PREMATURE ACADEMY AWARD PREDICTIONS AND EXPOSITORY HAIKU
to be amended as i see additional nominees and gradually accept the fact that SWINTON is not as universally treasured as i would like her to be. pluses indicate films i've already seen; brackets are predictions.
best actor
javier bardem - biutiful
jeff bridges - true grit +
jesse eisenberg - the social network
{colin firth - the king's speech}
james franco - 127 hours
though franco's a force,
firth is rush-adjacent.
mr. darcy wins.
best actress
{annette bening - the kids are all right}
nicole kidman - rabbit hole
jennifer lawrence - winter's bone +
natalie portman - black swan +
michelle williams - blue valentine +
bening's fourth nod, guys.
her hair's amazing right now.
portman's pregnant, but
her globes acceptance
was super-creepy. i call
old hollywood here.
best supporting actor
{christian bale - the fighter}
john hawkes - winter's bone +
jeremy renner - the town
mark ruffalo - the kids are all right
geoffrey rush - the king's speech
john hawkes should take this,
but people love to forgive
christian bale. whatevs.
best supporting actress
amy adams - the fighter
{helena bonham carter - the king's speech}
melissa leo - the fighter
hailee steinfeld - true grit +
jacki weaver - animal kingdom
loved hailee steinfeld; her
role was super-stylized, though.
blind call: helena.
best director
{darren aronofsky - black swan} +
david o. russell - the fighter
tom hooper - the king's speech
david fincher - the social network
joel and ethan coen - true grit +
so many of the
choices in black swan were so
cool. i'm on team darren.
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 +
the social network
is all-around solid work,
per most reviewers.
more importantly,
it says "hollywood 'gets' tech,"
and that message wins.
imaginary reading group discussion questions
01 do you forgive christian bale?
02 if you're the sort who crams for the academy awards, what are you planning to see?
03 my musts before the ceremony are the fighter, the king's speech, the social network, and the kids are alright; am i missing anything crucial?
04 which film should get best picture?
05 will helena bonham carter wear mismatched shoes again, or was that a "what happens at the golden globes stays at the golden globes" thing?
06 if you had the kids are all right at home and needed to trick someone into watching it with you, what would you do?
1) No, I do not forgive him. Although, I have a hard time NOT forgiving him since he was a dreamboat as Laurie in "Little Women".
ReplyDelete2) I have already seen "Black Swan" + "True Grit" + "The Kids Are Alright". I need to see "The King's Speech" PRONTO. Also, "Winter's Bone" is next on my Netflix queue.
3) Oooh. "The Fighter". Gotta see that, too. You should totally see "The Kids Are Alright".
4) I have to say... I don't know. I need to see all of them first. Although, I REALLY don't want to watch "The Social Network". Sigh.
5) Helena Bonham Carter can do whatever the fuck she wants, Golden Globes or not.
6) Is it your husband that you're trying to trick? Tell him you are watching something else + put it in the DVD player. Or tell him it is full of lesbian sex.
02 I'm not one of those, but: The King's Speech, The Kids Are All Right
ReplyDelete03 Adam's Rib
04 I'm just here for the red carpet, man
05 See above
06 Catnip
did i mention how i was singing a belly song* the other night and steve started attacking me? i am in a house of LADY-HATERS
ReplyDelete*"the bees," which is a SUPER-LOVELY SONG
winter's bone is so good, and so intense - i jumped up and covered my mouth in shock at one point. you're going to love the music.
ReplyDeletei'm not especially excited about seeing the social network either, which...is weird, given that i usually lo-ove david fincher, am at least amused by aaron sorkin, and am curious to compare these harvard types to my peeps. (they report that the portrayal is fairly accurate.) it somehow makes me feel better that i can get it via netflix and don't have to go to the theater.
not doing so well with this the kids are all right campaign. i've heard it's very good, but i got over mark ruffalo a few years ago, and now he makes me want to nap. i tried to sell it to joe on the phone: "well, it's annette bening and julianne moore, and...they're these lesbians with kids who want to find their..." "can you watch it when i'm not home?"
I've only seen Black Swan.:( Loved it, though!
ReplyDeleteIs it SN on Netflix? Guess I have no excuse. Oh, well. Might as well watch it. My best pal in NY was at Harvard at the same time as these guys. Maybe it could be interesting?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have to say... Kids Are Alright is totally a lady movie. I don't blame Joe for not wanting to watch it. I watched it with my mom, who LOVES ANNETTE BENNING.
it's on netflix as of the 6th of february, i think. i started queuing probable noms a while ago, because i have too much time on my hands.
ReplyDeletehow can one not love annette bening? she will sell this house today.
06 food poisoning. looks like you missed your chance.
ReplyDeletesocial network is GREAT and is going to win best picture, best director + adapted screenplay. that is my prediction. (I TOLD YOU TO SEE IT. DO YOU GUYS NOT READ MY BLOG??)
ReplyDeletewinter's bone i wanted to love, but it kept diffusing the tension on me when i wanted the tension to be upped.
the kids are all right is just all right. not MR's fault.
the king's speech is terrific, and colin firth will win for sure.
01. of course. "little women" + "newsies" = lifetime free pass for most offenses*
ReplyDelete02. we're doing it inadvertantly. because i hate leaving the house to watch movies and everyone keeps giving us screeners. we saw "the town" and "the fighter" in theaters (only two movies i saw in theater last year). we watched a screener of "the king's speech" last week, "true grit" last night, "winter's bone" is waiting for us tonight. haven't managed to get our hands on "the social network", probably because they assumed everyone saw it in theater.
03. i think you have it pretty much covered.
04. i liked the scrappiness of "the fighter". A LOT. however, "the king's speech" has all the necessary oscar elements - mild handicap, british accents, period piece, passing references to hitler.
05. can't call the shoes, but it will be crazy. it felt kind of surreal to watch her onscreen in completely normal clothes. she looked good. and sane.
06. order in really good food? barricade all exits? provide alcohol?
*sexual offenses and animal abuse NOT covered in lifetime free passes.
when i was taking classes at harvard, there was a summer film series involving only films about harvard. it was a little harvard harvard harvard, and to this day i can't hear "she sells sanctuary" without thinking of brendan fraser jogging down the street. it messes with my darts game, is what i'm saying.
ReplyDelete06 tell joe "the kids are all right" is, to your surprise (since the reviews weirdly didn't mention this), actually a documentary about the who, with reinterpretations of their classics by my bloody valentine, the pixies, and the wedding present. and that annette bening is in the movie because she plays the ghost of keith moon.
ReplyDelete01: Reign of Fire is a gross guilty pleasure of mine, no pomo, but after Batman t’ree, Christian, seriously man, you and me, we’re fucking done professionally. 02: The Fighter; Rabbit Hole; Another Year. 03-04: Maybe the best time I had at the movies was Exit Through the Gift Shop. 06: Pull rank and tell them they’re contractually obligated to watch this two-and-a-half hour movie with you (assuming your relationship is indeed contractual). Big frown. Then, right before you start, reveal the movie’s actual length of one hour and forty-six minutes. They’ll be only too happy to save forty-four minutes watching the movie with you!
ReplyDeleteokay, have now seen the kids are all right. was unable to trick joe into watching it with me (despite contractual relationship), but steve and chuck obliged. questions:
ReplyDelete01 did they drop joni off for her first day of college at fashion island?
02 is there more than one mark ruffalo character? not in this movie, but as a general proposition.
03 are we to believe a character like annette bening's would name her son laser?
it was okay, but it ended far too neatly. i think that while AB was good (and really does have fantastic hair IRL these days), i'm swinging the oscar needle over to creepy mcpregnant.
and i'm back, having watched "winter's bone". i would say i enjoyed it, and def think she deserves a solid swing at best actress.
ReplyDeletebut it was a wee bit slow, in kind of an odd way. luckily i was already prejudiced in favor, because i love anything that involves the ozarks and survival techniques.
it was; it's a weird movie. i think somehow the unconventional pace twisted me up even more; i'd read a review which led me to believe another...thing would happen at one point, so i was waiting for that. there was pillow-clutching.
ReplyDeletei didn't react to the squirrel-hunting as i thought i would. that it was a survival thing probably helped.
02: Ruffalo’s different in In the Cut, a movie I loved but wouldn’t begrudge you hating with all your tarry heart. 0?: An amendment- Rabbit Hole is best of ‘10.
ReplyDeleted was emphatically not pleased with the squirrel hunting, but he has a serious soft spot for squirrels. i have actual family members that eat squirrel, so i found it much less weird.
ReplyDelete01 ummmmm no. but he's great in The Fighter and will win.
ReplyDelete02 just saw The Fighter last night, but have The Social Network, The Kids are All Right, and Winter's Bone coming in the mail. i finally mailed back an odd trio of films to netflix -- The Fourth Kind, Toy Story 3, and 8: The Mormon Proposition. all 3 were exhausting for different reasons. everything else up for best picture i've seen, minus 127 hours, which will never happen.
03 you know, i missed The Tempest, which is up for costumes, which i think will win (we went to the opening reception for the costume show at FIDM...apparently colleen atwood was standing around in front of the alice in wonderland stuff, which i both laugh at and am SO BITTER that i missed). did you see it?
04 The Social Network will, for the same reason (i think someone noted?) The Hurt Locker did -- relevance.
05 i sure hope so. i love her.
06 what would i do? what WILL i do? probably lure reynolds in with a giant gin martini and something from trader joe's that involves mushrooms and cheese.
tell him it's about LA and food. you've got this.
ReplyDelete