My Pick - Jennifer Lawerence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Winner - Jennifer Lawerence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Supporting Actor
My Pick - Cristoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Winner - Cristoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Supporting Actress
My Pick - Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Winner - Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

Director
My Pick - Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)
Winner - Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

Original Screenplay
My Pick - Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Winner - Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)

Adapted Screenplay
My Pick - Chris Terrio (Argo)
Winner - Chris Terrio (Argo)

Editing
My Pick - William Goldenberg (Argo)
Winner - William Goldenberg (Argo)

Cinematography
My Pick - Roger Deakins (Skyfall)
Winner - Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi)

Production Design
My Pick - Anna Karenina
Winner - Lincoln

Sound Mixing
My Pick - Les Miserables
Winner - Les Miserables

Sound Editing
My Pick - Skyfall
Winner - Skyfall & Zero Dark Thirty

Costume Design
My Pick - Anna Karenina
Winner - Anna Karenina

Original Score
My Pick - Life of Pi
Winner - Life of Pi

Foreign Language Film
My Pick - Amour
Winner - Amour

Documentary Feature
My Pick - Searching for Sugarman
Winner - Searching for Sugarman

Animated Feature
My Pick - Brave
Winner - Brave

Visual Effects
My Pick - Life of Pi
Winner - Life of Pi

Makeup and Hair-styling
My Pick - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Winner - Les Miserables

Original Song
My Pick - Adele, Skyfall (Skyfall)
Winner - Adele, Skyfall (Skyfall)

Live Action Short
My Pick - Curfew
Winner - Curfew

Animated Short
My Pick - Paperman
Winner - Paperman

Documentary Short
My Pick - Inocente
Winner - Inocente

100 Word Review - Zero Dark Thirty

After Academy Award victory with The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow returns offering a companion film to her past successful endeavor. The story of a CIA agent and the obsession that is slowly consuming her life, Zero Dark Thirty follows Maya as she hunts down leads trying to discover the location of the notorious al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. An undeniably heavy film that doesn't stray from controversy Zero Dark Thirty finds strength in its leading performance as Jessica Chastain who's portrayal of the agent Maya brings a devastating and powerful sense of dedication to an already hefty subject matter.

85th Annual Academy Award Nominations and Reactions

Today the Academy released their nominations for this years Oscars. With a slew of top contenders it will be a close race this year between two or three heavy hitters but the big winners in the nomination pool are Lincoln with 12 nominations, and Life of Pi close behind with 11 nominations.

Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Though many were predicting the inclusion of this year's Bond flick Skyfall the absence doesn't send the Best Picture category that far from what we all expected. Amour seems to be this year's wildcard but even that isn't much of a surprise as it has been making waves across the award nomination circuit already. I am quite pleased to see Django Unchained make the cut though I don't believe it has much of a chance against the front-runners Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Silver Linings Playbook, and Argo.

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Despite not making its release yet it is no surprise that Zero Dark Thirty is scooping up a handful of nominations. The buzz surrounding the film is immense and we will all get a taste of it and finally be able to judge its worth soon enough. For me currently the front-runner of the category is Jennifer Lawrence though I have a poor track record with predicting the Actress category.

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Best actor seems to be a futile shootout between a president and a madman. Bradley Cooper shines in Silver Linings Playbook but whether that can hold up against the well crafted and prestigious performance of Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln is anyone's guess.

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

The most deserving nomination to come for Les Miserables lies here with Anne Hathaway who despite a short part in the film pulls some serious weight with her performance. That isn't to say though that Amy Adams and Sally Field's work aren't deserving of the category as well. The two play strong women, and play them well.

Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Christoph Waltz! That was a surprise to me. The former supporting actor winner pulls his second nomination again for his work in a Tarantino film though this time I didn't expect his role to make the cut. For me Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Tommy Lee Jones seem to be the standout performances in this category.

Best Director
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Tarantino? Anderson? Anderson? Bigelow? Affleck? The best director category is probably the most shocking of all this year. The five nominations almost seem tailored to pushing Spielberg into a win this year though he may very well deserve it.

Original Screenplay
Flight
Zero Dark Thirty
Django Unchained
Amour
Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom finds its only nomination recognition in the original screenplay category. A shame it only made it to one category but the one nomination it did get was well earned. Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained also so potential in the category but with the sheer number of nominations for Amour this year it is tough to count it out.

Adapted Screenplay
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Argo
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Life of Pi

A close race for the films that were once books best adapted screenplay could go a few different ways. Most likely it seems to be owned by Lincoln though as the film is being positioned for a potential sweep.

Foreign Feature
Amour
No
War Witch
A Royal Affair
Kon-Tiki

I can't really comment on foreign feature as I haven't seen any. It is a fair assumption though that as only one of these films was also nominated for best picture that it will likely take the category.

Animated Feature
Frankenweenie
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
Paranorman
Brave

Three out of five of these films I have already forgotten existed. The real competition here seems to be between Frankenweenie and Paranorman. Also a shame that The Secret World of Arrietty did not make the cut.

Music (Original Song)
"Before My Time" from Chasing Ice
"Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi
"Suddenly" from Les Miserables
"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted
"Skyfall" from Skyfall

I feel entirely indifferent toward all of the songs in this category. It did give Ted the opportunity though to become "Academy Award winning Ted" which would be an odd thing to hear.

Music (Original Score)
Dario Marianelli - Anna Karenina
Alexandre Desplat - Argo
Mychael Danna - Life of Pi
John Williams - Lincoln
Thomas Newman - Skyfall

Another category I feel rather indifferent toward this year. I didn't find much in the way of scores this year that I felt was extraordinary  Lincoln and John Williams has potential as well as Danna for Life of Pi and Newman for Skyfall.

Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln

Lincoln, Anna Karenina, The Hobbit, Les Miserables... really the only film I don't see having much of a chance for production design is Life of Pi.

Achievement in Cinematography
Seamus McGarvey - Anna Karenina
Robert Richardson - Django Unchained
Claudio Miranda - Life of Pi
Janusz Kaminski - Lincoln
Roger Deakins - Skyfall

Praise the Academy! It seems they are the only sane establishment this year who is giving Les Miserables the shaft in cinematography and for that I am grateful  This is also the first time ever that a James Bond film has managed a cinematography nomination when all Bond nominations in the past have been limited to music, sound, and visual effects.

Achievement in Costume Design
Jacqueline Durran - Anna Karenina
Paco Delgado - Les Miserables
Joanna Johnston - Lincoln
Eiko Ishioka - Mirror Mirror
Colleen Atwood - Snow White and the Huntsman

Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, Lincoln... forget the other two because I already have.

Best Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar Man

Another category I haven't seen enough films in to allow me to make any comments on.

Best Documentary Short Subject
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

Yup, these are in fact movies, and they are short ones too.

Achievement in Film Editing
William Goldenberg - Argo
Tim Squyres - Life of Pi
Michael Kahn - Lincoln
Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers - Silver Linings Playbook
Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg - Zero Dark Thirty

Can you think of a film this year where you felt it really did a great job and showed excellence in editing? Me either. That leaves the nomination front-runners to fill out the category and likely mirror the other wins in the heavier categories.

Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel - Hitchcock
Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell - Les Miserables

The Hobbit. A billion dwarf beards and hairy hobbit feet scream winner loud and clear in this category. It also helps that it only has two films to compete with though.

Achievement in visual effects
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman

As much as I would love to see The Avengers take an oscar this year's visual effects race is a stiff one. Despite that the almost entirely CG nature of Life of Pi and the weight it pulls as the only best picture nominee in the category put it above the rest.

100 Words or Less Top 10 Films of 2012

Admittedly this year I have had some trouble with making up my top 10 list. A busy year has led to less time to see films, missing some, and cramming far too many in with the last few weeks of the year. Though I may have yet to see a few key films of the year such as Argo, and Les Miserables my list has still come together. Here are my top 10 films of 2012.

10. The Woman in Black

Generally I don't give much weight to the current string of "horror" films. They take themselves too seriously and frankly don't accomplish the one thing they set out to do. However the beginning of this year produced a couple surprising horror films the first of which being the Daniel Radcliff starred The Woman in Black. A haunting and creepy straight horror film that reminds me that there is still hope for true horror films.

9. Take this Waltz

coming in at the high end of my list Take this Waltz pulls off a story that seems to come directly from the indie film playbook. Fortunately this is remedied by a beautiful pallet reminiscent of the color styling of a Wes Anderson film, and the inspired performance from the usually droll Seth Rogen.

8. Cabin in the Woods

Another shining example of horror done right. Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard Cabin in the Woods takes all tradition away from the genre as they explore the horror film archetypes in a humorous and inventive way that will surely inspire a deep hatred or love for this film.

7. Skyfall

Ever since Daniel Craig has taken over the role of James Bond the 007 franchise has taken a huge turn. Pulling away from the over-the-top action sequences for a more manageable narrative the films have slowly shifted from a guilty pleasure to a serious contender. Despite everything Craig has done for the franchise it is the sexually charged unstable performance of Javier Bardem that reins the film in as one of the best Bond films in recent memory.

6. The Grey

There is something about watching an intimidating bad-ass shiver and freeze that is inherently entertaining. Truth is The Grey offers an interesting take on disaster films that presents the survival drama of a story like Hatchet and amps it up by throwing a pack of hungry wolves into the mix to create a powerful and unique story.

5. Moonrise Kingdom

What does one have to say about a Wes Anderson film? It is hard not to instantly fall in love with his quirky characters, stylized vision, vibrant color schemes, and beautiful cinematography. The Anderson style only finds itself heightened by the performance of a pair or young newcomer actors, and the inspired work of seasoned veterans Edward Norton, Bill Murray, and Bruce Willis.

4. Lincoln

One of the front-running contenders for this year's Academy Award season Lincoln is Spielberg's epic take on the iconic president and his bipartisan struggles during the civil war. It is hard to imagine a wordy political drama as a captivating and enticing film but with a host of award worthy performances and an interesting interpretation of America's past Lincoln manages just that.

3. Django Unchained

When reviews of Django Unchained started coming in luke warm it had me worried. Had Tarantino finally fallen from grace? No. Django is a weighty film coming in at just under three hours, and one that takes on a still sensitive issue like slavery and racial prejudice. Like most Tarantino work it is unflinching in its devotion to the topic and rewarding to those who give it the thought it deserves. a scathing and masterful performance from the film's antagonist played by Leonardo DiCaprio comes as a stark contrast to the light-hearted wit of Cristoph Waltz and the straight-laced vengeance of Jamie Foxx creating a balance that lends to some powerful cinematic gold. 

2. Silver Linings Playbook

Something about Silver Linings Playbook initially turned me off. I am not sure if it was the vague trailers, or the romantic comedy assumptions they inspired but I found myself hesitant to get to the theaters for this one. Regardless I did give it the time and I am quite happy that I didn't let this gem of 2012 slip through the cracks. Already garnering a lot of award season attention Silver Linings features a complex story of love in the wake of mental illness. Performances from Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence aided by Robert De Niro and John Ortiz reinforce a powerful theme with some of the most believable characters of the year.

1. Avengers

This year Joss Whedon did the impossible and finalized the push of comic book heroes into the mainstream with the Avengers. Maybe it is my inner geek grasping for this one but with the witty dialogue, attention to detail, and triumphant action sequences Joss Whedon has made a superhero film appealing to the die-hards and general public alike. However even the success of Whedon isn't enough to secure the top spot. Coupled with a return performance from Thor's Tom Hiddleston who brought to life the god of mischief Loki the film adds a whole new level of intrigue. A dark and tormented villain is nothing new to the genre but it is a rare thing that a character come across as menacing as Hiddleston's Loki.

100 Word Review - Skyfall

The next stage in the Daniel Craig lead Bond series, Skyfall finds our beloved double-oh resurrected once again as a madman from the past leaves MI6 scrambling to recover. Skyfall marks the 007 franchises successful movement away from the over-the-top action sequences hailed by previous films to the more grounded world of espionage that Craig has brought to the role since he took up the PPK in 2006's Casino Royale. The action is heavy and fast, the story is light but well-paced and developed creating a fun and thrilling concoction that will please fans of James Bond new and old.

100 Word Review - Ruby Sparks

An exercise in developing the most blatant metaphors, Ruby Sparks tells the story of a troubled writer who has peaked too early, and while everyone is busy marveling in his genius is slowly slipping into a rut. That is until his shortcomings in life trigger a spurt of writing, inadvertently creating the woman of his dreams. A woman who with a few keystrokes will bend to his every whim. Despite a premise that reeks of cliché the story finds place for genuine humor within its cutesy facade while managing to keep an intelligent, and dark pace lifting it above expectations.

100 Word Review - To Rome with Love

Continuing to spread his neurosis beyond New York, legendary director Woody Allen introduces us to a host of characters as he explores their stories happening across Rome. Honeymooning newlyweds, blossoming vacation romance, a couple stuck in a rut, a bland office worker, and a hidden Roman treasure. Sound like a lot of story? That's because it is. Allen imbues the film's personalities with that charming touch of crazy he's known for, while exploring a mix of themes that alone would delight. Unfortunately together in the overloaded mess the plots fail to carry the weight and punch they're fully capable of.

100 Word Review - The Amazing Spider-Man

In a just world this year we'd be readying ourselves for Raimi's redemption with Spider-Man 4, but in corporate Hollywood it can be just as easy and to reboot the series altogether leading us to Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man. The reboot rushes us through the well-known origin story behind the iconic wall crawler and pushes straight into Peter's relationship with Dr. Connors the cross-species geneticist who's life work revolves around regaining his lost limb. Despite some pace-breakingly dim-witted moments in the third act the film manages an acceptable reboot that while lacking emotional impact is still a fun experience.

100 Word Review - Brave

With a tradition for undeniably unique storytelling it can be off-putting to see an iconic studio like Pixar falling back on a more conventional style film like Brave, but it's that very not Pixar-like move that cements the unpredictable nature of the fan favorite animation studio. Brave tells a story ripped straight from the new Disney princess handbook as the strong-willed princess Merida threatens the stability of her kingdom and family when she refuses the arranged marriage demanded by her people. Despite lacking that special Pixar flair Brave's delve into the mother-daughter centric themes make for an amusing family film.

100 Word Review - The Avengers

After years of preparation geek icon Joss Whedon finally assembles earth's mightiest heroes for the first blockbuster of the year The Avengers. Cast out from his home-world the god of mischief Loki assisted by an evil alien race makes his way to Earth with a vengeful plot that will require everything that S.H.I.E.L.D. can muster to prevent. With the grandeur one would hope for in such a huge superhero undertaking Whedon takes the increasing quality of the Marvel film franchises laces it with a humorous script, and throws in enough emotion to ensure the film will resonate with audiences everywhere.