Best Picture nominees
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“Moneyball”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”
Although the Super Bowl halftime show and the Grammys gave us our fair share of excitement, it is difficult to not be pumped about the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday.
After Eddie Murphy stepped down as host in November, eight-time Oscar host veteran Billy Crystal announced he would return to the main stage to guide the audience through the night.
Many have readied their own predictions in anticipation of seeing their favorite movies and stars walk away with the iconic statue. While fashion will also be a factor, the night ultimately revolves around the recognition of different artistic forms in the film industry.
The Best Picture category has a total of nine different movies to select from. While the category does imply “the best,” it appears a few of the nominations were out of obligation. Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” and Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” are not best picture material, though they are entertaining to some degree.
While “The Help,” “The Descendants” and “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” were sentimental and emotional crowd pleasers, the Thomas Langmann-produced “The Artist” should be the clear winner. On all levels, “The Artist” rejuvenated a period of time and cinematic style and made it visceral to a 21st century audience. “The Artist” should easily take Best Cinematography as well.
The Leading Actor award will probably come down to either Gary Oldman from “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” or Jean Dujardin from “The Artist.” George Clooney and Brad Pitt don’t stand a chance. Hopefully we’ll see more of Demian Bichir from “A Better Life” in the near future. His nominations were more than deserved.
The Leading Actress nominees are in a pretty respectable group. It would be nice to see Viola Davis win for her role in “The Help,” but I have a feeling that five-time nominee Glenn Close will finally earn the award for her amazing performance in “Albert Nobbs.” Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams also give praiseworthy performances, but Williams is still relatively unproven, while Streep (who holds the record for Oscar nominations) already has two to her name.
Supporting role nominations are always hard to pick as each nominee, in essence, “stole the show” with their brief role in whichever film. For this year, I’m playing my wild cards by picking Jonah Hill from “Moneyball” and, fingers crossed, Melissa McCarthy from “Bridesmaids.”
Best Original and Adapted Screenplays awards are also a personal favorite. Again, I’m hoping for “Bridesmaids” to pull off the upset for the Original Screenplay category, but I have my doubts. The Best Adapted Screenplay is clearly “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”
These are of course the random rants of a critic who yields no power or influence in the deciding of these awards, but that is why so many of us tune in to watch.
Like the producers, directors and stars themselves likely feel, we all just want to enjoy good film and root for those we believe deserve the recognition for a job well-done.
Reach the reporter at jbfortne@asu.edu
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