Tuesday, January 31, 2012

OSCAR PARTY FOOD IDEAS 2012





In the year and a half that I have been writing this blog, the most viewed article I wrote was "Oscar Party Food Ideas".  It continues to be the most searched page of this year. If you are hosting or plan on attending an Oscar party here are some ideas for this year:

*THE ARTIST-Black and white cookies.

*THE DESCENDANTS-Ice Cream. Remember the last scene? It brought them all together.

*THE HELP-Chocolate pie of course. You could also do southern food.

*MONEYBALL- Ball park food. Hot dogs, peanuts, Cracker Jacks, beer, popcorn.

* MIDNIGHT IN PARIS-French food, french fries.


Please feel free to comment on any other suggestions.

Monday, January 30, 2012

NOT OVER YET?





It seems like the Academy Awards have already happened. Last year at this time we werent sure if The Kings Speech or The Social Network was going to win Best Picture. Both films had their lover and haters. This year there is really nothing to debate. The safest least offensive film in the group, The Artist will win Best Picture. Many will complain and then it will be time to look forward to next year. In fact many have already moved on to discussing next year with realization that this year is over. The Best Actor category could go to Clooney or Djuardin, so there is one thing to still discuss. I think that we can assume that The Help will get the Actress nominations. Michel Hazanavicius will win Director, Christopher Plummer will be Best Supporting Actor, A Separation will win Best Foreign Language film and I could go on. The Academy has struggled to maintain an audience, especially a younger audience. They tried having 10 Best Picture nominations so movies like The Dark Night would bring in the young-ens. That didn't work, so they tried James Franco and Anne Hathaway as hosts. That didn't work. Billy Crystal might help, but the Oscar telecast can be sooo boring even with some unpredictable categories. I can only imagine what this year will be like when we already know the outcome.

SAG WINNERS



*It is looking more and more like Jean Dujardin is going to win the Oscar for Best Actor over George Clooney. Dujardin is good in The Artist, maybe even better than good, but the role itself does not feel like a Best Actor role.

*The Help won in every category that they were nominated for.




Best Male Actor in a Leading Role
Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Female Actor in a Leading Role
Viola Davis, The Help

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Cast in a Motion Picture
The Help

Sunday, January 29, 2012

FOLLOW MATTAWARDS ON TWITTER



Now that we are in the home stretch please follow me on Twitter. I will provide real time updates on the Oscar race throughout the year. You will always know what movies to see before Oscar night!

@MATTAWARDS

DIRECTORS GUILD AWARD WINNERS





I guess when I predicted Martin Scorsese to win I was just hoping he would win. The DGA this year went to Michel Hazanavicius for THE ARTIST.  Since 1948 there have only been 6 times that the DGA winner did not win the Academy Awards for Best Director. This win only solidifies what we already know.

James Marsh won Best Documentary for PROJECT NIM, one of the biggest Oscar snubs this year.


Best Director for a Feature Film
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Feature Documentary
James Marsh, Project Nim

Saturday, January 28, 2012

DGA ANNOUNCED TONIGHT

                              


The Directors Guild of America announces their winner tonight. It is not televised. Here is a reminder of the nominees:


Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
David Fincher - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo


I am going to predict Martin Scorsese, but I think with the exception of Woody Allen, they all equal chances.

IF OSCAR MOVIE POSTERS TOLD THE TRUTH

Every year Shiznit.com posts what movie posters would look like if they told the truth.








Friday, January 27, 2012

BEST PICTURE DOES NOT MEAN BEST BOX OFFICE





It is clear by last years box office numbers that the public loves sequels and horrible movies. So as long as they are making money, these films will continue to be made. Why would a movie studio want to invest in a new untested brand and risk losing millions. They know that the audience is much more willing to spend their money on the Twilight Saga than almost any other movie that they will make. None of  the top 10 money makers of 2011 received a Best Picture nomination. The closest was THE HELP in 11th place. TRANSFORMERS is one of the worst movies of the year and it managed managed to bring in $352 million. Seven of the top 10 grossing movies of 2011 were sequels. The studios will continue to make horrible movies and needless sequels when they look at these numbers.

Best Picture Box Office

The Help $169,598,523
Moneyball  $75,524,658
War Horse  $73,268,388
Midnight in Paris  $56,446,217
Hugo  $56,258,727
The Descendants  $52,011,756
The Tree of Life  $13,303,319
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close $13,193,877
The Artist  $13,068,235

2011 Box Office

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2  $381,011,219
Transformers: Dark of the Moon  $352,390,543
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 $273,445,000 -
The Hangover Part II  $254,464,305
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides  $241,071,802
Fast Five $209,837,675
Cars 2  $191,452,396
Thor   $181,030,624
Rise of the Planet of the Apes  $176,711,822
Captain America: The First Avenger $176,654,505

Thursday, January 26, 2012

ELECTRONIC OSCAR VOTING





For the first time ever this year the Oscar voters will vote electronically. We should all welcome them to the year 2001. They will be doing away with the time wasted by mailing out ballots, waiting for them to be returned and counting each one by hand. The process of nominating a lousy film has become much easier. The could have a huge impact on future nominations. In years past the Academy Awards were the last movie awards of the season. Which could explain the low viewership. By the end of February we pretty much know who is going to win based on the 40 previous awards in the season. It is then very anti climatic. The new electronic process could make the Oscar awards handed out in January making more of the precursor awards obsolete. The other award groups like to beat the Oscars to the punch, so they could also move up their dates. Then it creates problems for the studios who have to release these movies in time to be considered.

The Academy voters are an older bunch, I think the average age is 60. And honestly some do not have computers and or internet access at all. This year when more studios streamed their movies instead of spending extra money to send a DVD screener, some of them could not even see the films being considered. So how the hell are they going to vote?

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES





WTF!


The Artist-Has been the frontrunner for ahwile. This is the one to beat and pretty much a sure bet for the win. Harvey Weinstein knows how to run an Oscar campaign like no other. He makes sure that the award season voters see his films and has the money to promote the hell out of them. It is pretty impressive that a silent, black and white movie with mediocre box office results can win Best Picture in 2011.


The Descendants-Unlike THE ARTIST it has it's haters, but is most certainly the 2nd or 3rd the runner up after HUGO.  The Academy loves George Clooney and will probably honor him in the Best Actor category.


The Help-Certainly has maintained itself throughout the season. This nomination was no surprise.

Hugo-Has the most nominations this year with 11. I think it is much more about the history of movie making than THE ARTIST. I don't think many would mind if this ended up winning.

Midnight in Paris-The Academy loves Woody Allen and this is considered one of his best. There was not much doubt that it was going to get a nomination.

Moneyball-It was all about MONEYBALL in the beginning and everyone knew it had potential to be a Best Picture contender. Then we started seeing other movies winning critic awards and MONEYBALL began to fade away. The Academy did not forget. If there were only 5 nominations, it probably would not have made the cut.

The Tree of Life-Another one that has legs for the first part of the year and then faded away. Many stuck by it and insisted it would get a nomination. I myself counted it out due to the mixed reviews and it wasn't getting much other award attention. Pretty impressive for a movie that is about nothing.

War Horse-Wow! Everyone jumped on the Spielberg train. While many seem to be upset about this nomination, I think it belongs here. It did not win many of the precursor awards and was shut out of the all important DGA.  While it does have some flaws it is a pretty damn good film.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close-This is the one that is mind boggling. I have not read or seen one good review of this movie. It has only has a 46 of Metacritic, which may make it the lowest rated movie ever to be nominated for Best Picture. In all fairness I have not seen it yet,but from what I have heard it is hard to imagine that at least 5% of voters thought it was the BEST film of the year. Over DRIVE, DRAGON TATTOO or 20 other movies I can think of. EXTREMELY LOUD will forever be an Oscar nominated film. I think it taints the whole year as well as Oscar history. It almost sounds kinda fishy!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

VIDEO OF 2011 OSCAR NOMINATIONS


If you missed the gasps from the audience,  here is the video of this mornings Oscar nominations. 




NUMBER OF NOMINATIONS

Thanks to Awards Daily for putting together a nice list of each film and the number of nominations they received today. Yes TRANSFORMERS has more than DRIVE! My favorite of the year MELANCHOLIA has none.


Hugo- 11
The Artist- 10
Moneyball- 6
War Horse- 6
The Descendants- 5
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- 5
The Help- 4
Albert Nobbs- 3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2- 3
Midnight in Paris- 4
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- 3
Transformers: Dark of the Moon- 3
The Tree of Life- 3
Bridesmaids- 2
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close- 2
The Iron Lady- 2
My Week with Marilyn- 2
A Separation- 2
The Adventures of Tintin- 1
Anonymous- 1
The Barber of Birmingham- 1
Beginners- 1
A Better Life- 1
Bullhead- 1
A Cat in Paris- 1
Chico & Rita- 1
Dimanche/Sunday- 1
Drive- 1
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore- 1
Footnote- 1
God Is the Bigger Elvis- 1
Hell and Back Again- 1
The Ides of March- 1
If a Tree Falls- 1
In Darkness- 1
Incident in New Baghdad- 1
Jane Eyre- 1
Kung Fu Panda 2- 1
La Luna- 1
Margin Call- 1
Monsieur Lazhar- 1
A Morning Stroll- 1
The Muppets- 1
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory- 1
Pentecost- 1
Pina- 1
Puss in Boots- 1
Raju- 1
Rango- 1
Real Steel- 1
Rise of the Planet of the Apes- 1
Saving Face- 1
The Shore- 1
Time Freak- 1
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom- 1
Tuba Atlantic- 1
Undefeated- 1
W.E.- 1
Warrior- 1
Wild Life- 1

84th ANNUAL OSCAR NOMINATIONS




Best Picture
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist" 
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"

Best Actor
Demián Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" 
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Best Actress
Viola Davis, "The Help" 
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Max Von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, "The Artist" 
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"The Descendants"
"Hugo"
"The Ides of March"
"Moneyball" 
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
"The Artist"
"Bridesmaids"
"Margin Call"
"Midnight in Paris"
"A Separation"

Best Art Direction
"The Artist" 
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"

Best Cinematography
"The Artist"
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Costume Design
"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"
"W.E."

Best Film Editing
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"

Best Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"The Iron Lady"

Best Music (Original Score)
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"War Horse"

Best Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets"
"Real in Rio" from "Rio"

Best Sound Editing
"Drive"
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Sound Mixing
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" 
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

Best Foreign Language Film
"Bullhead" - Belgium
"Monsieur Lazhar" - Canada
"A Separation" - Iran 
"Footnote" - Israel
"In Darkness" - Poland

Best Animated Feature Film
"A Cat in Paris"
"Chico and Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Best Documentary Feature
"Hell and Back Again"
"If a Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
"Pina"
"Undefeated"

Best Documentary (Short Subject)
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement"
"God is the Bigger Elvis"
"Incident in New Baghdad"
"Saving Face"
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"

Best Short Film (Animated)
"Dimanche/Sunday"
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore"
"La Luna"
"A Morning Stroll"
"Wild Life"

Best Short Film (Live Action)
"Pentecost"
"Raju"
"The Shore"
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"

Sunday, January 22, 2012

THE RISE OF THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN




When people began seeing THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN they weren't really impressed. Motion capture has improved, but there are still complaints that the characters had  "dead eyes" that are common in motion capture. It is very difficult to reproduce the look of a real human eye. We all know it when we see it, but can't describe it. Anyway TINTIN appears to be getting a surge here at the end. I assumed RANGO was a shoe in for Best Animated Feature. With TINTIN getting a Golden Globe and winning last night at the Producers guild, is jumping to the front of the line. Also with Spielberg pretty much out for WAR HORSE this is a great chance to honor him and still be his "friend". (reference to previous post).

THE ARTIST-SAFE OSCAR CHOICE

Lady watching THE ARTIST win Best Picture



THE ARTIST received the top prize at the Producers Guild Awards last night. If you think that the Golden Globes are not much of a precursor to the Oscars, you have to believe that the PGA awards are. For the last four years the Best Theatrical Feature winner went on to to win and Academy Awards for Best Picture. Many were hoping for an upset like DRAGON TATTOO or even BRIDESMAIDS, but deep down everyone knew that THE ARTIST would beat all of them. As I read other blogs and websites I am finding that people now consider the Oscars over and very disappointed in THE ARTIST. Not because it is not a great movie, but because it is a safe flavorless pick. We are still reeling from last year, the safe THE KINGS SPEECH. We need an Oscar season with upsets and risks. Why can't DRIVE or MELANCHOLIA win Best Picture? The Academy seems too afraid to vote for the "unpopular kids" or anyone not named Harvey Weinstein.  It is one big group of friends who once a year honor each other for being their friend. I hear over and over "oh that movie will never be nominated. it is too violent, too controversial, too modern, too edgy, too long, too short..blah, blah, blah. Unfortunately all that seems to be true. Granted the nominations aren't until Tuesday morning and maybe, just maybe there will be a big surprise that we can get excited about, but it doesn't seem to be going that way. 2011 was not the best year in film and THE ARTIST is not the best movie of the year, but it sure is the safest.

Friday, January 20, 2012

BEST PICTURE CHANCES

Tuesday will be the day that we find out the Oscar nominations.  The new rule dictates that there could be anywhere from 5 to 10 Best Picture nominees. The voting process is also a little different.  A movie must get 5% of voters choosing it as their number one film of the year to be considered a nominee.  Here is a list of possible nominees and their chances.



THE ARTIST- There is no doubt that it will be nominated. It is the front –runner to win the big prize. It has won around 40 other film awards this year.  The critics don’t have anything negative to say about it and it would make for a great story, a silent black and white film winning Best Picture in 2011. The only thing keeping it back could be the box office.  Right now it has only grossed around $9.5 million in limited release. It opens wider this weekend.  I think that the average Joe who goes to the movie theater 4 or 5 times a year is not going to want to see a silent film. THE ARTIST is for the real cinaphile and celebrates the art of film making. But in this case I don’t think the Box Office is a real problem.  Its chances of winning Best Picture go up every day.

THE DESCENDANTS- Also a shoe in for a nomination and a close 2nd to win Best Picture.  It has been nominated for most of the critic awards including a DGA which almost always matches the Best Picture nominees. 

HUGO- Another likely nominee.  Just like THE DESCENDANTS it has been nominated for numerous critic awards and Scorsese is a DGA nominee. HUGO also celebrates the art of film making. The first half is a little slow, but so visually stunning that it doesn’t matter. The whole thing pays off in the end.  The problem with HUGO is that it cost  $190 million and so far has grossed $55 million. It is unlikely to make a profit at this rate. 

MONEYBALL-Depending on how many nominees there are depends on if MONEYBALL makes the cut.  It doesn’t seem to have the legs it had earlier in the year.  It does have a great shot at Best Adapted Screenplay.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS- Many say it is Woody Allen’s best and is sure to win Best Original Screenplay.  Look for a nomination.

THE HELP- The Summer surprise that came out of nowhere.  Not much was said about THE HELP until it was released. The reviews were great and so far it has grossed close to $205 million. The acting performances have rocketed it to a pretty sure thing.


THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO-This movie was one of the most anticipated of 2011. Unfortunately it was released on Christmas Day.  It is not really something the family is going to run out and see during the Holidays. It opened to disappointing numbers, the reviews were mixed and it’s Oscar chances faded.  In fact Director David Fincher wanted no parts of an Oscar campaign. Then came the unexpected DGA nomination for Fincher and NOW THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO has a pretty decent chance of a Best Picture nomination. (If there are more that 6 or 7 nominees.)

WAR HORSE-Oh WAR HORSE, you tried so hard and had so much going for you. I mean you had Spielberg, the music, a horse and 2 and half hours of Oscar bait. It just may have been too much for people to embrace. Spielberg not getting a DGA nomination was a huge shocker and might have hammered the final nail into the stall. All is not lost, but it will be a surprise if it gets nominated at this point.

BRIDESMAIDS-What? A Judd Apatow comedy nominated for Best Picture?  It doesn’t sound so ridiculous anymore. The Golden Globe nomination and the love for Melissa McCarthy could make it the big upset.
DRIVE-The love that people have for this movie cannot be ignored. I keep reading how everyone is hoping that the Academy surprises us with a nomination for DRIVE and yes it would be a surprise. I don’t think that it has enough support and the violence may be a big turn-off.

TREE OF LIFE-This movie is all over the place. People love it or hate it. I had counted it out after the summer, but it still seems to have some momentum going into February.

THE IDES OF MARCH-Another one that had a lot of buzz in the beginning, but mediocre reviews and too much competition this year leaves it out.

J. EDGAR-In the beginning of the year people we convinced Leonardo DiCaprio was going to win Best Actor with J.EDGAR as Best Picture. Well a lot has changed. Mostly bad reviews and bad box office.

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE-Another one that we heard about all year.  It was rushed to be considered for this year’s Oscar consideration.  Unfortunately not many people like which doesn’t make for a Best Picture.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

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OSCAR FOREIGN LANGUAGE SHORTLIST




The Academy announced their short list of possible foreign language nominees. The reason they do this is so that the voters only have to view 9 foreign language films rather than the original 63. I would imagine this keeps from people voting for movies they haven't seen. Which apparently happens more than you would think. Surprisingly LE HARVE and FLOWERS OF WAR were left out. Besides A SEPARATION I have not heard of the others on the list. No doubt A SEPARATION will win the Oscar. That explains my biased photo. Some are even predicting a Best Picture nomination.


 Iran, “A Separation,” Asghar Farhadi
 Poland, “In Darkness,” Agnieszka Holland
 Israel, “Footnote,” Joseph Cedar, director;
Germany, “Pina,” Wim Wenders
Canada, “Monsieur Lazhar,” Philippe Falardeau
Belgium, “Bullhead,” Michael R. Roskam
Morocco, “Omar Killed Me,” Roschdy Zem
Denmark, “Superclásico,” Ole Christian Madsen
Taiwan, “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale,” Wei Te-sheng

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

BAFTA NOMINATIONS





The British Academy of Film Television Arts announced their nominees this morning. THE ARTIST leads with 12 nominations follwowed bt TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY with 11. Leonardo DiCaprio, Rooney Mara, Albert Brooks and Shailene Woodley were all left out.  War Horse received five technical nominations but was left out of all of the major categories.

As time goes on, WAR HORSE continues to lose momentum. I am now wondering if it can get a Best Picture nomination. Especially with Spielberg not getting a DGA nomination. The bad reviews for J.EDGAR have hurt Dicaprio. He may also not get the nomination that everyone was sure about.

You can watch the BAFTA ceremony on the BBC, Sunday February 12th.



Best Film
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Film Not in the English Language
Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In


Outstanding British Film
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Tomas Alfredson, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Lynne Ramsay, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Leading Actor
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Michael Fassbender, Shame

Leading Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis, The Help

Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Jim Broadbent, The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Ides of March

Supporting Actress 
Carey Mulligan, Drive
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Judi Dench, My Week with Marilyn
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Original Screenplay
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Guard
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris

Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Editing
The Artist
Drive
Hugo
Senna
Tinker Tailor Solider Spy

Production Design
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Make Up & Hair
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
My Week with Marilyn


Costume Design
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
My Week with Marilyn
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Special Visual Effects
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
War Horse

Documentary
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna

Sound
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Original Music
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

Animated Film
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Rango

Outstanding British Debut by a Director or Producer
Joe Cornish, Attack the Block
Will Sharpe, Tom Kingsley, Sarah Brocklehurst, Black Pond
Ralph Fiennes, Coriolanus
Richard Ayouade, Submarine
Paddy Considine & Diarmid Scrimshaw, Tyrannosaur

Monday, January 16, 2012

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNERS








There were a few surprises from last nights Golden Globe Awards. Meryl Streep winning over Viola Davis surprised many. The truth is Streep carries THE IRON LADY while Davis has a great supporting cast, so NO the Hollywood Foreign Press is not racist! They just voted for what they thought was the Best Actress of the year. If anything came from the Globes tonight it is that Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer are a lock for Oscar win. Here is the list of went home with a an award:

Best Motion Picture — Drama: “The Descendants” *
Best Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical: “The Artist” *
Best Director — Motion Picture: Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”*
Best Actress — Drama: Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Best Actor — Drama: George Clooney, “The Descendants”*
Best Actress — Comedy or Musical: Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”*
Best Actor — Comedy or musical: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist"*
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, “The Help”*
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”*
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource – “The Artist”
Best Original Song: “Masterpiece” — W.E., Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry
Best Animated Feature Film: “The Adventures of Tintin”
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Separation” (Iran)*


The asterisks represent my predictions that were correct. I chose 9 correctly out of the 14. That is 64% correct. Hopefully I do can better at Oscar time.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

MY GOLDEN GLOBE PREDICTIONS




This is hard. The Hollywood Foreign Press votes are a little harder to predict than the Academy Awards. At this point I can only make my best guess based on what I know. Some people like to make way off the wall predictions just to be different, but I am too competitive to not play it safe. Some also like to predict an alternative winner, which is really the easy way out if your first guess doesn't win. I am going all in with my picks. Here they are:




Best Picture Drama
_X_The Descendants
___The Help
___The Ides of March
___Moneyball
___War Horse
___Hugo


Best Picture Musical/Comedy
___50/50
_X_The Artist
___Bridesmaids
___Midnight in Paris
___My Week with Marilyn


Best Actress Drama
___Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
_X_Viola Davis – The Help
___Rooney Mara – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
___Meryl Streep – Iron Lady
___Tilda Swinton – We Need To Talk About Kevin


Best Actor Drama
_X_George Clooney – The Descendants
___Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar
___Michael Fassbender – Shame
___Ryan Gosling – The Ides Of March
___Brad Pitt – Moneyball


Best Actress Comedy
___Jodie Foster – Carnage
___Charlize Theron – Young Adult
___Kristen Wiig – Bridesmaids
_X_Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn
___Kate Winslet – Carnage


Best Actor Comedy
_X_Jean Dujardin – The Artist
___Brendan Gleeson – The Guard
___Joseph Gordon-Levitt – 50/50
___Ryan Gosling – Crazy, Stupid, Love.
___Owen Wilson – Midnight In Paris


Best Animated
___The Adventures Of Tintin
___Arthur Christmas
___Cars 2
___Puss In Boots
_X_Rango


Foreign Language Film
___The Flowers Of War (China)
___In The Land Of Blood And Honey (United States)
___The Kid With A Bike (Belgium)
_X_A Separation (Iran)
___The Skin I Live In (Spain)


Best Supporting Actress
___Berenice Bejo – The Artist
___Jessica Chastain – The Help
___Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
_X_Octavia Spencer – The Help
___Shailene Woodley – The Descendants


Best Supporting Actor
___Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
___Albert Brooks – Drive
___Jonah Hill – Moneyball
___Viggo Mortensen – A Dangerous Method
_X_Christopher Plummer – Beginners


Best Director
___Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris
___George Clooney – The Ides Of March
___Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
___Alexander Payne – The Descendants
_X_Martin Scorsese – Hugo


Screenplay
___Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
_X_Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne, Jim Rash - The Descendants
___George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon - The Ides Of March
___Woody Allen - Midnight In Paris
___Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian - Moneyball


Original Song
___"Hello Hello" – Gnomeo & Juliet
___"Keeper, The" – Machine Gun Preacher
___"Lay Your Head Down" – Albert Nobbs
_X_"Living Proof, The" – The Help
___"Masterpiece" – W.E.


Original Score
___Ludovic Bource - The Artist
___Abel Korzeniowski - W.E.
___Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
___Howard Shore - Hugo
_X_John Williams - War Horse



The awards will be announced live Sunday on NBC at 8pm EST.


Please feel free to make your own predictions. I would like to know what others think!

CRITICS CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS









I am a little late to the party but I finally was able to watch the Critics Choice Awards from Thursday night. It is unfortunate that every awards show has waste so much time with lame comedy. Handing out awards in itself is really not that exciting, so all these shows feel the need to spice it up with comedy. And it almost never works. The best parts of Critic Choice Awards were when it was real, the acceptionin speeches, the movie montages and albeit a little awkward, the hit from Haiti with Sean Penn. How about an awards show minus the fluff and more clips from the best movies of the year?




Viola Davis had the best speech.


One camera seemed only dedicated to Charlize Theron. She was shown a lot in the 2 hours.




Best Picture: The Artist
Best Actress: Viola Davis, The Help
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Ensemble: The Help
Best Young Actor: Thomas Horn, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Best Director: Michel Haznavicius, The Artist
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, Steve Zaillian, Moneyball
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski, War Horse
Best Art Direction: Hugo
Best Editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Best Costume: The Artist
Best Score: The Artist
Best Song: The Muppets, Life’s a Happy Song
Best Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Best Make-Up: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 2
Best Sound: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 2
Best Action Movie: Drive
Best Comedy: Bridesmaids
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Documentary: George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Honorary Award: Martin Scorsese
Joel Siegel Award: Sean Penn

Monday, January 9, 2012

DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA NOMINEES







The DGA announced their nominees today. David Fincher for DRAGON TATTOO is a little surprising as well as no nomination for Spielberg. The DGA's are a great indicator of how Oscar nominations will go. The winner will be named at the 64th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, January 28, 2012, at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland.


Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
David Fincher - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Sunday, January 8, 2012

MELANCHOLIA: THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR





If you have read this blog at all this year you know that MELANCHOLIA is my favorite movie of the year maybe the last few years. When Kirsten Dunst won Best Actress on Cannes and it was nominated for their version of Best Picture (THE TREE OF LIFE won) it began to get some attention. Unfortunately director Lars Von Trier made a comment during a press conference at Cannes about understanding Hitler and being a Nazi sympathizer. This is probably what did the film in. Sure what Von Trier said was pretty stupid even if he was joking. But some of the best and most creative film makers have a little "crazy" in them. That is what makes them so great. I think that we can all agree that Woody Allen's "crazy" has made for some great films. There is still the long standing debate about Roman Polanski, should he continue to be rewarded for his work after his sexual assault of a 13 year old girl. They all have their own degree of issues and it is not for me to decide when or if someone can be forgiven. But we can still honor the great movies that they produce.
Ann Thompson made a comment on her podcast this week as she was laughing "what is MELANCHOLIA going to be nominated for Best Picture?" Hahaha ..This comment made her sound so elitist and above anyone who could possibly be fan of this movie. I will stick by MELANCHOLIA until the end.

Here is the video of the very uncomfortable press conference with Von Trier. Poor Kirsten Dunst tries to stop him:

Saturday, January 7, 2012

NATIONAL SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS




Even more love for MELANCHOLIA. I was happy that the Central Ohio Critics honored it, now even happier that a more influential group feels the same way. The NSFC website has the tag line "The truth, once every 12 months". That clearly speaks to the fact that the Academy does not always reward the best movies of the year.

 Hopefully all of these awards gives MELANCHOLIA more credit.

Here are the list of winners. The numbers indicate how many votes the films received.



BEST PICTURE
*1. Melancholia – 29 (Lars von Trier)
2. The Tree of Life – 28 (Terrence Malick)
3. A Separation – 20 (Asghar Farhadi)

BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Terrence Malick – 31 (The Tree of Life)
2. Martin Scorsese – 29 (Hugo)
3. Lars von Trier – 23 (Melancholia)

BEST ACTOR
*1. Brad Pitt – 35 (Moneyball, The Tree of Life)
2. Gary Oldman – 22 (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
3. Jean Dujardin – 19 (The Artist)

BEST ACTRESS
*1. Kirsten Dunst – 39 (Melancholia)
2. Yun Jung-hee – 25 (Poetry)
3. Meryl Streep – 20 (The Iron Lady)


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. Albert Brooks – 38 (Drive)
2. Christopher Plummer – 24 (Beginners)
3. Patton Oswalt – 19 (Young Adult)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Jessica Chastain – 30 (The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Help)
2. Jeannie Berlin – 19 (Margaret)
3. Shailene Woodley – 17 (The Descendants)

BEST NONFICTION
*1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 35 (Werner Herzog)
2. The Interrupters – 26 (Steve James)
3. Into the Abyss – 18 (Werner Herzog)

BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. A Separation – 39 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Moneyball – 22 (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin)
3. Midnight in Paris – 16 (Woody Allen)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
*1. A Separation – 67 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Mysteries of Lisbon – 28 (Raoul Ruiz)
3. Le Havre – 22 (Aki Kaurismäki)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. The Tree of Life – 76 (Emanuel Lubezki)
2. Melancholia – 41 (Manuel Alberto Claro)
3. Hugo – 33 (Robert Richardson)

EXPERIMENTAL
Ken Jacobs, for “Seeking the Monkey King.”

Friday, January 6, 2012

2012 OSCAR TRAILER




It's kinda lame, but in an attempt to lure a younger audience to the Oscars Funny or Die created an Academy Awards trailer. Although Megan Fox and Josh Duhmal starred in the worst movies of the year, they are on a quest to find Billy Crystal.

MY GRADE: D

CENTRAL OHIO FILM CRITICS



There are a ton of film critic groups that award movies every year. Even the Central Ohio Film Critics Association. According to their website they were "Founded in 2002, the Central Ohio Film Critics Association is made up of film critics based in Columbus, Ohio, and the surrounding areas. Its membership consists of more than 25 print, radio, television, and new media critics."


They announced their awards yesterday and I am happy to see MELANCHOLIA and DRIVE (my 2 favorites of the year) finally get some attention. Even if it's only in Columbus, Ohio. Here is the complete list of winners:


Best Film
1. Drive
2. Martha Marcy May Marlene
3. Take Shelter
4. Melancholia
5. The Descendants
6. Midnight in Paris
7. The Tree of Life
8. The Artist
9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
10. Hugo

Best Director
-Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
-Runner-up: Lars von Trier, Melancholia


Best Actor
-Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
-Runner-up: Ryan Gosling, Drive

Best Actress
-Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
-Runner-up: Charlize Theron, Young Adult

Best Supporting Actor
-Christopher Plummer, Beginners
-Runner-up: Albert Brooks, Drive

Best Supporting Actress
-Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
-Runner-up: Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life


Best Ensemble
-Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
-Runner-up: The Descendants

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
-Jessica Chastain, Coriolanus, The Debt, The Help, Take Shelter, Texas Killing Fields,
and The Tree of Life
-Runner-up: Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love., Drive, and The Ides of March

Breakthrough Film Artist
- Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive (for directing)
-Runner-up: Jessica Chastain, Coriolanus, The Debt, The Help, Take Shelter, Texas Killing Fields,
and The Tree of Life (for acting)

Best Cinematography
-Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
-Runner-up: Manuel Alberto Claro, Melancholia

Best Adapted Screenplay
-Steven Zaillian, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
-Runner-up: Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball

Best Original Screenplay
-Ben Ripley, Source Code
-Runner-up: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Best Score
-The Chemical Brothers, Hanna
-Runner-up: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Documentary
-Cave of Forgotten Dreams
-Runner-up: Project Nim
Best Foreign Language Film
-Of Gods and Men (Des homes et des dieux)
-Runner-up: The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito)

Best Animated Film
-Arthur Christmas
-Runner-up: Winnie the Pooh

Best Overlooked Film
-Margaret
-Runner-up: Beginners

Thursday, January 5, 2012

WGA NOMINEES





The Writers Guild of America announced their nominations this morning. In the end they are not much a precursor to the Oscars because the writers have to be a member of the union to be nominated. Shame, Martha Macy, Albert Nobbs, Drive, Margin Call, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Iron Lady and My Week with Marilyn and The Artist were all ineligible. It does give films that would otherwise not be considered chance. Like Win, Win. One of the most underrated movies of the year. Anyway here are the nominations:



ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight
Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming; Fox Searchlight
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian; Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson, originally published by Norstedts; Columbia Pictures
The Help, Screenplay by Tate Taylor; Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett; DreamWorks Pictures
Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan; Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick; Paramount Pictures
Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin; Based on the book by Michael Lewis; Columbia Pictures


DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega; Loteria Films
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Written by Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek; Oscilloscope Pictures
Nostalgia for the Light, Written by Patricio Guzmán; Icarus Films
Pina, Screenplay by Wim Wenders; Sundance Selects
Position Among the Stars, Script by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich, Leonard Retel Helmrich; HBO Films
Senna, Written by Manish Pandey; Producers Distribution Agency

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Hugo



 The Academy Awards Visual Effects Branch committee has narrowed down the list of possible films for Best Visual Effects. This category starts with 15 then is narrowed to 10. Clips from the 10 finalists will be shown to the voters on January 19th. That is when they will narrow it down to the final 5 that will be nominated. Super 8, Cowboys and Aliens, Sherlock Holmes, Sucker Punch and Thor all dropped out.  Here are the chosen 10:

"Captain America: The First Avenger"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"The Tree of Life"
"X-Men: First Class"

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

PRODUCERS GUILD NOMINATIONS




The Producer Guild nominations are an excellent precursor to the Oscars. Last year 9 out of the ten Best Picture Guild nominations went on to get an Oscar nomination. Obviously with the different rules this year they can't all get a nomination, but it is a good indication of how Academy voters might lean. Surprisingly THE TREE OF LIFE and DRIVE were left out. One of the most anticipated movies of the year, EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE was not nominated, but BRIDESMAIDS did. The reviews for both have not been that great. The PGA awards will take place January 21st. Here is the complete list of film nominees:


Best Picture
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Animated Film
The Adventures of Tintin
Cars 2
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango


Best Documentary
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
Bill Cunningham New York
Project Nim
Senna
The Union

ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY AWARDS




The online Film Critics Society is as stated on their website "the largest, most respected organization for critics whose work appears primarily on the Internet". They announced the winners of their awards tonight. THE TREE OF LIFE continues it's momentum. Great to see Tilda Swinton recognized for WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN.


Best Picture:
 "The Tree of Life"


Best Director:
 Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
Best Lead Actor:
 Michael Fassbender, "Shame"
Best Lead Actress:
 Tilda Swinton, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"
Best Supporting Actor:
 Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Best Supporting Actress:
 Jessica Chastain, "The Tree of Life"
Best Original Screenplay:
 "Midnight in Paris"
Best Adapted Screenplay:
 "Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy"
Best Editing:
 "The Tree of Life"
Best Cinematography:
 "The Tree of Life"
Best Animated Feature:
 "Rango"
Best Film Not in the English Language: 
"A Separation"
Best Documentary:
 "Cave of Forgotten Dreams"

Monday, January 2, 2012

BEST PICTURE BALLOT





Goldderby.com published the above picture of the Best Picture ballot along with the instructions. Many of the voters are confused because there are only 5 spaces when actually there could be up to 10 Best Picture nominees. Some thought that the ballot was a misprinted. But the current 'preferential' voting system rewards films that appear highly on the most ballots, not films that just appear in any order on the most ballots. They are trying to get them to vote for only the movies they loved, not just what they liked.

Here are the instructions that were sent out:


Dear Academy Member:


The attached is a ballot by which the nominees for this year's Best Picture of the Year Award will be made. This year there will be no more than ten nor fewer than five nominees for Best Picture.


Before marking your ballot, please refer to the Reminder List which contains the titles of all pictures released during the past year which qualify under the awards rules. Every title listed is eligible for the Best Picture Award.


Marking Your Ballot When you have reviewed the Reminder List, please write the title of your first choice on the first line of this ballot and list your alternate choices on the succeeding lines in order of your preference. Do not list the same title more than once; multiple votes for the same picture do not enhance its chances. The pictures receiving the highest number of votes shall become the nominees for final voting for the Best Picture award. There may not be more than ten nor fewer than five nominations; however, no picture shall be nominated that receives less than five percent of the total votes cast. The preferential system of tabulation is used in nominations voting. You are voting essentially for one achievement, and the preferential system insures that your vote will be cast -- in order of your listed preferences -- for the candidate for whom it can do the most good. (If, for example, the achievement on the top line of your ballot receives almost no support from other votes, you have not "wasted" your vote. The system moves on and casts your vote for your second listed achievement, and so on.)


You need not fill in all five lines. The more preferences you indicate, however, the greater the certainty that your ballot will influence the Best Picture nominees list.


When you have marked this ballot, please return it to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the enclosed, self-addressed GREEN envelope early enough to be received by them before the deadline, 5:00 pm,  Friday, January 13, 2012.


Ballots received after that time cannot be counted.


Sincerely,


Tom Sherak
President


It's just that simple!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

MY PREDICTIONS







Here are my best guesses for this years Oscar nominations which will be announced Tuesday January 24th at 5:38am PST. They will be announced at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles.




Best Picture
THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
THE HELP
WAR HORSE
HUGO
MONEYBALL
THE TREE OF LIFE
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
(My wish: MELANCHOLIA)

Best Actor
George Clooney-THE DESCENDANTS
Jean Dujardin-THE ARTIST
Brad Pitt-MONEYBALL
Micheal Fassbender-SHAME
Leonardo Dicaprio-J. EDGAR
(My wish: Joseph Gordon Levitt-50/50)

Best Actress
Viola Davis-THE HELP
Meryl Streep-THE IRON LADY
Michelle Williams-MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
Glenn Close-ALBERT KNOBBS
Tilda Swinton-WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
(My Wish: Kirsten Dunst-MELANCHOLIA)

Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer-BEGINNERS
Albert Brooks-DRIVE
Kenneth Branagh-MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
Max Von Sydow-EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
Jonah Hill-MONEYBALL
(My Wish: Asa Butterfield-HUGO)

Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer-THE HELP
Berenice Bejo-THE ARTIST
Shaileen Woodley-THE DESCENDANTS
Janet McTeer-ALBERT NOBBS
Melissa McCarthy-BRIDESMAIDS

Original Screenplay
THE ARTIST
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
BRIDESMAIDS
BEGINNERS
SHAME
(My Wish" MELANCHOLIA)

Adapted Screenplay
THE DESCENDANTS
MONEYBALL
THE HELP
HUGO
WAR HORSE

Best Animated Feature
RANGO
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
PUSS IN BOOTS
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS
CARS 2

Documentary Feature
PROJECT NIM
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
BUCK
PARADISE LOST 3: PURGATORY
PINA

Editing
WAR HORSE
THE ARTIST
HUGO
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
THE DESCENDANTS

Cinematography
THE TREE OF LIFE
HUGO
WAR HORSE
THE ARTIST
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS:PART 2

Art Direction
HUGO
THE ARTIST
WAR HORSE
THE TREE OF LIFE
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS:PART 2

Costume Design
THE ARTIST
HUGO
JANE ERYE
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
ALBERT NOBBS


Makeup
ALBERT NOBBS
J. EDGAR
THE IRON LADY
WAR HORSE
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS:PART 2

Visual Effects
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS:PART 2
TRANSFORMERS: THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
HUGO
THE TREE OF LIFE

Original Score
THE ARTIST
WAR HORSE
HUGO
THE TREE OF LIFE
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS:PART 2

Song
THE MUPPETS (1 OF 2 SONGS)
THE HELP
CARS 2
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER


Foreign Language
A SEPARATION
PINA
WHERE DO WE GO NOW
IN DARKNESS
THE HAVRE
























I will post my predictions for Oscar nominations later today. In the meantime Happy New Year!