Coming off last weekend's Boston Science Fiction Film Festival & Marathon where I saw 13 movies (!) the last thing I wanted to do this week was to analyze....er...more movies! Anyway, can't control the calendar. On to this year's Academy Awards selections. I pick which film is the WINNER and which I feel is BEST in each of the major categories (and, yes, I HAVE seen the films):
All the nominees can be found here:
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawa ... inees.html
ANIMATED FEATURE: I was a tad disappointed in TOY STORY 3 (more so with THE ILLUSIONIST), but it's the class of this unnecessary category.
WINNER & BEST: TOY STORY 3
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: KING'S SPEECH scribe David Seidler's long stuggle to succeed as a screenwriter and to bring this personal story of overcoming stuttering is now known. And, deservedly so.
WINNER & BEST: David Seidler, KING'S SPEECH
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Sorkin's sizzling SOCIAL NETWORK script will carry the day, but the most impressive job of devising a spare, poignent and gripping tale to the screen was WINTER'S BONE.
WINNER: Aaron Sorkin, SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST: Debra Granik & Anne Rossellini, WINTER'S BONE
FILM EDITING: Usually this goes with Best Picture, but this is a year that may be different as the flashier SOCIAL cutting will edge the more traditional, but, beautifully executed KING'S.
WINNER: SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST: KING'S SPEECH
CINEMATOGRAPHY: This should be the year that the great Roger Deakins finally wins an Oscar - too bad it's for one of his merely Good works. Wally Pfister's lucid work on INCEPTION really shined.
WINNER: Roger Deakins, TRUE GRIT
BEST: Wally Pfister, INCEPTION
ART DIRECTION: A well dressed historical set usually carries the day here, and will again.
WINNER & BEST: KING'S SPEECH
SOUND MIXING & SOUND EDITING: Double your pleasure INCEPTION crew. No film used soundscapes to create another level as well.
WINNER & BEST (2 categories): INCEPTION
VISUAL EFFECTS: Ah, give 'em a 3rd tech award (much deserved; too bad the script wasn't as impeccable):
WINNER & BEST: INCEPTION
COSTUME DESIGN: As with Art Direction, historical dramas usually carry the day here, but here's one for the chic and stylish modern dress Milan Italian style.
WINNER: KING'S SPEECH
BEST: I AM LOVE
MAKEUP: An odd duck category with 3 films NOT nominated in any other category including two arthouse films in BARNEY'S VERSION and THE WAY BACK. Rick Baker's WOLFMAN will win, but is it really that much more special than the other 239 werewolf movies?
WINNER: THE WOLFMAN
BEST: THE WAY BACK
ORIGINAL SCORE: A lot of folks are pulling for Nine Inch Nail's Trent Reznor to win for his offbeat SOCIAL score, but the stirring KING'S SPEECH music will and should carry the baton.
WINNER & BEST: Alexandre Desplat, KING'S SPEECH
ORIGINAL SONG: Randy Newman wins again for a Pixar film (again). Snooze. At least A.R. Rahman's tune has a bit of energy.
WINNER: Randy Newman, TOY STORY 3
BEST: A.R.Rahman, Dido & R.Armstrong, 127 HOURS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Can we have a tie? When I saw KING'S, I said to myself that Geoffrey Rush was "perfect". A week later, I saw THE FIGHTER and Christian Bale "nailed it"! He stood toe to toe with Marky Mark and other Bostonians and pulled it off. The degree of difficulty will probably clinch it for Bale - but can you beat perfection?
WINNER: Christian Bale, THE FIGHTER
BEST: Geoffrey Rush, KING'S SPEECH (tie)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Haley Steinfeld is the ringer here as she is absolutely a lead (a bit too one-note for me), and cute kids have won before. Melissa Leo's blowzy mom in THE FIGHTER is too much for my taste and has overshadowed the much more restrained and crucial work by co-star Amy Adams.
WINNER: Melissa Leo, THE FIGHTER
BEST: Amy Adams, THE FIGHTER
BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman's perfomance is so wiry that it almost borders on genuine neurosis. It's strong and unsettling. But, Michelle Williams was so exposed and raw in BLUE VALENTINE that it should be recognized.
WINNER: Natalie Portman, BLACK SWAN
BEST: Michelle Williams, BLUE VALENTINE
BEST ACTOR: Have to admit, this isn't the greatest batch of nominees I've seen in this category. Some of the year's best work by the likes of Paul Giamatti (BARNEY'S VERSION) & Robert Duvall (GET LOW) went unnominated. Bridges is there almost out of habit. Colin Firth is a terrific actor but KING'S SPEECH is dangerously close to being a Person With Disabilities Oscar. Javier Bardem is deeply moving in BIUTIFUL.
WINNER: Colin Firth, KING'S SPEECH
BEST: Javier Bardem, BIUTIFUL
BEST DIRECTOR: A genuine tossup. Within the Academy I feel that Fincher is probably considered to have done the most technically accomplished work on SOCIAL, with Tom Hooper's KING'S work considered more an actor's piece.
WINNER: David Fincher, SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST: Tom Hooper, KING'S SPEECH
BEST PICTURE: KING'S SPEECH is the most moving and most loved of the films and will win. For me, the tiny indie WINTER'S BONE which was released back in the late-spring/early summer has stayed with me the most. Both a coming-of-age story and a terrific and taut mystery with thriller aspects, it is well worth seeking out.
WINNER: KING'S SPEECH
BEST: WINTER'S BONE
In the DOCUMENTARY race, I think INSIDE JOB has the inside track (but, it's the only nominee I 've seen). Again, having only seen BIUTIFUL in the FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM race, I can only glean that IN A BETTER WORLD might win there.
HOW I RANK THE 10 FILMS NOMINATED FOR BEST FILM (1 is best, 10 least):
10. BLACK SWAN
9. KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
8. INCEPTION
7. TRUE GRIT
6. THE FIGHTER
5. TOY STORY 3
4. 127 HOURS
3. SOCIAL NETWORK
2. KING'S SPEECH
1. WINTER'S BONE
Thanks for reading, send along YOUR picks and pans! See you next year!