FINAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS!

A third year of prognostication comes to a close, and its another year where the true best picture of the year DOES NOT WIN! (You can view all my picks here.)

Best Picture:
ARGO

Best Director:
 STEVEN SPIELBERG, LINCOLN

Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis, LINCOLN

Best Actress:
Jennifer Lawrence, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Best Supporting Actor:
Tommy Lee Jones, LINCOLN

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway, LES MISERABLES

Best Original Screenplay:
Mark Boal, ZERO DARK THIRTY

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Chris Terrio, ARGO

Oscar Opinions: Lincoln (2012)

This was one of the weirdest movies that had me with a goofy grin on my face.

QUICK OPINION:
I initially gave the picture 3 Stars, but this was out of impatience. The last 10 minutes went on for a good bit too long, and as previously stated, I gave the film 3 Stars just due to a sore bottom. Yes, 10 minutes could have been excised, but upon second thought, the film was incredibly dense and entertaining. Day-Lewis was a wise, well-written, and overall very likable as the titular Lincoln. I do think Sally Field's work in the film has been overestimated, but it is fine work, nonetheless. Major props to Kushner's eloquent screenplay, which had me (mentally) cheering, laughing, and the script also did an incredible job handling all of the subplots.

BEST PERFORMANCE:
No-brainer, but Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president. He carried every scene he had, and was in a 7/8 of all the movie.

BEST MOMENT:
Easily all the scenes when Lincoln was telling his stories. All of them were slightly off topic, but they were the main reasons I held a goofy grin for 140 of the 150 minute runtime.

Iowa Film Critics reward Lincoln!

Best Film: “Lincoln”

Other nominees: “Silver Linings Playbook”; “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Director: Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”

Other nominees: Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”; Tom Hooper, “Les Miserables”

Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis, “Lincoln”

Other nominees: Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”; John Hawkes, “The Sessions”

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Other nominees: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”; Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”

Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”

Other nominees: Alan Arkin, “Argo”; Robert DeNiro, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”

Other nominees: Amy Adams, “The Master”; Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”

Best Animated Film: “Brave”

Other nominees: “ParaNorman,” “Wreck-It Ralph”

Best Film That Has Yet to Open In Iowa: “Amour”

DGA Nominee predictions!

DGA announces tomorrow, and despite it being so close to announcement day, they still remain crucial.

1. Spielberg, Lincoln
2. Affleck, Argo
3. Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
4. Lee, Life of Pi

5 is a tough cookie. The DGA will probably nominate O. Russell for Silver Linings because they usually aren't as sentimental as the Academy. They nominated Dark Knight, Academy chose The Reader. Just because O. Russell will be nominated here at the DGA's doesn't mean he will at the Oscars. Gods (or any other god believed by Piscene Molitor Patel,) will he does.

Washington Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) nominees!

Skyfall nominations!

Best Film:

Argo

Les Misérables

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director:

Ben Affleck (Argo)

Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master)

Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)

Tom Hooper (Les Misérables)

Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

Best Actor:

Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

John Hawkes (The Sessions)

Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables)

Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)

Denzel Washington (Flight)

Best Actress:

Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone)

Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Helen Mirren (Hitchcock)

Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)

Best Director predictions.

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
I am making a very bold prediction right now. I think the Academy feels the need to reward PT Anderson after There Will Be Blood, and outside of acting, the direction seems to be getting the most praise. Also, Weinstein is backing PT all the way to the finish line.

2. David O'Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
With this being the predicted winner, it would only seem right for this to win Best Director. Problem is though, I've seen lesser notices for direction, but more for the acting. Weinstein might also be busy backing PT Anderson to give enough recognition for Dave.

3. Ang Lee, Life of Pi
This will be like Hugo. The Academy will feel the need to recognize a visual film, and it will give the awards in the visual categories. Ang Lee is a big name, however, and the Academy might want to give him some more love after what happened with Brokeback Mountain.

4. Tom Hooper, Les Miserables
The main thing holding back Tom Hooper is his recent King's Speech win. He is a very bold director, especially with what he is doing in this film. He will be nominated, but probably not win.

5. Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Just because his name is Spielberg doesn't mean he will be rewarded the gold. He might not even be nominated, like last year's War Horse. Tomorrow we will know as tonight it screens in NYFF.

I hate to leave out Ben Affleck for Argo, Kathryn Bigelow, Wes Anderson, Benh Zeitlin, Michael Haneke for Amour, or Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight Rises. Check back tomorrow for Best Actor predictions.

'Lincoln' trailer

Bonafide Art Direction contender.

'To the Wonder', the Best Picture AND Director winner?

I bet you're tired of seeing this picture. So am I.

So I read a nifty little article on AwardsCircuit. It stated that if To the Wonder was as good as expected, it should win Best Director and Picture. Here's why:

-Ang Lee can't really win Best Director again for Life of Pi. He already won for Brokeback Mountain in 2005, and is Asian. Yeah, it sounds racist, but its true. Also, the accessability for Pi is still a question.

-Kathryn Bigelow can't really win for Zero Dark Thirty because she recently won for The Hurt Locker. Also, she's a woman. Sounds sexist, but its true.

-Spielberg can't really win for Lincoln because he already won for List and Private Ryan, two WWII masterpieces. The only way Spielberg can pull it off is with something equal to the previously listed.

-Benh Zeitlen for Beasts of the Southern Wild. Not much a chance, since the film is so polarizing.

Oscar Opinions: War Horse (2011)

So I'm still pondering the greatness of Malick's Tree. Gallop with me on my thoughts of War Horse. Well, it's my bad that I was too lazy to write some other Oscar Opinions, but finally, I did it.

THOUGHTS:
I wrote a review for my school newspaper, and you can read my review below.

"Have you ever been close to something, even attached? That’s Albert’s situation in Spielberg’s War Horse, about Joey the horse’s life on the WWI battlefield. The beginning starts of almost like an unfunny comedy, with flimsy dialogue and unfitting music. As the war evolves, the film improves rapidly to an incredible war film. The film could be a masterpiece, but the first 30 minutes hurt the film’s chance of perfection."

The stuff is true. What is posted above is 100% true. I hated the beginning, and I could see why people didn't like it, like Christy Lemire.

DGA Nominees

No Terrence Malick. Poop. Surprised not to see any Spielberg, I swore him and Malick would be locks. Nominees below.

Woody Allen "Midnight in Paris"
David Fincher "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Michel Hazanavicus "The Artist"
Alexander Payne "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese "Hugo"

84th Oscars: Best Director Nominees

I'm addicted to checking the score for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Last I've read, it has a 49% on RT, and a 40 on Metacritic. In fact, it's on the brink of being "Generally unfavorable". What I really hope is that the Academy isn't too Daldry bias. Come January, I don't want to hear the film's name being announced. Scratch that, I wouldn't mind Max von Sydow being announced.

A real lock for the Best Director nomination is Michel Hazanavicus, for directing The Artist. I would say his biggest win is at NYFCC, and there are other groups that I am too lazy to name.

Besides him, there are two other big shots: Terrence Malick (I'm not bias,) and Martin Scorsese. I can easily profess that Scorsese is my favorite director, and debatably the greatest of all time. Already he has won the National Board of Review for Hugo and also been nominated for the Golden Globe.

Malick's nomination is nearly as divisive as his film itself. He won at Chicago and LAFCA, but missed at Golden Globes.

I would want to say that if critics were Oscar voters, The Social Network would have won last year, and Nicolas Winding Refn would be a nomination lock for this year. However, I don't see high prospects for Drive, or Refn himself. Bummer.

All in all, Daldry's luck has run out, Scorsese and Hazanavicus are locks, and Malick will probably make it. Alexander Payne needs to step up his game if he wants the nomination, and Woody Allen will duke it out with Spielberg for the last spot. Sounds fun.