The 85th Academy Awards are just a few days away so here are my predictions and picks on the nominees. Although I have yet to see many of the films that were awarded, because most of them were recently released this Winter and have yet to be released on Blu-Ray, I have read many articles on the nominees and know enough to make educated guesses. Another thing, is that I honestly do not care much for the Academy Awards (aka the Oscars), while I do like to know which films are nominated, it has very little impact on my opinion. With the exception of some classics and a few others, which are on my Top 25 Best Picture Nominations List, I rarely agree with their choices. However, I do respect their opinion but, I am annoyed by the Academy's complete ignorance of the Science-Fiction genre. Never has it won the award for Best Picture and at this rate, it never will. I will be addressing this issue in next week's "New Oscar Categories" post and later this year, I plan to make a J and J Productions Awards after I have seen more films that were released last year including everyone's favorite geek films.
Many fans were furious that The Dark Knight Rises was completely snubbed by the Academy, but I do not really care. Some thought it should have been nominated because The Dark Knight and Christopher Nolan were snubbed in 2008, but why is that any reason to give it a nomination? While the visual effects were good, there were far from the best of the year and no actor gave an Oscar worthy performance. The Dark Knight Rises was one of my favorite movies of the year because it was a fun popcorn flick and a good conclusion to the franchise. Most critics said that it was not even as good as The Dark Knight, so why should it be nominated anymore than the other snubbed movies? It will surely win some of my categories in my J and J Productions awards, but I do not think it is a big deal that it was not nominated. The Dark Knight Rises was a comic book movie and they generally exclude the genre. Basically, I do not care, because It did not expect it.
Also on the side note, I planned to watch Skyfall earlier this week but my Blu-Ray/DVD by mail subscription company (Block Buster) does not have any new releases due to some ridiculous "haven't made a deal with the distributors" claim, which is the reason I have yet to see it .
Best Picture:
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"
"Lincoln"
"Les Miserables"
"Life of Pi"
"Amour"
"Django Unchained"
"Argo"
Prediction: Lincoln/Argo: While Zero Dark Thirty sounded like it would have an easy win earlier this year, due to some controversy over the release confidential CIA information, it appears that its chances are slim. Lincoln and Argo, on the other hand, probably have the best shot. Another outside possibility is Beasts of the Southern Wild, because of its young leading lady.
My Pick: N/A- I have yet to see any of the films listed above.
Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"
Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Alan Arkin, "Argo"
Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
Prediction: Robert De Niro/Tommy Lee Jones: Best Supporting Actor is a tough category because there has not been much mention as to who is most likely to win. But many are really liking Jones' performance as well as De Niro's.
My Pick: N/A
Best Supporting Actress:
Sally Field, "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"
Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"
Amy Adams, "The Master"
Prediction: Anne Hathaway: Her song in Les Miserables has been a big topic of debate on whether she should win for only doing one song, however it appears that she has a good shot at the award.
My Pick: Anne Hathaway: Although I have not seen any of the films listed above, Hathaway's performance in The Dark Knight Rises was one of my favorite performances of the year.
Best Director:
David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"
Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"
Michael Haneke, "Amour"
Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Prediction: Steven Spielberg: Due to the upset of Affleck (Argo) and Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) not being nominated for the award, it appears that Spielberg is the most likely to win. However, Ang Lee also has an outside shot.
My Pick: N/A
Best Actor:
Daniel Day Lewis, "Lincoln"
Denzel Washington, "Flight"
Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"
Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"
Prediction: Daniel Day Lewis: While Jackman and Cooper probably have a decent chance at winning the award, Daniel Day Lewis' performance as Abraham Lincoln has received a lot of buzz for his performance.
My Pick: N/A
Best Actress:
Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"
Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"
Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Prediction: Jessica Chastain: While Quvenzhané Wallis and Emmanuelle Riva are the oldest and youngest actresses to be nominated for the award, it appears that Chastain will most likely win the award. Wallis might have a good chance considering her very young age.
My Pick: N/A
Best Original Screenplay:
"Zero Dark Thirty"
"Django Unchained"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Amour"
"Flight"
Prediction: Zero Dark Thirty: I almost find it odd that Zero Dark Thirty is considered in the Original Screenplay category since it is based on real events, but despite the controversy it should at least win this award. Also Django Unchained has an outside shot.
My Pick: N/A
Best Adapted Screenplay:
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Prediction: Lincoln/Argo: For the same reasons I stated for the Best Picture nominations, I believe either Lincoln or Argo will this category.
My Pick: N/A
Best Animated Feature:
"Frankenweenie"
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits"
"Wreck-It Ralph"
"Paranorman"
"Brave"
Prediction: Brave/Wreck-It-Ralph: While I have yet to see it, Wreck-It-Ralph is the definitive animated film of the year by most critics and I probably will agree with that statement after watching the film. However, Brave was made my Pixar, therefore the irrational Pixar bias and the fact that Wreck-It-Ralph is inspired by videos gmaes might give Brave the win regardless of quality. Also Frankenweenie was well received by critics and could win the award.
My Pick: N/A- I have yet to see Wreck-It-Ralph, but I am sure it would easily be my pick.
Best Foreign Feature:
"Amour"
"A Royal Affair"
"Kon-Tiki"
"No"
"War Witch"
Prediction: Amour: Amour is the only film of these listed above to be nominated for Best Picture, so it would obviously win Best Foreign Feature.
My Pick: N/A
Best Visual Effects:
"Life of Pi"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"The Avengers"
"Prometheus"
"Snow White and the Huntsman"
Prediction: Life of Pi: Because the Academy hates Comic Book based films, Life of Pi will probably win since everyone is raving about the effects, even though The Avengers' Visual Effects are unmatched.
My Pick: The Avengers: While Gollum in The Hobbit was fantastic, The Avengers effects were better overall.
Best Cinematography:
"Skyfall"
"Anna Karenina"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
Prediction: Lincoln: This is a complete guess. Lincoln has been nominated for many other awards, I suppose it has a good shot at cinematography.
My Pick: N/A- As I stated above, I have yet to see Skyfall but I believe it would be my choice among these films.
Best Costume Design:
"Anna Karenina"
"Les Miserables"
"Lincoln"
"Mirror Mirror"
"Snow White and the Huntsman"
Prediction: Les Miserables: From the pictures and advertisements, Les Mirserables costumes appeared to be the best. But I find it quite odd that the critically panned Mirror Mirror was even nominated, The Hobbit should have easily been nominated compared to these other movies.
My Pick: Snow White and the Huntsman: Snow White and the Huntsman is the only one of these films I have seen, but the costume design was done very well.
Best Documentary Feature:
"Searching for Sugar Man"
"How to Survive a Plague"
"The Gatekeepers"
"5 Broken Cameras"
"The Invisible War"
Prediction: N/A- I know nothing about these documentaries.
My Pick: N/A
Best Documentary Short:
"Open Heart"
"Inocente"
"Redemption"
"Kings Point"
"Mondays at Racine"
Prediction: N/A
My Pick:
Best Film Editing:
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Life of Pi"
"Argo"
"Zero Dark Thirty"
Prediction: Zero Dark Thirty: Many critics were raving about the film's intense final sequence, which would dictate good film editing.
My Pick: N/A-
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
"Hitchcock"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"Les Miserables"
Prediction: Les Miserables: Because Les Miserables had the best critical reception, it will mostly that the win. However, I do hope that The Hobbit will win at least one category.
My Pick: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: There is no contest for in my opinion, the make-up in the Hobbit were superb, especially considering that most of the cast required many prosthetics.
Best Music (Original Score):
"Anna Karenina"
"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"
Prediction: N/A- With the exception of Skyfall, I have yet to hear any of these film's soundtrack, therefore I cannot give an accurate prediction.
My Pick: Skyfall: While Skyfall's soundtrack is great, The Hobbit and The Avengers had far better scores and should have been nominated.
Best Music (Original Song):
"Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice"
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted"
"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi"
"Skyfall" from "Skyfall"
"Suddenly" from "Les Misérables"
Prediction: "Suddenly" from "Les Misérables": Since Les Misérables is a musical, it is expected that it would win Best Original Song.
My Pick: Although "Lonely Mountains" from The Hobbit was by far my favorite of the year, "Skyfall" was fantastic, already one of my favorite James Bond opening songs even though I have not seen the film.
Best Production Design:
"Anna Karenina"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
"Les Misérables"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
Prediction: Lincoln: Another educated guess, but Lincoln appeared to have sets that were accurate of the time.
My Pick: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: No question, The Hobbit would takes it in my book. While it used more CGI than it probably should have, the sets were great nonetheless.
Best Short Film, Animated:
"Adam and Dog"
"Fresh Guacamole"
"Head over Heels"
"Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'"
"Paperman"
Prediction: Paperman: One of the many talked about things in most Wreck-It-Ralph reviews that the "Paperman" short that preceded the film, and everyone seemed to love it.
My Pick: N/A
Best Short Film, Live Action:
"Asad"
"Buzkashi Boys"
"Curfew"
"Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)"
"Henry"
Prediction: N/A
My Pick: N/A
Best Sound Editing:
"Argo"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Skyfall"
"Zero Dark Thirty"
Prediction: Zero Dark Thirty: Usually this type of movie wins the category so I suppose it has a good shot.
My Pick: N/A
Best Sound Mixing:
"Argo"
"Les Misérables"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"
Prediction: Skyfall/Les Misérables: Hopefully Skyfall win something this year but Les Misérables is all about music and would probably have good sound mixing.
Do you agree or disagree with my predictions? For all I know, none of my predictions could be half right. Please comment below.
