Oscar Nominations

[IoanaC]

My biggest praise for the movie goes to Jennifer Lawrence, however. I've thought she was good in other roles, but I can't say I had bought into the hype about her being the "next big" young star. This movie changed that perception totally for me.

Jennifer Lawrence was fabulous in Winter's Bone, I was so impressed with her mature acting and the rawness she brought to the role. Haven't seen Silver Linings yet, I'm sure she's great in it as well. I do think she's the frontrunner right now, but I would so love to see Emmanuelle Riva win! (still can't believe Marion Cotillard was snubbed...)

[Cachoo]

I think the best actress category might be the surprise. People are talking about Chastain and Lawrence but I wonder if the race might come down to Riva and Watts.
If I had to bet today I would pick Riva.

[Vash01]

Bradley Cooper has a better PR agent, or had a better Oscar campaign, than John Hawkes. And Cooper's movie opened later than Hawkes' and got more widespread release and more attention.

I haven't seen either movie, so I have no opinion on which was actually the better performance.

Hawkes, hands down. The most challenging role- having to be on his back the entire movie, in an uncomfortable position, and not presenting a self-pitying or over the top suffering of the character.

[Vash01]

I think the best actress category might be the surprise. People are talking about Chastain and Lawrence but I wonder if the race might come down to Riva and Watts.
If I had to bet today I would pick Riva.

IMO the late release of ZDT is going to hurt that movie's nominations, most of all Jessica Chastain. All these months all we heard was how great Jennifer Lawrence was in SLP (and she was very good), but most people have not seen the movie or Chastain's performance in ZDT. Bigelow's snub as director speaks volumes, IMO.

[screech]

I think the best actress category might be the surprise. People are talking about Chastain and Lawrence but I wonder if the race might come down to Riva and Watts.
If I had to bet today I would pick Riva.

Just read some stuff now predicting Watts, especially since Robert Downey Jr (who basically owns Hollywood these days) gave her his praise at the People's Choice Awards. If RDJ singles out an actress's performance in his acceptance speech at an awards show, you can damn well bet the Academy will take notice.

I have a relative who is a voting member of the Academy. I kind of want to contact her to see what her thoughts are... And get inside scoop (like when apparently voters were not told to, but were nudged in the direction of voting for Heath Ledger for Dark Knight...)

[Artemis@BC]

With all the surprises, I'm hoping against hope that this might be the year that no one movie "takes it all" and the prizes are awarded more evenly -- and more deservingly. The way voting is structured results in a "first past the post" rather than a "proportional representation" model iykwim. But to me there are different things about each movie that are stellar.

So, for example, something along these lines:

Director: Zeitlin (a lot of good things about Beasts but the directing is the standout imo)
Film: tough call but either Pi, Argo, or Les Mis
Actor: DDL (the best thing about the movie)
Actress: Lawrence (since, of all the noms for this movie, she's the most deserving. plus she's awesome)
Supporting Actor: Arkin
Supporting Actress: Hathaway
Original screenplay: Moonrise Kingdom (the very definition of "original"!)
Adapted screenplay: another tough call, either Beasts, Pi, or Lincoln

[duane]

I doubt that anyone gave a better performance in 2012 than Carmen Ejogo and Mike Epps in Sparkle. It's the only movie of 2012 that I saw, but their performances were awesome.

[cruisin]

Hathaway may also be getting a nod for 2009's Rachel Getting Married. I think that was her best performance (have not seen Les Mis yet, though). She nailed it in Rachel. She got a best actress nomination, but that year was just filled with amazing performances.

[overedge]

I was VERY glad to see Searching for Sugar Man getting a best documentary nomination. That is a great film.

I didn't see The Invisible War, which was also nominated for best documentary, but everyone I know who did see it thought it was excellent. I saw one of the director's earlier films (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) over the holidays, and it was *not* good, so I'm glad to see he has redeemed himself.

[Sofia Alexandra]

The only thing I'm really surprised about is that Rise of the Guardians didn't get a Best Animated Feature nomination. I love that film, and I've heard some positive buzz about it, but I've no idea what critics think of it. But it's got 74% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes so at least it hasn't been completely written off...?

[Artemis@BC]

Hathaway may also be getting a nod for 2009's Rachel Getting Married. I think that was her best performance (have not seen Les Mis yet, though). She nailed it in Rachel. She got a best actress nomination, but that year was just filled with amazing performances.

Rachel was good ... but I actually think one of her best performances to-date was in 2005 in Havoc. The film was only so-so, but Hathaway was superb.

[cruisin]

Rachel was good ... but I actually think one of her best performances to-date was in 2005 in Havoc. The film was only so-so, but Hathaway was superb.

Didn't see Havoc, I'll look for it. Thanks. I really do think she is a talented actress, especially with the right material.

[peibeck]

IMO the late release of ZDT is going to hurt that movie's nominations, most of all Jessica Chastain. All these months all we heard was how great Jennifer Lawrence was in SLP (and she was very good), but most people have not seen the movie or Chastain's performance in ZDT. Bigelow's snub as director speaks volumes, IMO.

Academy members are invited to screenings and get DVD copies of the movies sent to them. Plus "ZD30" has been in release in both LA and NYC for several weeks. The nation wide release is this weekend. There was just a NY Times article talking about some studios are gambling on sennding the DVDs later in hopes of the film being more "fresh" in the viewer's mind. Per the article the DVD screens for "ZD30" were sent in early December. The screeners for "Life of Pi" were sent late.

Of course, whether that has any real bearing on the Academy voters is strictly speculation.

I expect we may see some interesting post-mortem articles tomorrow about the nominations in the trades and bigger newspapers.

[Cachoo]

Hathaway may also be getting a nod for 2009's Rachel Getting Married. I think that was her best performance (have not seen Les Mis yet, though). She nailed it in Rachel. She got a best actress nomination, but that year was just filled with amazing performances.

Ita cruisin: I would not be surprised if I was grinding my teeth in my sleep after watching her Rachel. She made me so uncomfortable and was so unsympathetic most of the time. I was impressed because I always had the goofy, princess picture of Anne.

[olympic]

Where to start:

I haven't seen 'Lincoln' or 'Zero Dark Thirty' but 'Argo' was my favorite film this year. I'm sad to see Affleck didn't get a director nom. It does also seem strange that Bigelow didn't get nominated for ZDT, the way that it's being swooned over.

I don't know about others, but 'Les Mis' has been promoted sooo much that I'm almost sick of it without having seen it, so I have no emotions about whether it was snubbed or not in the Director category.

Like others, I think 'Silver Linings Playbook' is getting a little too much love from the Academy. I saw it a couple of months ago. It was IMO "decent" and was indeed something more than a rom-com w/ extenuating circumstances. But, it was not worthy of a best picture nom! Jennifer Lawrence was the best part of the film and she is kind of an 'it girl' right now. She probably deserved a nom, but Bradley Cooper and the rest of the nominations weren't merited. I forgot about the film soon after seeing it.

'Django Unchained' was a revelation to me. I saw it over the holidays and it started an unexpected conversation about slavery between my partner and myself. I honestly didn't think I would like it (I disliked 'Inglorious Basterds'), but it stuck in my jaded mind.

I didn't see 'Life of Pi', and the previews didn't really interest me. But maybe it will be excellent.

Nice to see Sally Field (last nom in the 80s) and Helen Hunt (last nom in the 90s) re-emerge as nominees!!

I saw 'The Master' and the nominations for Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams are spot-on, especially Joaquin's portrayal of a tortured soul made me downright squeamish. The actual film though was a little heavy ...It was like watching a Kira Ivanova LP. You kind of had to watch because the components that were 'on' were really good, but parts made you squirm, and other parts were boring / disinteresting - something was a little off generally speaking

Naomi Watts should win for 'The Impossible'. I saw it last weekend and she had to play a woman in a state of perpetual pain, so what could be more Oscar-worthy??

[allezfred]

Hathaway may also be getting a nod for 2009's Rachel Getting Married. I think that was her best performance (have not seen Les Mis yet, though). She nailed it in Rachel. She got a best actress nomination, but that year was just filled with amazing performances.

I thought that was one of the worst films I've ever seen her in.

[cruisin]

I thought that was one of the worst films I've ever seen her in.

Maybe because you didn't like the character. There were times when she made me cringe, but she was supposed to. I know someone who went through a similar situation and she played it spot on. The family was a little wonky, but Hathaway (I thought) was really good.

[Wyliefan]

The actual film though was a little heavy ...It was like watching a Kira Ivanova LP. You kind of had to watch because the components that were 'on' were really good, but parts made you squirm, and other parts were boring / disinteresting - something was a little off generally speaking

FSU has the best analogies anywhere, hands down.

I may be wrong -- I often am wrong about the Oscars -- but I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see Lincoln take Director, Picture, Actor, and Screenplay. I just have a feeling . . .

[AliasJohnDoe]

Just read some stuff now predicting Watts, especially since Robert Downey Jr (who basically owns Hollywood these days) gave her his praise at the People's Choice Awards. If RDJ singles out an actress's performance in his acceptance speech at an awards show, you can damn well bet the Academy will take notice.

I have a relative who is a voting member of the Academy. I kind of want to contact her to see what her thoughts are... And get inside scoop (like when apparently voters were not told to, but were nudged in the direction of voting for Heath Ledger for Dark Knight...)

That's part of my problem with the nomination process and awards shows.

Are they really nominating the best movies/best actors of the entire year?...Or are they nominating what the best PR agents and campaigns push for them to nominate?

I also don't believe children should be in best actor catagories. They should have their own "child actor" catagory.

[orbitz]

Naomi Watts should win for 'The Impossible'. I saw it last weekend and she had to play a woman in a state of perpetual pain, so what could be more Oscar-worthy??

A character that's not only in perpetual pain but also is able to belt out a song in close-up, ie Ann Hatheway