Sunday, February 27, 2011

THE 2011 ACADEMY AWARDS


Well....I almost did it.  A scant 1+ hours away from this years Academy Awards, I managed to watch 9 of the 10 movies nominated for Best Picture this year.  The worst part is that I have 'Winter's Bone' on my bookshelf, ready to be watched - I just didn't get to it in time.  So close! 

As a whole, not surprisingly, I enjoyed this years crop of nominees.  So without further ado, here's my personal opinion and thoughts on who I think will come away victorious tonight, and who I think should win (if I had a vote).

BEST PICTURE:

Will win:  The Kings Speech
Should win: The Social Network

In order, here is how I would rank my enjoyment of this year's Best Picture nominees:

1. Inception
2. The Social Network
3. The Kings Speech
4. The Kids Are All Right
5. Toy Story 3
6. True Grit
7. The Fighter
8. 127 Hours
9. Black Swan
10. (Winter's Bone - abstain)

Even though I have '127 Hours' way down at #8, I still liked it and thought it was well done, I just liked the other movies better.  I loved 'Inception' - more than any other movie I saw this year, and I understand that it didn't appeal to everyone.  However, I thought 'The Social Network' was spectacular, and worthy of the Oscar.  We'll see, but it appears that 'The Kings Speech' is a juggernaut that cannot be stopped right now.

BEST ACTOR: 

Will win:  Colin Firth
Should win: Colin Firth

I did not see the Javier Bardem film 'Biutiful' yet, so can't comment on his candidacy.  As for the other candidates, Franco did the most with the least, Bridges was awesome as Rooster Cogburn, Eisenberg made us love and hate Mark Zuckerburg in spectacular fashion, and Firth jumped off the screen.  I think Firth gets the win and deserves it.  Eisenberg is a close 2nd in my book though...

BEST ACTRESS:

Will win: Natalie Portman
Should win:  Annette Bening

As the only 2 movies I saw in the category, 'Black Swan' and 'The Kids Are All Right' put the two favorites for this category up against each other.  Annette Bening gave one of the best performances I've ever seen in a movie.  I think she deserves to win, and has a definite shot.  One of the most unpredictable categories of the night.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Will win:  Christian Bale
Should win: Geoffrey Rush

Rush's long face and 'every man' attire, acting as a perfect foil to Firth's stoutness and proper dress are what make 'The Kings Speech' the movie that it is.  Bale completely lost himself into the role of Dickey Eklund in 'The Fighter', and as soon as I saw 'The Town', I thought Jeremy Renner deserved a nod in this category.  Bale is a shoo-in for this category that features a number of great performances, but I liked Rush even more.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Will win: Melissa Leo
Should win: Melissa Leo

I'm torn here.  I loved, LOVED Hailee Steinfeld in 'True Grit'.  Why she wasn't nominated for Best Actress as opposed to Supporting Actress is beyond me, but she was spectacular.  As 14 year old Mattie Ross, Steinfeld is the heart and soul of 'True Grit', and deserves every bit of recognition she can get.  Melissa Leo plays the character that you absolutely love to hate in 'The Fighter', and goes above the call of duty to perfectly nail the domineering mother of Micky Ward.  Leo deserves the win here. 

BEST DIRECTOR:

I'm not technically advanced enough to understand why one of these directors should get the win over another, but David Fincher's ability to jump seamlessly back and forth in time throughout 'The Social Network' was a revelation, and allowed the story to be told in the best way possible.

As a minor side note, 'Toy Story 3' is a lock to win Best Animated Feature, but 'How to Train Your Dragon' was a simply awesome movie, animated or not, that I was thrilled to see get nominated.  It won't win, but is worth your effort to see.

So there you have it, my thoughts on this years Academy Awards.  I hope you enjoy the show, as I'll be watching to the very last overwrought, musical accompanied, 6 minute acceptance speech. As always, thanks for reading.

- Mike

2 comments:

  1. As a postscript - I got to watch 'Winter's Bone' today. I would have ranked it 8th, just above '127 Hours'. Excellent film.

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  2. The best actress can't be Annette Bening.I don't like her.

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