ACADEMY AWARD PREDICTIONS AND EXPOSITORY HAIKU
to be amended as i cram a few last nominee-viewings into the next two weeks. pluses (+) indicate films i've already seen; brackets are predictions.
best actor
demián bichir - a better life
george clooney - the descendants +
jean dujardin - the artist +
gary oldman - tinker tailor soldier spy +
{brad pitt - moneyball} +
from where i'm sitting,
brad pitt as tyler durden
should've been oscared.
dujardin's a peach
as a silent film star, but
his shot's with best pic.
clooney's role was flat,
oldman's too understated
for hollywood's taste.
brad's perfectly cast,
and finally grew into
his face.* the nod's his.
best actress
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 didn't adore
michelle williams as MM,
but she transfixed me.
hollywood loves her,
and she's got the golden globe;
this one's in the bag.
best supporting actor
kenneth branagh - my week with marilyn +
jonah hill - moneyball +
nick nolte - warrior
{christopher plummer - beginners}
max von sydow - extremely loud & incredibly close
i brake for branagh's
shakespearean characters.
olivier? meh.
moneyball's oscar,
if an actor scoops one up,
is "papa" brad pitt's.
as for the others?
i like christopher plummer.
gravitas, bitches.
best supporting actress
bérénice bejo - the artist +
jessica chastain - the help
melissa mccarthy - bridesmaids
janet mcteer - albert nobbs
{octavia spencer - the help}
bookies say spencer -
but then, they okay visors
without irony.
clooney's film daughter,
shailene woodley, should be here;
sans her, i concur.
best director
michel hazanavicius - the artist +
alexander payne - the descendants +
martin scorsese - hugo +
woody allen - midnight in paris
{terrence malick - the tree of life} +
hugo: sweet, spotty.
the descendants was a mess.
zzz, woody allen.
was the tree of life's
distribution wide enough?
it had dinosaurs.
hazanavicius
splits the film-nostalgia vote.
TEAM DINOMALICK
best picture
{the artist} +
the descendants +
extremely loud & incredibly close
the help
hugo +
midnight in paris
moneyball +
the tree of life +
war horse
it's sweet, it's french, it's -
i adore the dog, okay?
the artist takes it.
imaginary reading group discussion questions
01 how many of the best picture nominees have you seen? which would get your vote?
02 do i have to see the help?
03 is matthew lillard plausible romantic competition for george clooney?
04 when it's time to discard 3D glasses, do you hide them on your person?
05 do you find rooney mara as lisbeth salander attractive?
06 d'you think it made sense for her to pierce her nipple for the role?
07 will you watch the academy awards this year?
BRADPITTBRADPITTBRADPITT.
ReplyDeletecan't tell if i think he will win, or i just want him to win.
note to self: see fucking tree of life already. also my week with marilyn. these movies are probably not playing in la paz. fuck.
cookies! it's good to see you. we need to see fucking tree of life already, too - and it's been AT OUR HOUSE for like a week and a half now. we keep pussying out and watching episodes of doomsday hoarders instead (in our defense, that show is amazing).
ReplyDeleteand I LOVE TERRENCE MALLICK. it's embarrassing.
ReplyDeletealso: i have no interest whatsoever in The Artist, but if it beats the fucking 9/11 Feel Good Tom Hanks movie, that's good enough for me.
ReplyDelete01 Two? We both know
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for feathers
and velvet smiles, taps.
02 No
03 No
04 Where else would I hide them?
05 No
06 No
07 No
the artist isn't wildly accomplished, but it's extremely likeable in a dozen different ways, it has a very general-interest subject and plot, and the acting's better than hugo's. though the directing's much tighter in hugo, and - oh, i don't know. two or three films are plausible as best pic for me. the terrier breaks the tie (he made me cry).
ReplyDelete01 one - midnight in paris - and woody will win for best director, as a) it's his most charming film in years (whether one likes his oeuvre or not), b) it's right in the wheelhouse for middle-aged academy voters, and c) he hasn't won for best director since annie hall. only downside is he won't show up to collect.
ReplyDelete02 no, though i'd rather see that than the film based on the novel by the guy who writes sub-singer yiddishkeit and 9/11 sentimentalism.
03 no, and tangentially clooney-related, ides of march being nominated for best adapted screenplay must be some kind of joke.
don't feel bad about delaying a terrence malick viewing - i had days of heaven on my DVR for at least 6 months before watching. it was not my favorite (enjoyed badlands and the new world more).
i'm not taking the bait this time on fight club.
01. I am the worst, every year. I haven't seen a single one of these. In fact, the ONLY movie I saw in the theater all year was MI3 (in Imax, though). We almost went to see The Descendants last weekend but the theater was too full.
ReplyDelete02. I give you permission to say no.
03. Never. He will always be a nerdy serial killer to me.
07. Probably not. Although I will read the fashion coverage on GFY the following day.
I do want to see at least a few of these. I just have a really hard time committing to movie-going in general. Especially because so many people eat buttered popcorn.
01: None of the moninees are masterworks so why not reward a temendous trifle: The Artist. (saw all but Loud/Close, Help and Horse) 03: Well, at the end of SLC Punk he was going to do damage from inside the system, SO NO. 05: No; but Noomi Rapace was. Does that mean anything? 06/07: Not really.
ReplyDelete01: there's a masterwork somewhere in loud/close help horse, i'd hope; the james herriot story told by robots? it's waiting to attach itself to a new moviemaking technology. agree on the trifle theory, thus far in my filmgoing anyway.
ReplyDelete03: RIGHT! i was thinking hackers and knew there was some other tragic hair role out there.
05: yes.
01 i can't vote, for i've only seen two.
ReplyDelete02 i enjoyed it for it's "feel-goodness", but then it was also a bit of a major bummer. not sure you HAVE to see it.
03 who is mathew lillard?
04 3d is evil.
05 who is rooney mara?
06 ouch, no.
07 probably not. i'm pretty anti-hollywood in the same way you're anti-san francsico.
01 oh come now, celia! if an informed electorate was essential to voting, where would the tea party be?
ReplyDelete03 you may know matt lillard from films such as hackers (in which as i recall he had cornrows?), SLC punk, and part of the scream franchise.
04 what about captain eo?
05 zuckerberg's girlfriend at the beginning of the social network, miss sweden in the american version of dragon tattoo. girl can wear some couture.
07 oh, celia. but they are so much better-looking than san francisco!
okay, finally saw tree of life (on oscar morning) - and i still think malick will take best director for it (for the dinosaurs, a bit, even!). i'd also give it an outside shot for best picture, thought that's still going to one of the movie-nostalgia flicks, i think (unless folks are feeling warm and fuzzy about the starchild sequence in 2001).
ReplyDelete