2012 Oscar Nominee Reviews & Predictions

The 2012 Oscars seem to be big on celebrating the movies. The two big front runners in the best picture race seem to be the black and white, silent film "The Artist" a film about the transition from silent films to the talkies and "Hugo" a film about the general invention of cinema. The other 7 nominees can probably just be honored to nominated at this point. But no matter which way you cut it, this will more than likely be the year of "The Artist". It has slowly become the awards juggernaut and I can't see how any film, even "Hugo" or the ever so popular "The Help" can bring it down. I've seen 7 or the 9 best picture nominees and I thought it might be fun to do a mini review on each of them. The film's I have not see are: "War Horse" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (A movie that no one, fans or critics, seemed to like at all so this nominee is a bit of a surprise). Anyway, these won't be in depth reviews, just a simple take on what I thought.

"The Artist" - I'm pretty sure this is the first silent film I've ever seen. I didn't know how this experience would go, but after seeing this film, I'm glad I "suffered" through it. It's amazing to me that so much emotion and character can be brought out without uttering a single word. It has a wonderfully charming story as well. It's about a vibrant silent film star who is pushed out of the business when the talkies are born and a young new female star takes the spotlight. The movie manages to be sweet, funny, sad, and full of energy and it's all conveyed through the actors facial expressions and actions. It's a beautiful film and certainly deserving of it's nomination and I can see why it will probably win this year. Not my choice though.  MY GRADE: A

"The Descendants" - For a while, George Clooney looked to be the favorite for best actor and this film was the one to beat for Best Picture. Those hopes have all but faded with the recent surge of The Artist. That being said, I really liked this film and I can honestly say I'm not the biggest fan of the Cloonster. The film is pretty dark but has some great subtle comedic moments. The story is about a man who lives in Hawaii with his two daughters and has to deal with his wife dying from a boating accident. He's also the main trustee on a piece of land that he is trying to sell and also has to learn about his wife cheating on him while she's in this coma. So yeah, it's not a happy film. Clooney is superb in the film. I've never seen him better. I loved the writing and just thought the film was great. MY GRADE: A-

"The Help" - The best part about The Help for me is the incredibly lovable and engaging cast. Led by the fantastic Viola Davis and the adorable and funny Octavia Spencer (both who will probably win Oscars this year). It also features a wonderful performance from Jessica Chastain, Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard. I was completely into the acting in the film, but I wasn't into the story all the way. Not to say the writing wasn't good, but I guess I just didn't get in to the movie as much as other people did. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this movie. But it was more of one of those one time viewing movies for me. This isn't something I could probably ever watch again. MY GRADE: B

"Hugo" - I'll go right out and say it: Hugo was the best movie of 2011 in my personal opinion. I never could imagine Martin Scorsese directing a kid friendly, PG rated, 3D movie and doing it well. But he beat the odds in a brilliant and wondrous way. I loved every single moment of Hugo. The movie is a tribute to film, especially early film. The story is so well told and this world he has created is enormous and magical and you can't help but fall in love with everyone and everything in this film. Asa Butterfield plays Hugo and such a fantastic young actor and he is helped along with the always reliable young actress Chloe Moretz. The two of them bring forth this adventure with innocence and charm and I believed them as children. Ben Kingsley is the adult male focus of the film and he carries every scene he is in. OK, I don't want to ramble to much, these are supposed to be short. But I'm telling you that I freaking LOVED this movie. LOVED it! Best movie I saw last year. I would want it to win Best Picture, but I know it won't. Shame. MY GRADE: A+

"Midnight in Paris" - This is one of those very random movies that came out early in the year that I never would have pictured as being nominated. It's a good, cute little movie but nothing about it screams best picture to me. Then again, this is a Woody Allen film, and he's been nominated over 20 times...so that is probably the answer right there. It has an odd premise. It's about a man (Owen Wilson) about to get married to a pretty terrible woman played by Rachel McAdams and they are visiting Paris. Wilson's character dreams what it would be like to live in Paris in the 20's because that's where he believes he would have belonged. Well he starts to go on some midnight strolls through the streets of Paris and somehow time warps back to the 20's and gets to meet some famous characters such as Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. It's a funny, quirky little movie and I did like it. But it's one of those movies I tend to forget about a month or so later. Just didn't pack any punch for me personally. Again, another solid one time viewing. My Grade: B-

"Moneyball" - Next to "Hugo", this was my favorite film of 2011. I'm a huge fan of baseball so going into this film, I already liked it. The movie is about the 2002 Oakland A's and their incredible run to the playoffs after Billy Beane implemented a new scouting tactic using computers and putting scouts in the back seat. Everyone believed he had lost his mind until they started winning. I already know how their season turned out and I already knew about the phenomenal 20 game winning streak (which is unheard of!) but somehow this movie still made it seem like I was watching it for the first time and it was so tense. Solid writing and directing. Brad Pitt gives his very best performance of his career in my opinion, and he would actually be my preference for Best Actor...but alas, that won't happen. Jonah Hill is also nominated for an Oscar for his role. He was very good, but I wouldn't say Oscar good. I think he's been so typecast as the fat friend funny sidekick, that when he does a serious film, and does well in it, people are just taken aback and have to give him some credit. He was very good, don't misread me. I liked him a lot in this film. He's actually the only best supporting actor nominee I've seen this year. GO JONAH! HA! But yeah, Moneyball is a brilliant movie. Loved it, loved it, loved it! MY GRADE: A+

"The Tree of Life" - I'm keeping this one short. You can call me artistically challenged or stupid, or whatever insult you want to throw my way, and I won't care. I did not like this movie. I did not get it (I understood what it was about but I mean I didn't get it as a whole if that makes sense). It was freakishly bizarre to me. I seriously wanted to walk out of the theater. I will say it had some amazing cinematograpny and some good performances even though there wasn't much talking. I'm leaving it at that. I didn't like it. Sorry art house snobs.  MY GRADE: D+

The winners are basically very predictable. In fact, here are my predictions in most of the major categories:

BEST PICTURE:
"The Artist"
    Possible Upset: "Hugo" or "The Help"

BEST DIRECTOR:
Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist"
    Possible Upset: Martin Scorsese for "Hugo"

BEST ACTOR:
Jean Dujardin for "The Artist"
    Possible Upset: George Clooney for "The Descendants"

BEST ACTRESS:
Viola Davis for "The Help"
    Possible Upset: Meryl Streep for "The Iron Lady"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Christopher Plummer for "Beginners" (LOCK)
    Possible Upset: Nick Nolte for "Warrior"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Octavia Spencer for "The Help" (LOCK)
    Possible Upset: Melissa McCarthy for "Bridesmaids" or Jessica Chastain for "The Help"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
"The Descendants"
    Possible Upset: "Hugo"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
"Midnight in Paris"
    Possible Upset: "The Artist"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
"Rango"
    Possible Upset: "Puss in Boots"?? (No Adventures of TinTin...kind of weird)

Noticeably omitted from the Best Picture list was Bridesmaids, a movie that was nominated at the PGA and SAG Awards...usually means a Best Picture nomination. Also left off the list was Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part II.  But the Oscars once again changed their rules and were able to nominate anywhere from 5 to 10 movies. They decided to go with 9 this year and nominate a film "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" that no one seemed to remotely enjoy. You have to wonder where these things come from. But whatever, it's just a silly awards show that ultimately no one truly cares about. But I decided to kill some time and write about it. Billy Crystal is hosting this year, so it should be fun to watch.

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