And the Oscar Goes To....

Every year it seems like everyone is picking who will win the Academy Awards. The ballots were do yesterday, so I thought I would jump on the boat as well. Below are who I think will win and who I think should win.

 

Best Original Song

 

Will win: Adele for Skyfall

Should win: Adele

I thought it was great that this Bond film returned to the tradition of having a song that is the same as the movie's title. I also think that it was more traditional Bond in its plot. It probably deserved a best picture nod as well. I think Adele did a great job with this one. 

Best Supporting Actor

 

Will win: Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln

Should win: Tommy Lee Jones

I think he has pretty much had this locked up from the very beginning. He lost the globe and BAFTA to the guy from Django, but he won the SAG award which I think is a better predictor of what will actually happen. I think he did a good job as Thaddeus Stevens, who was from PA so it’s hard to pick against a Pennsylvanian. 

Best Supporting Actress

 

Will Win: Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables

Should Win: Anne Hathaway

Her performance of I Dreamed a Dream won this for her. Sally Field I thought was too over the top as Mrs. Lincoln. It seemed forced. Anne played her part very well. I feel bad for Amy Adams, she’s been nominated four times and still won’t win. 

Best Actor

 

Will Win: Daniel Day Lewis for Lincoln

Should Win: Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook

This is probably the easiest to predict. Everyone has been raving about Daniel Day Lewis. I’ll give it to him-- he was good. Really hard to tell that it wasn’t Lincoln, even though we have no idea as to how the actual Lincoln was in real life. I still think Bradley outperformed him in Playbook. He was so convincing as a bi-polar. Honestly, I thought he was bi-polar. He wasn’t over the top and he struck the right tone so to speak. I feel like Daniel was bordering on an impression that wasn’t as impressive as Bradley’s gutsy performance as a mentally ill individual.

Best Actress

 

Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook

 

Should Win: Jennifer Lawrence

I feel bad that Jessica Chastain is going to lose two years in a row, but that’s life I guess. What's worse is that it is probably politics that is keeping her from getting it. I also felt that the actress from Beasts of the Southern Wild did really well too. Some had said she was too young, but she did an amazing job. Anyway, Jennifer also did a really good job playing a crazy person. She wasn’t quite as bi-polar as Bradley’s character, but nonetheless portrayed her character very convincingly. Well deserved.

 

Best Director

Will Win: David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook

Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty or Ben Affleck for Argo

Russell wins by default. Spielberg is the dark horse here. Bigelow did an amazing job. Realizing that someone had to direct those scenes is amazing to think about. This film was 10x better than The Hurt Locker. It’s a shame that politics about torture kept her from even getting nominated. As far as Affleck goes----he did a great job in Argo as well. Definitely deserved a nod if not the win.

Best Picture

 

Will Win: Argo

Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty

Don’t get me wrong, Argo is a great film. I just really think the competition this year was really tough. So many great films. Lincoln is a dark horse here. The problem with Lincoln is that it is too 1990s. If it comes out in 1997 this film wins at least 10 awards. It might get a few in 2013. It was too slow, too predictable and the script wasn’t the best. The acting is it’s only redeeming aspect. If Spielberg wants to be relevant in this decade he is going to have to learn to adapt.

Last year I starting having a goal to try and see as many of the nominated films that I could. I saw them all but three---Django Unchained,, Life of Pi and Amour. I think the Academy got these nominees right this year. Les Miserables lived up to the hype. Beasts of the Southern Wild should get more credit than it currently is. Silver Linings was amazing--- the fact that it is the first film in thirty years to get nods in all of the acting categories shows that this is a high quality film.

Zero Dark Thirty was the best of all them. It was full of suspense and informative at the same time. It really pays tribute to all of the national security officials behind the scenes who work every day to keep us safe. It's sad that politics about torturing prisoners will keep it from winning. So much for free speech. It was well directed. It also had the funniest line in a movie that I have seen all year. Seal Team Six is headed to the compound to get UBL. They are wearing their military headsets and one of them is wearing I-Pod headphones. Someone asks “What are you listening to?” He responds: “Tony Robbins---I got plans after the service.” That is so funny. I laughed so hard and nobody else in the theater got it. It was just all around an amazing film. 

So, there they are. I'm interested to see how well they hold up. Leave your comments if you disagree or agree. I would love to read what you think.