Oscar-nomics: Best Actress Predictions

Not going to lie, this is a nice batch of lovely ladies this year. Its mixed with the "saw coming from a mile away" nominees to the "good for her" nominees to the "Sweet, SHE MADE IT!!!" nominees. This maybe me balancing out my frustration of the Best Actor Race, but I am pretty ok with this list. I would've liked to see them take a chance with say Tilda Swinton, but a surprise nominee in this category made me overlook it, mostly since I have yet to see her movie (though the trailers are rather haunting in my opinion). That being said, while there has been talk of this being a highly competitive category, I think the winner was solidified at SAG's. Here are the nominees:

 
Glenn Close: Albert Nobbs
I chalk this one under "saw coming from a mile away" nominations, but its still a "good for her" nomination nontheless. Mrs. Close takes on the role of a transgender female so effortlessly, which might be chalked up to this being her dream project for quite some time. However, the film wasn't very well liked and her chances are slim based on the lack of awards support. She could gain some overdue love, but many are playing that up more so for Meryl Streep, which is kind of annoying when you think about it (Meryl Streep: 2 gold statues, Glenn Close: 0!?!?!). Sad to see her go 0-6, but I am still hopeful she will win one day.

Viola Davis: The Help
While many, including myself, saw this coming, I am still very happy for it because she was my favorite part. of the film. As a maid and, in reality, a second mom to a upper-class white family back in the times of racist segregation, Mrs. Davis gives the role, as well as the film, a heart and a sense of direction. She is very powerful in the role as Aibileen and slowly but surely finds the power within her to rise up against the segregation. While I thought the role to be a bit more on the supporting side, I have no problems calling this lady as your winner. Her role is very showy, the movie practically revolves around her, and she has been really passionate with her speeches and humility around the awards circuit, she's the perfect candidate in my opinion. The fact that she, as well as the win, won the SAG awards further points to a big, deserving, win for her.

Rooney Mara: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
This might of came at the expense of Tilda Swinton, but I am ok with that because this is my "Sweet, SHE MADE IT!!!" nomination. Its a role that one must truly commit to in all facets of the character, and she never skips a beat. Many will have qualms when comparing this to the original film, but if you read the book, Lisbeth is the pure image of Stieg Larsson's masterpiece (not saying Noomi Rapace's work was weaker by any means). It is too bad she, like Mrs. Close, didn't gain much awards momentum, because I could see Ms. Mara being an excellent competition. Sadly, the nomination is the reward, but on the plus side.... THE NOMINATION IS THE REWARD!!!

Meryl Streep: The Iron Lady
Raise your hand if you didn't see this one coming? Mrs. Streep can read the phonebook and get a nomination, she's just that darn good, and the Iron Lady is no exception. Many thought she could take down Mrs. Davis because of her Golden Globe win, but lets be honest, the Globes love Mrs. Streep. The fact is, her film wasn't that great, she is the reason why many people gave it a pass, and I think that hurts her more than helps her (Davis' film is a Best Picture nominee). I think as great a Streep's performances are and probably will be for years to come, she will be the bridesmaid and not the bride for many more excellent leading ladies (although I was upset Sandra Bullock took it from her when I felt Carey Mulligan should've).

Michelle Williams: My Week with Marylin
Another no-brainer nominee, but still a welcomed one. Ms. Williams throws herself into the role as Marylin Monroe, not simply a mimic but a transformation. In another year, I could see her taking this one, but I don't see that happening. Her film, while liked, wasn't as loved as our previous nominees and has done so so with audiences as well. I think Michelle Williams will one day receive the Oscar, but for now the nomination is the reward so I am happy for her, and I am sure the great Marylin Monroe would be as well.

Will Win: Viola Davis The Help
Runner-Up: Meryl Streep The Iron Lady

Should Win: Viola Davis The Help or Rooney Mara The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (I'm not picky)
Should've Been Nominated: Tilda Swinton We Need to Talk About Kevin

Oscar-nomics: SAG Winners

Well, it certainly seems that the Help had a fun night. Not only did it take the Best Cast (and justifiably so), it also took the obvious Best Supporting Actress and less obvious Best Lead Actress, and I am thrilled about that. I liked the film ok, but Davis was my favorite part so to see her win was huge (a sign of things to come at the Oscars perhaps?). In the men's corner, one widely expected and one not so expected winners were chosen. Plummer has this, I am wary about Von Sydow, but this is really Plummer's to lose he has been set up to take this in every way possibly. Dujardin's win is a bit surprising, but I think it was just as much of a possibility as Pitt or Clooney, and I'm cool with it, a lot of the film works mainly because of him (Bejo also made the film great, but truth be told its Dujardin's film). I am glad this wasn't terribly predictable as the past awards have been, at least the Artist isn't completely steamrolling the competition. Still, I won't say this hurt the Artist or really aided the Help to being a contender, but still nice to see it get some love outside of Davis or Spencer. Here is the list of winners, now back to my Oscar predictions:

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer The Help
Best Female Lead: Viola Davis The Help
Best Male Lead: Jean Dujardin The Artist
Best Cast: The Help

Review Catch-up

Hey guys, so as you know, I haven't really done much movie reviewing this summer. That isn't to say I haven't seen movies, I've seen plenty. I have just not gotten around to writing about them, which is kind of sad considering I once saw like 4 movies within a week, and my half time report really didn't do most of them justice (aside from my love for Win Win and Tree of Life). So, I decided to quickly go over some of the films I have seen within the past month, and if I forget one it probably wasn't worth it then. So, with that in mind, lets take a look at them. Oh, and I also realize that since this is a review of more than one film, I'm not going to explain the films so much as attach their IMDB pages, because lets face it, IMDB is one of the best sites out there (shameless plugging from yours truly). SO, here we go:

Crazy Stupid Love
Thoughts: I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. There are some problems with the editing of the film, but I am a stickler for stuff like that and music. The cast is in top form, I particularly like how Steve Carrell stretches out from his usual roles and delivers something original and unique, for him at least. I also like his relationship with both Ryan Gosling and the always wonderful Julianne Moore. The plot twist about 3/4 of the way into the film is hysterical and the reactions I heard during the film from the audience definitively seemed to agree with me, it was pretty sweet. It does move pretty fast at the beginning, maybe a little too fast as far as pacing goes, but it mellows out and finds just the right tune. I gave this a bit of a higher rating than I think I would generally have given a film, but being that this is a Rom-com that I enjoyed (which is no easy feet mind you), I give the team behind this kudos for giving Carrel something other than simply being the comic relief (something that plagued the disappointing Date Night last year).
Rating: A-

Captain America
Thoughts: Now, I was a rather big fan of Thor, but I think it was aided by the fact that it was a summer opener. Had I seen it later in the summer, I might have had a different opinion on it, and I think that's where we find Cap. Now, it wasn't bad, but it was a tad too generic for it to really stand out. Now, at parts in the film the generic tone was actually well used, but the first part of the film really suffered from it, and I didn't feel like the second film completely saved it. Now, I do think Chris Evans makes a good superhero, but they don't give us much of a reason for him to be "Captain America." The generic tone was so dense that he felt more like "Captain Generic." I do reccomend the film for director Joe Johnston's (the underrated Jurassic Park 3, yea I said it) fun action sequences and Tommy Lee Jones naturally strong performance in the film.
Rating: B

Cowboys and Aliens
Thoughts: If I were in my fall movie season mode I would have found so much wrong with this film. Being in my summer movie mind set, however, I found enough to thoroughly enjoy it and recommend it. Daniel Craig gives a very Clint Eastwood-esque performance, but he kind of disappears in some scenes to the point where we forget about him, but he's good when he's around, same goes for the legendary Harrison Ford. Story could have used some tweaking, especially in the scifi section of the film. Still, I am a sucker for westerns, and they get that part of the film down fairly well, so I recommend it, if not for being a fun summer film.
Rating: B+





The Help
Thoughts: I was worried that this would play out as too much of a feel good and not enough of a lesson on how dark segregation was at the time. Roger Ebert called it a safe film about a volatile subject, and I have to agree with him on that. Now, I did enjoy it, it wasn't as safe or as annoyingly feel good as some films that have come out in the past couple of years (the insanely annoying Blind Side comes to mind). The cast makes up for the films shortcomings, particularly Viola Davis (who deserves oscar attention mind you), and Octavia Spencer. Emma Stone was good, but the script didn't give her much to flesh out. Which might be another problem, who exactly was the lead. While the obvious answer is Stone, Davis gives a stronger presence that makes you feel like she is the lead. Will this hurt her come awards season? Right now though, I'm calling her an early favorite and that this film is good, but it definitely could've been so much more with a less safe script.
Rating: B+

Midnight in Paris
Rating: I was surprised as to how much I truly enjoyed this film. I found it to be really funny and authentic, something we don't get enough of now a days in films. Woody Allen has had a rough patch as far as filmmaking these past couple of years. This could be his shot at getting back into the awards mix since Match Point back in 2006. His script is amazing, and the cast he has is spectacular. Owen Wilson is very charming in the lead, Marion Cotillard is beautiful and effective and Cory Stoll nearly steals the movie as Ernest Hemingway, I would love to see a film about him anytime. The cameos of famous 1920's artists were also really fun, but I am bias since some of my favorite authors and artists are from that era (particularly F. Scott Fitzgerald, played wonderfully by Tom Hiddleston of Thor fame, and his counterpart Zelda played by Allison Pill from Milk and Scott Pilgrim). My favorite though, by far, is Adrien Brody (who has so far done no wrong in my book) as the legendary Salvador Dali, yet another person I wouldn't mind watching a movie or simply hanging out with. There were many moments that had me laugh out loud, such as Wilson's character suggesting ideas to legendary/controversial Luis Buñuel, and parts made me really long to be in the 1920's with Gil (Wilson). I could go on about the amazing cast, Kathy Bates as the great Gertrude Stein is another notable role of awesomeness, but I will just stick with the fact that I hope this one gets a SAG nomination for best cast. All in all, great film, deserving of Oscar attention, particularly Original Screenplay, among others. This is definitely one of the years best and is simply a delight to watch.
Rating: A