2012 Academy Awards Thread

[OrphanPip]

For the third year in a row I'm making an Oscars thread.

So the noms this year:

Best Picture

The Artist
Hugo
The Descendants
Moneyball
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Tree of Life
War Horse
Midnight in Paris

Of these my favourite was Hugo, the only one I didn't see was ELIC. I think it's likely The Artist will win though, or maybe The Descendants.

Actor in a Leading Role

George Clooney
Brad Pitt
Gary Oldman
Jean Dujardin
Demian Bichir

My preference would be Oldman, I think Clooney will win.

Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close
Meryl Streep
Rooney Mara
Viola Davis
Michelle Williams

I don't know who will win this, I thought Williams was really good in My Week with Marylin. I'm thinking it will go to Close or Streep though.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh
Jonah Hill
Nick Nolte
Christopher Plummer
Max von Sydow

I'm betting on Plummer.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Berenice Bejo
Jessica Chastain
Melissa McCarthy
Janet McTeer
Octavia Spencer

Two noms from the Help here, which will probably work against them. So, I think Bejo has this for sure.

Other noms here: http://oscar.go.com/nominees

So lit-net, what are your thoughts on this years crop of movies, and what are your pics for the Oscars?

[Charles Darnay]

I completely agree with your predictions.

I think The Artist has a very good chance at Best Picture. It will be win best Director I believe.

I'm hoping Original Screenplay goes to Woody Allen, I think he has a shot at that.

Monsieur Lazhar has a good chance at Best Foreign - or maybe I'm just saying that to support a fellow Canadian.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

This is the first year I can recall ever saying this, but I haven't seen one of the movies nominated for best picture.

[Darcy88]

I've only seen Moneyball and Tree of Life. Seems like Meryl Streep gets nominated every year.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I've only seen Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris which I was a little disappointed with overall. I've heard that The Artist is pretty good and should win.


I don't know who will win this, I thought Williams was really good in My Week with Marylin. I'm thinking it will go to Close or Streep though.

Oh I heard that Streep is pretty much nailed on to win in her Iron Lady role. I was interested in watching that film as well, though I haven't got around to it as of yet.

[Lokasenna]

I'm slightly annoyed by how much Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has been overlooked. Grumble.

[qimissung]

I would have preferred to see Melancholia be nominated for best pic, although I haven't seen it yet. I am also disappointed not to see The Shelter nominated for anything, although as it was a small, indepependent production that's not so surprising. It's an excellent movie, very powerful if anyone is interested.

I really do want to see Hugo. I wonder if ICAAL is any good. I've seen reviews that are both good and bad; I suspect that sentimentality will prevail and it will be the winner.

I've heard Tinker, Tailor is good, but I haven't seen it; actually, like MM I haven't seen a lot of these, which is a bit unusual for me. I guess I need to get busy with my movie watching.

Is War Horse worth a look? I've heard it's quite beautiful.

[Charles Darnay]

Is War Horse worth a look? I've heard it's quite beautiful.

Aesthetically it is very pleasing, but that is as far as the movie goes. See the stage production if you want a good experience.

[OrphanPip]

War Horse is really kind of hokey and too wholesome, but it's very well shot and a very pretty film.

I posted my personal top ten of the year a few weeks ago, 5 of my picks are on the list of best picture nods. I didn't think that highly of Descendants or Moneyball, and I never saw Extremely Loud. I'm surprised at the snubs of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and of Drive, which were amongst my favourites of the year.

Although, Hugo was my favourite film of the year, so I'm happy to see it nominated.

[KCurtis]

Aesthetically it is very pleasing, but that is as far as the movie goes. See the stage production if you want a good experience.
I liked War Horse. It is an old fashioned movie.

[the facade]

I'm hoping that The Artist gets where it is due: best picture and director (tentatively best actor).

Check out my blog for a review:
http://withthedave.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/the-artist-why-you-should-see-it-and-why-it-will-tickle-you-in-strange-places/

[Mr. Bergstrom]

I used to pay a lot of attention to awards ceremonies. They just annoy me now, it all seems so false now and the nominees dubious.

[qimissung]

OK, these are my Oscar picks (or rather, wishes):

Best Picture: The Tree of Life
Best Director: Malick or Payne
Best Actor: George Clooney
Best Actress: Viola Davis or Michelle Williams
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (I loved that movie!)
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer
Best Writing, Originall Screenplay: A Separation
Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay: I don't know; I'm sure they're all worthy.

I wish I'd gotten to see more of these. Yes, I know the Oscars are stodgy, but I still enjoy them. I do think they should let people give their speeches and leave them alone. I also think they ought to have a half hour show before the telecast and perform the musical numbers then.

Those are my ideas for a better show. Anybody else have any ideas?

[the facade]

thus far into the ceremony, this year's oscar disappointment: emmanuel lubezki (tree of life) being robbed for best cinematography

[qimissung]

Agreed

[qimissung]

I have rarely been as disgusted with the Oscars as I am tonight. "The Tree of Life" should have won Best Picture. Because without a doubt it WAS the best picture.

Stupid academy.

[the facade]

qimissung - personally it is a tough call between "the tree of life" and "the artist". i'm not terribly upset about that decision. however, i agree with the rest - disgusting.

i would like to thank the academy for being like the northern star - painfully predictable, dwarfed by the beautiful constellations it will never be a part of, but still recklessly shining the brightest.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I have rarely been as disgusted with the Oscars as I am tonight. "The Tree of Life" should have won Best Picture. Because without a doubt it WAS the best picture.

Stupid academy.

Well, this is the same academy that awarded Best Pecture to Slumdog Millionaire, Chicago (which beat The Pianist), and Titanic. They're hardly new to stupid decisions.

[OrphanPip]

Slumdog Millionaire was a pretty good movie.

Chicago was a questionable choice, but really is it any worse than Rocky beating Taxi Driver.

And Titanic really was better than the other nominees that year.

[My2cents]

Was it really live? Whatever you might say about the picks, I thought the production of the show was first rate, especially for a live telecast. The ceremony moved along at a good, rapid clip; no winner made an incredibly long, overbearing speech (at least in the portion of the show that I saw), avoiding those unbearable awkward moments when the music cues in to cut off a speaker; and some of the segments were really beautifully done (the tribute to the dead actors come to mind).

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Slumdog Millionaire was a pretty good movie.

Chicago was a questionable choice, but really is it any worse than Rocky beating Taxi Driver.

And Titanic really was better than the other nominees that year.

Slumdog was horribly overrated. Frost/Nixon and especially Milk were way better.

Yeah, it's worse than Rocky beating Taxi Driver, because while Taxi Driver is definitely superior, Rocky is still a good movie.

And you have to be kidding about Titanic. That movie is one of the most atrociously cliche ridden pieces of junk ever. The dialogue is laughably bad (seriously, how many times does Dicaprio have to yell "Rose"). The actual scenes of the boat sinking are the only good parts. Good Will Hunting, LA Confidential, and As Good As It Gets were all much better.

And, as I looked through the Wikipedia article for reference: I found more stupid choices: Fargo lost to The English Patient, Saving Private Ryan lost to Shakespeare in Love (seriously, what the ****?), The Green Mile lost to American Beauty, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon lost to Gladiator, Pulp Fiction beat Forest Gump AND Shawshank Redemltion (great movie, but Pulp Fcition and Shawshank are better), Kramer vs. Kramer beat Apocalypse Now. Oh, and they actually nominated Avatar!

Some of the pics they definitely got right: Amadeus, Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler's List, Lord of the Rings:Return of the King, Crash, No Country for Old Men, Hurt Locker, and King's Speech.

[Darcy88]

Slumdog was horribly overrated. Frost/Nixon and especially Milk were way better.

Yeah, it's worse than Rocky beating Taxi Driver, because while Taxi Driver is definitely superior, Rocky is still a good movie.

And you have to be kidding about Titanic. That movie is one of the most atrociously cliche ridden pieces of junk ever. The dialogue is laughably bad (seriously, how many times does Dicaprio have to yell "Rose"). The actual scenes of the boat sinking are the only good parts. Good Will Hunting, LA Confidential, and As Good As It Gets were all much better.

And, as I looked through the Wikipedia article for reference: I found more stupid choices: Fargo lost to The English Patient, Saving Private Ryan lost to Shakespeare in Love (seriously, what the ****?), The Green Mile lost to American Beauty, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon lost to Gladiator, Pulp Fiction beat Forest Gump AND Shawshank Redemltion (great movie, but Pulp Fcition and Shawshank are better), Kramer vs. Kramer beat Apocalypse Now. Oh, and they actually nominated Avatar!

Some of the pics they definitely got right: Amadeus, Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler's List, Lord of the Rings:Return of the King, Crash, No Country for Old Men, Hurt Locker, and King's Speech.

I liked Titanic, but I did not realize it beat out Good Will Hunting. I understand it but its still a travesty. I think American Beauty is definitely superior to The Green Mile though, and between Pulp Fiction, Forest Gump and Shawshank its impossible for me to pick a clear best.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I just love the Green Mile. To me, it's a perfect movie. Definitely in the top ten. Great story, great characters, and the ending words leave me with goosebumps every time. American Beauty is good, but it felt like they were trying way too hard to be deep and artsy.

One thing I'm glad about this year is that they didn't nominate Drive for best picture. That movie sucked.

[Darcy88]

I said it was a travesty that Titanic beat out Good Will Hunting, but I don't know. G W H is clearly the better film. Compare the writing to Titanic's and you can only laugh. But Titanic is monumental film-making. The costume and set design, the special effects and cinematography, the sheer epic-feel oozing from every scene....I understand how such a movie could garner top honours, even over a masterful film like Good Will Hunting. And G W H did take the Oscar for best screenplay, and the writing is why its at all arguably better. Titanic is practically inimitable in how it so totally transports you to another place and time, even if the script and plot are hackneyed as hell.

This year I saw hardly any of the films and so cannot really comment. The academy lost a lot of prestige in my eyes when they nominated Avatar and the Blindside one year. I liked both films, but it was absurd to include them in the best film discussion.

[OrphanPip]

Slumdog was horribly overrated. Frost/Nixon and especially Milk were way better.

Slumdog was certainly better than both of those films, whether you think it is overrated or not. It not only was a critical success, but also a popular success, which is a testament to its quality. Milk in particular is a mediocre film that only got a nod because of its politics.



Yeah, it's worse than Rocky beating Taxi Driver, because while Taxi Driver is definitely superior, Rocky is still a good movie.

Chicago is not a bad movie. Bob Fosse is possibly the greatest musical director of the 60s-80s, and his choreography is iconic. While he was dead by the time Chicago was made into a film, it still bares his mark in the choreography. You simply don't like the genre, that doesn't make it a bad film.



And you have to be kidding about Titanic. That movie is one of the most atrociously cliche ridden pieces of junk ever. The dialogue is laughably bad (seriously, how many times does Dicaprio have to yell "Rose"). The actual scenes of the boat sinking are the only good parts. Good Will Hunting, LA Confidential, and As Good As It Gets were all much better.

I don't know if you remember seeing Titanic when it was new, I think I'm only 2 years older than you, but still it has held up incredibly well on grounds of cinematography. The film has also undeniably permeated pop culture, have you ever met someone who hasn't seen Titanic? The film also set the ground for most hollywood epics that followed, it was a watershed moment in its own right.



And, as I looked through the Wikipedia article for reference: I found more stupid choices: Fargo lost to The English Patient, Saving Private Ryan lost to Shakespeare in Love (seriously, what the ****?), The Green Mile lost to American Beauty, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon lost to Gladiator, Pulp Fiction beat Forest Gump AND Shawshank Redemltion (great movie, but Pulp Fcition and Shawshank are better), Kramer vs. Kramer beat Apocalypse Now. Oh, and they actually nominated Avatar!

Some of the pics they definitely got right: Amadeus, Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler's List, Lord of the Rings:Return of the King, Crash, No Country for Old Men, Hurt Locker, and King's Speech.

The only really questionable pick from that list is Gladiator.

[Desolation]

One thing I'm glad about this year is that they didn't nominate Drive for best picture. That movie sucked.

I agreed with everything you said up to here.

Drive was my favorite movie this year (with Midnight in Paris as a close second)...And one of the best I've ever seen. But, it's all a matter of opinion.

Most of the movies/performances I would have picked weren't even nominated, so I wasn't expecting much. I'm a little peeved that Rooney Mara didn't get Best Actress for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, though.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I did see Titanic when it came out (mostly because of the boobies), but I did love it at that time. I was born in 86, so I was 10-11 (Titanic was 97 if I'm remembering correctly) and I did very much enjoy it. It even made me cry. I'll agree the cinemtopgraphy is excellent. But the dialogue and hamminess of the story just make me laugh now. Plus, is popularity really a good measure of worth? It's an okay measure at best, I think. After all, if it was, it would be quite easy to make the case that Rocky is a better film than Taxi Driver.

Just to clear on something else: I don't hate musicals as a genre. It isn't my favorite, but I don't balk at them like a lot of other guys.

We must agree to disagree on the rest, since it's just a matter of taste (and, honestly, I think you can probably argue movies better than me), except for one thing:



The only really questionable pick from that list is Gladiator.
You really think picking Kramer vs. Kramer over Apocalypse Now wasn't questionable? I think that rivals the ridiculousness of giving the award to Rocky over Taxi Driver.

And you really think Avatar deserved a nom?


I agreed with everything you said up to here.

Drive was my favorite movie this year (with Midnight in Paris as a close second)...And one of the best I've ever seen. But, it's all a matter of opinion.
I'm quite in the minority with my loathing of Drive, it seems. I can't help it, though; I really hated that movie.

[OrphanPip]

Kramer vs. Kramer is a very good movie, I'd agree Apocalypse Now is the better film, but it's not like KvK is awful.

[Darcy88]

Kramer vs. Kramer is a very good movie, I'd agree Apocalypse Now is the better film, but it's not like KvK is awful.

I have to see Kramer Vs. Kramer now. It must be one fine piece of film-making if its at all comparable to Apocalypse Now.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

It is a very fine film, but I don't find it even gets close to Apocalypse Now. I've met few who disagree.

[Calidore]

I have to see Kramer Vs. Kramer now. It must be one fine piece of film-making if its at all comparable to Apocalypse Now.

Apples and oranges big-time, which is unfortunately what a lot of comparisons come down to. In this case, realistic domestic/courtroom drama vs. utterly insane war movie. Apocalypse Now is more epic, but certainly isn't flawless. And how do you beat late-'70s Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep as an acting tandem?

Frankly, I have always liked Rocky more than Taxi Driver.

The way Mutatis feels about Drive, I feel about American Beauty--what a waste of celluloid that was, except of course for the Window Shot.

[Darcy88]

Frankly, I have always liked Rocky more than Taxi Driver.


Really? I like Rocky, but come on. Some of the dialogue is just agonizingly corny and the fight scenes haven't a glimmer of realism to them. They just stand there trading hay-makers round after round, not even trying to feign anything closely resembling proper technique. The shameless jingoism in the third film for me casts something a shadow over the first. I'm not overly fond of taxi driver, it just seems wrong to me that Rocky should go down as that year's best.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

The shameless jingoism in the third film for me casts something a shadow over the first.

Then don't see the fourth . . . ever.

[AuntShecky]

Awards shows are fun to watch a couple of times a year. I usually manage to catch at least the first hour of the big three--Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys. Of these, The Tony Awards Show, ironically the lowest rated telecast, is actually the most entertaining. They always feature tremendous musical numbers from the nominees, and there is no award show host as amusing and entertaining as Neil Patrick Harris--not counting Billy Crystal, who stepped in to host the Oscars@ this year when the star and producer originally slated to do the gig jumped ship. (It's funny that I live in NYS, and a relatively short distance from the Big Apple, but I haven't been able to visit that stupendous city in decades. But someday, if I'm still alive and "flush," I would love more than anything to see a good Broadway play and a musical.)

I'd love to see all of the nominated pictures for 2012, especially the winner, The Artist (whose plot, I hear, is similar to Singin' in the Rain, one of the best movies ever made), Woody's Midnight in Paris, Tree of Life, Moneyball, The Descendants, Hugo, just about all of them. Every one of those "foreign language films" (sort of a parochial, if not jingoistic ,category name, don'tcha think?) looks and sounds intriguing, but few people live in areas where they're available. Arty films usually don't make it to the local multiplex. (Of course, I'm dreaming. These days it's really too costly to see a first-run movie in a theatre--when I was a kid, people called it "going to the show." In this economy some of us are lucky we can still afford basic cable.)

Since most of us don't live in La La Land or work in what Show Biz types love to call "The Industry," it's probably safe to say that we don't take awards in general and the Oscars@ in particular quite as serioously as those movie folks do.

Just to put the whole thing into prospective: Quick! Name 5 of last year's 10 nominees for Best Picture. Betcha most of us can't do it before
searching for Orphan Pip's Oscar@ Thread for 2011.

I'm closing this admittedly self-indulgent posting by alluding to last year's show, which was the topic of a so-called "humor" piece. (Having consistently
failed in the art of playwriting, verse, and short fiction, I thought, what the
hell, might as well fail at humor writing too!) It occurred to me at the time
that most attempts at spoofing award shows are trite; usually what we get is a kind of parody in which a fake awards show gives out prizes for fake categories, like "Best Performance by a Wall Street billionaire" or something.
I wanted to try a different way, and used as my model George S. Kaufman's
"If Men Played Cards the Way Women Do." The result was "If Sportscasters Hosted the Academy Awards." If you're have time and you're so inclined, you can read it here. (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1013103&postcount=48)

[Calidore]

Really? I like Rocky, but come on. Some of the dialogue is just agonizingly corny and the fight scenes haven't a glimmer of realism to them. They just stand there trading hay-makers round after round, not even trying to feign anything closely resembling proper technique. The shameless jingoism in the third film for me casts something a shadow over the first. I'm not overly fond of taxi driver, it just seems wrong to me that Rocky should go down as that year's best.

I assume you meant the fourth. Anyway, how can you blame a movie for its sequels?

No, the boxing wasn't authentic; neither is movie martial arts, fistfighting, swordfighting, or pretty much any kind of movie action. So we should revoke any Oscar given to any movie that has any aspect of unrealism in it?

Granted, my viewing experiences of the two films were very different. I wasn't old enough to see Taxi Driver when it came out, so I didn't until years later on home video. On the other hand, I did see Rocky in the theater with my parents and sister during its original release. It was a new kind of movie, and by the time of the climactic fight, the audience was really into it; when Rocky got in that haymaker that decked Creed early on, the theater crowd erupted. That adds lots to the awesomeness of a movie.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I just saw Hugo. I really liked it, though it wasn't flawless.

[qimissung]

I just saw Hugo, and I really liked it though it wasn't flawless. (I kid) Nah, I enjoyed it and was it ever beautiful! The colors and the sets were gorgeous, and the actors all did a fine job, Asa Butterworth and Ben Kingsley in particular.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

The visuals were definitely what made the movie. The story was good, but it really dragged for a bit. The last half hour was brilliant, though. And Kingsley was good (a given, really), but I found the kid, Butterworth, to be off-note in a lot of scenes. Who had really good moments, but just moments. I thought the girl who played Isabel was very good . . . I think she may have been the best performance in the movie.

[qimissung]

The girl was Chole Grace Moretz. She was good. Except occasionally she sounded like she had an English accent, a pet peeve of mine. I think espcially of Kate Winslet in Quills. It's set in France, I believe, but she sounds cockney. It's been awhile since I've seen it, however.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I'm pretty sure most everyone had an English accent.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I just watched a movie that really should have been nominated for an academy award (it's way better than Titanic, after all), and that is Boogie Nights. Such a great film.