The Academy Awards awaits

With only a few days to go until the Academy Awards, it's time to look through the different nominees in the main categories. I've seen as many of the films as I've come across, and that includes all the 10 nominees for Best Motion Picture, as well as all of the movies which held the nominations for Best Actor/Supporting Actor and Best Actress/Supporting Actress, except for Javier Bardem in Biutiful.

Anyways, I thought I'd start with the category of directing, and work my way through 8 of the awards, so here goes...

Best Achievement in Directing

Nominees:

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for True Grit
David Fincher for The Social Network
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
David O. Russell for The Fighter




This category has got a nice variety of movies, and includes the Coen Brothers, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, David O. Russell and Tom Hooper. I enjoyed all the movies which are nominated, though I consider Black Swan, The Social Network and The King's Speech to be favorites to win, for various reasons. First and foremost, "the facebook movie" could benefit from the fact that it is a movie VERY much talked about and in tune with today's society. I liked the movie, and the cast does a fine job. Aaron Sorkin as screenwriter is also very welcome, as he is a favorite of mine (West Wing, Studio 60 at the Sunset Strip). I'm not sure, though, if I'd consider this worthy of film of the year...

The Fighter is, probably, my least favorite of these five movies. Although Melissa Leo and Christian Bale did excellent jobs, the story really wasn't that exceptional. We've seen the similar story before... and yes, based on a true story or not, it's not THAT much fun to see an underdog in the world of sport do a comeback.. Decent movie? Yes. Good movie? Yes, mostly because Bale is a legend, but oscar? Hardly.
True Grit was a good movie, although not my fave from the Coen-brothers. Then again, it does take a LOT to beat my fave movies from the crazy Coens... Jeff Bridges mumbles away, Matt Damon does a good job, and the young Hailee Steinfeld won herself a nomination for best supporting actress with her performance as the young girl looking for revenge on her father's death.

So, that leaves us with two movies. Black Swan is a dark, yet beautiful, movie. And I'm not just thinking about the fact that Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis stars in two of the roles. Aronofsky does a great job in creating a dark and quite claustrophobic atmosphere, and although it does seem to be a bit too much at times, it'll keep you on the edge of your seat all the way through. I definitely wouldn't be dissapointed if Aronofsky takes home the Oscar for this movie. Then again, The King's Speech is also a wonderful movie with great casting, a wonderfully story as well as surprisingly good humour. Colin Firth is incredible in this movie, as is Geoffrey Rush, and Tom Cooper stands out as a second favorite to take home the award for best director.


Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role


Nominees:


Javier Bardem for Biutiful
Jeff Bridges for True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network
Colin Firth for The King's Speech
James Franco for 127 Hours




So, which actor is to win this years award for best performance? As I haven't seen Biutiful, I can't comment on Javier Bardem's performance, but as to the others, I do have my favorites. Although Jesse Eisenberg does a very impressive job in The Social Network, I don't feel it's enough considering the competition he has to beat. And, in all honosty, his character does tend to resemble other characters he has portrayed in previous movies (Zombieland, Adventureland). James Franco - who will be co-hosting the show - did a very good job in 127 hours, and could be an outsider. It's unusual to see him in a role where he doesn't smoke pot, by the way. Then again, he probably would have, if it hadn't been for the fact that he was stuck in a mountain throughout the movie.

Jeff Bridges is Mr.Cool himself, and delivers again in True Grit, but could fall victim to the fact that he won the award last year for his wonderful performance in Crazy Heart. That leaves us with my favorite Colin Firth. His portrayal as King George VI, with his constant battle with his speech emp.. uhh.. stutter, is simply astonishing. A great actor, who many feel should've been a winner last year for his role in A Single Man, which I very much hope will be giving his thanks from the podium this year.


Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees:

Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman for Black Swan
Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine



Another category with very tough competition. Annette Bening is very impressive in The Kids Are All Right, much thanks to her interaction with Julianne Moore, but she also impresses in the more emotional scenes where she does it all on her own. She won the Golden Globe (for best actress in a motion picture - comedy or musical), and could snatch the Academy Award as well. Nicole Kidman is nominated for the movie Rabbit Hole, and I have to say probably my least favorite to win. The movie wasn't that good, and honostly, her best scenes were the ones with Miles Teller, who impressed as Jason in the movie.

Jennifer Lawrence is nominated for her role in the surprisingly entertaining Winter's Bone. A movie which is basically a tragic story within a tiny community mostly inolving hillbillies. Jennifer Lawrence plays her part as a tough, young girl looking out for her family due to her father's absence, and she does it brilliantly. A definite outsider. The big favorite, though, is definitely Natalie Portman, who despite her still not having turned 30, seems to have been around forever. Well, not forever, but for a long time anyway. A truly gifted actress, and a beautiful one as well, she is marvellous in Black Swan. She plays the role beautifully, and portrays her character's struggle against her "opponents" and most of all herself, quite brilliantly.

The last nominee is Michelle Williams. Despite me having been a fan of Natalie Portman since I was too young to watch "Leon", I'd actually say this is my personal favorite for this years award for best actress. Michelle Williams was simply amazing in Blue Valentine, and I was surprised to see the complexity she brought to her character. Her scenes with Ryan Gosling varied from being amazingly charming to being utterly painful - and I mean painful in the best way there is. One of the best performances I have seen in a long time, and she left me stunned. I def feel Ryan Gosling was snubbed of a nomination as well, as he as well was brilliant in Blue Valentine - a movie that really caught me off guard.


Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees:

Christian Bale for The Fighter
John Hawkes for Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner for The Town
Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech

A couple of interesting choiced here, in my opinion. John Hawkes did a decent job as Teardrop in Winter's Bone, but I don't think he realistically stands a chance in winning this year. I do feel his part was a bit too small, and maybe even a bit over the top for my liking at times. Mark Ruffalo is an actor I like, and I enjoyed his character in The Kids Are All Right, but worth an oscar? I'm not so sure. His character could've enjoyed more on-screen time, as well as a bit more depth. Jeremy Renner is a cool dude, and proved himself again in The Town, which was another good film from the director Ben Affleck. Again, though, I don't feel he proved enough in this movie, and that leaves us with who I consider to be the two favorites in this category...

Christian Bale was the highlight of The Fighter, and played the part of the drug-addicted former boxer Dicky Eklund brilliantly. Where Mark Wahlberg was the sane(?) person, Christian Bale was the uncontrollable x-factor, which in a pretty predictable movie, still kept you hoping for more craziness. He was also by no means a one-dimensional character, and Bale once again proved how brilliantly he is at creating a great diversity within the character he portrays. The other favorite for me is Geoffrey Rush, who plays the speech therapist for Colin Firth's King George VI, is (not surprisingly) amazing. His scenes with Colin Firth are very well-done, and the balance between humour and respect (as well as lack of it) is intriguing.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees:

Amy Adams for The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
Melissa Leo for The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit
Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom



Again, a very tough call this one. Amy Adams did a great job in the Fighter as the girlfriend of Wahlberg's character who has to struggle with his relatively special family, in particular his mother. This brings us on to the next nominee, Melissa Leo who I have to say, did a great job at making me hate her. Her way of controlling the family, as a way of helping herself out, is scary. However, I'd like to see her NOT win, only due to the fact that she annoyed me too much during her thank you speech at the Golden Globes...

Helena Bonham Carter, this wonderfully odd person, is great in The King's Speech as the wife of King George VI. She is given a great character to play, and she didn't dissapoint. Her scenes with Colin Firth are very easy to like, and I also enjoyed her humour, which she nailed throughout the film.
Jacki Weaver, much like Melissa Leo in The Figter, plays the role of a mother controlling the family in a less then idealistic way in the movie Animal Kingdom. This Australian movie tells the story of a family of crime, where Joshua (her nephew) ends up after his mother dies from an overdose. Jacki Weaver is impressive in her role, and is definitely in with a chance to win. The last nominee is Hailee Steinfeld, which at only 14 years, could take home an Oscar for her role in True Grit. She does a good job as the tough girl who wants revenge on the man who killed her father, and her chemistry with both Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon is very good. I do however feel the character was a little hyped, and it might have something to do with the fact that I sometimes struggle with the typical "so young but soooo wise and adult-like"-characters. A recent example is the young son of Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side which irritated the hell out of me. I'm not saying Hailee did that in this movie, but I didn't buy her character all the time. She is definitely an outsider, and she DID do a very good job, however.


So, the last one...


Best Motion Picture of the Year

Nominees:

127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone


As I've touched unto most of these movies previously, I'll just quickly mention the others that haven't been mentioned thus far. Inception was, in my opinion, a very good movie with many interesting layers, good characters, humour, and a good script. Leonardo Di Caprio seems to play in only good movies lately. Christopher Nolan creates the universe within the movie masterfully, and after seeing the movie twice, I still know I'll definitely watch it again. Toy Story 3 was funny, entertaining and surprisingly sad at times. But, come on... On a sidenote, it must be quite frustrating for the other two nominees for best animation picture when one of their competitors also is nominated for best picture...

I'd say my favorites to win is The King's Speech and Black Swan. The Social Network, as mentioned, could benefit from being "very 2010", and Inception is an outsider, although I do feel it might not go all the way. Although it was a great movie, I still have a feeling that the potential was there to have made it even better.

In the race behind those movies I consider the following: 127 hours, The Kids Are All Right and True Grit... and then, movies I don't really feel have the chance of winning: Winter's Bone, The Fighter, Toy Story 3



Well, that's it. On Sunday night the show is ON! Have a good one!