84th Academy Awards Preview

This Sunday February 26, 2012, it will be the return of an event that I look forward to each year for the dedication to cinema and the pageantry and tradition of what the event has meant since 1927. This will be the 84th installment of this event and it should be an interesting night. What I will do is post the main awards nominees: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Director-these are the six I feel are the important ones, though I am always interested in Best Costuming, Best Score/Original Song, Best Visual Effects and Best Make-Up, they aren't necessarily the most important ones-just ones that interest me. I will post the ones I THINK/FEEL will win in bold. I will post the ones I WANT to win in italics. Keep in mind in one or more of these categories they may be one and the same for think and want. Then I will provide some commentary on my thoughts on the nominees involved.

BEST PICTURE:
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight In Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Now it's no secret how much I loved The Artist!! This is definitely the one I can see picking up the golden man and the picture I truly would like to win. I loved the silent movie aspect mixed in with incredible performances and a great story of change and adapting to it. If you read my review it received a 5/5 from me in the initial review I did, however, I did really enjoy some other pictures this year namely The Help (which certainly still has a great shot at winning), Hugo (loved the story and the usage of 3D was excellent), Moneyball (I personally enjoyed this and I am not even a huge baseball fan haha), and War Horse was alright (definitely had some great scenes and dialogue), but not one that I want to win. Midnight In Paris, while I first saw it and wasn't really into it a couple of months ago, I've grown to actually enjoy it a little more and its probably Owen Wilson's best outing and I love that Rachel McAdams is reunited with him in it. NOW, the flipside of the coin for me. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was really not that good of a movie and really tried to cash in on the emotional aspect of 9/11, yet the overall movie really has nothing to do with it. I honestly don't feel this should be on the list. Jacqui would say that Moneyball shouldn't be on the list and I can respect her opinion, as she liked it, but at the same time didn't haha. Oh don't get me started on The Descendants. I absolutely loathe this movie!!! Alexander Payne's Sideways was a great movie, but I just did not like this one at all. The only thing I liked about it was Shailene Woodley's role as Clooney's eldest daughter. It was one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen. Tree of Life has been universally panned as being a bad movie and though I haven't watched it, Jacqui has informed me she didn't even stay to finish it. When Jacqui walks out of a movie, it's probably really bad. The synopsis seems interesting, but I don't think it's going to win anyway as I've pointed out in how I selected. I would have liked to see Drive on the nominee list as that was an excellent movie with a very unique style and great performances all around. I also feel that Water For Elephants (one of my favorite movies) deserved to be on the list for Best Picture, Best Actress for Reese Witherspoon and Best Supporting Actor for Christoph Waltz. It definitely was snubbed this year which is a shame as it is a quality movie.

BEST ACTOR:
Demian Bichir-A Better Life
George Clooney-The Descendants
Jean Dujardin-The Artist
Gary Oldman-Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Brad Pitt-Moneyball

Jean Dujardin was absolutely incredible in the role of George Valentin. My dad commented on how he thinks he should win as well and he usually doesn't comment on things like that, which should tell you how good the performance was. I definitely feel he has the best chance of winning and he is my personal pick to win as well. Now, let's look at the other nominees!! Demian Bichir is a favorite actor of mine mainly for his role as Esteban Reyes in Weeds. In this movie, he basically is trying to ensure his son has as the title says A Better Life. He was great in the performance and for some reason he reminds me of Alberto Del Rio, which is interesting as Del Rio is one of my least favorite wrestlers but Bichir I actually like. If you ever see his performance as Esteban and you watch wrestling, you'll see how I draw the comparisons between him and Del Rio. George Clooney shouldn't be on this list at all. He wasn't really even acting in this movie and as I said it was just depressing and nothing I particularly enjoyed. I am not a Clooney fan to begin with so if you're a fan of Clooney and you like The Descendants don't let this deter you. I just didn't like the performance at all. Gary Oldman is a surprising nomination in my opinion. I mean I like Oldman, just not this performance haha. Jacqui did enjoy this movie, but I didn't really like it. I mean he is very cerebral in the movie and that is what the role asks for, but I mean I didn't really get into the performance. I tried so many times throughout Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy but I never got into it. Brad Pitt's performance in Moneyball was fun and I don't mind him being on the list. He is a favorite actor of mine and this is a movie that I really liked. However, Dujardin is where my support goes this year and where the Academy most likely will...at least I hope so. One thing I am not happy about was the blatant snub of Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar. It was an incredible performance by my favorite actor today. The guy just knows what to do in front of a camera and he's the best actor never to win an Oscar. He hasn't missed a beat since 2002 in my opinion. He at least deserved to be on the nominee list. He could be on there instead of Oldman, just saying haha. That's not a direct shot at Oldman, as I normally do like his performances, just not this one.

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

Okay this is the category I am VERY interested in. There are at least three possible wins in this category and as you can see from what I noted, I think Streep picks up her first Oscar since 1982 in Sophie's Choice for her amazing portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of England. Remember this would be her 15th nomination, and as I pointed out in my initial review of this, I gave it a 5/5 as it is one of my favorite performances of the year and hers in general. However, I am 100% in support of a new woman winning an Oscar and that woman is Michelle Williams. I absolutely love this girl in general, but her performance as Marilyn Monroe was so excellent (also gave this movie and her performance a 5/5 ). She is beautiful in general (really cute look), but she looked sexy as Marilyn which is what the role would call for. She naled the voice, the mannerisms, the general attitude of how we portrayed her. I really want her to pull off the surprise upset, but I am prepared for Streep to get this. However there is also that really surprise win that you don't see coming and that lies with Viola Davis in The Help. She was absolutely incredible in this role. This movie in general provided some great acting (some of the best I've seen as I noted in my initial review yet another 5/5-remember there are alot of movies I've seen that I just really enjoyed) and Davis absolutely nailed her role. Now, I like the other two nominees as well. Glenn Close is an awesome actress, yet my favorite role of hers is a television role-that of Patty Hewes in Damages. I won't say anything bad, but Close can really make herself look like a man especially in the role she is nominated for here in Albert Nobbs haha, so I guess you could say she really met the requirements for the role. She was basically trying to disguise herself as a man to further herself independently as it was tough for women in 19th century Dublin (the setting) to get ahead. Also, Rooney Mara is up for her amazing performance in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (another 5/5 for the initial review of this movie). What I found out about this movie is that Rooney Mara was NOT the first choice for this movie. It was actually my favorite actress Ellen Page (oh man she would have owned this role so well-I already know that's a given though-she'll be on the list again one day). I still maintain that if Marion Cotillard wasn't on the Best Actress nominee list in 2007 she would have picked up the award for Juno. At least I can say that my favorite actress has been nominated for an Oscar. Anyway, not to discredit Mara who was incredible as I noted and really did a great job of transforming herself from her normal attractive self to slightly less haha. You can tell she has a fun time portraying the Lisbeth role-which was initially filled by Noomi Rapace who will be appearing in one of the summer's biggest anticipated movies, Prometheus (a prequel to Alien) and was recently the main female lead in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. TEAM MICHELLE WILLIAMS!!! I am aware that Streep has the best chance, but if Williams wins, I will mark out and know a really deserving performance won. I also read that she is playing Glinda in a new Oz movie-looks like Wicked but it can't be as its from the wizard's point of view.

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Kenneth Branagh-My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill-Moneyball
Nick Nolte-Warrior
Christopher Plummer-Beginners
Max Von Sydow-Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

This is a very interesting category this year!! Christopher Plummer easily is winning this and it was a great performance in which he portrays a gay man with terminal cancer. He is usually a really good actor in general and a personal favorite of mine and Jacquis but he was just excellent in this role. I watched it a while back and it was a very good performance. I did also really enjoy Kenneth Branagh's portrayal of Laurence Olivier and he played well off of Michelle Williams. Branagh is a great actor in general as he has portrayed several Shakespearean roles in the movies. One of the best ones in particular would be Iago in Othello. Also, he had a role in Harry Potter for all my muggle friends who are as big a fan as me of the Potter literary/theatrical world: that of Gilderoy Lockhart. I feel that Max von Sydow was one of the only good parts of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but it still isn't a role that he should be on the list for which I will delve into momentarily. He didn't say anything during his entire time on screen but Sydow is a good actor. His best role is Lamar Burgess from Minority Report without a doubt. Jacqui would most likely agree with this haha. However, his performance in this movie basically consisted of him raising his hands to show the words yes or no and nodding his head, so though hes on the list and hes a good actor this isn't a role he should win for. Warrior was a very good movie and had great performances throughout: Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison, and of course Nick Nolte. He did a great job as Hardy and Edgerton's father who was a recovering alcoholic and trying to get a second chance with his sons. Good performance no doubt, but I am definitely in favor of Plummer 100% and I am sure he will win it as well.

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Berenice Bejo-The Artist
Jessica Chastain-The Help
Melissa McCarthy-Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer-Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer-The Help

This is also a category I'm VERY interested in!!! Naturally, best actress and best supporting actress usually are for me as I am a fan of female characters. Of course, I love alot of male characters but I tend to like female characters more. This year, I think is similar to Mo'Nique's year when she won for Precious as Octavia Spencer pretty much has this in the bag at least I think this. She has won all the other major awards and it was a universally liked performance. I did enjoy it and really have no problem with it winning as she was great in the role portraying great dramatic and comedic sides combining it to create a great character overall. Though, Spencer is most likely winning this, she actually is the third one on the list I'd want to win. As I am a big supporter of The Artist and loved everything about it, I feel Berenice Bejo is the best part of this category. Peppy Miller was a great role that Bejo made her own. You could tell she enjoyed portraying it. It also showed how actresses in that era gave way to creating a signature look that people would follow. This still happens today and I like that they show how it has been a prevalent part of cinema since the silent movie era (which The Artist portrays). One of the most interesting aspects of this category is the inclusion of a primarily comedic performance (though Marisa Tomei DID win in 1992 for Best Supporting Actress for My Cousin Vinny-mostly a comedic performance) of Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids. It's kind of a random part of the list, but it was definitely a funny performance. I don't think she'll win obviously, but its just interesting to see that McCarthy's performance (most people's favorite part of Bridesmaids) is part of the nominees. My favorite part of that movie is obviously Rose Byrnes Helen character. I love Rose Byrne and hope to see her up there one day getting her own award. Going back to my commentary on Glenn Close, Ellen Parsons from Damages is one of my personal favorite tv characters of all time. Byrne is beautiful and talented. Janet McTeer, much like Glenn Close, did a great job of disguising herself and portraying herself as a man in 19th century Dublin. It worked very well and it was a pretty decent performance. As I said, Spencer definitely will most likely win this, but its interesting because I enjoyed Jessica Chastain's role of Celia Foote much better and I'd pick her over Spencer as well. Will I be mad if Spencer wins? Absolutely not. Do I want her to win? Not necessarily, but as I said it won't bother me. It was a fun performance and a good one as well.

BEST DIRECTOR:
The Artist-Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants-Alexander Payne
Hugo-Martin Scorsese
Midnight In Paris-Woody Allen
The Tree Of Life-Terrence Malick

This category has had some great wins over the years for some great movies. This year I am in favor of and I feel he will actually win is Martin Scorsese who last won for The Departed (a personal favorite movie of mine). I feel he will win this because of how well he used 3D and the idea of history of cinema as his main focal point in this movie. I saw this movie twice in theaters and loved it even more the second time. Plus, Chloe Moretz has a prominent role in the movie. I hope she stays in the acting profession as she is very promising. I read she was considered for Katniss Everdeen before Jennifer Lawrence (which would have been awesome), though Lawrence is a good actress as well in her roles in Winter's Bone and recently as Mystique in X-Men: First Class. I would also obviously not mind if The Artist won either. It is difficult to create a movie such as The Artist with the filters and the cinematography needed to portray it. Along with the zoom-in techniques and the way the camera pans in certain scenes it's more than deserving of winning. It's very groundbreaking, but Scorsese just nailed this category I felt. Alexander Payne should not win at all, but I have a feeling he has a dark horse chance as the academy does like his style. Woody Allen's style is usually pretty good and I am looking forward to his newer one which features Ellen Page in a prominent role. It was originally callled The Bop DeCameron, but was changed to Nero Fiddled so I will be checking this out when it comes out. He did a great job with the camera work and capturing the emotions of the characters in Midnight In Paris though. As I said, I haven't seen Tree of Life so I can't truly comment on Terrence Malick's directorial acumen (or perhaps lack thereof), but we'll see what happens.

Now that I have covered the six major categories I hope the readers of this blog will enjoy this look into the 84th Academy Awards. I enjoyed writing this and hope you enjoy reading it. As I said, there are other categories that I like as well such as Best Costumes (Anonymous is my choice for this), Best Make-Up (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is my choice for this), and Best Visual Effects (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is my choice for this as well). I also like examining the scores and original songs for movies. Now, I am not really sure what score I like best from the ones picked but I would have to say Adventures of Tin-Tin is probably my favorite of all of the ones chosen and Man or Muppet easily for Best Original Song. Be sure to catch the Oscars this Sunday!! The red carpet premiere starts at 7:00 P.M. and the main show starts at 8:00 P.M. Let's sit back and enjoy this cinematic celebration!!!