2013 Oscar Nominees

Well, the 2013 Oscar Nominees were announced yesterday! Time to start ramping up for the 'Beat Bob's Picks' contest; this year the contest will be held exclusively through my website! I am planning on awarding 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners this year! So, if you haven't seen any of the films, you still have time! I will announce the rules in a separate post; until then, here are the 2012 Oscar Nominees (along with some initial comments, I do reserve the right to finalize my picks before I launch the contest!):

Actor in a Leading Role:

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

I like the 2013 selections and was especially pleased to see Bradley Cooper nominated; his performance was fantastic and he has done of great job of staying away from the 'pretty boy' roles; but I don't think this is Bradley's year. Joaquin Phoenix was excellent as always, but his open contempt for the Academy is going to cost him the award and any future awards I am afraid. While Denzel Washington was his usual fantastic self in 'Flight', he has has much better performances. Hugh Jackman was fantastic in 'Les Miserables' and it played well to his song and dance strengths but I am afraid no one is a match for the complete performance put on by Daniel Day-Lewis as 'Lincoln'.

Actress in a Leading Role:

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

The 2013 selections for this category is a little tougher this year. Not only do you have the oldest Nominee in  the 85 year old Emmanuella Riva, but the youngest as well with the 9 year old Quvenzhané Wallis; while Riva has the potential to gather many sympathy votes (it's most likely her last Oscar opportunity), Wallis has many before her. Jessica Chastain is a very obvious favorite currently and Naomi Watts was inspired in 'The Impossible', but I still like Lawrence for her fantastic performance in 'Silver Linings Playbook'.

Actor in a Supporting Role:

  • Alan Arkin - 'Argo'
  • Robert DeNiro - 'Silver Linings Playbook'
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman - 'The Master'
  • Tommy Lee Jones - 'Lincoln'
  • Christoph Waltz - 'Django Unchained'

The Supporting Role category is always difficult; this year there were some notable snubs (at least I thought) including John Goodman as the drug dealing friend in 'Flight' as well as Leonardo Dicaprio and Samuel L Jackson for 'Django Unchained'. One could argue that everyone in 'Django Unchained' was a Supporting Role and therefore it was just to hard to single one person out; but with this crowded race of Academy Award winners, it is hard to think anyone BUT Tommy Lee Jones will walk away with the statue for his impressive work in 'Lincoln'.

Actress in a Supporting Role:

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

One big surprise in this category was Jacki Weaver for 'Silver Linings Playbook', I don't think many saw that coming so I don't think that bodes well for her. Sally Field and Amy Adams, while good, had smaller parts. While Anne Hathaway had a smaller part, her performance of 'I Dreamed A Dream' was beautifully haunting and emotional. It is a performance that sticks with you even after you have left the film. A possible upset to Hathaway getting the gold is the brave performance of Helen Hunt in 'The Sessions'. But, no one really saw 'The Sessions', at least when it was in theaters, and it was released very early in the season. 

Best Director:

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

The prevailing school of thought this year is another Oscar for Spielberg for he ambitious and lovingly directed 'Lincoln'. While not as good as other Spielberg films, it's stellar cast as well as Spielberg put their hearts into it. This is a category that should mirror the Best Picture category. My logic dictates that the Best Picture should also have the Best Director; sadly, the Academy does not work like that.

Best Picture:

 

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

 

While Ben Affleck was snubbed in the Best Director category, he did win Best Director and Best Picture at the Critics Choice Awards last night (1/10/2012) so that may be enough to placate the Academy Voters who will most likely go for 'Lincoln'. You may want to watch the Golden Globes as a good predictor of the Oscars!

Ok, that's my list, for now! I will include a couple of more categories when I announce the contest in a later post; have to leave something up to a surprise! 

 

Awards SeasonRobert SiegerOscarsComment