Best Picture- Argo, Amour, Beasts of the Southern
Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings
Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty
Will Win: Argo.
The talk has been all Argo this Oscar season with it taking home the big prize
at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Directors Guild
Awards and I’m thinking it gets the big prize too. Plus, how much fun is it to
say Argo fuck yourself?
Should Win: Argo.
Not to say Argo was a spectacular piece of filmmaking (I actually liked The
Town more) but Argo was the best movie this year. It was funny when it needed
to be (pretty much any scene involving John Goodman and Alan Arkin) and
incredibly tense, particularly the last third of the movie. Ben Affleck has really
come a long way from his Gigli and Surviving
Christmas days (….kinda liked Surviving Christmas, not gonna lie).
Could Win: Silver
Linings Playbook. I really loved this movie. I’m not really a David O.
Russell fan; The Fighter’s only captivating quality was Christian Bale as drug
addled Dicky Eklund. But everything about this movie really clicked for me and
I might have even liked it more than Argo. But I have to go with the odds and
say Argo’s going to take this one.
Best Director- Michael Haneke, Ang Lee, David O. Russell,
Steven Spielberg, Behn Zeitlin
Will Win: Steven
Spielberg. Spielberg turned in another excellent film. I don’t think he’s
ever made a bad movie since 1975 (though arguments could be made for The Lost
World and War of the Worlds, both perfectly watchable movies). Though in a year
where there are some noticeable absentees Spielberg will win this.
Should Win: Ben
Affleck (though not nominated).This entire category is one big snub. Ben
Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Quentin Tarantino all should have been nominated
and all could have won. I just don’t understand how a movie can be nominated
for best picture, be a favorite for best picture and the academy does not
nominate the director. Can someone explain this to me?
Could Win: Ang Lee.
Filming an unfilmable movie and only
receiving positive acclaim is a pretty good accomplishment and there’s an
outside chance he goes home with a Best Director Oscar. This movie received the
second most nominations (second only to Lincoln) and it is pretty likely it
only takes some of the technical awards. But Ang Lee does have the best chance
besides Spielberg.
Best Actor- Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Hugh Jackman,
Joaquin Phoenix, Denzel Washington
 |
| Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure |
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis.
There’s not much discussion on this one. It’s kind of a no-brainer and he
really does deserve it. He completely transformed into Lincoln (as he does for
any role). But as much as he earned this one, I wouldn’t mind seeing someone
else win. Like…
Should Win: Bradley
Cooper. I am NOT saying Bradley Cooper was better than Daniel Day-Lewis.
What I am saying is that anytime Daniel Day-Lewis is in a category, it’s kind
of unfair for everyone else in said category. So, let’s talk about who should
win BESIDES the esteemed DD-L. Any other year Bradley Cooper would have a damn
good chance at the best actor win. He took me completely by surprise in this
performance and kind of blew me away. I’m actually pretty excited to see what
he’ll do next (besides the sequel to the abysmal Hangover II).
Could Win: Hugh
Jackman. I’m hearing some minor talk of Hugh Jackman for Les Mis but Daniel
Day-Lewis is as close to a lock as can be. Also any other year Joaquin Phoenix
would have a pretty good chance at this (his performance really was excellent,
though the movie itself shockingly slow moving).
Best Actress- Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Emmanuelle
Riva, Quvenzhané Wallis and Naomi Watts
Will Win: Jennifer
Lawrence. One of many surprisingly great performances in this movie. I
think it’s a toss-up between Chastain and Lawrence for this category with Lawrence
taking a slight edge.
Should Win: Jessica
Chastain. I liked Zero Dark Thirty. It was good. Not great. It took a long
time to get moving, a real long time. Once it did, it was pretty damn good.
Most of the time we were kind of following Jessica Chastain around and she
really pushed this movie forward. It’s refreshing to see a movie completely
driven by a strong female character. Chastain has only been in movies where she
won buckets full of praise. While it might not happen this year, Chastain’s
time is coming real soon
.
Could Win: Emmanuelle
Riva. There’s a good chance J-Law and Chastain split some of the votes so
Riva could get the elderly vote.
Best Supporting Actor- Alan Arkin, Robert De Niro, Philip
Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones, Christoph Waltz
Will Win: Tommy Lee
Jones. This is as much of a toss-up category as we’ve seen in recent years so
anyone can really win this. I find it hard to believe that Jones only has one
Oscar win (1993’s The Fugitive) and I think he has a pretty good chance at
getting his second.
Should Win: Robert De
Niro. I love anytime an actor can step out of his or her comfort zone and
do something different. And this is especially true for Robert De Niro. I’ve
been sick of him playing stereotypical Italians or gangsters or stereotypical
Italian gangsters. He did something else for Silver Linings (as the father of a
man with serious emotional problems and has a few pretty serious ones himself).
Could Win: Christoph
Waltz. As I said, this race could go to any one of these actors and I’m
only giving Tommy Lee Jones a slight lead over Waltz and De Niro. But I wouldn’t
be at all surprised to see Waltz come home with his second Oscar.
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, Sally Field, Anne
Hathaway, Helen Hunt, Jacki Weaver
Will Win: Anne
Hathaway. Another great performance for Hathaway and I’m giving her good
odds at beating out Sally Field for her turn in Les Miserables.
Should Win: Jacki
Weaver. Another situation for Silver Linings in a case of “always a
bridesmaid never a bride” with the only exception possibly being Jennifer
Lawrence. I think I’ve harped on about the performances for this film enough
but Jacki Weaver was wonderful in this movie.
Could Win: Sally Field.
She was pretty good in this movie. She didn’t shock me with an unbelievable
performance, but she did what she needed to do. There’s a decent chance she
wins this after not even getting nominated for 1994’s Forest Gump.
