2013 Oscar Nominations: Best Original Screenplay Nomination Predictions!

1. Spike Jonze, Her
Whoa, I literally exploded when Her won Best Screenplay at the Golden Globes. I was so happy, really. And now there is just a slight chance that Spike Jonze's masterpiece will win the Oscar it deserves.

2. Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell, American Hustle
It's not really a screenplay when the movie is loosely improvised. It's hilarious, it's fun, breezy. But it's all fluff, really.

3. Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Written ten years ago by a debut writer, it's a total Hollywood story. Doesn't hurt if the movie itself if good too, ya know.

4. Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
It's his 48th feature, but Woody Allen really knows how to write a modern rendition, with this one being A Streetcar Named Desire. Take notes Baz Luhrmann.

5. Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
Word on the street is that voters hate the scene when Llewyn abandons the cat in the snow. Are you kidding me? Just because Llewyn abandons a cat, voters decide to not vote for what might as well be one of the best screenplays of the Coen brothers repertoire, and one of the best of the year? They must be joking really. I can't believe something so smoothly somber yet off-kilter and hilarious could go unrecognized by the WGA. The script is a masterpiece on it's own. But I think it can squeak in tomorrow. The Academy loves the Coens, and A Serious Man, probably their least accessible film, managed
a nomination in this category in 2009.

Keep your eyes peeled for Nicole Holofecener's Enough Said  and Dallas Buyers Club.

Blue Jasmine (2013)- Woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown (3½ Stars)

...and the winner of Best Cast at this year's SAG awards will be Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. Well, I wish it could be the winner. Blue Jasmine is a film with great dramatic talent and comedic dialogue, especially with Cate Blanchett's leading performance that will rattle your mind.

Sony Pictures Classics love foreign melodrama.

Yesterday I saw Almodovar at his best with Volver, a great film reminiscent of Fellini. So obviously I am excited for his latest film I'm So Excited!. I have heard descriptions of the film reminiscent to Airplane! Check out the trailer below.

I'm so excited for Woody Allen's next project, Blue Jasmine. It has a great dramatic actress (Cate Blanchett) and two of the best living comedic actors (Alec Baldwin and Louis CK). There's no trailer, but there are a few still. Check them out!

Check back soon for my 2014 Oscar nominee predictions.

Masterpieces Classics: Annie Hall (1977)

Annie Hall: Small Portions
By Sean Wu

In the beginning of Woody Allen's Annie Hall, Woody's character Alvy Singer tells two jokes. One of them tells the tale of two old ladies at a bad restaurant. Apparently, one says "The food here is so bad!". The other says "… and such small portions."Alvy comments that that is how he feels about life: bad but too short. That's how I thought of Annie Hall upon first viewing: bad and too short.

Upon second thought, though, Annie Hall is much more. It is to the screwball comedy as is Chinatown is to the film-noir: a modern masterpiece.

Allen fiddles in Rome.

So I am psyched for Nero Fiddled, by Woody Allen. Well, I was.

Turns out, the title was changed recently, according to Sony Pictures Classics, to 'From Rome with Love'. Sweet, but sounds like a James Bond movie. It's set for a June 22, 2012

Oscar Opinions: Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen!

QUICK OPINIONS: 
Midnight in Paris  is not Allen's best, that is still held by Annie Hall. It's good to see Allen back in the Best Picture field, where he probably was snubbed for Match Point. Anyhow, this is a comedy to the utmost degree, with more laughs and chuckles than Bridesmaids. This might be an Allen rehash of The Purple Rose of Cairo, but this is still one of the best movies of the year. 'B+', and you can see it listed on 'Chinese Appease'.

Georgia Critics love Trees and Brad Pitt.

So, for the first time in a long time, a critic group gave The Tree of Life a sweep. The winners below.

Best Picture: “The Tree of Life”

Best Director: Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

Best Actress: Juliette Binoche, “Certified Copy”

Best Actor: Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, “The Tree of Life”

Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt, “The Tree of Life”

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”

Best Adapted Screenplay: Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, “Moneyball”

Best Foreign Language Film: “Certified Copy”

Best Animated Film: “The Adventures of Tintin”

Best Documentary: “Senna”

Best Ensemble: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, “The Tree of Life”

Best Art Direction: Jack Fisk, “The Tree of Life”

Best Original Score: John Williams, “War Horse”

Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie, “Man or Muppet,” “The Muppets”

Breakthrough Award: Jessica Chastain

Excellence in Georgia Cinema: “Sahkanaga”

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.