Oscar Noms and Predictions

It seems that things have changed this year during award season as the Academy Award nominations were announced before the Golden Globes were handed out. Usually, the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards are the indicators over which films and actors will get nominated for the nude, golden man named Oscar. Once again, I will predict the winners and moan over who got snubbed by the Academy.

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams - The Master
Sally Field - Lincoln
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Predicted Winner: Anne Hathaway may win for her performance in Les Miserables since she has won almost every award in the past month, as well as praise for her role as Fantine.

Personal Favorites: Sally Field could be a surprise winner since she gave a praise-worthy performance as Mary Todd Lincoln, yet she already has two Oscars under her belt. Also, I think Amy Adams should win for her surprisingly provocative and audacious performance as Peggy Dodd in The Master; under her sugary exterior is a woman who lusts for power.

Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin - Argo
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Christoph Waltz- Django Unchained

Predicted Winner: This is a difficult choice since every actor already has an Oscar and each of them have given excellent performances this past year. Waltz was funny and flamboyant in Django Unchained, yet he's been sweeping the awards this past month, with the exception of the Critics' Choice Award. Hoffman received praise at the Venice Film Festival and Critics' Choice Award emulating Orson Welles in The Master. De Niro's role as an OCD bookie in Silver Linings Playbook was the first great performance he has given in the last fifteen years. Jones gave a dignified and subtle performance as Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln. As for Alan Arkin, he managed to bring the laughs amidst the suspenseful Argo as a characture to every major Hollywood producer.

Small Rant: Despite the great performances given this past year in the Supporting Actor category, it would have been nice to see Javier Bardem get a nod for his role as Silvo in Skyfall, or Dwight Henry as the ailing father to Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild.  

Best Actress:
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linigns Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva- Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts - The Impossible

Predicted Winner: It is neck to neck between Chastain and Lawarence as they both gave stand out performances. Jennifer Lawrence emulated Gena Rowlands with a twist of sexiness as Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook. However, Jessica Chastain's performance as Maya in Zero Dark Thirty is nothing short of a triumph as you feel her determination and weariness over the ten year hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Say what you will about the film praising torture, it is a raw look at the insanity that is the War on Terror.

Best Actor:
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel-Day Lewis - Lincoln
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix -The Master
Denzel Washington- Flight

Predicted Winner: Daniel Day Lewis has this category under his thumb since he has received Best Actor awards from the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards leading to the conclusion that he could get Oscar number three for his triumphant role as Honest Abe. However, Joaquin Phoenix's role as Freddie Quell is provocative and wild in The Master, as he portrays a boozed and sex-crazed WWII veteran drifting aimlessly around the country. Either way, I would be surprised if any of the other nominees would beat Day-Lewis or Phoenix. When will there be another tie? It's been 45 years, Academy, spread the gold around!

Best Director:
Michael Haneke - Amour
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
David O. Russell- Silver Linings Playbook
Stephen Spielberg - Lincoln
Benh Zietlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

This category is the crowning stool in the septic tank! I am pulling my hair out and scratching my head over the idiocy of the Academy snubbing Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow for Best Director nominations, and I'm not alone if you consider Ben Affleck's acceptance speech for Best Director at the Critics' Choice  Awards. The only director I'm rooting for in this category is Benh Zietlin for his brilliant directorial debut, Beasts of the Southern Wild. However, the Academy likes to play safe and will probably honor Spielberg for Best Director for the third time since Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List, despite the fact that it is not his best film.

Best Picture:
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Picture: Argo or Zero Dark Thirty. Both were snubbed in the Best Director category, yet both films were the best films of the previous year. I would be hard pressed to see either one of these films getting passed over. If that's the case, the Oscars can, in the words of Alan Arkin, "Argo screw themselves!"