2013 Academy Awards Nominations

This morning the contenders where released for the 85th Academy Awards and I must say, I’m pretty surprised with the outcome. There were some serious snubs this year that I don’t think anyone saw coming. Anyway here’s the list…

Best Picture

• Amour
• Life of Pi
• Argo
• Lincoln
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Django Unchained
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Les Miserables

Actor in a Leading Role

• Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook
• Joaquin Phoenix in The Master
• Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln
• Denzel Washington in Flight
• Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables

Actress in a Leading Role

• Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty
• Quvenzhane Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook
• Naomi Watts in The Impossible
• Emmanuelle Riva in Amour

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Alan Arkin in Argo
• Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook
• Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln
• Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams in The Master
• Sally Field in Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables
• Helen Hunt in The Sessions
• Jacki Weaver in Silver Linings Playbook

Animated Feature Film

• Brave
  
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Wreck-It-Ralph

Cinematography

• Anna Karenina
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Costume Design

• Anna Karenina
• Les Miserables
• Lincoln
• Mirror Mirror
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Directing

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

Documentary Feature

• 5 Broken Cameras
• The Gatekeepers
• How to Survive a Plague
• The Invisible War
• Searching for Sugar Man

Documentary Short

• Inocente
• Kings Point
• Mondays at Racine
• Open Heart
• Redemption

Film Editing

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Foreign Language Film

• Amour
• Kon-Tiki
• No
• A Royal Affair
• War Witch

Makeup and Hairstyling

• Hitchcock
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Miserables

Music–Original Score

• Anna Karenina
• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Music–Original Song

• “Before My Time” from Chasing Ice
• “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from Ted
• “Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi
• “Skyfall” from Skyfall
• “Suddenly” from Les Miserables

Production Design

• Anna Karenina
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln

Short Film Animated

• Adam and Dog
  
• Fresh Guacamole
• Head Over Heels
• Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”
• Paperman

Short Film Live Action

• Asad
  
• Buzkashi Boys
• Curfew
• Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)
• Henry

Sound Editing

• Argo
  
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

Sound Mixing

• Argo
  
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Visual Effects

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
  
• Life of Pi
• Marvel’s The Avengers
• Prometheus
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Writing Adapted Screenplay

• Argo
  
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook

Writing Original Screenplay

• Amour
  
• Django Unchained
• Flight
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Zero Dark Thirty

Now that all the nominations have been made, I’m going to try and take the next month and a half to see as many of these films as I can so I make my predictions for who will win.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day #27

Day 27. Movie With Your Favorite Villain

• Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988)–John McClane, officer of the NYPD, tries to save wife Holly Dennaro and several others, taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. Starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and Bonnie Bedelia. There is something about Alan Rickman that makes an awesome bad guy. He’s freaky and so badass! LOVE HIM!

• Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians (1996)–A woman kidnaps puppies to kill them for their fur, but various animals then gang up against her and get their revenge in slapstick fashion. Starring Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson. I think that Cruella De Vil is one of the best Disney villains! I was even her for Halloween one year. Glenn Close does a great job bringing this animated character to life that she is forever known in my mind as Cruella.

• Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)–A young FBI cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims. Starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. I think this is self explanatory. I mean he eats people. He’s so good at being so freaking creepy!

• The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008)–When Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent launch an assault on the mob, they let the clown out of the box, the Joker, bent on turning Gotham on itself and bringing any heroes down to his level. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. Health brought it all to this character. The creepiest part of this character was all the little ticks and mannerisms.

• Hilly Holbrook in The Help (2011)–An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids’ point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis. Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain. She isn’t as evil as the rest but there is a more real-life evil to her. She totally got what was coming to her!

Who’s your favorite movie villain??

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day #2

Day 2. Least Favorite Film

I have to admit that it’s really hard for me to see a movie that I don’t like. I mean there are definitely some bad movies out there but I can usually tell if a movie is going to be bad, yet entertaining and then I can’t be disappointed when it turns out to be the case. Some of the worst movies are the best ones to watch when you need a good pick-me-up. I guess there have been a handful of movies that I didn’t like at all–even a few that I had to walk out of the theater for. Here are a few that I just don’t like.

• The Tree of Life (2011)–The story of a family in Waco Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents conflicting philosophies. Terrence Malick writes and directs while Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain star. Besides the fact that there are beyond stunning scenes to look at in the movie, the above log line for the movie is complete bullshit. There was no plot in this movie and it made no sense. There was a whole 30 minutes of footage that showed how the Earth was formed. This was totally not worth my time.

• Gigli (2003)–The violent story about how a criminal lesbian, a tough-guy hit-man with a heart of gold, and a retarded man came to be best friends through a hostage. This Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez flop doesn’t need anymore explanation. By far the worst movie ever made.

• The Bounty Hunter (2010)–A bounty hunter learns that his next target is his ex-wife, a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure. I usually like the cheesy Jennifer Aniston rom-coms but this one is just riddled with ridiculousness.

• Joe Dirt (2001)–David Spade stars as Joe Dirt, an idiot who works as an oil weller who is on the search for his parents who abandoned him when he was a baby at the grand canyon. Yes it is as stupid as it sounds.

• Sleeping Beauty (2011)–A haunting portrait of Lucy, a young university student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires. Although Emily Browning shows her talent as an actress, I don’t think I’ve ever been more disturbed in a movie. I guess I assumed it was a live action of the beloved Disney fairytale and boy was I wrong. The things that happen in this movie were so graphic and violent that it just made me feel so uncomfortable.

Are there any movies that you dislike??