Movies: 2012 Oscar Bait Edition

[Faster 545]

There was industry screenings in France and Britain in September were those that did talk, said that they could not see any other film winning. One went as far as to say it would be a sweep.

I personally cannot see a sweep for anything because of the even quality of films this year.

[Faster 545]

I finally have all the major 2012 films viewed and this is by my top 10.

Chronicle. An early year release and one of the best, turns the superhero genre on its head by combining it with found footage format and great performances by a young cast. It was sharp, imaginative and fresh for a genre that has gone stale. Chronicle is head and shoulders above the other superhero genre films this year, worth a look if you haven’t already seen it.

End of Watch. Despite some of the plot criticisms, it was a well-crafted, suspenseful and the best performances in Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pina’s career. The best found-footage film of the year, End of Watch shows that the format can be used beyond The Blair Witch mold.

Argo. Ben Affleck’s third directing effort and his best. It takes some liberties with the source material, but for cinematic affect. Probably the film on this list that is weakest in the acting department, it makes up for it in the direction, score, script and production. John Goodman was fantastic in this film and in Flight.

Lincoln. What is there to say about Spielberg’s finest film in fifteen years anchored by three great performances from Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Fields. Spielberg stripped back some of the emotional manipulation, while still showing Lincoln as both a politician and a human. This film was worth the effort to see it.

Wreck-it-Ralph. I am a sucker for a good animated film and this is a great one. It is everything a kids’ movie should be. Good story, great voice acting, a good surprise, nostalgia for the adults and heart. It is not up to the 90’s Disney films but it comes close.

Life of Pi is another great film from Ang Lee. Taking such a metaphysical book and turning it into a visual narrative should see him win his second Best Director Oscar, if it weren’t for Lincoln. I know krow will make fun of this, but it makes you think, ask questions and look at how you view the world. It asks you to step into Pi’s shows and answer the questions he was faced with. Highly recommended viewing for our atheists, humanist and agnostics on the board.

Django Unchained. A racist rant, depicting the most unspeakable acts of slavery while providing the same wit and ‘charm’ of any Tarantino. Django is not Tarantino’s best work, but it is of a similar quality to make it another must see for fans. Not for everyone.

Silver Linings Playbook. I love David O. Russell films, Three Kings is one of my favourites and this is Russell at his finest. Five strong performances from Cooper, Lawrence, de Niro, Weaver and Tucker, it is a fun film. The only drawback is the rushed narrative because of the transition from book to film. This would be my vote for Best Picture.

Zero Dark Thirty. I love this kind of film, a very different film from Argo but essentially the same archetypal story. Well directed and a beautiful follow-up performance from Jessica Chastain. Probably going to win Best Actress due to the meat of the role compared to Jennifer Lawrence’s in SLP.

Looper. This was another great small-scale sci-fi film that followed up a couple in 2011. It deals with the time-travel paradox well and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis turn in good performances. Probably the best reviewed film of the year; unfortunately it didn’t get the marketing push. But it is out on DVD next week. In a weaker year, would probably have gotten a Best Picture nomination.

Honourable mention to Rust and Bones, War Witch and Moonrise Kingdom.

Edited December 29, 2012 by faster

[baron-pierreIV 1693]

Just saw LES MIZ. Very epic, raw and very intense. Good film record of the phenomenal stage success. The music really emerges as glorious; and for the most part, pretty much the 95% sung-though device works.

Anne Hathaway blew me away. She deserves Best Supporting Actress right away!! She gave it up for her craft.

The opening scenes at the drydock in Plymouth (filling in for Toulon) and the surrealistic barricade scenes shot at the Royal Naval Maritime College in Greenwich are quite breathtaking.

If u hate musicals, don't bother to go see it. .

[Faster 545]

I suspect most of the Best Picture nominees will have very solid box office returns.

I find this interesting.

As of now.

Django Unchained has made 106m

Les Miserables 104m (170m)

Lincoln 144m

Silver Linings Playbook 34m (45m)

Life of Pi 91m (391m)

Zero Dark Thirty 5m (probably going to be a lot closer to 100m by the time the ceremony happens)

Argo 110m (166m)

Amour 0.3m (2m)

Moonrise Kingdom 45m (66m)

Beasts of the Southern Wild 11m

Skyfall 296m (1023m)

The Master 16m (19m)

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 46m (134m)

[Olympic Fan Darcy 321]

Agree Adele for best original song.

I did not know the silver linings playbook was a serious movie. I thought it was just another quirky movie. Didn't know it was oscar material. I wish she would get nominated for Hunger Games. I know it won't happen but I love that movie and she was a great actress. It's a shame those types of movies (by those types i mean hunger games and harry potter) don't get nominated for oscars.

Hunger games has almost the same IMDB ranking as Zero Dark Thirty. It has a higher ranking on rotten tomatoes than last years The Help. Les Mis is also lower than Hunger Games.

Anywho I hope J Lawrence gets an award Love here.

I thoroughly enjoyed Argo so wouldn't mind that winning too

Ohh and can not WAIT to see Hitchcock! I love him and his movies so much! Should be a great movie!

[Faster 545]

Metacritic probably provides a more reasonable and accurate view of a movies reviews.

Les Miserables 63

Django Unchained 80

Life of Pi 79

Silver Linings Playbook 81

Lincoln 86

Skyfall 81

Zero Dark Thirty 95

Amour 92

Moonrise Kingdom 84

Argo 86

Beasts of the Southern Wild 86

The Master 86

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 62

The Hunger Games 67

It is unfortunate that Les Miserable is still in consideration for Best Picture despite the tepid response and the overall low quality of the film. Rust and Bones, The Impossible, Anna Karenia and Flight (amongst many others) were far better films.

Edited January 7, 2013 by faster

[Olympic Fan Darcy 321]

I still think Rotten tomatoes would be a much better reviewer.

However even using metacritic shows this.

Metacritic first then rotten tomatoes

Pitch Perfect 66/100 80%

The best exotic marigold hotel 62/100 77%

Les Mis 63/100 70%

Salmon fishing in the yemen 58/10 67%

Silver linings playbook 81/100 91%

Moonrise Kingdom 84/100 94%

Bold got nominated for golden globe comedy. I found Pitch Perfect hilarious especially Rebel Wilson and both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes has it scoring above 3 of the 5. Wonder why.

[Gangwon 259]

Christoph Waltz NEEDS to win best actor for Django.

[Faster 545]

I still think Rotten tomatoes would be a much better reviewer.

However even using metacritic shows this.

Metacritic first then rotten tomatoes

Pitch Perfect 66/100 80%

The best exotic marigold hotel 62/100 77%

Les Mis 63/100 70%

Salmon fishing in the yemen 58/10 67%

Silver linings playbook 81/100 91%

Moonrise Kingdom 84/100 94%

Bold got nominated for golden globe comedy. I found Pitch Perfect hilarious especially Rebel Wilson and both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes has it scoring above 3 of the 5. Wonder why.

Metacritic aggragates the reviews in more categories, indicating the strength of the review (from it was fantastic to it was a good such and such film) whereas RT just counts a review as positive or negative.

Daniel Day-Lewis is all but assured of Best Actor. It is unimaginable for him to not win, the only other person in contention is Joaquin Phoenix, who is in a pretty fierce fight with Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper for the final 2 spots. DDL delivered a performance that is not only the best of this year but the last 5.

[baron-pierreIV 1693]

LES MIZ has to win...and so do Jackman and Hathaway. DDL just mumbled thru that beard; Joaquin Phoenix twitched his way thru THE MASTER. Jackman had to do a triple threat -- act, sing and haul ships!!

Edited January 8, 2013 by baron-pierreIV

[nykfan845 51]

Just to respond to Faster's Best Actor post.

Best Actor is pretty much set. DDL for the win. Cooper, Jackman and Washington have hit all of the major precursors, so they're safe. The only one that is potentially in danger is John Hawkes with Joaquin Phoenix as spoiler, but overall,The Master has lost so much momentum, that I really doubt.

[Faster 545]

It depends on who you read.

Some people say your scenario, some say mine. Others have other combinations.

I went with mine because a) Les Miserables has gotten a rough ride from critics making Jackman a question mark, Hawkes was talked about as a potential winner before Lincoln was screened, as was Phoenix and c) I think that the lack of comedic nominations makes Cooper vulnerable. There has been like 3 comedic/dramedy roles nominated in 12 years.

It is sad when Hugh Jackman is getting nominated for Les Miserables (likely) when his performances in X-men were better. Well not really, but The Fountain and The Prestige certainly were.

[nykfan845 51]

There is no way Cooper is vulnerable or a snub. SLP is not your typical rom-com. It borders very much on drama, and I wouldn't even be surprised to see him win the Golden Globe on Sunday. IMO, he's a distant 2nd behind DDL.

Jackman and Hawkes are the most vulnerable.

[Faster 545]

A lot of surprises. In Directoring, how can Ben Afflect get overlooked? And Kathryn Bigelow. Marion Cotillard being overlooked for Rust and Bones, The Intouchables not getting nominated for foreign language, Jackie Weaver getting nominated for supporting. The only category that went to plan was supporting actor.

[nykfan845 51]

It's the new preferential voting system combined with the earlier nominations announcement. Precursors just aren't as telling anymore as they coincide with the voting period.

And the new voting system rewards films with passionate followings. And it seems hat Amour, Life of Pi, and Silver Linings Playbook had more oassionate fans than Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Les Miserables.

[cslopes54 36]

No Best Director nominee for Kathryn Bigelow ? WtH! But having Skyfall nominated for Best Song makes up any disappointment Adele!

[baron-pierreIV 1693]

I guess since Hooper wasn't nominated, that counts LES MIZ out. Looking at the whole slate now, I think Hathaway, Sound Mixing and maybe Make-Up might be LES MIZ's only wins.

Funny, how the Academy & all the other award shows completely ignored the much ballyhooed CLOUD ATLAS. It was interesting, somewhat ingenious but overall TEDIOUS because of its intricacy and length. That was another $100 million bomb!

Edited January 10, 2013 by baron-pierreIV

[Faster 545]

Right now my picks

Picture: Lincoln

Director: Ang Lee

Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Actress: Jennifer Lawerance

Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee-Jones

Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway

[baron-pierreIV 1693]

Right now my picks

Picture: Lincoln

Director: Ang Lee

Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Actress: Jennifer Lawerance

Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee-Jones

Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway

yeah, I cud go along w/ those...not becuz I enjoyed LINCOLN. It was quite boring & I only went because I got dragged by 2 friends. Visually, it was too dark.

Edited January 10, 2013 by baron-pierreIV

[Athensfan 1081]

Is it just me, or does Lincoln seem really overrated? It was well-crafted, but the beginning was way too slow and passive. I can go for a great period film and I'm fine with historical biopics too. It's not the genre that bothers me. The film just didn't grab me. I felt both Argo and the overlooked Skyfall were more arresting films that were also superbly crafted in their own ways. Work has been crazy lately so I have a lot of catching up to do with some of the other nominees, but so far I am not at all convinced that Lincoln is the best picture of the year. But then I often disagree with the Academy on that score...

[thatsnotmypuppy 559]

I found Lincoln dull - but then again I'm not American so I wasn't really that interested to start with.

I'm surprised The Dark Knight Rises missed out completely. I thought a Best Visual Effects or Best Sound nod at least. Same goes for Cloud Atlas - utterly arse story wise but visually stunning.

I am glad the Golden Globes insanity that handed The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Salmon Fishing In The Yemen nominations didn't spill over to the Oscars.

Big ups to the Academy for Quvenzhané Wallis' nod. Beasts Of The Southern Wild is an amazing film. And good on Jackie Weaver getting her second nod (even though Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy was a far more worthy performance).

Finally thank you internet piracy for allowing me to see most of the nominated films as they aren't in the cinemas here yet.

Edited January 11, 2013 by thatsnotmypuppy

[Sir Rols 1901]

I found Lincoln dull - but then again I'm not American so I wasn't really that interested to start with.

I'm surprised The Dark Knight Returns missed out completely. I thought a Best Visual Effects or Best Sound nod at least. Same goes for Cloud Atlas - utterly arse story wise but visually stunning.

I am glad the Golden Globes insanity that handed The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Salmon Fishing In The Yemen nominations didn't spill over to the Oscars.

Big ups to the Academy for Quvenzhané Wallis' nod. Beasts Of The Southern Wild is an amazing film. And good on Jackie Weaver getting her second nod (even though Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy was a far more worthy performance).

Finally thank you internet piracy for allowing me to see most of the nominated films as they aren't in the cinemas here yet.

Woohoo! I'm just glad to see you back here Puppy!

[thatsnotmypuppy 559]

Feeling better, ready to raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawk!

[cormiermax 89]

I watched Lincoln today, wow was that boring!

[Faster 545]

I found Lincoln dull - but then again I'm not American so I wasn't really that interested to start with.

I'm surprised The Dark Knight Rises missed out completely. I thought a Best Visual Effects or Best Sound nod at least. Same goes for Cloud Atlas - utterly arse story wise but visually stunning.

I am glad the Golden Globes insanity that handed The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Salmon Fishing In The Yemen nominations didn't spill over to the Oscars.

Big ups to the Academy for Quvenzhané Wallis' nod. Beasts Of The Southern Wild is an amazing film. And good on Jackie Weaver getting her second nod (even though Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy was a far more worthy performance).

Finally thank you internet piracy for allowing me to see most of the nominated films as they aren't in the cinemas here yet.

I think it had some; well it wasn't as good as The Dark Knight, so let’s not bother overlooks. The Dark Knight Rises just wasn't as deep and profound as it thought it was, it rehashed much of the same themes and core ideas as Batman Begins, in a reparative, not continuity sort of way. Inception was a much better film from Nolan and none of them were as good as Memento. I am honestly hoping that Man of Steel is in the same quality league as The Dark Knight and ends up with nominations. This year was just too crowded with high quality films (enough for the last three years) for The Dark Knight Rises.

I thoroughly enjoyed bother of those films, neither of which are Oscar material (except I thought Maggie Smith should have gotten a supporting actress nomination)

I have no problems with who got nominated in Best Actress, I just wish the category had more sports because Helen Mirren, Rachel Weisz and Marion Cotillard would have also been great nominees.