Last night was the 85th Annual Academy Awards! As always, I watching it, anxiously hoping my favorites would take home the gold. This year was different from the past in that I am SICK! Not just a little sick, but “Oh my God, please make it stop” sick. I wish the Norovirus on no one.
In my movie viewing in preparation for last night, there were 3 films I did not get to see- Argo, Life of Pi, and Silver Linings Playbook. These proved to be some of the biggest winners of the night.
Host Seth McFarlane did a fine job as host, despite reports to the contrary. William Shatner reprises his role of Captain Kirk…
I repeat, William Shatner reprises his role of Captain Kirk (possibly for the last time) and McFarlane did a fine job.
We get some really good music last night. Catherine Zeta Jones returned to sing All that Jazz from Chicago, Jennifer Hudson brought the house down in her Dreamgirls number, and the cast of Les Miserables performed “One day More”. Barbara Streisand sang a tribute to Marvin Hamlisch, Adele sang Skyfall, and Shirley Bassey performed Goldfinger! This is not including the great vocals by McFarlane himself. Overall, I give the telecast a 7/10.
Here is the run down of nominations, my predictions and the winners.
BEST PICTURE
“Lincoln”
“Life of Pi”
“Django Unchained”
“Amour”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Argo”
“Les Miserables”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
My personal favorite of the bunch was Django Unchained. Behind that, I was pulling for Les Miserables. Winner was Argo- which I will be watching soon. (0/1)
BEST DIRECTOR
Michael Haneke, “Amour”
Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”
Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
I thought this was going to Spielberg, but once again a gap in my viewing snuck in phenomenal director Ang Lee for Life of Pi, another must see film I am told. (0/2)
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”
Quvenzhane Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”
I did not see Silver Linings Playbook, but I was aware of its buzz surrounding Jennifer Lawrence. I suspected that it was just some Hunger Games fanfare, but with her win last night, I seem to have been mistaken. (0/3)
BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”
Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Hugh Jackman, “Les Miserables”
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”
A no brainer. Daniel Day Lewis has had this in the bag since Lincoln released. A terrific performance. (1/4)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jacki Weaver, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Amy Adams, “The Master”
Sally Field, “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”
Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Another easy prediction. Anne Hathway was astounding in Les Mis. Her brief performance sold the whole movie. (2/5)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, “Argo”
Robert DeNiro, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”
I was SO pleasantly amazed to see my prediction come true! I thought Christoph Waltz deserved this award, but feared a win from Tommy Lee Jones, who was just as good in Lincoln. (3/5)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“ParaNorman”
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
“Wreck-It Ralph”
I think the entire world got this one wrong. I figured Wreck it Ralph was the clear winner, Brave proved me wrong. (3/6)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Seamus McGarvey, “Anna Karenina”
Robert Richardson, “Django Unchained”
Claudio Miranda, “Life of Pi”
Janusz Kaminski, “Lincoln”
Roger Deakins, “Skyfall”
I was sure Deakins would take the gold for Skyfall. I was sure that if he lost, it would go to Richardson’s Django. Life of Pi proved me wrong again. (3/7)
COSTUME DESIGN
Jacqueline Durran, “Anna Karenina”
Paco Delgado, “Les Miserables”
Joanna Johnston, “Lincoln”
Eiko Ishioka, “Mirror Mirror”
Colleen Atwood, “Snow White and the Huntsman”
I picked Les Mis, winner was Anna Karenina. (3/8)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, “Moonrise Kingdom”
Michael Haneke, “Amour”
John Gatins, “Flight”
I got this one, and feared it would not be. Tarantino gets another Oscar. woo! (4/9)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Tony Kushner, “Lincoln”
David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Chris Terrio, “Argo”
David Magee, “Life of Pi”
Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
As I did not see, or despised, the other 4 choices, I went with the one I had seen, and liked- Lincoln. Winner was Argo. I gotta see this movie. lol (4/10)
BEST FOREIGN FEATURE
“Amour”
“A Royal Affair”
“Kon-Tiki”
“No”
“War Witch”
I knew Amour was gonna win, but I chose Kon Tiki anyway. I LOVE the story of Thor Heyerdal. One of the coolest men of the last century. (4/11)
ORIGINAL SCORE
Dario Marianelli, “Anna Karenina”
Alexandre Desplat, “Argo”
Mychael Danna, “Life of Pi”
John Williams, “Lincoln”
Thomas Newman, “Skyfall”
I did not feel strongly about any of these, and chose Lincoln because its John Williams, and he is a god. Winner was Life of Pi. (4/12)
ORIGINAL SONG
“Before My Time,” J. Ralph; “Chasing Ice”
“Pi’s Lullaby,” Mychael Danna & Bombay Jayashri; “Life of Pi”
“Suddenly,” Claude-Michel Schanberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boulil; “Les Miserables”
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend,” Walter Murphy & Seth McFarlane; “Ted”
“Skyfall,” Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth; “Skyfall”
My pick, Adele, took the Gold, and deservedly so. I was pleasantly surprised by Scarlett Johanssen’s singing voice on Chasing Ice though. (5/13)
PRODUCTION DIRECTION
“Anna Karenina”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
I chose Les Miserable for this one, and Lincoln won. Can’t complain though, bother were well made, and designed. (5/14)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“5 Broken Cameras”
“The Gatekeepers”
“How to Survive a Plague”
“The Invisible War”
“Searching for a Sugar Man”
Did not see any of these sadly Searching for a Sugar Man won. (5/15)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“Inocente”
“Kings Point”
“Mondays at Racine”
“Open Heart”
“Redemption”
Same as above. Inocente won. (5/16)
FILM EDITING
“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
I chose Zero Dark thirty, winner was Argo. (5/17)
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Hitchcock”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”
I chose winner- Les Mis. (6/18)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“Adam and Dog”
“Fresh Guacamole”
“Head Over Heels”
“Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare'”
“Paperman”
My pick won, the superb Paperman. (7/19)
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
“Asad”
“Buzkashi Boys”
“Curfew”
“Death of a Shadow”
“Henry”
Saw none. Winner Curfew (7/20)
SOUND EDITING
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
I chose Skyfall. I was right! Sort of. This one ended in a tie with Zero Dark Thirty. (8/21)
SOUND MIXING
“Argo”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”
I chose Les Miserables for the amazing job they did of mixing the sound of the live performances into the film seamlessly. I was right. (9/22)
VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Life of Pi”
“The Avengers”
“Prometheus”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”
Based on word of mouth, I chose Life of Pi. I was right. (10/23)
All added up, I was 43.7% right. Not too bad.
Here is a breakdown by oscar/picture:
Life of Pi: 4 oscars
Argo: 3 Oscars
Les Miserables: 3 Oscars
Lincoln: 2 Oscars
Django Unchained: 2 Oscars
Skyfall: 2 Oscars
Amour: 1
Ana Karenina: 1
Silver Linings Playbook: 1
Zero Dark Thirty: 1
Every Best Picture nominee won something, except Beasts of the Southern Wild, which I found mediocre. I guess my tastes align somewhat with Academy voters.
The Skinny from the Fatty 