THE MOVIE BRAT

The Oscars: And The Nominees Are…

The Oscar Nominations where announced today with Martin Scorsese’s Hugo leading the way with 11 nominations and Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist coming in second with 10 nominations.

Two big potential stories that could emerge from the 84th Academy Awards on February 26th is Martin Scorsese’s Hugo could become the first ever 3D film to win best picture or the French film, The Artist could be become the first silent movie to win best picture since Wings in 1928.

In a previous blog entry (The Oscars: Niminations Predictions) I predicted the nominations for the Oscars, and to be modest I wasn’t that far off. I tried to second guess the Academy, but like they always do, the Academy threw in a few curve balls no one was expecting.

Firstly, this year saw the Academy announce that the Best Picture category could be anywhere between 5 to 10 nominees long. I predicted 8, they announced 9. The one I wasn’t expecting to be announced was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  I think this caught a few people off guard. I personally haven’t seen the film, but I am aware it did receive mixed reviews. With that being said, Sandra Bullock does star in it and its common knowledge she has a lot of persuasive power in Hollywood. I can’t see it being a potential winner but it’s a shame such films like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or The Ides Of March where snubbed in favour of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

It should be quite a tight race for the Best Picture gong this year. The favourites will be Hugo and The Artist (above), but if pushed right in the media leading up to February 26th, The Descendants might be a dark horse. I don’t personally think it is the best film of the year but stranger things have happened at the Oscars.

Terrence Malick deservingly got a nomination for Best Director for his surreal film, The Tree Of Life. I had a feeling Spielberg was going to get the nod for his first world war film, War Horse. I thought the temptation of having three of the biggest named directors (Scorsese, Allen and Spielberg) all nominated would of be too much for the Academy to resist, but I believe they went in the right direction with Malick. This is a close category, but you’d have to be a brave person to bet against Scorsese picking up his second Oscar. I’m a firm believer they are trying to make it up to Scorsese for the years they snubbed him the honour for his truly great films Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and GoodFellas.

The best actor category is wide open this year. George Clooney (The Descendants, above) is the early favourite with bookmakers but will have some stiff opposition with Brad Pitt (Moneyball), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Demian Bichir (A Better Life) all up for Best Actor. The latter was a curve ball. Didn’t see it coming, nor have I watched the film, so again am in the dark on that one. But am sure this will be a close one to call, but I would personally like to see Jean Dujardin win, although Moneyball has to be one of Brad Pitt’s best performances.

I was a little disappointed to not see Tilda Swinton be nominated for Best Actress, but the Best Actress nominees where predictable. Meryl Streep and Viola Davis will be favourites going in, with Michelle Williams as an outsider. I’ve got a sneaky feeling Glenn Close may have a good chance. The Academy have a history of having a soft spot for the period drama.

In other categories, I was made up to see Jonah Hill (above, right) receive a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in Moneyball. Definitely deserved and looking at the other nominees, may well have a chance. Although people might well be cheering for Nick Nolte in this category as he earned a nomination for his performance in Warrior completing a full rehabilitated return to Hollywood after his arrest for DUI in 2002. Another one I thought was thoroughly deserved was Melissa McCarthy’s nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for her portrayal of Megan in Bridesmaids. Without doubt the best comedy of the year, but McCarthy does face strong competition. It’s another small victory for the comedy genre at the Oscars. Hopefully one day they will honour comedy the way it deserves to be honoured.

The Best Documentary category was the big surprise for me. Couldn’t believe Senna didn’t get a nomination, nor did The Interrupters or Project Nim. Have a feeling that Senna failed to receive a nomination because it was a documentary about a sportsman unknown to the American people who was huge in a sport America don’t follow. Paradise Lost 3 was nominated and may well be the favourite and eventual winner.

All in all, the majority of the nominations where expected with a few curve balls thrown in to keep people guessing and keep people from claiming the Academy is too safe. I believe there are only three ways its going to go. One, Hugo will pick up everything. Two, The Artist will pick up everything or three, and probably most likely, they will spread the awards across a few films keeping everyone happy. I hate it when they do that.

For a full list of all the nominations, go to the Academy Awards official website; 

http://oscar.go.com/nominees