Come on. You knew it was coming. The academy just released this years Oscar nominations. Here they are with my personal picks. Now, I haven’t seen most of the pictures, and hopefully I will see a few more of them before the big day, but I’m picking mine now because I’m plucky like that. Enjoy.
Also since I’ve become addicted to Twitter, I will be tweeting a lot that night as we watch. So anyone interested has only to follow my action to know how things are going from my limited view.
Again, I haven’t seen a lot of these so I’m just gonna wing it.
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
(I don’t know. I just think it’s time an Alexander Payne movie took the big cookie.)
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir (A Better Life)
George Clooney (The Descendants)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
(I really wanted to vote for Gary Oldman. I have been a fan of his talent, if not his right wingyness, for years. But gosh darn it if Clooney didn’t win me over with his folksy charm.)
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 & Incredibly Close)
(I love these nominees. Huge Branagh fan even when he does shit, and Jonah Hill was fantastic in Moneyball. But it’s time for Plummer. He was great in Beginners.)
Actress in a Leading Role
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)
(I think Streep will get it. I would be happy with Williams winning, but I have to go with Rooney Mara. I can’t not support someone so punk.)
Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo (The Artist)
Jessica Chastain (The Help)
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)
(I know what you are thinking. “Oh, Shawn voted for the super-hot one ’cause he’s a dude and they make all their judgements from the downstairs area.” That isn’t the case. I thought “The Help” was syrupy and, while it definitely had some dark and dangerous aspects to it, it resorted to fluffy too often. Chastain played a pretty basic character, but she made some tremendous, deliberate choices. Choices that seperated her from anyone else that would have played that. So there.)
Animated Feature Film
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
(Any title with the word “Chico” in it gets my vote.)
Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse
(It just looks so pretty.)
Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse
(Yup.)
Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.
(The costumes look pretty groovy.)
Directing
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
Terrence Malick (Tree of Life)
(I would have liked for Fincher to get a nom, but he didn’t. And Bennet Miller, who directed Moneyball didn’t either. So I’m sticking with Scorsese.)
Documentary (Feature)
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated
(Didn’t see this one, but I loved the first two. And it helps that this was finally resolved last year.)
Documentary (Short Subject)
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
(Didn’t see it, but it sounds awesome.)
Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
(Fincher movies are always well-edited.)
Foreign Language Film
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)
(I’m sticking with my tradition of picking the pony that I can’t pronounce.)
Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
(I barely recognized Glenn Close.)
Music (Original Score)
The Adventures of Tintin
The Artist
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
(The music is badass.)
Music (Original Song)
Man or Muppet (The Muppets)
Real in Rio (Rio)
(OK. 1. THE MUPPETS. 2. Written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords.)
Short Film (Animated)
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life
( I think I just like the phrase, “La Luna.” It’s magical.)
Short Film (Live Action)
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic
(I have no idea what it’s about, but I hope it’s a poorly written action adventure.)
Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
(More Hugo.)
Sound Mixing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
(And more Fincher.)
Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
(The apes were pretty awesome.)
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
(OK, this is a dumb reason, but one of the guys that wrote the screenplay plays the principal on Community and that is good enough for me.)
Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
Midnight in Paris
A Separation
(One of the few I actually watched. I don’t know if I liked the movie, but it was clever.)
