Friday, 18 February 2011
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Oscar Predictions
The Oscars are 10 days away, I'm so sure it's been taking so long to happen this year. For some strange reason I always thought that it was near the very beginning of a year. Anyway, I'm just jotting down some of my favourites from this year's Oscars. Not necessarily who should win, just what movies I loved. There probably will be some pig-headed opinions because all movie viewers are a bit like that.I have no clue about sound editing and the like, so I'm not going to pick anything in those categories. Apparently the Wolfman is the frontrunner for best makeup. Unlike the Oscar community, I found it quite hard to find anything good about that movie, let alone giving it an Oscar. I digress, I cannot discuss movies without dissing movies I hate I realise, I don't want but anyways without further ado:
Best Movie: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter's Bone
Among all these movies, I think it is expected from pretty much everyone that King's Speech will win. But I didn't think it was that great compared to some other movies nominated this year, specifically Social Network, True Grit; King's Speech about on par with Winter's Bone.
This year there are so many good movies. I mean, even Toy Story 3 in all its amazingness could have won the Oscar in any other year! I love pretty much every movie that has been nominated, and I think all of them really deserve an Oscar really. Push comes to shove, I would want Winter's Bone to win. It's exactly my type of movie, sombre in feel, but ultimately hopeful. And Jennifer Lawrence puts in a really great performance in it as well, altogether a pretty successful indie. One of my favourite movies anyway, but King's Speech is the better movie from an Oscar point of view.==
Actor in a Leading Role: Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth, James Franco
I really want James Franco to win this. If you've seen 127 Days, he is amazing in it. Though, I suspect that Colin Firth will win it actually and he totally deserves it--his stutter is so authentic in King's Speech. But on the other hand, how fantastic is James Franco? I would love him to win this award because he definitely earns his nomination in the movie. In my opinion, he was the one of two reasons why 127 Days was so effective, the other being the mastery of Danny Boyle. I think it would be a fantastic coup if he won this.
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Actress in a Leading Role: Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams
I think Natalie Portman wins this hands down. Second place would go to Jennifer Lawrence, who put in a strong performance as well, but the whole premise of Winter's Bone is nowhere near as challenging as in Black Swan. I'm still bitter that Mickey Rourke didn't win for The Wrestler, so second time lucky for the Aronofsky films! But yeah, I don't think any of the other actresses are in the same league as the two I mentioned above.
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Adapted Screenplay: 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter's Bone.
I can't say I've read the original book that Winter's Bone is adapted from, so I'm not sure about that. But True Grit was surely a masterful adaptation. Compared to the John Wayne classic which is slightly closer to the original book, it's been totally Coen-ified into an almost comedic drama. I must say I quite like what they have done, the other movie adaptation seemed to be just book translated to moving pictures in comparison.
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Original Screenplay: Another Year, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech.
Hm, yeah, King's Speech is going to win. Inception might be a dark horse, but it's not really snobbish enough, if you understand what I'm saying. King's Speech is not entertainment, it is totally movie-minded as much as Inception was entertaining to watch. I don't know how to describe it, I think if Nolan really wanted an Oscar, he could totally make a movie which probably won't earn as much as Inception but will win here. The Kids Are All Right is pretty fantastic too, but I don't know if it really matches up to King's Speech.
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Directing: Black Swan, The Fighter, The King's Speech, The Social Network, True Grit
As for directing, I haven't seen "The Fighter", mind you. Out of the ones that I've seen, I actually think Social Network will win. While I'm not an uber-crazy fan of the movie, it's truly got that David Fincher-flavour, open-ended and moody arthouse style. I don't think it worked completely on Zodiac, but with a subject as touchy as the origins of facebook, I think it really complements the ambigiuity of the legal process juxtaposed with the story. It's really quite visionary, his style, and I think it was quite successfully carried out.
What do you think will win best movie at the Oscars this year? What do you disagree/agree with from my predictions?
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About the Author
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- From: llamalima@xanga
- About Me: Who am I? I am 19 year old university student, prone to stressing over about some assignment due the next day. I sometimes have time to blog mostly about Christian thoughts. In my spare time, I am also a musical connoisseur, ninja, movie junkie, and full-time hypochondriac. I may have lied about one of those, or a few.
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Comments (6)
@Pcgecko85@xanga - You make millions of dollars too, eh?
@Pcgecko85@xanga - What movie did you make?
I can't entirely figure out, from a solely aesthetic point of view, why Winter's Bone is getting a nomination. It was a decently-acted, poorly-directed movie that I thought pigeon-holed the Ozarks in a very odd way. There wasn't any real distinguishing "Ozarkian" flavor that could have separated this movie from the same thing set in West Virginia or another low-income rural setting. (Eh - meth labs are just about everywhere these days, not just between Springfield and Joplin.) I ended up mostly unimpressed by everything but the acting. Even to hack that in half, the script wasn't particularly thematically worthwhile.
Completely unheard of and impossible, but I much rather would have seen Exit Through the Gift Shop take a best picture nod instead of Winter's Bone. As the other nominations are good movies, Banksy's contribution to the world of film deserves to be mentioned certainly in the same breath.
I hate that Inception took nothing at the Golden Globes and will again take nothing at the Oscars.
@thatsnotarealword@xanga - Haha, I thought it was pretty well directed, it's a bit slow at the start, but it really picks up. I think it's more moody than really aiming to be thematically strong. There is a pervading feeling of bleakness in the film, and that is what I think the whole movie is aiming for.
Can documentaries win Best Picture Oscars? IDK. Exit Through the Gift Shop is pretty fantastic, but I hear that Inside Job is going to win the Oscar for doco.
@The_Aftershock_3650@xanga - Hm, well, to be honest, Inception isn't the strongest movie out there. I thought that Inception could have been a lot more 'out there', and worked into a fantasy thriller, I think Nolan kind of settled for something kind of safe.