As a person that sees more than 75 movies at the theater per year, I've paid for the right to name my favorites (on my blog at least). These are not the ones I think will win. But the ones that I enjoyed most. Or the ones that surprised me.
Best Picture. MONEYBALL. I did not expect to either understand or like it. After all, it dealt with sports and money-two of my least knowledgeable areas. The movie was able to make both understandable. The acting was great. Those locker rooms felt right. Brad Pitt had his own story within it. It will never win-I think it may have one of the poorest chances, in fact.
Best Actor-Brad Pitt. He made TREE OF LIFE tolerable and he was splendid in MONEYBALL. I am not a Brad Pitt fan, but this was his year. That French fellow can wait. And DESCENDANTS was not George at his best. He doesn't play schlub as well as he plays debonair.
Best Actress-Viola Davis. Oh, Streep was great in IRON LADY, but I disliked the movie too much to pick her. Viola was never flashy in THE HELP. She was quiet, careful. I think if Streep has a weakness it would be at doing a role like this one. A role where an accent or attitude didn't dominate. Maybe I have forgotten such a part, but I can't think of one.
Best Supporting Actor-I have only seen three of the performances. Jonah Hill was very good, but I would go with Plummer whose role was pivotal. He was beautiful and brave as a man who gets to be himself for about five minutes.
Best Supporting Actress. Octavia Spencer. If Davis was the quiet heart of THE HELP, Octavia was its angry voice. She just stole every scene she was in. I did not expect to like the movie as much as I did. And I wouldn't mind seeing it win BEST PICTURE. My only gripe with both the book and the movie is that a white woman saves the black women. It would have been so much more effective to have them save themselves. Or at least have a black woman return to the town and write their stories.
Best Director-Scorsese for Hugo. It was a lovely film and I wouldn't mind if this won Best Picture either. The director of MONEYBALL wasn't nominated. Ridiculous that movies but not their directors should be nominated. Or a director (Mallick) but not his film.
Anyone out there have a favorite? What to you think of the nominations? Do you even watch the show?
13 comments:
The only thing I saw all year was Tinker, Tailor. I wouldn't be sorry to see Gary Oldman win. His performance was a demonstration of the principle that sometimes great film acting is having the nerve to do nothing.
A very good performance indeed. I hadn't seen him in a while and was surprised to see him playing the good guy.
I'm putting my OSCAR picks on my blog Sunday. You made some great choices, Patti! (Great minds think alike!) A friend of mine told me that the best performance by a male actor was Al Pacino in YOU DON'T KNOW JACK. I have it in our NetFlix queue.
I liked Moneyball but would probably go for Hugo for best film since my favorite film of the year Drive was snubbed.
George-You Dont Know Jack is from 2010.
Oldman or Pitt for best actor. Was underwhelmed by The Descendents.
Yes, I always watch the show - I have done for 50 years - and always will, no matter how little I care about the movies nominated, no matter how poor the choices may be (can you say Crash? or American Beauty?) or how bad the show is in general (Rob Lowe and Snow White singing and dancing comes to mind). I can remember as a kid in the late 1950s/early 1960s trying to get my mother to let me stay up and watch. And there were real stars then!
This year I probably have less stake in the results than any year I can ever remember. I can't think of a single major category where I have a horse in the race (last year, Colin Firth). I've seen most of the Best Picture nominees (will probably see War Horse on Friday) and, surprisingly, liked them all, some more than I'd have expected. As far as I'm concerned there is only one real movie "big" enough to deserve to win.
Who I think should/will win:
Picture - HUGO (I'm guessing THE ARTIST will win)
Director - Marty Scorsese (far better than his previous winner; doesn't necessarily mean he will win)
Actor - I think Patti is right and Brad Pitt should win (I think George Clooney will win)
Supporting Actor - weakest category, Christopher Plummer
Actress - haven't seen Meryl so will go with who I think will win anyway, Viola Davis
Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer, should be a lock
Jeff M.
And I don't watch it for the dresses. I am fairly oblivious to clothes, much to my mother, my grandmother, my daughter, and my husband's dismay.
I'm kind of at the other end of the spectrum. I've seen 'no' movies at the theater in the past 5 years. Don't see that changing anytime soon. I do generally like Pitt as an actor though.
I'm with Charles--haven't seen any of these, unfortunately. Life with kiddos makes it hard.
The Oscars always make me want to rent the movies. The dresses are sort of fun.
If I hear some bubblehead say, "Who are you wearing?" one more time I'll scream. I don't recall seeing any movies at the multiplex last year, though I may have gone once or twice. So, Oscar night means nothing to me.
Oh shoot, that word verif thingie is back. Well, I'll make this one comment before I fly
I didn't see any films in 2011, but I'll be rooting for Hugo, just because I like the concept a great deal, and also the book.
Rick, you should try to see it - and in 3D - before it disappears from theaters. Trust me.
Ca'n Bob, I refuse to watch the red carpet shows any more than I watch the pre-game stuff at the Super Bowl.
Jeff M.
Charles Gramlich's answer could be mine. No films but I suspect with a young daughter I will be seeing more films at the theater in the near future.
And I like Pitt. He's matured into a darn good actor given the right role.
I can't get excited about any of these award shows anymore. (Well, except the Tonys. The theater queen inside me will never die.)
I used to vote for who I wanted to win at the Oscars. I don't do that anymore. The really excellent films and excellent actors, writers and directors never get awards anyway. They rarely get nominated for them either. What's the point?
Instead I've learned to think like Academy members and pick who they want so I can win nifty prizes and the Oscars parties in local bars and our hospital coffee shop.
Pitt, Davis, Spencer and probably Plummer (the usual annual award given to a veteran actor before he/she dies) will get the acting awards.
Writing awards to the The Artist (original) and MoneyBall (adaptation).
THE ARTIST will sweep the three design categories and probably a few other technical awards and will also get Best Picture.
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