BEST ACTOR:
I don't give a whole lot of regard to the acting categories most of the time; I'm not really sure why. I can detect and eagerly condemn bad acting, but the thing about good acting is that a lot of it is directly connected to how the character is written. Even if an actor is great and invested, it's not worth a lot without a well-written character. What these seem to come down to most of the time is more about the best character than the best acting, with some exceptions mainly specific to portrayals of famous persons that call for the best embodiment/imitation, i.e. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in last year's winner, THE IRON LADY, or Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in 2004's RAY. Also in consideration here is the actor's imprint on cinematic history, which is where you get the veteran actors, usually in the Best Supporting categories. These facts apply to Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
NOMINATED:
BRADLEY COOPER for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK: For the star of films such as THE HANGOVER and ALL ABOUT STEVE, as well as a few quality but under the radar dramas/thrillers like LIMITLESS, the nomination is the award. His performance as bi-polar Pat Solitano is the stuff the Academy adores, but he'll win in later years if he maintains quality.
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS for LINCOLN: The hands-down favorite and far ahead frontrunner for the win, Day-Lewis deserves it, and if he does win on Sunday as expected, he'll be the new record holder for the category at 3 wins, following wins for THERE WILL BE BLOOD in 2007 and MY LEFT FOOT in 1989. The current record is 2, currently held by himself and 8 others, including the likes of Marlon Brando, Spencer Tracy and Gary Cooper. Jack Nicholson's sometimes considered to record holder by default for having a Best Supporting Actor win in addition to his 2 Best Actors. But if anyone was going to break the record, it would be the chameleonic method actor Day-Lewis, and his performance as Abraham Lincoln is phenomenal and easily the crown jewel of Steven Spielberg's presidential biopic.
HUGH JACKMAN for LES MISERABLES: The actor most familiar as Wolverine from the X-Men film franchise will likely have opportunities to win in future years, but he's no match for Day-Lewis this year. Still, his performance as Jean Valjean is the stuff the Academy dreams of, including a wide age range, weight manipulation and singing, live on set no less.
JOAQUIN PHOENIX for THE MASTER: Phoenix's performance as a mentally unstable WWII veteran adrift in post-war life who finds solace in deathly strong drink and a Scientology-esque cult was extremely well-crafted and intense, but the likability issue is a problem here because as well as he performs, the awkward character is not sympathetic, and Phoenix's bizarre I'M STILL HERE stunt a few years ago may have harmed his public likability, as well as among his peers in the Academy.
DENZEL WASHINGTON for FLIGHT: FLIGHT is a magnificent film and Washington is its brilliant centerpiece, but with one Best Actor and a Best Supporting Actor already under his belt, the Academy will likely wait for a future year. Still, if anyone was going to provide an upset against Day-Lewis this year, it would be Washington.
BEST ACTRESS:
JESSICA CHASTAIN for ZERO DARK THIRTY: Chastain suddenly exploded on the scene in 2011 for her work in TREE OF LIFE and THE HELP, having only made her feature film debut in the 2008 indie JOLENE. Her first Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actress, came last year for THE HELP, which she lost to her co-star Octavia Spencer. In ZERO DARK THIRTY, her starring role as CIA operative Maya is electrifying, and as one of the greatest of the new generation of actors, she's sure to have many more chances, she sure as hell earned it this year, however, she's only one of two frontrunners in this category...
JENNIFER LAWRENCE for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK: J-Law, only 22 years old, has already been up for this award once, for 2010's WINTER'S BONE, and is probably the greatest young actress today. However, her record is a bit spotty (something the voters may take into account), including howlers such as 2012's THE HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET and 2011's THE BEAVER. Also a mark against her is her recent "I beat Meryl!" moment at the Golden Globes that may hurt her likability. Nevertheless, her performance as an unstable widow in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK is stellar, and I would not be disappointed if she won, although my pick is Chastain. Still, Lawrence has the ultimate weapon on her side: Harvey. F---ing. Weinstein. Oscar Hunting Extraordinaire.
EMMANUELLE RIVA for AMOUR: As of this writing, I haven't seen AMOUR, so I don't know the merits of her performance. However, she's got a good chance considering she's the oldest Best Actress nominee ever at 85, previously held by Jessica Tandy for DRIVING MISS DAISY in 1989 and also won at age 80.
QUVENZHANE WALLIS for BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD: Her's is a stunning performance, one of the best child performances I've ever seen, but her chances of the win are nil. For one, nobody can pronounce her damn name. For another, child acting doesn't get much respect because there's speculation about the director's manipulation, and also, most of them suck. She's the youngest Best Actress nominee ever, at 9 years old, previously held by Keisha Castle-Hughes at 13 for WHALE RIDER in 2003. I'm not sure exactly though if this is a case of incredible acting of divine casting/editing though.
NAOMI WATTS for THE IMPOSSIBLE: Still haven't seen this one, but this nomination is mainly an afterthought that's been largely ignored.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Nominees:
ALAN ARKIN for ARGO
ROBERT DeNIRO for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN for THE MASTER
TOMMY LEE JONES for LINCOLN
CHRISTOPHER WALTZ for DJANGO UNCHAINED
For the first time ever, every nominee in this category has already won in previous years, DeNiro twice. Other than Arkin, all of them are deserving; I didn't think Arkin was very remarkable, he was just playing himself. DeNiro could win, but that would be more of a tribute to his legacy than his SILVER LININGS performance, good though it was.
I think the real standouts here are Jones, Waltz and Hoffman. Hoffman was a welcome charismatic presence in the distant THE MASTER, but he's unlikely to win, possibly due to that film's unkind portrayal of a fictional but Scientology-esque cult that may be offensive to some of Hollywood's top players. Waltz is stellar as the German bounty-hunting dentist raisonneur in DJANGO UNCHAINED, but how much of that is him and how much is Tarantino's script is arguable. I'm guessing Jones, despite rumors of his crusty unlikability among his peers akin to his films, for his bombastic portrayal of fiery abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens in LINCOLN.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Nominees:
AMY ADAMS for THE MASTER
SALLY FIELD for LINCOLN
ANNE HATHAWAY for LES MISERABLES
HELEN HUNT for THE SESSIONS
JACKI WEAVER for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
I haven't seen THE SESSIONS yet, but from what I understand, I'm surprised Hunt wasn't in the Best Actress category. Either way, she's unlikely to win; her's is a case of what I assume is a good performance that locked the nomination with daringly frank nudity. Weaver was good in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, but like everyone and everything else in that film, with the exception of Jennifer Lawrence, was just really good, not exceptional. Field, winner of two previous Best Actress Oscars, hasn't won for almost 30 years (1984's PLACES IN THE HEART), but I found her character unlikable, which, whether it's due to her acting or not, is a factor. Regardless, she has garnered heavy acclaim and has a strong chance.
Adams and Hathaway are a couple of the greatest actresses working today. Hathaway's record is quite spotty, but even in her bombs, she turns in good work and stands as the shining light. Adams was my favorite part of THE MASTER, a film I was disappointed by (I am so sorry to the world of film scholarship!), but her seemingly sweet but surprisingly steely performance was what held my attention. Hathaway has been nominated once before, for Best Actress in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED in 2008, and Adams thrice before, for Best Supporting Actress in JUNEBUG (2005), DOUBT (2008) and THE FIGHTER (2008). While I'd probably say Adams is the better actress overall (by a miniscule margin), and both have had Oscar gold a long time coming, this one has to belongs to Hathaway, and she's been the hands-down favorite ever since she was featured singing I Dreamed a Dream in the LES MISERABLES teaser trailer last May. Not only does she do everything that impresses the hell out of the Academy, i.e. significant weight loss, on-set singing, a disturbing sex/rape scene, onscreen head shearing and just plain great acting, but she stole the entire show all within the first act, and she didn't even need that much, just her angry and heart-wrenching solo of I Dreamed a Dream.
BEST ANIMATED FILM:
NOMINEES:
BRAVE
FRANKENWEENIE
PARANORMAN
THE PIRATES!: BAND OF MISFITS
WRECK-IT RALPH
It's important to note that this is not for the best animation but for the best animated film. Pixar has their obligatory appearance with BRAVE, but they seem to have fallen out of their "Golden Age", and although it was far better than CARS 2, this year's effort failed to meet expectations. FRANKENWEENIE and THE PIRATES! are both fine films, but there are only two real standouts this year: WRECK-IT RALPH and PARANORMAN.
WRECK-IT RALPH is a continuation of Disney's recent return to quality, full of inventiveness and damn good entertainment. But PARANORMAN. My goodness, PARANORMAN was one of my favorite films of 2012. It is smart, it is funny, it is stunning, it is scary, it is beautiful, it is emotional and surprising. While the liberal causes of PARNORMAN, such as themes of tolerance and a major homosexual character (much to the lamentations of the political right), may appeal to Hollywood (not for their politics but rather, to their sense of self-importance), WRECK-IT RALPH seems to be the favorite.
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
NOMINEES:
ANNA KARENINA
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LIFE OF PI
LINCOLN
SKYFALL
Roger Deakins received his 10th nomination in this category for SKYFALL, and it's about time that he won, and SKYFALL is just the film to give it to him for. Still, LIFE OF PI, which is probably the more likely winner, is deserving too, but its hypnotic and hallucinogenic sequences make it pretty easy. Still, if the Academy voters saw it in 3D, which they probably didn't, they might just have to give it to LIFE OF PI.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
NOMINEES:
ANNA KARENINA
LES MISERABLES
LINCOLN
MIRROR MIRROR
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
I don't think there are any actual standouts here, although I haven't seen ANNA KARENINA, but SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN had some cool but non-showy pieces, so I guess I'll go with that one.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
NOMINEES:
3 BROKEN CAMERAS
THE GATEKEEPERS
HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE
THE INVISIBLE WAR
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN
I haven't seen any of these. I'm not really a documentary fan, but SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN is the undisputed favorite.
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
NOMINEES:
INOCENTE
KINGS POINT
MONDAYS AT RACINE
OPEN HEART
REDEMPTION
I don't even know why this is category. I mean, who the hell cares? I haven't seen any of them, I doubt many of the Academy voters have seen more than one at the most, if that. Nobody talks about this one. The only place you might even see these is at a special Best Documentary Shorts screening that normal people don't go to on purpose.
BEST FILM EDITING:
NOMINEES:
ARGO
LIFE OF PI
LINCOLN
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
ZERO DARK THIRTY
For those who don't know, the editor takes the raw product of the film, basically hours of film footage and multiple shots of the same scene, and assembles them in a coherent whole using the best footage. Of the most important film professions, it's probably the most overlooked by the general public. LIFE OF PI is a remarkable feat of editing that takes a story about a kid in a boat with a tiger in the middle of the ocean and makes that relentlessly enrapturing, but I'd pick ZERO DARK THIRTY, which takes an epic 8-years-long story packed full of information and pieces together a brutally tense thriller that entertains through every one of its 157 minutes.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
NOMINEES:
AMOUR
KON-TIKI
NO
A ROYAL AFFAIR
WAR WITCH
I haven't seen any of these, but AMOUR is also nominated for Best Picture, which it won't win, so this is basically the default consolation prize.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:
NOMINEES:
HITCHCOCK
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
LES MISERABLES
None of these feels that remarkable to me. THE HOBBIT was the same old stuff and the orcs looked better in THE LORD OF THE RINGS anyway. Although it didn't get much love due to its light (if macabre) tone and artistic liberties, I loved HITCHCOCK, but the makeup is all about Anthony Hopkins' fat suit, which gets the job done, but it's an old trick by now. LES MISERABLES will likely win as the Academy does whatever it can to leave it with something.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
NOMINEES:
ANNA KARENINA
ARGO
LIFE OF PI
LINCOLN
SKYFALL
My favorite here is LIFE OF PI for its emotional Indian-styled score by Mychael Danna, but ARGO or LINCOLN could easily take it as a pile-on prize.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
NOMINEES:
"BEFORE MY TIME" from CHASING ICE
"EVERYBODY NEEDS A BEST FRIEND" from TED
"PI'S LULLABY" from LIFE OF PI
"SKYFALL" from SKYFALL
"SUDDENLY" from LES MISERABLES
The Academy voters don't usually give this one much thought, but Adele's Skyfall is a genuine favorite. I kind of like Pi's Lullaby, Suddenly is an unimpressive piece of Oscar-bait, and while Everybody Needs a Best Friend is nothing special, they should have nominated the Fuck You, Thunda Song from TED, because that just would have been awesome.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
NOMINEES:
ANNA KARENINA
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
LES MISERABLES
LIFE OF PI
LINCOLN
Production design is the overall visual aesthetic of the film, i.e. set design, props, etc. and how it all works together. I like LIFE OF PI for this one, ANNA KARENINA's production all takes place in a theater, which is pure Oscar bait.
BEST ANIMATED SHORT:
I don't feel like listing the nominees for this one. All that matters is Disney's PAPERMAN, which is simply one of the best things ever. Also it has a good chance of winning, largely because it's had great buzz, and this is another category none of the voters see many of.
BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION):
Nobody cares about this category.
BEST SOUND EDITING:
NOMINEES:
ARGO
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LIFE OF PI
SKYFALL
ZERO DARK THIRTY
Sound editing is the sound effects that are added in post-production, after the filming has taken place. Nobody really cares about this category; usually it goes to a quality action blockbuster that made a lot of money, so probably SKYFALL this year, but LIFE OF PI could sweep the technical as a sort of consolation for not receiving the big awards, like happened with HUGO last year.
BEST SOUND MIXING:
Sound mixing involves the sond that is actually recorded onset. LES MISERABLES has this one in the bag because, yet again, they desperately want to give something, anything, to it, and much has been made of the live onset singing.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
LIFE OF PI
MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS
PROMETHEUS
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
THE AVENGERS and PROMETHEUS, while apt in their FX work, didn't have much that was remarkable, except maybe that extended trailing shot during the New York battle in the former. SNOW WHITE did some pretty cool stuff, especially the dwarf effects (which offended dwarf actors' unions by giving dwarf roles to non-dwarfs). THE HOBBIT looked disappointingly "computery" in its effects, only really pulling out the big guns for Gollum's appearance. LIFE OF PI was unconventional, superb and unsentimental with its animated fauna, so that's my pick, and the Academy is almost certain to concur.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2 OF PART 2...
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