Oscars 2012

Tonight is the 2012 Academy Awards. I always look forward to awards season, and the Oscars is definitely my favorite of all of the award shows. Here are the movies/ people that I would like to see win tonight in the big six categories.

Best Picture
Last year when the nominations were announced, I had seen 8 of the 10 movies nominated and had seen the last two before the award ceremony. This year I had not seen any of them. My goal was to see as many of them as I could before tonight and I saw 7 of the 9 films nominated. I still have not seen Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close or War Horse, but I really have no interest in seeing them anyway. Of the ones I have seen, there were some that I really liked, and some that I didn't really care for. My favorite films of the ones nominated for Best Picture were The Artist, Hugo, and Midnight in Paris.

I really loved all three of these films, and would be pleased if any of them won. Chances are, though, that it is going to be The Artist.

Best Director
Tough choice for me between Martin Scorsese and Michel Hazanavicius, but I'm going to have to go with Scorsese.

Best Actor
I'm still really pissed about Michael Fassbender not being nominated in this category. He was definitely better than Brad Pitt and Damien Bichir. Although they both gave solid performances, I really didn't think that they were anything special. I just think that the Academy voters liked the movies they were in and nominated them because of that. As for who I think should win of the people nominated, I'm going to have to go with Jean Dujardin. I love Gary Oldman, and think that it is a travesty that this is the only film he has been nominated for, but Dujardin's performance as a silent film actor really stuck with me.

Best Actress
Such a tough choice!!! Glenn Close, Michelle Williams, Viola Davis, and Rooney Mara all gave excellent performances this year. I have not seen The Iron Lady, but I think that it is safe to assume that Streep was great as well.  I am kind of bummed that Charlize Theron wasn't nominated. I thought she was great in Young Adult. Okay, so now I'm going to make a choice. I'm going to exclude Streep because I haven't seen that movie and I'm also going to exclude Glenn Close because although she was great, her performance didn't stand out as much to me as the other three. So that leaves Michelle Williams, Viola Davis, and Rooney Mara. If I absolutely had to choose, I would have to say that my favorite performance of all three was Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe.

Best Supporting Actor
I loved Christopher Plummer and I thought that he was great in Beginnings, but I would love it if Kenneth Branagh won for playing Sir Laurence Olivier. I love Laurence Oliver and have seen tons of his movies and read his autobiography. I think that Kenneth Branagh was perfect as one of my favorite classic movie stars.

Best Supporting Actress
I don't even have to think about this one. I literally just watched Albert Nobbs and thought that Janet McTeer was amazing as Mr. Pierce, a woman living as a man. I will be very surprised if she doesn't win.

Best Picture Nominee #7: Moneyball

I really don't care about baseball at all, so I'm already biased against this movie. I thought that it was well made, but I kept getting bored because I really just didn't care at all about what was happening. I didn't dislike the movie, but I could have easily lived my whole life without seeing it.

Best Picture Nominee #6: The Help

I have kind of mixed feelings about this movie. I mean, it was a pretty good movie. It had great performances by the whole cast and had quite a few moments that made me cry, but it is just another movie in the long line of white people helping black people movies. I know that the Oscars loves these movies, because that is the only reason that I can see for why Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for The Blind Side. Also, Skeeter didn't really end up helping Viola Davis's character. Even though her book got published and people could see how horrible these maids were being treated, everyones lives were the same, except for Davis's character who ended the movie without her job. Like I said before though, this film had great performances by Davis, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, and Jessica Chastain. I also have to give major kudos to Bryce Dallas Howard in this movie. It can't be easy to play a character as despicable as her. Everytime she opened her mouth you just want to slap her in the face.

Best Picture Nominee #5: The Tree of Life

I am not a fan of this movie. The cinematography in this movie is absolutely gorgeous. You could pick out a random frame of this movie and it would look great framed and hanging up on your wall. This movie is also incredibly boring. There is no plot at all, and to me movies like this are a waste of good actors because the actors aren't really acting, they are basically just being models. Also, I hate when the narration in movies is whispered, because it comes across as incredibly pretentious. After about twenty minutes I really didn't care what happened in this movie. You could watch this movie on mute and it would have the same effect because the visuals are the only thing it has going for it.

My Review: The Descendants/ Best Picture Nominee #4

What a horrible time to find out that your wife is cheating on you. Well, I suppose there is no good time, but the worst possible time would probably be when she is in a coma and you're about to let her go. I just couldn't help but feel horrible for George Clooney's character in this movie. First he's dealing with the fact that his wife is in a coma, then he finds out that she'll never wake up, then his daughter drops this huge bomb on him by telling him that his wife was having an affair. So this movie is about him and his daughter trying to find out who this guy is, while also breaking the horrible news of his wife's impending death to their friends and family. I couldn't help but laugh when we find out that she was cheating on him with Matthew Lillard. How could someone cheat on George Clooney with Matthew Lillard? Anyways, what I love about George Clooney is that he can both be funny and charming, but also do really dramatic roles. His performance in this movie was just heartbreaking for me. During the scene when his daughter first tells him I just felt aweful, and it was the same when he was confronting his comatose wife. The only thing that really bugged me about this movie was that Sid guy. I didn't understand what Alex saw in him at all. He was just this big idiot. I wanted to punch him in the face when he was laughing at the woman with Alzheimers, so I'm glad that the other guy did. I didn't like this movie as much as the other three Best Picture nominees that I have seen, but I think that is still really good and has a great performance by Clooney. My rating: 8/10

My Review: Hugo/ Best Picture Nominee #3

I'm totally bummed that I didn't get to see this in 3D. The closest theater that had it in 3D was way to far to go by bus, so I was stuck with 2D. But, even though it probably would have been a lot cooler in 3D, it was still an amazing film. I swear I was alternating between laughing and crying every five minutes while watching this movie. It is just further proof of the amazingness of Martin Scorcese. Not only does he do amazing with violent gangster movies, but he can do really amazing family films as well. I enjoyed every second of Hugo. Being a Film Studies major I loved it that much more because a major part of the plot had to do with George Melies (I've watched Trip to the Moon in several of my film classes) and the early days of cinema. It was just fantastic seeing the montage of all of the early silent films. This isn't the first time Scorcese has paid homage to early cinema either. At the end of Goodfellas he has a little nod to The Great Train Robbery when Joe Pesci shoots the gun straight at the camera. I thought that the little boy who played Hugo did a great job. You just can't help but cry when you see those big blue eyes of his get sad. Chloe Grace Moretz is great as usual as a girl who befriends him, and I loved Ben Kingsley as George Melies. I knew right away that the little robot used to belong to him because of his reaction to the notebook, but it was a delightful surprise when we found out he was George Melies. It was just heartbreaking seeing his films get burned to make shoe heels. It is disgusting how many old films have been lost forever. There was also a great performance by Sasha Baron Cohen as the Station Inspector. He was an interesting character because he was a villain who sent little boys to orphanages, and yet he was also a pretty sympathetic character. I just couldn't help but feel bad for him the first time he tries to talk to the girl with the flowers and his leg brace stiffens up on his way there so he just gives up. It was just sad (like I said I was basically crying this whole movie). This movie was had great performances, was just visually stunning, and was really fun to watch. My rating: 10/10

Best Picture Nominee #2: Midnight in Paris

I just got done watching this movie and I loved it!!! It is definitely on my list of my favorite Woody Allen films now along with Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. In my Sexuality and Culture class we watched this documentary about these "sin cities" and one part was about Paris in the 20s, so it was really cool to see all of these people portrayed in this movie. It really made me want to learn even more about this era in Paris. I remember thinking that Josephine Baker was really interesting so it was cool to see her for a tidbit. I also loved Allison Pill and Tom Hiddleston as the Fitzgeralds, and the guy who played Hemingway. Plus Adrien Brody was great as Salvador Dali. This was just a really funny and interesting movie about how we all look back at different eras and think that they are better than our own.

My Review: The Artist/ Best Picture Nominee #1

Making a silent film in 2012 is such an odd thing to do, but I'm really glad that they did it. I really enjoyed this movie! I thought it was funny and entertaining, but there were also times where it was sad and heartbreaking. There were a couple times where I got a little choked up. Jean Dujardin is great as George Valentin, a silent film star whose career comes to an end with the advent of sound. He just has a great face for silent film. It is really expressive and he has that great Gene Kelly-esque smile. The plot of this movie was even similar to Gene Kelly's Singin in the Rain. It is about the rise of talkie pictures and the fall of silent films, except in this film, the silent movie star doesn't want to adapt to the changes. He is stubborn and proud and lets his career fall away because he doesn't want to face the facts that people don't want to see silent films anymore. So while he is fading away, a new star is rising named Peppy Miller, who got her start with the help of Valentin. I thought that this movie would be more of a love story, but it is more about her helping him out than falling in love with him. The two of them don't even kiss in this movie. What I really loved about this movie was how they did have the little bits of sound. I loved the dream sequence when Valentin was having the nightmare after finding out about talkie pictures. He starts hearing everything make noise, but can't make himself speak. This movie also had a great ending. I don't know what it is about tap dancing, but whenever people tap dance in movies it just always makes me happy. My rating: 9/10

Academy Awards Best Picture Nominees 2012

Last year I was really on the ball with the Best Picture nominees because I saw all 10 of them. This year, it is completely different because I have not seen any of the nine Best Picture nominees! This is something that I plan to remedy. I added The Help, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, and Midnight in Paris to the top of my Netflix queue, and I am going to go see The Artist today. That just leaves me with The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Hugo, and War Horse, which are all playing at theaters nearby. Honestly, I really have no desire to see Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close or War Horse, so if I do see those, they will probably be the very last ones. I also really want to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy because I am really curious to see the movie that Gary Oldman was (FINALLY) nominated for. So...I have a little under a month to see nine movies. It shouldn't take me half that long.

Spotlight On: Helena Bonham Carter

This week's spotlight is on one of my favorite actresses, Miss Helena Bonham Carter. She is both extremely talented and beautiful, and I love the fact that she can play both an English Rose and an insane person. I haven't come close to seeing her entire filmography, but these are some of my favorite performances from what films of hers I have seen.

Room With A View

Helena's portrayal of Lucy Honeychurch in this film was one of her earliest film roles as well as her first starring role. She plays a young girl who is engaged to marry a rich man, even though she is in love with another. (Yet another Heathcliff/ Cathy/ Edgar love triangle.) I first saw this movie about a year ago and I almost didn't recognize Helena, she is so young in this film. This is the first of her many English Rose roles, and definitely one of her best.




Frankenstein

I love the story of Frankenstein, so I was really pleased to see that Helena portrayed Elizabeth in the 1994 film version. They do something really interesting in this adaption, and that is that instead of Victor making a bride for the monster, he reanimates Elizabeth after the monster kills her. Thats not at all how it happens in the novel, but I still thought that it was a neat choice. And I love how Helena still looks really pretty without hair and covered in stitches. You can find a clip from the film HERE

Fight Club

I love love love her in this movie! She just plays this totally crazy, disfuntional, messed up woman, and she is absolutely amazing! I honestly can't see anyone else playing Marla Singer. I mean when she walks on screen and says "this is cancer, right?" she just hooks you!



Planet of the Apes

I just love her in this movie because she is in full ape make-up, so for the longest time I had no idea that it was her. She plays the ape that sympathizes with the humans and tries to help them out. This is also the first movie she did with Tim Burton

Big Fish

No matter what accent she is speaking with, she always sounds so charming and refined. In this film she has a southern accent, which she pulls of beautifully. I love her so much in this movie because she plays both a young pretty girl and an old witch that shows you your future. It is just further proof of her versatility.



Conversations with Other Women

I randomly chose this movie to watch one day when I was scrolling through the different choices on Netflix movie viewer. At first I just thought that it was just a cute movie, but then I found myself watching it whenever I was bored. Now I own this movie. It is just filled with great dialogue spoken by both Helena and her costar Aaron Eckhart, who she has great chemistry with. I thought that the split screen thing would get annoying after a while, but I guess I got used to it.




Harry Potter

I've never been a big Harry Potter fan, but I love Helena as Bellatrix Lestrange. I have only read the first three books, so I have no idea if she is anything like the character in the book, but I just love it when Helena gets to be batshit crazy.




Sweeney Todd

Helena gets a chance to sing in this movie, where she plays Mrs. Lovett, the pie-maker who makes meat pies out of the people that Sweeney Todd kills. She doesn't have the best voice in the world, but she does do a decent job. She sings in my two favorite songs in the movie, and here is one of them. (The other one is Little Priest.)




Alice in Wonderland

Her performance of The Red Queen was a bit over-the-top, but I think that it suit the movie perfectly. It makes me smile everytime I watch the part where she yells, "IDIOT!"

The King's Speech

It came as no surprise to me when I read that Helena Bonham Carter recieved an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in this film. This is the kind of role that she is perfect at. I loved her in the scene when she goes to Geoffrey Rush's office for the first time.

Upcoming Projects: She is going to be in the last installment of the Harry Potter series which comes out sometime this year, and she is going to be in another Tim Burton film titled Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Eva Green.

Spotlight On: Colleen Atwood

Somewhat related to last weeks spotlight, this week's spotlight is on costume designer Colleen Atwood. She has worked on several movies with Tim Burton as well as many other films. She has been nominated for nine Oscars and has won two. I am hoping that she will win her third on Sunday because her costumes for Alice in Wonderland were so much better than the costumes in the other nominated film. I am about as far as it gets from a fashion expert, but here are some of my favorite costumes that she has designed.

Edward Scissorhands

Colleen does a great job in Edward Scissorhands making costumes for both the dark, gothic looking title character and the pastel-clad inhabitants of the little suburb. I just love the look of Edward's costume. There is just so much detail and I'm really curious about whether he can take it off or not. He wears it throughout the whole movie, even under his normal clothes, so I'm wondering if his costume is actually a part of him.

Ed Wood

In Ed Wood she had to create costumes for characters that were actual people, including director Ed Wood and Vampira.

Little Women

Period costumes are always really cool in movies, and these are two of my favorite costumes in Little Women. my favorite is probably the one that Winona is wearing. Its a pretty simple dress, but I like the black lines going up the front.

Mars Attacks

Mars Attacks is a movie thats not necessarily well-known for its costumes, but my favorite costume in the movie is the one for the Martian girl.

Sleepy Hollow

I love everything that Katrina Van Tassel wears in Sleepy Hollow! All the costumes that Colleen made for her are gorgeous!

Chicago

Chicago is the movie that Atwood got her first Oscar win for, and it was well-deserved. I adore the outfit that Catherine Zeta-Jones wears to court, and all of the sparkly costumes for the musical numbers are amazing!

Big Fish

Wow, all of the movies that she does with Tim Burton have the most amazing costumes! All of Alison Lohman's costumes look gorgeous on her, but my favorites are the costumes for the people from the circus.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

All the costumes in this movie are really cool, but Emily Browning's are my favorites.

Memoirs of a Geisha

This is the movie that got Colleen Atwood her second Oscar. There are tons and tons of absolutely gorgeous kimonos in this movie. Visually speaking, I don't think that this movie would have been nearly as beautiful without Atwood's amazing costumes.

Sweeney Todd

Lots of black and white stripes, with the ocassionaly pops of colors like blues and reds, these costumes are very Tim Burton-esque. I was actually really disappointed when she didn't win for Best Costume Design for this movie because I think that she did a fantastic job.

Nine

This movie wasn't my favorite, but I did like the costumes. My favorite has to be the costume that Kate Hudson wears for her musical number.

Alice in Wonderland

If Colleen Atwood doesn't win Best Costume Design on Sunday I will be pissed! Every single costume in this movie looked fantastic and fit the character perfectly!