Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
Colin Firth in “The King's Speech”
James Franco in “127 Hours”
...3/5 isn't bad and I had planned to see the other two anyway. Given what I know, I hope Eisenberg takes it. His portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg was bang-on and I was able to both love and hate him, which are my exact feeling towards Zuckerberg as well. Reality Check: Colin Firth will probably take it. He's done an Oscar movie and I don't know what Hollywood's obsession with royalty is (perhaps overcompensating for a lack of their own?) but they love to reward movies with crowns. Personally, I thought it was highly over-rated.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone”
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech”
... Again, 3/5. And I've never heard of Winter's Bone (which, in and of itself, means nothing as it sounds very Oscar-ish). Bale should have this one in the bag, though. He was amazing in his role.
Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone”
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”
...*wince*. Okay, clearly I cannot even talk about the nominations as, by sheer elimination, I can only cast one vote. I would like to comment on the judges deciding to not place True Grit's Hailee Steinfeld in this category, opting for supporting instead. I call foul! That young lady was in basically every frame of True Grit, held her own against some of the most decorated actors of our times and blew me away with her delivery. Had she been in this category, I think she would have even beat out Ms. Portman for my vote. Alas.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”
...I think Steinfeld should win it. She was awesome. She has tough competition in Melissa Leo (who will probably end up with the statuette) and Bonham Carter.
Directing
Black Swan - Darren Aronofsky
The Fighter - David O. Russell
The King's Speech - Tom Hooper
The Social Network - David Fincher
True Grit - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
...Yet another omission I don't understand. I watched all these movies and liked them for the most part, but really? No Christopher Nolan for Inception? If nothing else, that movie would be hard to direct, with its multiple parallel storylines and time-spaces. Personally, I'd have dropped King's Speech (which wasn't anything special for directing... I mean, it was played pretty straight). Of what's left, I hope Black Swan wins it - it was a nice piece of directing.
Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
...really? Toy Story 3? I haven't watched it, but the three-quel of a Disney flick? Anyway... tough category. For sheer enjoyment, I wish Inception would win, but if you don't even acknowledge the director, this really doesn't have a shot. King's Speech, again, is an Oscar movie, but it was a snore-fest in comparison to these others. True Grit? Probably not, as Jeff Bridges' muttering made it hard to connect with the audience. I am torn between Social Network and Black Swan. Both were amazing character portrayals; both set the right tone for their respective movies and really engaged their audiences; both had tight, well-paced directing. A coin toss for me, and I'd be happy with either. Sadly, though, I see disappointment for both.
For a full list of nominations, go here. I fully intend to watch in either a ballgown or my fanciest pyjamas. I may even get cable just for the event.
4 comments:
I can't believe you haven't watched The Kids are all right... Annette's and Julianne's performances were brilliant... although my nod goes to Annette. She just nailed it I thought.
I can't believe I haven't watched it either...I full intend to catch up on all my movies over the Hallmark long weekend.
Eh, I'm over the Oscars. I have ever intention to watch the whole thing, but the long (often 2 hour)span between the first 20 minutes and the last hour is punishingly boring. Yup, more props to Art Direction, but I don't give a crap. Save the price of cable and catch up in the morning.
DK
That's an idea, mos def, DK. I like Oscar Night more for the hanging out and criticising people's wardrobe/hair/speech while imbibing serious amounts of bubbly.
Post a Comment