The 85th Academy Awards.

Dang!

The only movies I've seen on the following list in any category are Skyfall, The Hobbit, Snow White and the Huntsman and Prometheus.

It's difficult to go see a movie when you are juggling 5 kids, a family, and work.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Nominees:
Amour (2012): To Be Determined
Argo (2012): Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Michael Gottwald
Django Unchained (2012): Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone
Les Misérables (2012): Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
Life of Pi (2012): Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
Lincoln (2012): Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen, Jonathan Gordon
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees:
Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln (2012)
Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables (2012)
Joaquin Phoenix for The Master (2012)
Denzel Washington for Flight (2012/I)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees:
Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Emmanuelle Riva for Amour (2012)
Quvenzhané Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Naomi Watts for The Impossible (2012)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees:
Alan Arkin for Argo (2012)
Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master (2012)
Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln (2012)
Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained (2012)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees:
Amy Adams for The Master (2012)
Sally Field for Lincoln (2012)
Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables (2012)
Helen Hunt for The Sessions (2012)
Jacki Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Best Achievement in Directing

Nominees:
Michael Haneke for Amour (2012)
Ang Lee for Life of Pi (2012)
David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln (2012)
Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Nominees:
Amour (2012): Michael Haneke
Django Unchained (2012): Quentin Tarantino
Flight (2012/I): John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom (2012): Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Mark Boal

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Nominees:
Argo (2012): Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi (2012): David Magee
Lincoln (2012): Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): David O. Russell

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Nominees:
Brave (2012): Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
Frankenweenie (2012): Tim Burton
ParaNorman (2012): Sam Fell, Chris Butler
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012): Peter Lord
Wreck-It Ralph (2012): Rich Moore

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Nominees:
Amour (2012)(Austria)
War Witch (2012)(Canada)
No (2012/I)(Chile)
A Royal Affair (2012)(Denmark)
Kon-Tiki (2012)(Norway)

Best Achievement in Cinematography

Nominees:
Anna Karenina (2012/I): Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained (2012): Robert Richardson
Life of Pi (2012): Claudio Miranda
Lincoln (2012): Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall (2012): Roger Deakins

Best Achievement in Editing

Nominees:
Argo (2012): William Goldenberg
Life of Pi (2012): Tim Squyres
Lincoln (2012): Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor

Best Achievement in Production Design

Nominees:
Anna Karenina (2012/I): Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent, Simon Bright
Les Misérables (2012): Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi (2012): David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
Lincoln (2012): Rick Carter, Jim Erickson

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Nominees:
Anna Karenina (2012/I): Jacqueline Durran
Les Misérables (2012): Paco Delgado
Lincoln (2012): Joanna Johnston
Mirror Mirror (2012/I): Eiko Ishioka
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): Colleen Atwood

Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

Nominees:
Hitchcock (2012): Howard Berger, Peter Montagna, Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Peter King, Rick Findlater, Tami Lane
Les Misérables (2012): Lisa Westcott, Julie Dartnell

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

Nominees:
Anna Karenina (2012/I): Dario Marianelli
Argo (2012): Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi (2012): Mychael Danna
Lincoln (2012): John Williams
Skyfall (2012): Thomas Newman

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Nominees:
Chasing Ice (2012): J. Ralph("Before My Time")
Les Misérables (2012): Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer("Suddenly")
Life of Pi (2012): Mychael Danna, Bombay Jayshree("Pi's Lullaby")
Skyfall (2012): Adele, Paul Epworth("Skyfall")
Ted (2012): Walter Murphy, Seth MacFarlane("Everybody Needs a Best Friend")

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

Nominees:
Argo (2012): John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, José Antonio García
Les Misérables (2012): Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Simon Hayes
Life of Pi (2012): Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, Drew Kunin
Lincoln (2012): Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Ron Judkins
Skyfall (2012): Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Stuart Wilson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Nominees:
Argo (2012): Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn
Django Unchained (2012): Wylie Stateman
Life of Pi (2012): Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton
Skyfall (2012): Per Hallberg, Karen M. Baker
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Paul N.J. Ottosson

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Nominees:
The Avengers (2012): Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Daniel Sudick
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
Life of Pi (2012): Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik De Boer, Donald Elliott
Prometheus (2012/I): Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley, Martin Hill
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Phil Brennan, Neil Corbould, Michael Dawson

Best Documentary, Features

Nominees:
5 Broken Cameras (2011): Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
The Gatekeepers (2012): To Be Determined
How to Survive a Plague (2012): To Be Determined
The Invisible War (2012): To Be Determined
Searching for Sugar Man (2012): To Be Determined

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

Nominees:
Inocente (2012): Sean Fine, Andrea Nix
Kings Point (2012): Sari Gilman, Jedd Wider
Mondays at Racine (2012): Cynthia Wade, Robin Honan
Open Heart (2013): Kief Davidson, Cori Shepherd Stern
Redemption (2012/V): Jon Alpert, Matthew O'Neill

Best Short Film, Animated

Nominees:
Adam and Dog (2011): Minkyu Lee
Fresh Guacamole (2012): PES
Head Over Heels (2012): Timothy Reckart, Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
Paperman (2012): John Kahrs
The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare (2012): David Silverman

Best Short Film, Live Action

Nominees:
Asad (2012): Bryan Buckley, Mino Jarjoura
Buzkashi Boys (2012): Sam French, Ariel Nasr
Curfew (2012/I): Shawn Christensen
Death of a Shadow (2012): Tom Van Avermaet, Ellen De Waele
Henry (2011/III): Yan England

Quote :

Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Cooper's really not bad, despite being best known for HANGOVER films. Besides, who woulda thought Jeff Spicoli was any good?

As for BEST PICTURE noms, I've only seen DJANGO and LINCOLN. Didn't think the former was all that, and I don't think it deserves a nom. I really did like LINCOLN, and I wouldn't mind seeing that win the big prize. Gotta see other flicks to see if that's true.

For cinematography I'm fine with either SKYFALL or LINCOLN. Both great looking films.


And for the record: Jennifer Lawrence. I want to tap that.

A pity that SKYFALL hasn't been recognised in any of the "main" categories. Not that it would have stood a chance of winning (or, truth be told, deserved to win), but a nomination for, say, Bardem as Best Supporting Actor would have been a great way of honouring the Bond series' fifty years of success - y'know, just a nice little nod to acknowledge that the Bond movies aren't just 100% mindless commercial crap and that once in a while the house of Broccoli does put some love and care into things and come up with a decent result.

j7wild wrote:

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Nominees:
Amour (2012): To Be Determined
Argo (2012): Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Michael Gottwald
Django Unchained (2012): Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone
Les Misérables (2012): Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
Life of Pi (2012): Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
Lincoln (2012): Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen, Jonathan Gordon
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison

I've only seen LIFE OF PI, but I understand that the field is unusually strong this year. Am looking forward to seeing AMOUR, ARGO, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, DJANGO UNCHAINED, LINCOLN and ZERO DARK THIRTY. LES MISERABLES isn't my cup of tea and so I'll pass on it, and I know nothing about SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. Seems the competition for Best Picture is unusually fierce.

However, I suspect (and hope) that LIFE OF PI will end up taking the prize. AMOUR is too foreign arthouse (besides, a French film won last year). BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD is too indie. DJANGO UNCHAINED is too Tarantino. LES MISERABLES follows just a couple of years after another Tom Hooper Best Picture winner, namely THE KING'S SPEECH - similarly, a Kathryn Bigelow flick (and a Kathryn Bigelow war-on-terror flick at that) already won Best Picture a couple of years ago (I refer, of course, to THE HURT LOCKER), so ZERO DARK THIRTY strikes me as unlikely to take the big prize this year. As for LINCOLN, Spielberg has already been honoured to the hilt over the years and, besides, I gather that LINCOLN isn't quite one of his best.

Ang Lee's films have done well at the Academy Awards (with Oscar wins/nominations for EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN, THE WEDDING BANQUET, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN) without ever quite winning Best Picture, so I've a feeling that he's due a Best Picture win. Also, LIFE OF PI would be the first 3D Best Picture winner.

Ugh, LIFE OF PI looks fucking stupid, but I'll likely see it because I always try to watch the noms of the year. Not sure if I can make it through LES MISERABLES.

LES MISERABLES is spectacularly bad.

My favorite film of the year is DJANGO UNCHAINED, so that should let you know where I stand via the Best Picture picks.

LIFE OF PI won't win Best Picture. It hasn't fared well in terms of awards season buzz, and hasn't garnered the awards that usually prefigure the Best Picture win. Right now, it looks like Best Picture is up for grabs between LES MISERABLES, LINCOLN, and ZERO DARK THIRTY.

Harmsway wrote:

LES MISERABLES is spectacularly bad.

Completely at odds with you, here. Went in expecting to hate it but came out loving it. Terrific popularist cinema. Such rarities in this cynical age should be awarded.

What Les Mis has in this camp, is film work at Portsmouth. Failing this I struggle.

I think SKYFALL's cinematography nod was a big feat.

Deakins won't win, but deserves to.

Glad to see PROMETHEUS got nothing. Suck on it Ridley.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Harmsway wrote:

LES MISERABLES is spectacularly bad.

Completely at odds with you, here. Went in expecting to hate it but came out loving it. Terrific popularist cinema. Such rarities in this cynical age should be awarded.

LES MISERABLES is the most formally incoherent film I've seen in ages; the editing, direction, and cinematography make little sense, with a choppiness that is headache-inducing. The cast competes to see who can pack the most tears and facial gesticulations into their performances, robbing songs of any emotional range and making sure that the film stays locked into weepy dirge-mode (save for some out-of-place comedic breaks with Helena Bonham Carter and Sascha Baron Cohen). Furthermore, in such intimate presentation, the libretto's clunkiness seems more obvious than it does in stage productions, especially when non-singers like Russell Crowe are forced to strain to spit them out. I haven't had a more unpleasant time at the movies this year.

At least folks seem to be buying copies of Victor Hugo's novel because of the film's release, which is about the only good thing to come from this film's release.

Control wrote:

I think SKYFALL's cinematography nod was a big feat.

Deakins won't win, but deserves to.

Yeah, I think so too. Life of Pi will probably get it (haven't seen it, purely because the film looks so fake), but if Deakins doesn't win, I want McGarvey's work on Anna Karenina to win. Haven't seen the film, but his work has always been stunning and going by the trailer, it looks like a visual treat.

I look at the movie theater website each Friday to see what came out and I don't recall these 3 films ever playing here:

Amour (2012): To Be Determined
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Michael Gottwald
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen, Jonathan Gordon

FieldsMan wrote:

Control wrote:

I think SKYFALL's cinematography nod was a big feat.

Deakins won't win, but deserves to.

Yeah, I think so too. Life of Pi will probably get it (haven't seen it, purely because the film looks so fake), but if Deakins doesn't win, I want McGarvey's work on Anna Karenina to win. Haven't seen the film, but his work has always been stunning and going by the trailer, it looks like a visual treat.

I'm guessing LIFE OF PI will get it, too. Shame, too, because it looks like a CGI-infested piece of shit. I'd rather re-read the godawful book.

Harmsway wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Harmsway wrote:

LES MISERABLES is spectacularly bad.

Completely at odds with you, here. Went in expecting to hate it but came out loving it. Terrific popularist cinema. Such rarities in this cynical age should be awarded.

LES MISERABLES is the most formally incoherent film I've seen in ages; the editing, direction, and cinematography make little sense, with a choppiness that is headache-inducing. The cast competes to see who can pack the most tears and facial gesticulations into their performances, robbing songs of any emotional range and making sure that the film stays locked into weepy dirge-mode (save for some out-of-place comedic breaks with Helena Bonham Carter and Sascha Baron Cohen). Furthermore, in such intimate presentation, the libretto's clunkiness seems more obvious than it does in stage productions, especially when non-singers like Russell Crowe are forced to strain to spit them out. I haven't had a more unpleasant time at the movies this year

Forever missing the wood from the trees.

FieldsMan wrote:

Control wrote:

I think SKYFALL's cinematography nod was a big feat.

Deakins won't win, but deserves to.

Yeah, I think so too. Life of Pi will probably get it (haven't seen it, purely because the film looks so fake), but if Deakins doesn't win, I want McGarvey's work on Anna Karenina to win. Haven't seen the film, but his work has always been stunning and going by the trailer, it looks like a visual treat.

As for LIFE OF PI looking fake, well, it's a fantasy with a lot of special effects, just like AVATAR (although PI is far better looking, with far better 3D, and a far better film), so fakery kinda goes with the territory.

I'd urge anyone who hasn't seen PI to ignore the trailers and the clips on TV, to put aside any prejudices about CGI and 3D, and to do as I did, namely see the film on the biggest screen possible at the best venue possible, and in 3D. I don't think I've ever been so blown away by the cinematography and visuals of any film - certainly not during my filmgoing of the past few years. I'm normally indifferent to 3D, finding it either annoying and/or headache-inducing (AVATAR) or, at best, interesting-but-hardly-earthshattering (PROMETHEUS), but in PI it really works, to the point where it seems a crucial aspect of the film's storytelling as opposed to a gimmick.

My random thoughts...

Of all the best picture nominees that I've seen, I like ZERO DARK THIRTY the best. I doubt that it will get the win, though, considering THE HURT LOCKER had already won previously and the Academy may see it as being too similar.

I'm glad SKYFALL got some love from the academy, especially in the cinematography department. Both it and LINCOLN are very deserving noms.

I like DDL for best actor, Chastain for best actress, Les Mis for sound mixing and Adele for original song.

I've got to admit that all the critical acclaim in ARGO has peaked my interest, so I'm hoping to see it this weekend before it leaves theaters. I'm still a little lukewarm on THE MASTER after hearing conflicting things about it, and I don't really have any interest in LIFE OF PI, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, and BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD.

For what it's worth, my favorite films of the year were: ZERO DARK THIRTY, SKYFALL, THE FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT, TDKR, DJANGO UNCHAINED, CHRONICLE, CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER, and LES MIS.

Harmsway wrote:

LIFE OF PI won't win Best Picture. It hasn't fared well in terms of awards season buzz, and hasn't garnered the awards that usually prefigure the Best Picture win. Right now, it looks like Best Picture is up for grabs between LES MISERABLES, LINCOLN, and ZERO DARK THIRTY.

Yes, I think you're right. LINCOLN seems to be the favourite.

I'm surprised that LIFE OF PI doesn't appear to have done particularly well at the box office Stateside. It's a big success in other parts of the world (I've now seen it twice in different cinemas here in Britain, and the house was packed out on both occasions), but American audiences seem relatively unenthused by it (from what I gather, though, American critics love the film, on the whole).

Life of Pi is a movie I will never watch.

Why?

Because the featurette trailer turned me off to it!

How?

I went to see Prometheus on June 18 at the IMAX.

As usual we had the trailers and the concession promotion and the turn off your cell phone and please stop talking message.

Then we had the 3D projection trailer and the IMAX sound system trailer.

This is where the movie starts - at least with every IMAX movie I'd ever seen.

But nooooo, not this time.

Next thing they showed is this kid on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a tiger.

There was no studio card and no green MPAA trailer card in front of it.

I thought it was another sound system trailer so it should be over in 1 minute but it wasn't.

It went on forever and ever; fishes flying at the boat, the tiger trying to catch the fishes, boat rolling around in the ocean waves (hurry up and capsize so we can't get this over already), etc etc

Then after all that, we are told it's Life of Pi.

What is Life of Pi?

I never heard anything about it until that moment.

I frequent movie websites several times a day every day.

I am up to date on everything that's in production, pre-production, this week's release, next week's release, releases scheduled for months down the line, direct to video release but I never heard of Life of Pi.

Not one ioda of it.

I understand FOX wants to promote the movie and I can appreciate their efforts to do so;

I know a movie costs millions to produce nowadays and the thin line between box office flop and success is very slim.

But FOX execution was all wrong.

Put in in front of Prometheus with no advance warning.

At least we are told in advance when the Dark Knight Rising exclusive trailer will play in the IMAX theater and which movie it will be attached to.

Not one word from FOX.

I wouldn't be (and I am sure I wasn't the only one in the audience thinking the same thing) so upset about it if they put it in front of Prometheus but before the 3D projection trailer and the IMAX sound system trailer instead.

Everyone was settled in their seats, thinking "This is it! Prometheus is going to start now" and instead we get Life of Pi.

Furthermore, again at the time, I am sure I wasn't the only one to also think "Are we in the correct auditorium? Is this the Prometheus showing? It has to be. There are 24 screens here and this is the ONLY IMAX auditorium!"

FOX SUCKS!

I still haven't forgotten them for cancelling some of the BEST TV series ever, at least a couple dozen of them in the past 20 years, without giving them a chance to become successful;

many of them were cancelled after only one season or less.

Thanks

for

the

tip

bro

LIFE OF PI is an infinitely better film than PROMETHEUS. It also wipes the floor with PROMETHEUS in the 3D department.

That's not that hard. PROMETHEUS was the most unpleasant experience I've ever had at the cinema.

Loomis wrote:

LIFE OF PI is an infinitely better film than PROMETHEUS. It also wipes the floor with PROMETHEUS in the 3D department.

Agreed. Even James Cameron is impressed. And Pi has become more than a sleeper hit.

I don't dislike PROMETHEUS. I enjoyed it well enough when I saw it at the cinema. It's a half-decent slab of brain-in-neutral entertainment, and the 3D is pretty good (as 3D in this sort of film goes, that is). That said, I've absolutely no desire to see it again. It does what it says on the tin, but what it says on the tin ain't all that much.

LIFE OF PI is to 3D feature films what Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was to pop music, namely a milestone release bestowing previously absent artistic credibility on the medium. Roger Ebert - who once declared: "I cannot imagine a serious drama, such as UP IN THE AIR or THE HURT LOCKER, in 3D" - writes: "What astonishes me is how much I love the use of 3-D in LIFE OF PI. I've never seen the medium better employed, not even in AVATAR, and although I continue to have doubts about it in general, Lee never uses it for surprises or sensations, but only to deepen the film's sense of places and events.

"Let me try to describe one point of view. The camera is placed in the sea, looking up at the lifeboat and beyond it. The surface of the sea is like the enchanted membrane upon which it floats. There is nothing in particular to define it; it is just … there. This is not a shot of a boat floating in the ocean. It is a shot of ocean, boat and sky as one glorious place." http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121120/REVIEWS/121129995

I hope that LIFE OF PI heralds a glorious new dawn for 3D as a storytelling tool for the serious filmmaker, as opposed to just a gimmick for franchise movies and blockbusters, but I have a feeling that it'll continue to be employed mostly for empty spectacle.