Oscar Picks: Best of Beauty

Makeup and Hairstyle and Costume Design

     There are a couple of awards given to movie crews for work done to make the cast and set transformational, beautiful, or grotesque. There are three films nominated for Makeup and Hairstyling: Hitchcock, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and Les Misérables. I believe The Hobbit will win this category as the makeup artists had to do more to the actors to make them look like halflings. This process likely took great amounts of time. There are more films listed as nominees under the category of Costume Design: Anna Karenina, Les Misérables, Lincoln, Mirror Mirror, and Snow White and the Huntsman. These movies are all deserving of the Oscar in that the costuming in each shows a painstaking attention to detail, but I believe Anna Karenina should win the statuette. Anna Karenina has the most elaborate of the costumes and seemingly has more frequent costume changes and therefore more costumes were selected for its purpose.

Oscar Picks: Best Supporting Actor and Actress

     There are some powerhouses in the category of Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Alan Arkin is nominated for “Argo,” which is one of my favorite movies of the year. Robert De Niro is nominated for “Silver Linings Playbook” as the neurotic father of a mentally ill son who needs quite a bit of guidance. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is up for the award for “The Master” and the calm of his character in the movie is a great contrast to Joaquin Phoenix’s crazy agitation. Tommy Lee Jones got a nod for his role in “Lincoln” and is perhaps my least favorite to win in this category. I feel he brought too much of his stern law enforcement type of acting into the role for a legislator. Christopher Waltz has my vote to win in this category for his portrayal of a bounty hunter in “Django Unchained.” He was able to bring humor, emotion, trustworthiness, and mystery to the screen.

     In the category of Best Actress in a Supporting Role there is a clear winner. Anne Hathaway will take home the award for “Les Misérables.” While her strong and emotional performance in that movie was short lived, there are not any actresses who delivered on that level. Amy Adams played a fierce and devout wife in “The Master.” Sally Field played a mostly dutiful and slightly hysterical character in “Lincoln,“ a memorable role that is definitely worthy of the nomination. Helen Hunt turned in a brave, mostly nude performance in “The Sessions.” Lastly, Jacki Weaver plays a mother and wife who is trying to hold the family together in “Silver Linings Playbook.”

Oscar Picks: Best Actor and Actress

      In the category of Best Actor there are five nominees. Bradley Cooper starred in the ever charming and dysfunctional “Silver Linings Playbook.” His character struggled with mental health and coming to terms with his new lot in life. Daniel Day-Lewis starred as Abraham Lincoln in “Lincoln.” This movie was not my favorite and Daniel Day Lewis is not my favorite to win this category, however I feel that he will take home the statuette. Day-Lewis is incredibly talented and his portrayal of the 16^th president was inspired. He characterized Lincoln as a mostly reserved and quiet man who knew how and when to raise his voice. Hugh Jackman really showed Hollywood what a threat he is with his singing and acting in “Les Misérables.” He won the Golden Globe for his performance, but that was in the category of Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. Denzel Washington is nominated for his role in “Flight,” which I think is a great nod for the talented actor. He did a great job with a very complex role. Finally, Joaquin Phoenix is the actor who should win this category. He plays a very unstable man who is taken in by a cult-like group aspiring for a higher consciousness in “The Master.” Phoenix plays crazy like no other actor I have seen. His character is very intense and fights and lies to come up with the answers and behaviors his cult leaders want to see in him.

     I have not viewed all of the movies for which the actresses are nominated in this category. However, I do believe Jessica Chastain will win the Oscar. Her performance in “Zero Dark 30” was complex and intense. To top that off she is an actress in a movie about war, a type of movie that typically does well on awards night. She also won the Golden Globe in her category and I believe the Academy will follow suit. Jennifer Lawrence is nominated for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook.” She played a confused widow who is attempting to find a balance in life and move on. Quvenzhané Wallis plays a young child in “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” I greatly appreciated and enjoyed this movie, and while Wallis is very cute in the film her acting is limited by her age and the age of the character she was portraying. I have not yet seen the movie “Amour,” for which Emmanuelle Riva is nominated nor have I seen Naomi Watts in “The Impossible.”

Oscars: Playing Along At Home

      There are more ways to play along with the Academy Awards than just one. This year I’m going to an Oscars party. This is nothing new as I typically put together a costumed gathering of some sort. However, this year it is a combined Oscars party and birthday party for my best friend Lydia. There will be costumes, hats, party favors, fun food, and games. My contribution to this party is the games. In addition to the regular Oscars pool where we see who can get the most categories correct (weighted for importance of category), we will also be playing bingo. The boards include moments like a speech getting cut off by music, crying, a political statement, winner kisses date, etc. This will be a fun and interactive way to keep all of us engaged. I found an old bingo board from a previous Oscars night, so I’ll have to do some updating to reflect this year’s ceremony. I also have to come up with the awards for the winners of my two games. This might be a chin scratcher.

Your Guide to Making the Right Oscars Picks

     About this time of year movie lovers across the nation start filling out their Oscar ballots. There are 24 categories and in the case of those not at the ceremony, the one with the most right answers wins. The prize may be money, a replica statuette, a makeshift trophy, or just notoriety. There is no good mathematical formula to follow when filling out your ballot, but there are a few rules based on winners from years past. A movie that depicts any part or notion of the Holocaust will generally win in at least one category, especially in the documentary category (Schindler’s List and Anne Frank Remembered) . An actor or actress generally gets more attention for playing the opposite gender, a struggling homosexual, a character at war or in a war-torn society, or a famed historical figure (Boys Don’t Cry, Milk, The Hurt Locker, The King’s Speech). The Academy generally favors long biographical tales or a movie that celebrates a new feat in filmmaking (The Queen and Avatar) or revisits a lost art (The Artist).

     I generally weigh all of my rules and then select carefully. While there have been some movies that have run away with numerous awards, the Academy generally spreads the honors. The most Academy Awards to go to a film is 11 and three movies are in the record books for that feat: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). LOTR has the largest sweep ever winning all 11 categories it was nominated for and that happened ten years ago. So, most likely a single film will not run amok at the awards ceremony this year.

      Every year I try to see as many of the nominated movies as possible so I can make an educated decision on my predictions. I love movies and seeing new stories unfold before me, so it is not a chore to watch so many movies. This year I have made my best effort yet. So far, I have seen eight of the nine films nominated for Best Picture. In total, there are only a handful of nominated movies that I have not seen. I will make my educated guesses and put them on display here on my blog. Keep an eye out for my picks and my reviews.

Movie Review: Zero Dark 30

Zero Dark 30

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Starring Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt

Rating: A

Upon first viewing the trailer for Zero Dark 30 months ago, I thought the movie would be a bore fest. I couldn't tell what the movie was really about other than war. As time went on, the trailers got longer and more detailed and my interest grew. By the time I went to see the movie I was excited. Critics were loving the film and Jessica Chastain. I was not disappointed. The movie tells the clear story of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. The movie was written based on firsthand accounts from people who were actually in the situations. The storyline follows Maya, who was recruited for the CIA job right out of high school. Chastain's performance is inspired; her skills were really tested as her character shows great depth. As a former news producer I am familiar with the details on all of the terror attacks depicted in the movie, so it made me nervous to watch parts of the movie when I could tell what was going to happen.

Movie Review: ParaNorman

ParaNorman

Directed by Chris Butler, Sam Fell

Starring (voice): Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick

Rating:C+

      This movie is rated PG, which means parental guidance, but that guideline is not always followed. Many times movies that are PG are understood to be very kid friendly, and this is not necessarily the case for ParaNorman. The movie can be a bit intense for the younger crowd with zombie chase scenes, a swirling cauldron of a sky, and a screaming witch that seems hell bent on destroying the town. The thing nightmares are made of! I would not recommend this movie for anyone under the age 10. The decision on whether to watch should never be left up to a child's discretion because they often want to appear tough, like they can handle most situations, however that is often not the case.
     Otherwise, this movie has a clever concept that has not been dealt with much in the past. The star can see and hear dead people. They mostly do him no harm, except create social embarrassment and irk the ire of his parents. In the end, Norman and his gift save the day. Not a spoiler, right? You would expect no less of a "kids" movie.