Oscar Opinions: Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Beasts of the Southern Wild was a film that disappointed me on first release, but much thought has changed my opinion of the picture.

QUICK OPINION:
One thing that directly describes Beasts is that it is a bold film. It is something I've never seen before, and something I don't want to be redone again. With great talent, it introduced me to a fictional neighborhood and introduced me to a cast of colorful characters. The performance by Quevenzhane and Dwight Henry aren't really performance, but almost natural to the performers.

BEST PERFORMANCE:
I would love to say Quevenzhane Wallis had the best performance in the film, but I would love to shed light on one of the best supporting performances of last year: the previously mentioned Dwight Henry. He reminded me of Brad Pitt's character from the perfect The Tree of Life. Dwight's character is an ant disguised as a bull. He's dying right from the get-go, but his presence and sense of dominance is also visible from the get-go. It's great stuff.

BEST SCENE:
Almost like The Master, there is a face-to-face scene between the two leads. Quevenzhane's Hushpuppy and Dwight Henry's Wink are arm wrestling. Wink loses, and I'm not even sure if it was intentional. This is Hushpuppy's first exposure to the fact that Wink is truly dying. She knows from what he says, but this time she truly knows. She's the Man!

Best Actress predictions (11/24/12)

I wouldn't be doing these if there wasn't something big, like a change in the race. Yet, there is.

1. Jessica Chastain for 'Zero Dark Thirty'
Oscars have a tough relationship with relevancy. 'The Hurt Locker' was relevant to the time, and it won. 'The Social Network' was REALLY relevant, yet it lost. I think the Academy will side with relevancy this time, and give the prize to Chassy, because it is so challenging. Also, some Oscars voters assumedly watch 'Homeland', with Carrie Mathison having striking parallels to Jessica's character.

2. Jennifer Lawrence for 'Silver Linings Playbook'
As this film's chances are failing, so is the film's heavyweight. Jennifer Lawrence is too young of a best actress contender to win, judging from the fact that the Academy is 70% white old male. Emphasis on the OLD.

3. Quevenzhane Wallis for 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'
A select few love this independent film, and they will easily vote for the 6-year old Wallis. I don't intend to sound like a internet dweeb, but younger hipsters eat this film up, and Wallis with it. Also, Wallis has been doing some nice publicity for the film, but no SAG really hurts.

4. Emanuelle Riva for 'Amour'
Since this foreign film is predicted to win, and even be a Best Picture nominee, Emanuelle Riva is going to ride along with it. Since the Academy is 70% old white males, they will easily vote for Riva's performance that will hit close to home. Also, since there will most likely be room for one french performance, it will be Riva's, not Cotillard's difficult portrayal of an amputee.

5. Naomi Watts for 'The Impossible'
'The Impossible' is a film with growing momentum, with big sponsorship by Angelina Jolie. With this added boost, Watts will probably be nominated, kicking out Cotillard in the nominee spot.

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): A tale of 'Chicken Licken'

Beasts of the Southern Wild, is this year's film with a fanbase, last year's being The Tree of Life. Beasts of the Southern Wild is definitely inventive with its shoestring budget, but is it still a good film? Maybe.

Beasts is the film that has been getting the most 4 star ratings this year, beating the likes of Moonrise Kingdom. Expecting a masterpiece was me, and I was the one disappointed.

The film opens with energetic narration by Quvenzhané Wallis, the youngster that plays Hushpuppy. She talks about holidays in her hometown, the Bathtub. The narration and Wallis' performance for the first 5 minutes appalled me. I was uninterested in what she was saying or doing. The festivities did not engage me, but more so dull me.