Oscar Opinions: Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

One of the best war films ever made. Yeah, I went there.

QUICK OPINION:
Zero Dark Thirty is a flawless film that never bored for a second, and never ceased from being the lest bit exciting. Jessica Chastain cut the nice Ms. O'brien out of herself and dominated this film. Boal wrote Maya as one of the most interesting and best characters on the screen in a long time, maybe a character to define the decade (like Aaron Sorkin's Mark Zuckerberg.). Bigelow seemed in control of the entire film, and she and her time blew every expectation of the film out of the water.

BEST PERFORMANCE:
Jessica Chastain's Maya was my favorite performance of the year, so that one is obviously getting to be #1 here. Props to up-and-comer Jason Clarke for holding his own in the first half, a human being that understands the stress of war, despite the man on the outside. (Think Anthony Mackie in The Hurt Locker). Another great performance in a great film.

BEST MOMENT:
30 minutes into the film, when a certain scene involving a bus comes to pass, the film just sucked me in. I can't put a finger on my favorite scene. It's all great. I'll stop singing my praises and ask you (the readers) to see this before (or after) Oscar Sunday. Just see it.

Even if you don't like it, it is definitely thought-provoking.

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

WGA winners!

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio, Argo

WGA predix.

WGA tonight. Zero Dark Thirty will finally get its due.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Chris Terrio, Argo

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)- The best film of 2012, and the best war film since Private Ryan. (4 Stars)

this post is part of 'The Watchlist Chronicles'. To learn more, click here.

 Zero Dark Thirty is the best film of 2012, by a landslide. It is a well-paced, directed, acted, written, scored... well, its great at everything it does. It nearly pushes 3 hours, but it never bores for a minute.

Zero Dark Thirty and The Master cover Vancouver

Winners via Hitfix,

Best Film
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Supporting Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, "The Master"

Best Screenplay
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Foreign Language Film
"Holy Motors"

Best Documentary
"Searching for Sugar Man"

Best Canadian Film
"Rebelle" (a.k.a. "War Witch")

Best Director of a Canadian Film
Panos Cosmatos, "Beyond the Black Rainbow"

Best Actor in a Canadian Film
Michael Rogers, "Beyond the Black Rainbow"

Best Actress in a Canadian Film
Rachel Mwanza, "Rebelle"

Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film
"Serge Kanyinda, "Rebelle"

Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film
Sarah Gadon, "Cosmopolis"

Best Canadian Documentary
"The World Before Her"

Best British Columbia Film
"Beyond the Black Rainbow"

Ian Caddell Award for Achievement
Alan Franey, Vancouver International Film Festival

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Best Original Screenplay predictions (12/31/12)

Last time I did screenplay predictions, both Zero Dark Thirty and Django were sights unseen. Let's get to it.

1. Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
The second political thriller of the year has been widely praised and slightly controversial, but less so than another contender. The film has passionate supporters, but the only thing hurting Boal is that he won so recently.

2. Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Tarantino is the epitome of the 21st century pop culture, and his latest is one of his best. It is funny, witty, entertaining, and a wonderful homage to Spaghetti Westerns. A cloud of controversy looms above this one, though.

3/4. Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom/Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Both directors are named Anderson, both are contenders, and both have wildly different screenplays that are both within passionate support. Both will be nominated, both won't win, but still.

5. Michael Haneke, Amour
The film is going to miss WGA, and it missed SAG. It's still in the conversation, and last year's A Separation got nominated in the Original slot. There's a free-for-all space, and this one's gonna get it.