If you haven’t seen the hundreds of print advertisements and commercials featuring Billy Crystal, you should know the Academy Awards are tonight, marking the event’s 84th year. As for a year in review, films in 2011 were quite good. Drive showed us that Jewish people can be bat shit crazy too, Moneyball did the impossible by making baseball actually interesting, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was a prime example that if your film is based around 9/11 and a whinny autistic child (no matter who awful it is), you’re bound to get a Best Picture nomination.
Last year’s Academy Awards ceremony was a slight disappointment with The King’s Speech‘s triumph over The Social Network for Best Picture. On a good note, I did win a slap bet with a friend of mine as a result (according to him, the pain still lingers thanks to my freakish hands). Below are my picks from this year, so feel free to complain in the comments section below.
Best Picture
Who Will Win: The Artist
Who I Think Should Win: The Tree of Life
Reasoning: The Artist has ruled the awards circuit for the last sixth months so don’t expect any surprises here. The silent film is not only masterful, but at the same time, it’s the kind of film the Academy members enjoy. It’s a film that took a chance with bringing back the silent age of film making, and made it work for audiences around the world. However, if I made the choice, The Tree of Life would be going home with the top prize. Malick’s masterpiece brought back the true meaning of film making as an art. His journey through the stages of life is incredibly moving and a wonder to watch.
Best Actor
Who Will Win: Jean Dujardin- The Artist
Who I Think Should Win: Gary Oldman- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Reasoning: This one is a little tricky to decide. George Clooney was the clear frontrunner for a majority of the year, but just like last year’s The Social Network and The King’s Speech swap, Jean Dujardin is now ahead in the Oscar race. After securing this year’s SAG, it’s quite clear, Dujardin will be going home with the Oscar. Oldman, on the other hand, has had such an outstanding career, it’s a crime this is his first nomination. Come on Academy members, can’t ya give Gary a break?
Best Actress
Who Will Win: Viola Davis- The Help
Who I Think Should Win- Meryl Streep- The Iron Lady
Reasoning: Davis won the SAG and a bunch of other awards this year. Though Streep won about the same amount, it’s clear that the Academy will choose Davis. It’s quite sad to see Meryl go home again empty handed despite receiving 17 nominations (and only TWO wins). In a perfect world, Meryl would win, but until then, Viola scores this year’s Best Actress prize.
Best Supporting Actor
Who Will Win: Christopher Plummer- Beginners
Who I Think Should Win: Christopher Plummer- Beginners
Reasoning: Plummer has won everything since the start of awards season (with Albert Brooks coming in a close second). If Brooks had been nominated, it would be difficult to predict, but when the Academy nominates Jonah Hill over him, Plummer is set to win.
Best Supporting Actress
Who Will Win: Octavia Spencer- The Help
Who I Think Should Win- Jessica Chastain – The Help
Reasoning: Spencer has also won a number of critics awards as well as all the major awards leading to the Oscars. Probably the easiest to predict for the acting category. If I had to choose, however, Chastain would be crowed the winner not only for her work in The Help, but also her brilliant work in 2011 (she was in seven films, all scoring some type of acting award).
And now the categories that are still very significant…
Best Director
Who Will Win: Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Who I Think Should Win: Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life
Best Original Screenplay
Who Will Win: Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
Who I Think Should Win: Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
Best Foreign Language Film
Who Will Win: A Separation- Iran
Who I Think Should Win: A Separation- Iran
Best Documentary Feature
Who Will Win: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Best Cinematography
Who Will Win: Emmanuel Lubezki- The Tree of Life
Who I Think Should Win: Emmanuel Lubezki- The Tree of Life
Best Editing
Who Will Win: Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius- The Artist
Who I Think Should Win: Christopher Tellefsen- Moneyball
Best Animated Feature
Who Will Win: Rango
Who I Think Should Win: Rango
And the less popular categories…
Best Original Score
Who Will Win: Ludovic Bource- The Artist
Who I Think Should Win: Ludovic Bource- The Artist
Best Original Song
Who Will Win: Man or Muppet- Bret McKenzie (The Muppets)
Who I Think Should Win: Man or Muppet- Bret McKenzie (The Muppets)
Hugo: Art Direction, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing
The Artist: Costume Design
The Iron Lady: Makeup
Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Visual Effects
Short Subject Documentary: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Animation Short: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris LessmoreShort Feature Film: The Shore
