My Oscars Reactions (17/24)

¨And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to Argo¨

Last night the 85^th Academy Awards were celebrated in a big way. Hollywood´s top actors made their way through the red carpet with a lot of glamour. I´m not a fashion expert so I won´t comment on who was wearing what, but I can say that everyone looked beautiful. The ceremony began with a monologue from first time host Seth MacFarlane who got some laughs out of the audience with his song ¨We saw your boobs¨ and with a sock puppet version of Flight while he was interrupted by Captain Kirk (William Shattner) who came from the future to warn him about his terrible hosting gig. He showed us some glimpses of what went wrong and MacFarlane tried to make amends by following Captain Kirk´s advice. The jokes were funny although not that irreverent as the Family Guy and Ted director has us used to. I still enjoyed his opening and I think he did a decent job hosting the Oscars, which once again ran about three and a half hours long. I know many people complain about the length of the ceremony, but I really enjoy this once a year event and loved every minute of it.

Despite opening with a surprise win for Christoph Waltz for best supporting actor, the Oscar were pretty predictable and the heavy favorites won. I loved Waltz´s performance, and he was my favorite in that category but I didn’t think the Academy would give him his second Oscar in three years. I was wrong, and I was happy about that. I was 17 for 24 in my predictions, but I knew some of the categories were going to be close races between one or two picks. So close in fact, that in one category we had a tie which hadn’t happened since the 1960´s. Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall shared the Oscar for Sound Editing. The biggest surprise of the night was Ang Lee´s victory over Steven Spielberg in the best director category. Life of Pi was one of my favorite movies of the year so I was very pleased once again with the Academy´s decision. The other categories I didn’t predict were both writing categories which did go to the favorites: Argo (adapted screenplay) and Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino). I loved Tarantino´s acceptance speech and this was his second win after Pulp Fiction. It was a long awaited win, but he finally got his moment. Brave beat Frankenweenie in the Best Animated category (a film I really didn’t like too much), Lincoln beat Anna Karenina in the Production Design category, and Inocente beat my pick Open Heart as the best short documentary. Those were my only misses; everything else went on as predicted.

Argo finally won for Best Picture and Ben Affleck got his redemption for not being included in the best director category since he was one of the producers of the film along with George Clooney. He gave one of the best speeches of the night and reminded the audience of how young he was when he won his first Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting. He never thought he would be back, but he made it and has proved to be one of the best directors of this last decade. Daniel Day Lewis won the Oscar for his portrayal of Lincoln and also gave a gracious speech. He is the only actor to have won 3 Oscars in a leading role. He made a joke about Meryl Streep who presented the award to him and his acceptance speech felt natural and authentic. Jennifer Lawrence was also a big winner as she won for her role in Silver Linings Playbook. She tripped while climbing up the stairs and also made fun of herself while accepting the award. She was gracious enough to congratulate Emmanuelle Riva on her 86^th birthday and was very classy. Anne Hathaway won for her performance in Les Miserables in the supporting role. Amour received love in the Foreign Language film category, and Searching for Sugar Man won best documentary (one of my favorite moments of the night because I really loved that doc). Adele was also a big winner for her song Skyfall which she got to perform live on the show. There was also a tribute for the 50 years of the James Bond franchise, and a tribute to musicals as well as we saw some of the cast from Chicago, Dreamgirls, and Les Miserables perform.

The awards were pretty much scattered throughout as there wasn’t one movie to take home a lot of awards as it usually happens. This is because there were a lot of strong contenders this year. Life of Pi was the big winner of the night as it took home 4 Oscars (Director, Visual Effects, Cinematography, and Original Score), Argo 3 (Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing), and Les Miserables also took home 3 Oscars (Actress in a Secondary Role, Sound Mixing, and Makeup) and Lincoln only managed to win 2 (Lead Actor and Production Design) out of the 12 nominations it had. Django Unchained won two as well (Original Script and Best Supporting Actor). Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook each took home one Oscar, so the only Best Picture nominee to leave empty handed was Beasts of the Southern Wild, but that small independent film was a winner simply by being nominated.

It was pretty much an even race, but Argo won the biggest prize of the night in a ceremony which I really enjoyed. I thought it was one of the best in recent memory. I don’t know why people watch the Oscars if they always complain about how bad and long it is; I watch them because I really enjoy them. My favorite moments were the big acceptance speeches from Ben Affleck, Daniel Day Lewis, Quentin Tarantino, Chris Terrio, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Lawrence, and Ang Lee. If you missed them then perhaps you might want to look them up in YouTube. I also loved the musical performance from Les Mis cast, from Adele, and from Barbra Streisand who sang during the touching memorium tribute. We can´t leave out the most expected star of the show: Ted who entered with his co-star Mark Wahlberg and made some funny remarks. I thought the was a great show and hopefully next year I will improve my score, but for now satisfied with the overall picks. 

  

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My Oscars Predictions

¨And the Oscar goes to…¨

I finally finished watching all the Oscar nominated films and therefore feel ready to make my predictions about how things might turn out on February 24^th although I expect the race to be very close this year considering the frontrunner for best picture, Argo, hasn’t received a best director nomination and that can hurt its chances. Lincoln can pick up the slack if Argo fails to deliver with the Academy although Argo has been winning all the major awards up to now. I will make my prediction on the ¨Who I think will win¨ category, I will also add the possible upset in the ¨Who might surprise¨ category, and finally I will mention my favorite nominee in the ¨Who I would vote¨ category.

BEST PICTURE

-Who I think will win: Argo

-Who might surprise: Lincoln

-Who I would vote: Life of Pi or Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST DIRECTOR

-Who I think will win: Steven Spielberg

-Who might surprise: Ang Lee

-Who I would vote: Ang Lee

BEST LEAD ACTOR

-Who I think will win: Daniel Day Lewis

-Who might surprise: Joaquin Phoenix

-Who I would vote: Joaquin Phoenix

BEST LEAD ACTRESS

-Who I think will win: Jennifer Lawrence

-Who might surprise: Jessica Chastain or Emmanuelle Riva

-Who I would vote: Jessica Chastain

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

-Who I think will win: Robert De Niro

-Who might surprise: Tommy Lee Jones

-Who I would vote: Christoph Waltz

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

-Who I think will win: Anne Hathaway

-Who might surprise: Sally Field

-Who I would vote: Anne Hathaway for The Dark Knight Rises

BEST ANIMATED FILM

-Who I think will win: Frankenweenie

-Who might surprise: Wreck it Ralph

-Who I would vote: Wreck it Ralph

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

-Who I think will win: Life of Pi

-Who might surprise: Skyfall

-Who I would vote: Life of Pi

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

-Who I think will win: Anna Karenina

-Who might surprise: Les Miserables

-Who I would vote: Anna Karenina

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

-Who I think will win: Searching for Sugar Man

-Who might surprise: How to Survive a Plague

-Who I would vote: Searching for Sugar Man

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

-Who I think will win: Amour

-Who might surprise: A Royal Affair

-Who I would vote: A Royal Affair

BEST EDITING

-Who I think will win: Argo

-Who might surprise: Zero Dark Thirty

-Who I would vote: Zero Dark Thirty

  

BEST MAKEUP

-Who I think will win: Les Miserables

-Who might surprise: The Hobbit

-Who I would vote: Les Miserables

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

-Who I think will win: Life of Pi

-Who might surprise: Lincoln

-Who I would vote: Life of Pi

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

-Who I think will win: Skyfall

-Who might surprise: Pi´s Lullaby

-Who I would vote: Skyfall

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

-Who I think will win: Anna Karenina

-Who might surprise: Les Miserables

-Who I would vote: Life of Pi

BEST SOUND EDITING

-Who I think will win: Zero Dark Thirty

-Who might surprise: Argo

-Who I would vote: Zero Dark Thirty

BEST SOUND MIXING

-Who I think will win: Les Miserables

-Who might surprise: Life of Pi or Skyfall

-Who I would vote: Les Miserables

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

-Who I think will win: Life of Pi

-Who might surprise: The Hobbit

-Who I would vote: Life of Pi

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

-Who I think will win: Lincoln

-Who might surprise: Argo

-Who I would vote: Silver Linings Playbook

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

-Who I think will win: Zero Dark Thirty

-Who might surprise: Django Unchained or Amour

-Who I would vote: Django Unchained

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

-Who I think will win: Open Heart

BEST SHORT FILM LIVE ACTION

-Who I think will win: Curfew

BEST SHORT FILM ANIMATED

-Who I think will win: Paperman

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My Reaction to the Acadamy Award Nominations

There were some pleasant surprises this year as the Acadamy Award nominations were announced to us by future Oscar host Seth Macfarlane and Emma Stone in a very short but funny presentation. I will begin by mentioning some of the pleasant surprises, because there were also some negative ones as some major directors were ignored.

First of all I must say that I´m excited for all the love that Beasts of the Southern Wild received after being nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Actress in a Leading Role, and Best Adapted Screenplay. This was one of my top three films of the year (although I have to admit I still have to see five of the nine nominated films for 2012 since most of these films haven´t come out here in Ecuador yet). The other favorite of mine was Life of Pi which also received a lot of love from Acamdey voters by getting 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. This film blew my mind visually and it deserves all the technical awards. The film with most nominations was Steven Spielbergh´s Lincoln which received 12 nominations including all the big awards. Daniel Day Lewis gave one of the best performances of the year and I think he will win this category easily although he has some competition in Joaquin Pheonix (The Master) and Hugh Jackman (Les Mis). I´m glad Denzel Washington received some love for his work in Flight, although I don´t think he has a chance here. However, I loved his work in that film. The small independent film, Silver Linings Playbook received a lot of love from the Academy as well receiving 8 nominations including all the important ones (director, actor, actress, and picture). I haven´t had a chance to see this film yet, but it looks good. The German film, Amour received much love as well as it will be competing for Best Picture and Best Director. It received 5 nominations. Les Miserables got 8 nominations, although it didn´t receive a Best Director nod which was a surprise for many. Finally, there´s Django Unchained, that received 5 Acadamy Awards including Best Picture although there was no love for Quentin Tarantino in the Best Director department. 

The negative surprises from today´s nominations came from the lack of love for Argo and Zero Dark Thirty which seemed like Lincoln´s main rivals in this year´s Oscars. They both received Best Picture nods, but neither Bigelow nor Affleck received director nominations for there work in these highly critically acclaimed films. Not having a Best Director nomination usually means they won´t end up contending for Best Picture. Argo did recieve 7 nominations however and Zero Dark Thirty ended up with only five when many were predicting each one of these films would get at least 10. I was sad that there was no love for Moonrise Kingdom although it did recieve a nomination for Original Screenplay for Wes Anderson. I was hoping it would recieve a Best Picture nod considering it was one of his best films in quite some time. My favorite film of the year, The Dark Knight Rises, received no love whatsoever, and I was hoping it would at least get a couple nods for vissuals. There were a couple of smaller performances I wished would get recognized like Richard Gere´s work in Arbitrage (his best work to date) and Jack Black in Bernie, but I knew they were long shots. 

Well those were my reactions to this year´s nominations. I look forward to watching the Oscars on February 24 to see who ends up with the big prize at the end. I still have several films to watch before I can make my predictions but this looks like it will be a very tight race between Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Life of Pi, Amour, and Beasts of the Southern Wild. I Think Lincoln has the big edge for now. In case you missed the nominations this morning, here is a video.

My Review: Lincoln (7/10)

¨I could write shorter sermons but when I get started I’m too lazy to stop.¨

Lincoln is without a doubt the most iconic figure in America’s history and for that fact alone this movie is worth checking out considering it is a well researched biopic directed by one of the best contemporary filmmakers: Steven Spielberg. Lincoln may not be as entertaining as it is informative, but none the less this is a film that will stick with you and help you understand perhaps a bit more why Lincoln remains such a beloved and respectful figure in our society today. This film will win several Academy Awards and perhaps even Best Picture thanks to a wonderful lead performance from Daniel Day Lewis, a great supporting cast, and a brilliant screenplay from Tony Kushner, who had previously worked with Steven in Munich. What stands out about this biopic is the way in which Spielberg presents it by deciding to focus on a specific period during Lincoln´s second term as President. The film doesn’t have flashbacks or tell us anything about Lincoln’s past life, but rather focuses on a specific period in time where the President is trying to abolish slavery by getting the 13^th Amendment passed in the Constitution. All this occurring while the Civil War is going on of course, as we see how Lincoln brilliantly manages to maneuver both things at once. By deciding to film the biopic this way we can focus on an important period in Lincoln’s life, without having to go through his entire life. I felt that this way we were able to learn much more about the President and his actions than we would have if we were given every specific about his entire life. By focusing on this specific period we really learn and understand the person that Abe is. I thought this was just a brilliant way to approach the film and it worked wonderfully.

The film takes place during Abraham Lincoln’s (Daniel Day Lewis) second term as president in 1865 while the Civil War is nearing its end. Lincoln knows that if he wants to abolish slavery once and for all in America he will have to do it before the Civil War is over. Concerned about the little effect his emancipation act will have on the slaves after the war he begins to push for the 13^th Amendment to be passed before peace is reached. The Senate has already passed the amendment, and now it is up to the House of Representatives to pass it. He knows he has the votes from the Republican Party, but he still will need about 20 Democratic votes in order to get the amendment passed. In this political game that Lincoln begins to play he tries to extend the Civil War as much as possible in order to get the amendment passed, although he knows that the longer he extends the War the more innocent lives will be lost, including that of his son Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who has decided to join the War. This crisis of conscience that Lincoln faces begins to take a toll on him and his family, although he manages to maintain his serenity through these troubled times. Sally Field plays his wife Mary, while David Strathairn is William Seward the Secretary of State. Tommy Lee Jones is Thaddeus Stevens, one of the Republicans in the House of Representatives who highly favors the amendment.

From the moment that the film begins you get a sense that you really are seeing Abraham Lincoln, the icon himself come to life. Daniel Day Lewis immerses himself completely into his role in such a way that you forget that you are seeing a portrayal of Lincoln, and actually begin to see Lincoln himself. Daniel is a tremendous actor, he surprised us all in There Will Be Blood, and once again he outdoes himself. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins his third Oscar for his tremendous performance here. He is the highlight of the film. The rest of the cast is also brilliant: You have Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Hayley, and Jared Harris among many other great actors. The entire cast here is magnificent as they transport us into the past in such a way that you forget you are watching a film. Everything about this film works really well, but I felt it worked more as a history lesson than as a piece of entertainment. This is not an action film, it doesn’t focus on the Civil War, but rather it takes a more personal approach as to the persona of Lincoln and the strategic politic mind he had. This is a film that will help you understand more about the man and how he managed to end the Civil War while at the same time abolish slavery. This is perhaps the greatest historical American political film ever made. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of politics and I did find this film a bit heavy handed, but it was a wonderful experience and it helped me understand and learn more about the man Lincoln.

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