OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2013

So. Here we are. It's taken me a while to see everything as well as try to figure out what deserves what, but I've finally nailed it down... I think.
Honestly, the Oscars are really difficult to predict. Underdogs always take home the gold. Even if its a sure thing, it might not win. While there are some things that you can predict for sure (for example, Amour for Best Foreign Film simply because it got nominated for Best Picture overall) there's no telling what's what. Even trying to decide who I think deserves the awards in each category. I'm totally torn this year for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor. I want Argo, Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty to all win. Seriously! I wouldn't mind if any of those movies won, but I'm doing my best to select the movies that deserve it more than others... oh well.
I was planning on going into detail for all of the categories but I won't.
Just for those who don't read things like these too often, when I say that something WILL win, it means that the Oscar is most likely to go to that film/person. When I say that something SHOULD win, it reflects my personal opinions on who deserves it. I probably don't need to clarify this but just in case... anyhoo, lets get a going:

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BEST PICTURE
Amour
Argo - SHOULD WIN
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln - WILL WIN (TIE)
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty - WILL WIN (TIE)

Alright, let me explain for a second. As to who will take home the trophy, I think it could go either to Lincoln or Zero Dark Thirty. Really, its a 50/50 shot between the two. The Academy loves movies based on real shit, so either one is a winner. I've been running through it for a few days, and I have to say it really could be either one. That being said, I wouldn't mind if Django Unchained or Silver Linings Playbook took home the trophy. But as to which movie I think should win, I'd have to give it to Argo.

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln - WILL AND SHOULD WIN
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight


BEST ACTRESS
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook - SHOULD WIN
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty - WILL WIN
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Argo
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained - WILL WIN (TIE)
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master - SHOULD WIN
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln - WILL WIN (TIE)

So much like Best Picture, I'm torn between a couple of these for who will win. While I would be happy with Waltz, Jones, or Hoffman, I have to say it's a close race for Waltz and Jones.
A lot of people are pissed about Leonardo DiCaprio's snub. So am I, but I still think that Hoffman deserves to win this one.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables - WILL AND SHOULD WIN
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
Sally Field, Lincoln

BEST DIRECTOR
Michael Haneke, Amour
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln - WILL AND SHOULD WIN
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Ben Affleck is, in my mind, the biggest snub for this category. He should've been nominated and won. Kathryn Bigelow should've gotten nominated as well.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Amour
Django Unchained - SHOULD WIN
Flight
Moonrise Kingdom
Zero Dark Thirty - WILL WIN

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Life of Pi
Lincoln - WILL WIN
Silver Linings Playbook - SHOULD WIN


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie - WILL WIN
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph - SHOULD WIN

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Life of Pi - WILL WIN
Lincoln
Skyfall - SHOULD WIN

I don't really feel the need to cover any more awards considering these are the only ones that I care about... except if Adele doesn't win Best Song for Skyfall, then I will be sad.

The Oscars are to be hosted by Seth MacFarlane take place on Sunday, February 24th.

AMOUR / THE IMPOSSIBLE - Review Double Feature

Amour and The Impossible were the final two movies I needed to see before making my Oscar predictions and I REALLY want to talk about the Oscars, but first I'm going to throw out a couple of very short and brief reviews for these movies.

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Amour

2 hours, 7 minutes

Drama/Foreign (France), 2012

Written by Michael Haneke

Directed by Michael Haneke

Starring
Jean-Louis Trintignant
Emmanuelle Riva

"Things will go on, and then one day it will all be over."

Amour is a really good movie. Like, really good. It's a very honest and real love story about an elderly couple whose relationship is tested when Anne's (Emmanuelle Riva) health begins to decline. Georges
(Jean-Louis Trintignant) does his best to cope with the situation, doing everything that he possibly can to help his dying wife.
In retrospect, it's really a beautiful movie. It definitely has that artsy kind of feel: very little music, a tiny cast, artfully shot, etc etc. It's very well written with a very satisfying conclusion that definitely left me a bit stunned.
However, Amour is one of those movies where the pacing just kind of slows down randomly. It feels a bit slow here and there. But when it isn't slow, then it's very entertaining.
The performances are definitely the strongest aspects of the movie, definitely Oscar worthy.
But... for some reason, I felt a little bit empty about it. Not saying that I disliked it, or anything, but I don't feel like that I can give it as high of a score as it sounds like I'm about to give it. I don't think it's something that I would want to watch again, and I don't think it should totally win too many Oscars, but we'll get to that later.

7/10

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The Impossible

1 hour, 47 minutes

Drama, 2012

Written by Sergio G. Sánchez

Directed by J.A. Bayona

Starring
Ewan McGregor
Naomi Watts
Tom Holland

"Am I dead?"

I liked The Impossible, but there's one thing I want to get out of the way: this movie would've been completely different if the stars weren't a wealthy white family. Okay, I get it, the filmmakers want to relate to their audience, but I'd much rather see a movie about a poor not-white family that's actually from Tailand. Because they can't just "go home" at the end of the movie, it doesn't fucking work like that.
Whatever, I'm done ranting.
So this movie has gotten a lot of praise, and I can see why. It's a great movie. The tsunami is actually really terrifying, and you can really relate to the characters (that might just be because I'm white but whatever that's not the point) and the performances are really good. Naomi Watts got a lot of praise but she spends so much time in the hospital looking like a walker that I don't really get why she got nominated but when she isn't looking like a walker she's really good. Ewan McGregor is really good too, even though he spends most of the movie looking like that poor chap from District 9 who's about to turn into an alien.
But the stand out is the kid, Lucas, played by Tom Holland. I think this kid has more screen-time than anyone, but it's not about screen-time, I guess. I'd give this kid a nomination for Supporting Actor. Really, he was fantastic and definitely the best part of the movie.
The movie is really good up until the end, when SPOILER ALERT they fly away in a fucking jet while everyone else is sad and crying and dying in Tailand. Seriously. The rich white company comes to get them and flies them away. They all survive, but whatever. Again, refer to the first paragraph of this review.

8.5/10

Oscar 2012 Pre-Predictions

OSCAR NOMINATIONS AAAAAAAHHHHHHH
So this happens every fucking year and shit always gets hella snubbed. So shut up unless its about Looper. I fucking love that movie.
However I won't be able to make proper judgements yet, for I still a few movies to see.
So AFTER I see Amour, The Impossible, and The Sessions and a few others I'll post some predictions.

But here's what I can say about the Oscars for sure.

• Daniel Day-Lewis. 
• Daniel Day-Lewis
• Daniel Day-Lewis
• Stop complaining about The Dark Knight Rises. I would've expected it to get some technical stuff, but big budget movies never get nominated past that. It isn't really much of a surprise. 
• No nom for DiCaprio in Django? Really? At least it got Original Screenplay and Picture and a nom for Christoph Waltz
• FUCK YEAH ROGER DEAKINS!!!
• FUCK YEAH WRECK-IT RALPH!!! 
• Amour has already won Best Foreign Language film considering it has a pretty fair amount of nominations including Best Picture.
• My money is on Argo or Silver Linings Playbook for Adapted Screenplay.
• If Flight gets Original Screenplay over Django, Moonrise Kingdom, or Zero Dark Thirty, then I call shenanigans.
• Fuck the Academy for hella snubbing Looper, you wouldn't know an original movie if it came up and introduced itself to you and shook your hand. Then punched you in the face because that's what the Academy deserves.

Okay. So for now that's what I think. I'll post back when I've seen more of the nominated movies. 

-Josh

The Very Best of 2012

EDIT (1/26) - I re-arranged my choices for 15-6, basically moved Silver Linings Playbook up a few notches after giving it some more thought.

It was a big year for movies.
We had a shit load of sequels and adaptations with a few bad eggs here and there. Theater profits went up something like 5 percent, so that's good news. We got a new James Bond, the last Batman movie which followed up 2008's masterpiece The Dark Knight, and a masterful superhero epic from everybody's favorite Joss Whedon. Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson released a couple of hits causing fanboys to piss themselves with glee (seriously, film students fucking love Tarantino and Anderson a little too much, it's almost funny), and Daniel Day-Lewis was in another movie, which is always exciting.
We learned that a new Star Wars was in the works and George Lucas ISN'T writing or directing. We got trailers for the highly anticipated Man of Steel, Iron Man 3, and Star Trek Into Darkness. 
But onto happier times. Here are my Top 15 movies of 2012, the top 5 have a brief description  so read if you want.
So these are, in order, my favorite movies of 2012.


TOP 15 OF 2012

15. Safety Not Guaranteed
14. The Dark Knight Rises
13. Moonrise Kingdom
12. Life of Pi
11. Les Misérables
10. Wreck-It Ralph
9. Lincoln
8. The Avengers
7. Silver Linings Playbook
6. 21 Jump Street

5. Zero Dark Thirty
The dramatic tale of the manhunt for Osama bin Laden proves to be one of the most incredible tales in US history. Even more dramatic was the raid itself, which in my opinion was one of the most exciting moments in any movie of 2012. You know how it's going to end, but seeing it in action was just too incredible for words.

4. Argo
It's a fucking insane idea: make a fake movie to help a bunch of people escape from a hostile country. But it's true, and it worked. Argo has plenty of heart-pounding moments and a surprising amount of humor. Ben Affleck proves once again that he is probably a better director than he is an actor.

3. Django Unchained
I would say it's a typical Tarantino flick, but no Tarantino movie is typical. Plenty of style with an equal level of substance, Django is just as exciting and bloody as it's fantastic trailers make it out to be. Tarantino has outdone himself.

2. Skyfall
Taking on the challenge of directing a Bond film must be pretty tough, but Sam Mendes has created the best Bond movie in its 50 year history. For every innovation there is an homage, and with a tight script and beautiful cinematography, it's easily one of the most exciting Bond movies in years.

1. Looper
You must've known this was gonna happen. Looper was honestly the most exciting time I had at the movies this year. It could've been a typical cat-and-mouse sort of movie that the trailers made it out to be, but it turned into so, so much more. It's incredibly original, taking an overused concept and grounding it in what feels like a very realistic reality. Not to mention, the second act of the film takes you in a complete 180 and brings a good amount of emotion to the table. Frankly, I wish that I had made this movie, I love it that much.

Honorable Mentions:

Dredd

The Master

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Chronicle

Seven Psychopaths

ParaNorman

So yeah. Oscar nominations come out in just a few hours from now. I really hope that my top 3 picks get some lovin, I'd say action flicks are the least likely to get any from the Academy.

Here's to a great 2013!

-Josh

*EDIT - I re-arranged my choices for 15-6, basically moved Silver Linings Playbook up a few notches. 

CLOUD ATLAS - Review

Cloud Atlas


2 hours, 50 minutes

Drama/Science Fiction, 2012

Directed by The Wachowski's and Tom Tykwer

Starring
Tom Hanks
Jim Broadbent
Halle Berry
Hugo Weaving
Ben Whishaw
Jim Sturgess
Doona Bae
Susan Sarandon
Hugh Grant


"Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future."


Cloud Atlas is a bit of an enigma to me. On one hand, it has some pretty interesting concepts, but on the other, these concepts don't always reach their full potential. The film is told through several different overlapping segments. Some of the segments take place in Colonial Europe, others take place in the far off future on different planets.
I think this is where Cloud Atlas has most of it's problems. Only half of the stories are even somewhat interesting. Only a couple of them actually stand out among the rest. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for multiple storylines with different characters. I think Magnolia is the best movie ever. And I think it's really cool that the idea of reincarnation plays a major part in that aspect. But this is where it tries too hard. The movie makes itself to be a huge sweeping epic, but it really isn't. They get across the idea that everything is connected, then repeat it again and again and it just old. And while the nearly 3 hour runtime feels short due to the story jumping, none of the stories have any kind of interesting climax. I often felt underwhelmed by the realizations in the storytelling.
The writing is okay though. The dialogue in one of the future settings was really REALLY off mostly because they're trying to go too futuristic with it, but half the time I had no idea what the fuck they were saying. But that was the really cool story, so it kind of annoyed me.
Oddly enough, one of the more captivating stories was set in present day with Jim Broadbent as the focus character. It's a simple and often comedic story with a hilarious finale, and while it wasn't as ambitious as the others, it was just better.
One very distracting thing about the movie is how they handle... well, skin color. Sounds weird, right? I know. I was thrown off too. Especially when Halle Berry walked into the room as a white woman. And then a bunch of white dudes show up as asian dudes. And then the asian woman shows up in the end as a white woman.
What the fuck?! I mean, I get that it's important that the characters are reincarnated, but they don't look at all like white people or asian people or whatever. The asian chick definitely does not look white. She just looks asian with green eyes. And the white guys who are trying to be asian don't look asian at all, even though their makeup suggests they should. They honestly don't look asian. Makeup can only go so far. Unfortunately, it doesn't go far enough, and it just winds up being distracting. Even more distracting is Hugo Weaving, who as usual, plays bad guys, is at one point (basically) Nurse Ratched. Like, in makeup and costumes and shit. As a woman. Yeah. It's pretty awful. Trying to get your point across by putting the actors in weird costumes and makeup and trying to make them look not white or black or asian but something else just doesn't work as well as you think it does. It's just distracting. At least for me it was.
The strongest area of Cloud Atlas is it's performances. Jim Broadbent and Tom Hanks highlight a great cast. Regardless of what time period they're in, they always manage to steal the show. Nothing inherently wrong with the supporting cast either. Except Hugo Weaving in drag. Just fuckin' weird.
Cloud Atlas tries to be far too ambitious. It doesn't need all of the stories that it tries to tell. At least the good stories are good and interesting, but others are just forgettable. And regardless of which story it's trying to tell, the message often feels shoved down your throat.

6/10

Best of 2012 On the Way!

Alright, so over the last few days I've been trying to compile my best of 2012 list. I made up a bunch of categories that I kinda like, such as Most Useless Character, Best Beard, and Biggest Badass, stuff like that.  I'm still working on it, mostly trying to figure out who gets the Biggest "Holy Shit" Moment award. That's a tough one. Lots of holy shit moments this year.
Most of the awards are already given out, but I still have to write a little bit on each of them. I don't plan on putting them out there all at once, I'm going to do a... four(?) part installment so it's not too much at once.
So yeah, the top 15 has been sorted out for the most part, just have to see a couple more movies on my list, perhaps make an adjustment or so, and we'll be good to go.

--Josh

ZERO DARK THIRTY - Review

Zero Dark Thirty

2 hours, 37 minutes

Drama, 2012

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Starring
Jessica Chastain
Jason Clarke
Mark Strong
Jennifer Ehle
Kyle Chandler
James Gandolfini
Chris Pratt
Joel Edgarton


"You lie to me. I hurt you."

One thing intrigues me about Zero Dark Thirty: When it was first announced that bin Laden was killed and details of the raid were released, people talked quite a bit about it. And people ran through scenarios in their heads, imagining what it must've been like to be one of those Seals. But what I don't think everyone went through was what it took just to get to that point. It took a hell of a lot more than just a raid.
Zero Dark Thirty tells that story.
Before I spotted any advance reviews, the first thing I heard about Zero Dark Thirty was that it won a bunch of prestigious critics circle awards from various cities. I was already pretty interested, seeing as it's from the same team who did The Hurt Locker, but now I was intrigued.
After waiting for fucking weeks to see it, I'm very happy to say that Zero Dark Thirty is easily one of the best movies of 2012. Is it the best overall? I don't know quite yet. Lets dive in.
For those unaware, the film is about the manhunt for Osama bin Laden, but it should not be mistaken for some kind of documentary or soft drama. It's intense. Like, really fucking intense. The movie starts out with some good 'ol fashioned water-boarding and some other forms of torture for all of you to grimace at.
This is not a movie for the faint of heart, I'll say that right now.
While the first act is mostly torture, it quickly moves into what feels like a journalism thriller (think All the President's Men) with Maya (played perfectly by Jessica Chastain) moving as fast and as ruthlessly as humanly possible toward her target, and she doesn't let anything stop her. Even constant threats on her life.
The movie is simply very well put together. It's well written with fine performances by standouts and sure Oscar nominees Jessica Chastain and Jason Clarke. While many see the Seals in the trailer, their time onscreen is purely limited to the raid itself, which encompasses the entire last act of the film. And holy shit, it's easily the most intense part of the entire feature.
Overall, Zero Dark Thirty is one of the best movies of the year. It's very well put together, true storytelling at it's finest. I don't give a fuck about if the CIA says its bullshit, it's a fucking great movie. Looking back at great American dramas this year like Argo and Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty might just be the best.
Believe the hype.

9.4/10