My Oscar Picks
With the Academy Awards being this weekend, here is my full list of predictions for the Oscar winners.
Best Picture
Who will win:
The Artist. Michel Hazanavicius’ visionary film has already won a Golden Globe, and the hype is simply getting larger and larger. Couple this with the fact that it is a tremendous film and breaks modern tradition for film making, The Artist is almost certainly taking home the Oscar.
Who should win:
We’ll see how The Artist ages over the next few years, but looking back at 2011, The Artist clearly emerges as unique from all the other films of the year. It’s tremendous story telling and compelling characters, matched with its allure of the silent black-and-white era, make it my choice for the best movie of the year.
Best Director
Who will win:
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist, although it’ll be close competition with Scorsese.
Who should win:
This is has been an interesting year for directors. Martin Scorsese displays his incredible talent with Hugo, and he is certainly the best director nominated, but whether Hugo is the best directed film is another question. Hazanavicius also did a splendid job, and he seems a better choice than fellow nominees Alexander Payne or Woody Allen. However, Terrence Malick’s work on The Tree of Life is also tremendous and shouldn’t be so easily forgotten.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Who will win:
Jean Dujardin. While some French cinema viewers will strongly disagree that he is the best current French actor (and I think I may be inclined to agree), there is no denying his great performance in The Artist, and his high chances at winning an Oscar after receiving a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Who should win:
Jean Dujardin does do an excellent job in The Artist. I think out of all the nominees this year, he deserves it the most. While George Clooney and Brad Pitt both gave strong performances respectively, I think Dujardin does deserve this award.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Who will win:
This one’s a toss up between Meryl Streep and Viola Davis. History seems to have taught us that when choosing a second time nominee against Meryl Streep, Streep generally loses. However, this could be her year once again as her performance in The Iron Lady was captivating. I think that this year Meryl Streep is getting her third Oscar.
Who should win:
I think there can be little debate that anyone put as much effort into preparing for his or her roles as Rooney Mara did for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She got nipple piercings, bleached her eye-brows, visited Sweden, learned computer hacking, dialect training, kickboxing, motorcycle riding, skateboarding, etc. Personally I feel that her performance deserves the Oscar, but others such as Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, or Michelle Williams all performed highly as well.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Who will win:
Christopher Plummer for Beginners.
Who should win:
Christopher Plummer. While fellow nominees such as Max von Sydow and Kenneth Branagh were good, Plummer deserves this one.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Who will win:
Octavia Spencer for The Help. Having won the Golden Globe, a SAGA award, and being top of most prediction lists, I don’t think anyone is anticipating a loss for Octavia Spencer.
Who should win:
I was very surprised that Melissa McCarthy was nominated for Bridesmaids, she does not deserve to be compared to these other nominees (in my opinion). The other nominees apart from her all performed admirably, but Olivia Spencer is probably the best of the lot in this category.
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Who will win:
Woody Allen’s screenplay for Midnight in Paris.
Who should win:
A creative and enjoyable film, Midnight in Paris deserves this award for writing.
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Who will win:
I think that this year The Descendants has the edge. Losing Best Picture will cause Oscar voters to give the award to this movie primarily out of sympathy. Don’t get me wrong, the screenplay was good, but I think it will receive more than it deserves after originally being favoured as a big winner on Oscar night.
Who should win:
While The Descendants screenplay was well written, I feel that the best adapted screenplay was Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Aaron Sorkin’s (A Few Good Men, The Social Network) collaboration on turning Michael Lewis’ Moneyball into such a good movie.
Best Cinematography
Who will win:
Hugo over The Artist
Who should win:
While The Artist was fabulous, I personally think Hugo had better cinematography. Director Martin Scorsese and cinematographer Robert Richardson have created an incredibly immersive world rich with color and texture.
Best Animated Feature Film
Who will win:
Rango
Who should win:
I’m ashamed to say it, but I haven’t actually seen Rango yet. Based simply on what I’ve heard and read about it, I’m sure it deserves to win.
Best Visual Effects
Who will win:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes over Hugo and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.
Who should win:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes by a hair. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II also displays excellent visual effects, but the motion capture technology and the brining to life of the apes in Rise of the Planet of the Apes should bring it the Oscar.
Best Film Editing
Who will win:
The Artist
Who should win:
Best Picture winners often win Best Film Editing, and this year The Artist seems likely to sweep many categories. The Artist is deserving of the award, as it is careful in selecting what to include and what not to, and the fact that most of it is silent only adds to the importance of everything seen onscreen. However, I think the more deserving film here is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for being masterfully edited, also, it did not receive nominations for many of the prestigious awards.
Best Sound Editing
Who will win:
Hugo
Who should win:
Hugo
Best Sound Mixing
Who will win:
Hugo
Who should win:
Hugo
Best Music (Original Score)
Who will win:
The Artist
Who should win:
Simply because it is primarily silent, the importance of music in The Artist is amplified than in most ordinary films. Luckily the music was fabulous and The Artist kept audiences interested in the film even without dialogue, a difficult hurdle for any film in today’s world.
Best Music (Original Song)
Who will win:
Man or Muppet from The Muppets
Who should win:
Well, there’s only two nominees this year, and Man or Muppet is the better of the two
Best Makeup
Who will win:
The Iron Lady, mainly for recreating Margaret Thatcher so well in Meryl Streep.
Who should win:
The Iron Lady, I guess. Harry Potter would also be a good choice.
Best Art Direction
Who will win:
The Artist over Hugo. The other nominees all have a slight chance, but these two films are the best, and this year I think The Artist seems like it’s making a stronger impression.
Who should win:
The Artist
Best Costume Design
Who will win:
Jane Eyre. The period piece with Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender has the best costumes of this year’s contestants.
Who should win:
Jane Eyre. While The Artist also has great costumes, and both Hugo and Anonymous had strong costume design, Jane Eyre’s costume design was probably the best.
Best Foreign Language Film
Who will win:
The Iranian film A Separation
Who should win:
A Separation
Best Documentary (Feature)
Who will win:
Either Undefeated or Hell and Back Again. I’m going to guess Hell and Back Again.
Who should win:
Hell and Back Again or Undefeated
Best Documentary (Short)
Who will win:
Saving Face
Who should win:
Saving Face
Best Short Film (Animated)
Who will win:
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Who should win:
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Best Short Film (Live Action)
Who will win:
Raju
Who should win:
Raju or The Shore
With the Academy Awards being this weekend, here is my full list of predictions for the Oscar winners.
Best Picture
Who will win:
The Artist. Michel Hazanavicius’ visionary film has already won a Golden Globe, and the hype is simply getting larger and larger. Couple this with the fact that it is a tremendous film and breaks modern tradition for film making, The Artist is almost certainly taking home the Oscar.
Who should win:
We’ll see how The Artist ages over the next few years, but looking back at 2011, The Artist clearly emerges as unique from all the other films of the year. It’s tremendous story telling and compelling characters, matched with its allure of the silent black-and-white era, make it my choice for the best movie of the year.
Best Director
Who will win:
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist, although it’ll be close competition with Scorsese.
Who should win:
This is has been an interesting year for directors. Martin Scorsese displays his incredible talent with Hugo, and he is certainly the best director nominated, but whether Hugo is the best directed film is another question. Hazanavicius also did a splendid job, and he seems a better choice than fellow nominees Alexander Payne or Woody Allen. However, Terrence Malick’s work on The Tree of Life is also tremendous and shouldn’t be so easily forgotten.
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Who will win:
Jean Dujardin. While some French cinema viewers will strongly disagree that he is the best current French actor (and I think I may be inclined to agree), there is no denying his great performance in The Artist, and his high chances at winning an Oscar after receiving a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Who should win:
Jean Dujardin does do an excellent job in The Artist. I think out of all the nominees this year, he deserves it the most. While George Clooney and Brad Pitt both gave strong performances respectively, I think Dujardin does deserve this award.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Who will win:
This one’s a toss up between Meryl Streep and Viola Davis. History seems to have taught us that when choosing a second time nominee against Meryl Streep, Streep generally loses. However, this could be her year once again as her performance in The Iron Lady was captivating. I think that this year Meryl Streep is getting her third Oscar.
Who should win:
I think there can be little debate that anyone put as much effort into preparing for his or her roles as Rooney Mara did for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She got nipple piercings, bleached her eye-brows, visited Sweden, learned computer hacking, dialect training, kickboxing, motorcycle riding, skateboarding, etc. Personally I feel that her performance deserves the Oscar, but others such as Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, or Michelle Williams all performed highly as well.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Who will win:
Christopher Plummer for Beginners.
Who should win:
Christopher Plummer. While fellow nominees such as Max von Sydow and Kenneth Branagh were good, Plummer deserves this one.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Who will win:
Octavia Spencer for The Help. Having won the Golden Globe, a SAGA award, and being top of most prediction lists, I don’t think anyone is anticipating a loss for Octavia Spencer.
Who should win:
I was very surprised that Melissa McCarthy was nominated for Bridesmaids, she does not deserve to be compared to these other nominees (in my opinion). The other nominees apart from her all performed admirably, but Olivia Spencer is probably the best of the lot in this category.
Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Who will win:
Woody Allen’s screenplay for Midnight in Paris.
Who should win:
A creative and enjoyable film, Midnight in Paris deserves this award for writing.
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Who will win:
I think that this year The Descendants has the edge. Losing Best Picture will cause Oscar voters to give the award to this movie primarily out of sympathy. Don’t get me wrong, the screenplay was good, but I think it will receive more than it deserves after originally being favoured as a big winner on Oscar night.
Who should win:
While The Descendants screenplay was well written, I feel that the best adapted screenplay was Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Aaron Sorkin’s (A Few Good Men, The Social Network) collaboration on turning Michael Lewis’ Moneyball into such a good movie.
Best Cinematography
Who will win:
Hugo over The Artist
Who should win:
While The Artist was fabulous, I personally think Hugo had better cinematography. Director Martin Scorsese and cinematographer Robert Richardson have created an incredibly immersive world rich with color and texture.
Best Animated Feature Film
Who will win:
Rango
Who should win:
I’m ashamed to say it, but I haven’t actually seen Rango yet. Based simply on what I’ve heard and read about it, I’m sure it deserves to win.
Best Visual Effects
Who will win:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes over Hugo and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.
Who should win:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes by a hair. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II also displays excellent visual effects, but the motion capture technology and the brining to life of the apes in Rise of the Planet of the Apes should bring it the Oscar.
Best Film Editing
Who will win:
The Artist
Who should win:
Best Picture winners often win Best Film Editing, and this year The Artist seems likely to sweep many categories. The Artist is deserving of the award, as it is careful in selecting what to include and what not to, and the fact that most of it is silent only adds to the importance of everything seen onscreen. However, I think the more deserving film here is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for being masterfully edited, also, it did not receive nominations for many of the prestigious awards.
Best Sound Editing
Who will win:
Hugo
Who should win:
Hugo
Best Sound Mixing
Who will win:
Hugo
Who should win:
Hugo
Best Music (Original Score)
Who will win:
The Artist
Who should win:
Simply because it is primarily silent, the importance of music in The Artist is amplified than in most ordinary films. Luckily the music was fabulous and The Artist kept audiences interested in the film even without dialogue, a difficult hurdle for any film in today’s world.
Best Music (Original Song)
Who will win:
Man or Muppet from The Muppets
Who should win:
Well, there’s only two nominees this year, and Man or Muppet is the better of the two
Best Makeup
Who will win:
The Iron Lady, mainly for recreating Margaret Thatcher so well in Meryl Streep.
Who should win:
The Iron Lady, I guess. Harry Potter would also be a good choice.
Best Art Direction
Who will win:
The Artist over Hugo. The other nominees all have a slight chance, but these two films are the best, and this year I think The Artist seems like it’s making a stronger impression.
Who should win:
The Artist
Best Costume Design
Who will win:
Jane Eyre. The period piece with Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender has the best costumes of this year’s contestants.
Who should win:
Jane Eyre. While The Artist also has great costumes, and both Hugo and Anonymous had strong costume design, Jane Eyre’s costume design was probably the best.
Best Foreign Language Film
Who will win:
The Iranian film A Separation
Who should win:
A Separation
Best Documentary (Feature)
Who will win:
Either Undefeated or Hell and Back Again. I’m going to guess Hell and Back Again.
Who should win:
Hell and Back Again or Undefeated
Best Documentary (Short)
Who will win:
Saving Face
Who should win:
Saving Face
Best Short Film (Animated)
Who will win:
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Who should win:
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Best Short Film (Live Action)
Who will win:
Raju
Who should win:
Raju or The Shore