Oscars Analysis

So last Sunday was the Oscars. Am I mad? Slightly. Am I disoppointed? Slightly. But did I laugh? Yes, I did. Billy Crystal was quite an improvement over Anne Hathaway, and I'm not counting Franco because he really didn't host. On my predictions I posted, I decided to list the 8 big categories: Best Picture, Director, Acting, and Writing. I only missed one, and that was Meryl Streep for Best Actress. Throughout the show, I was shocked with the Hugo success. I though it would only win Best Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. Stealing cinematography The Tree of Life? Really?

Anyways, I analyzed the list of winners, and saw that Hugo and The Artist both nabbed 5 awards. The Overrated Iron Lady was the only other film to get more than one award, taking Best Makeup and Best Actress. And I though The Help would be the other film to get more than one!

In the Best Editing, I was surprised with Dragon Tatoo's success. It was snubbed for Best Picture and Best Score, and I thought the music was the year's most badass. Judging from the trailer's, Tattoo looks like it was snazzily edited, but its win was still a surprise.

I did some predictions on the Oscar website, and I got 17 right out of 24. The main ones I missed were Best Cinematography and Actress, and got a 70.83% overall. Not bad for my second year, and last year I got a 54.16%, so I'm shooting for the stars for next year.

Oscar Predictions!

Final Predictions:

BEST PICTURE: The Artist
BEST DIRECTOR: Michel Hazanvicus
BEST ACTOR: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
BEST ACTRESS: Viola Davis, The Help
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Octavia Spencer, The Help
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Midnight in Paris
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Descendants

Oscar Opinions: The Help

So profits from The Help are in the black. Never mind.

QUICK OPINIONS:
Judging from the trailer, I honestly thought this movie would be a clunker. Mixing comedy and drama, about black maids? No big celebs either. 3-star reviews. Yeah...

Turns out, the film went above $100 Mil, and was in my local theater 'til 2 weeks ago. I thought the audience would be book-club members and girls, but I liked it too. On my old star-system, I gave it a 3.5, but with letter grade, it has a 'B+'. Hence, you can see it listed on 'Chinese Appease'.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS!

So the Super Bowl is on Sunday, but the Oscars are still more important. My predictions below:

BEST PICTURE:
The Artist
BEST DIRECTOR:
Michel Hazanvicus, The Artist
BEST ACTOR:
Split between George Clooney and Jean Dujardin
BEST ACTRESS:
Viola Davis, The Help
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Octavia Spencer, The Help

SAG Winners.

From my earlier predictions, I have a nice 60%. Not bad, since I correctly predicted that The Help would win Best Cast. Jean Dujardin was a total curveball, but Viola was a welcome surprise.

Best Actor
Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress
Viola Davis, The Help

Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Cast
The Help

SAG Predix.

Best Cast: The Help. I honestly think it has the higher acting chops than The Artist.


Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants. George is unstoppable. With BFCA and Golden Globes, he got it.

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady. I really want Viola to win. Her performance was subtle and great.

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners. Unstoppable!

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help. Her lead and Viola's 2nd place has a Best Cast success.

And the nominees are...

Go Tree of Life! Go Artist! Go Help! Go Descendants! Go Hugo! Extremely Loud can suck it!

BEST PICTURE
The Artist – Thomas Langmann, Producer
The Descendants – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – Scott Rudin, Producer
The Help – Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
Hugo – Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
Midnight in Paris – Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
Moneyball – Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt,Producers
The Tree of Life – Nominees to be determined
War Horse – Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Actress in a Leading Role
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

Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Directing
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan
The Ides of March, Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Artist, Written by Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call, Written by J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen
A Separation, Written by Asghar Farhadi

Animated Feature Film
A Cat in Paris, Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico & Rita, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2, Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Puss in Boots, Chris Miller
Rango, Gore Verbinski

Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Cinematography
The Artist, Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo, Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse, Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
Anonymous, Lisy Christl
The Artist, Mark Bridges
Hugo, Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre, Michael O’Connor
W.E., Arianne Phillips

Foreign Language Film
Bullhead, Belgium
Footnote, Israel
In Darkness, Poland
Monsieur Lazhar, Canada
A Separation, Iran

Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again, Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth
Liberation Front, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
Pina, Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
Undefeated, TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Film Editing
The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Kevin Tent
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen

Makeup
Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)
The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet,” The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” Rio, Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Iowa Critics ♥ The Descendants.

So as a native iowan, I thought I'd share this news. One of the best films of the year, The Descendants, won Best Picture from them, beating The Artist. Other winners include directer Alexander Payne, besting Hazanvicus and Malick. Complete winners below:

Best Picture: The Descendants
Best Director: Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Best Actor: Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
Best Actress: Viola Davis (The Help)
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Best Animated Film: Rango
Best Film Yet to Open in Iowa: We Need to Talk About Kevin AND Project Nim

BAFTA Nominations

BEST FILM
THE ARTIST – Thomas Langmann
THE DESCENDANTS – Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
DRIVE – Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
THE HELP – Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo

DIRECTOR
THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Nicolas – Winding Refn
HUGO – Martin Scorsese
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Tomas Alfredson
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN – Lynne Ramsay

LEADING ACTOR
BRAD PITT – Moneyball
GARY OLDMAN – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
GEORGE CLOONEY – The Descendants
JEAN DUJARDIN – The Artist
MICHAEL FASSBENDER – Shame

LEADING ACTRESS
BÉRÉNICE BEJO The Artist – Film
MERYL STREEP – The Iron Lady
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – My Week with Marilyn
TILDA SWINTON – We Need to Talk About Kevin
VIOLA DAVIS – The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER – Beginners
JIM BROADBENT – The Iron Lady
JONAH HILL – Moneyball
KENNETH BRANAGH – My Week with Marilyn
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – The Ides of March

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
CAREY MULLIGAN – Drive
JESSICA CHASTAIN – The Help
JUDI DENCH – My Week with Marilyn
MELISSA MCCARTHY – Bridesmaids
OCTAVIA SPENCER – The Help

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Simon Curtis, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, Adrian Hodges
SENNA – Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Manish Pandey
SHAME – Steve McQueen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Abi Morgan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – _Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN – Lynne Ramsay, Luc Roeg, Jennifer Fox, Robert Salerno, Rory Stewart Kinnear
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
ATTACK THE BLOCK – Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
BLACK POND – Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
CORIOLANUS – Ralph Fiennes (Director)
SUBMARINE – Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)
TYRANNOSAUR – Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

DOCUMENTARY
GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD – Martin Scorsese
PROJECT NIM – James Marsh, Simon Chinn
SENNA – Asif Kapadia

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius
BRIDESMAIDS – Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
THE GUARD – John Michael McDonagh
THE IRON LADY – Abi Morgan
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS – Woody Allen
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE DESCENDANTS – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
THE HELP – Tate Taylor
THE IDES OF MARCH – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
MONEYBALL – Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
INCENDIES – Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim McGraw
PINA – Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel
POTICHE – François Ozon, Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
A SEPARATION – Asghar Farhadi
THE SKIN I LIVE IN – Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

ANIMATED FILM
HE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN – Steven Spielberg
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS – Sarah Smith
RANGO – Gore Verbinski

ORIGINAL MUSIC
THE ARTIST – Ludovic Bource
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO Howard – Shore
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Alberto Iglesias
WAR HORSE – John Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST – Guillaume Schiffman
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – Jeff Cronenweth
HUGO – Robert Richardson
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Hoyte van Hoytema
WAR HORSE – Janusz Kiminski

EDITING
THE ARTIST – Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE – Mat Newman
HUGO – Thelma Schoonmaker
SENNA – Gregers Sall, Chris King
TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER – SPY Dino Janster
PRODUCTION DESIGN
THE ARTIST – Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
HUGO – Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
WAR HORSE – Rick Carter, Lee Sandales
COSTUME DESIGN
THE ARTIST – Mark Bridges
HUGO – Sandy Powell
JANE EYRE – Michael O’Connor
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Jill Taylor
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Jacqueline Durran

SOUND
THE ARTIST – Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
HUGO – Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
WAR HORSE – Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN – Joe Letteri
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
HUGO – Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
WAR HORSE – Ben Morris, Neil Corbould
MAKE UP & HAIR
THE ARTIST – Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
HUGO Morag – Ross, Jan Archibald
THE IRON LADY – Marese Langan
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – Jenny Shircore

SHORT ANIMATION
ABUELAS – Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner
BOBBY YEAH – Robert Morgan
A MORNING STROLL – Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

SHORT FILM
CHALK – Martina Amati, Gavin Emerson, James Bolton, Ilaria Bernardini
MWANSA THE GREAT – Rungano Nyoni, Gabriel Gauchet
ONLY SOUND REMAINS – Arash Ashtiani, Anshu Poddar
PITCH BLACK HEIST – John Maclean, Gerardine O’Flynn
TWO AND TWO – Babak Anvari, Kit Fraser, Gavin Cullen

ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD
ADAM DEACON
CHRIS HEMSWORTH
TOM HIDDLESTON
CHRIS O’DOWD
EDDIE REDMAYNE

BFCA Winners!

As follows:

Best Picture: The Artist
Best Actress: Viola Davis, The Help
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicus, The Artist
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, Steve Zaillian, Moneyball
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Ensemble: The Help
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spenser, The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Cinematography (tie): Janusz Kaminski, War Horse 
                                            Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Best Song: The Muppets, Life’s a Happy Song
Best Action Movie: Drive
Best Comedy: Bridesmaids
Best Animated Feature: Rango

North Texas Film Critics Winners!

Spielberg suck-ups below:

BEST PICTURE
War Horse

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese / Hugo

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney / The Descendants

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis / The Help

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer / Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer / The Help

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Janusz Kainski / War Horse

BEST ANIMATED
The Adventures of Tin Tin

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Being Elmo

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Separation (Persian: جدایی نادر از سیمین,Jodái-e Náder az Simin)

DGA's: The turning point come Oscars.

What do I mean? This has been on my mind for the longest time. Recently, Sasha Stone of AwardsDaily said that Tate Taylor of  The Help will make the cut come Monday. I'm scared.

So today I saw Bridesmaids. I liked it, but to rank it above The Tree of Life at the PGA's? Were the voters high or something? If Terrence Malick makes the cut for Best Director, he will not only save his biographical masterpiece from not making the cut, it will damage Bridesmaids, too. Unless, Bridesmaids take a stake at the #8 spot belonging to Moneyball.

The thing is, if Tate Taylor makes it as Best Director, that would be bad. I mean, The Help was terrific and all, but does Tate deserve it? He could at least make a few more films before we could make a final judgement.

Really, I don't hate Bridesmaids. It can go take a Best Original Screenplay nom for all I care. If director Paul Feig makes it in, though, for Bridesmaids is a Best Picture LOCK!

Why Jessica Chastain could be the most awesome celebrity working today.

Jessica Chastain is probably the breakout star of 2011. But, did you know how cool she is? Here are some reasons why:

1. She works with awesome people. To my knowledge, Chassy is the only person who's made a movie with Al Pacino, Terrence Malick, AND Brad Pitt. Pretty cool.

2. She can tackle a variety of roles.
She announced yesterday that she will do Broadway. She did comedy in The Help. Drama in The Tree of Life, and action in The Debt.

3. She socializes with fans.
Lots of celebrities have Facebook pages, and Chastain is no exception. But, Jessica actually talks to her fans on other wall posts and comments.

Those are just a few reasons why Jessica Chastain just might be the most awesome celebrity.

PGA Nominees Announced!

FOR BEST PRODUCTION:

THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann

BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend

THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin

THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green

HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese

THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

My top 10 favorite films of 2011.

With 2011 ending in 3 and a half hours, I have decided to post my top 10 favorite films of this year. 2011 was a good year. I had to leave some good films this year. Beginners, Rise of the Planet of the Apes...

10. The Help
09. The Ides of March
08. War Horse
07. Midnight in Paris
06. Drive
05. Moneyball
04. The Descendants
03. The Artist
02. Hugo
01. The Tree of Life

84th Oscars: Best Picture Nominees

If you were to ask anyone who the Oscar front runner is, you'll hear The Artist, The Descendants, or even Moneyball. (Yes, I'm talking about Sasha Stone,). The fact that there is no real front runner is a delight, and makes the game a real guess.

I'm going to say there is about a 5% chance of Bridesmaids being nominated. I'm extending the margin just in case it happens. I would also put a 3% chance on J. Edgar, because... it's not that good. Drive would have a 15% chance, despite it's goodness.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Gee, I'm giving it a 50/50 chance. (The movie 50/50 is getting a 1% chance, even though it looks good,). One of my last articles, Extreme Loss and Incredible Crap? is unfairly titled, but EL&IC is losing chances with a now 65% tomato-meter. It's pretty much holding on by Daldry and Hanks. Horn's performance is too divisive.

Speaking of divisive, The Tree of Life (My favorite movie of 2011!). It's quite divisive, just read the RT reviews here. It has a 61% audience approval rating, but an 84% Critics Rank. Either way, I think with Daldry's loss, the year's best film will become a nominee. I'm giving it a 75% chance of being nominated.

On the note of 75, that's the RT score for The Help. It's probably the year's "Audience picks" nominee, one that parents at home probably saw. I'm not going to lie, but I actually liked it quite a bit. It's a good flair of comedy and drama, and I really want Viola Davis to win Best Actress. In fact, I think the performances keep the whole film afloat. They are hard to ignore, so... 90% chance of being nominated in my book.

Over Christmas Break, I want to see The Descendants and The Artist, the two real front runners. There was a third, War Horse, but it's losing chances. The Descendants, 99.9%. The Artist, 100% (My bet to win,). War Horse, 95%.

In fact, if you want to be nominated, be different. The Tree of Life and The Artist are probably the most different films out of the bunch. The former being more divisive.