I’d originally planned to get my year end review of 2012 books out there, but you all know it was going to go on hold with the announcement of:
The 2013 Oscar Nominees!
With nine nominations for Best Picture, y’all better tie your kicks and scurry them butts to the theater in time to catch these flicks before awards night! On your mark, get set, say “Cinema!”
Are you ready? Cause I’m gonna call it like I see it!
Best Picture Nominees:
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Amour kicks off the list, from Austria, and most likely to win Best Foreign Language Film, starring oldest Oscar nominee in history, Emmanuelle Riva (age 85), and Jean-Louis Trintignant as a retired couple whose love is tested when Anne (Riva) suffers an attack which will forever change their lifestyle.
- Argo – The surprising film that made it in, despite being released back in October of 2012, which in Oscar world may as well have been dog years earlier. Kudos to Alan Arkin for notching a second Oscar nom for the flick in the role of Best Supporting Actor. Arkin’s made a bit of a comeback for himself in indie comedies like Little Miss Sunshine and Sunshine Cleaning, alas as the film received no major notes for Best Actor (wasn’t shocked there, Ben Affleck, but still proud of ya!) or in Best Director, I’m afraid I’ll have to count this one out as a true contender for Best Picture.
- Beasts of the Southern Wild – Or what I’m calling, “This year’s slightly better contender than The Tree of Life“. Ah, remember that one?! It was nominated last year for Best Picture and it starred Brad Pitt. Millions of you flocked to the theaters and movie rentals and then came out going WTF??? I think Beasts of the Southern Wild is going to be this year’s art film entry, but one that is going to make a lot more sense. It’s a magical tale of a little girl named Hushpuppy (artsy film hint #1) who comes of age one summer amidst her father’s ailing health and some melting snow-caps that are causing flooding in her bayou home. There’s something about mythical beasts in there too… (artsy film hint #2) The film did wonders at the Sundance Film Festival and now, Quvenzhane’ Wallis (age 9) is the youngest person to be nominated for Best Actress. I gotta say, I think it’s sweet, but I don’t think the Academy…at least I HOPE the Academy would select another contender. Seems a lot to assume this 9 year old (8 at the time) performed better than any other actress out there! Especially ones who’ve trained and practiced their craft for years. Don’t wanna be an ageist, but I can see Naomi Watts throwing knives!!
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- Django Unchained – Well, bite my tongue! They decided to let Quentin Tarantino in again! I’m ecstatic! But I’m afraid this nomination is all the glory Tarantino is going to see. Without other nominations in the key categories, I think we can safely eliminate this film from winning Best Picture. Too many rumors fled the entertainment news for me to be surprised that neither Kerry Washington nor Jamie Foxx were nominated. It’s a bit of a snub, if you ask me, that Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t receive one, but wild card winner could award a Best Supporting Actor to Christoph Waltz, now a Hollywood favorite since Inglorious Bastards. With a new spin on the story of slavery, I’ll be eager to see how the action drama does!
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Les Miserables – For the last several years, any musical that gets nominated typically wins Best Picture. Remember all the hype Chicago got in 2002? Probably couldn’t pay most of you to watch the film now! But Les Miserables has all the facets: an all-star popular cast full of eye candy and talent plus a slew of pop culture trends and rising! Yes, yes, even Miss Susan Boyle, our very own Britain’s Got Talent queen has made the music from this movie popular! And well done Anne Hathaway, scoring a Best Supporting Actress role along with co-star Hugh Jackman, up for Best Actor! *wipes drool*
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Life of Pi – Nominated for Best Director, Ang Lee, the awesome one who gave us Sense and Sensibility, is back with another Best Picture Nominee. Life of Pi, masterfully illustrates the story of Pi, a shipwrecked and castaway boy who faces the perils of the sea with the odd, but only other survivor, a Bengal tiger. I don’t know about this one yet as I haven’t seen it. I think Ang Lee stands a chance, but without any acting nominations, could it take home Best Picture? We shall see.
- Lincoln – Of course! Of course Daniel Day-Lewis comes out of actor hiding to score another Oscar nomination for Best Actor! Rewind to There Will Be Blood, Gangs of New York, and My Left Foot! The man is unstoppable! And with Steven Spielberg in the running for Best Director, this could be a triple threat! Except…it doesn’t end there! Sally Field is up for Best Supporting Actress and Tommy Lee Jones for Best Supporting Actor (Those of you who read my review of Hope Springs may be shocked to know I’m actually rooting for him this time!)
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- Silver Linings Playbook – Fantastic news for fans of
The Hunger GamesWinter’s Bone, Jennifer Lawrence scores another Best Actress nomination opposite her co-star, Bradley Cooper, who has his own Best Actor nom. Kudos to Cooper for breaking away from such comic roles as The Hangover and The A-Team to take on more in depth characters with Limitless, The Words, and of course, this nomination for Best Picture. David O. Russell, up for Best Director, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver both up for Best Supporting Actor/Actress leads me to believe that Silver Linings is going to be the strong contender against Lincoln and Les Mis.
- Zero Dark Thirty – The cinematic retelling of the Navy S.E.A.L. team that took out Osama bin Laden. From The Hurt Locker director, Kathryn Bigelow, first female to win the Best Director Award, Zero Dark Thirty has been highly anticipated. However, will this film hold the same weight for the Academy as The Hurt Locker? Bigelow was not nominated for director this year, but Jessica Chastain is up for Best Actress! Careful, Quvenzhane’, Jessica’s got guns! You guuuuys, I’m talking about her acting chops! Didn’t you see her in that artsy film The Tree of Life?!
There you have it! The 2013 Academy Awards nominees for Best Picture. For a full list of nominees, check out ABC’s ballot of all categories!
Your reactions?! What flick is your pick for the winner? Any titles you think were robbed of a nomination? Inquiring minds HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING!!!
Oh, and want to know what I was slightly right about, but mostly wrong? The Hobbit! No nominations for Directing, Cinematography, Costume, or Original Song! It did however get noms in Visual Effects and Make-up, leaving me to fess up, I was “mostly” wrong, but slightly right.
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The only one I’ve seen is Les Miserables. I did, however, hate the book LIFE OF PI, so I can’t imagine wanting to see 2+ hours of that guy in a boat with a tiger. *yawn*
I am thrilled that Anne Hathaway was nominated for BSA. Well-deserved.
Of those listed, I think Argo, Silver Linings, and Lincoln are movies I should see.
It’s a shame Ang Lee didn’t ask you to write the screenplay. Might have gotten nominated for best adapted SHORT film. 😛
LOL. I don’t think they’d want that. My happy ending would have come about 10 minutes in with the tiger eating a very nice dinner of boring main character.
Re: Life of Pi. Saw it with hubby and enjoyed it. It wasn’t among my most thrilling cinematic moments, but it was enjoyable. At the end, I thought, “This is the same story as Don Juan de Marco,” but I enjoyed it more with Johnny Depp.
Here’s the sad part. That’s the only nominee I’ve seen. We obviously don’t spend to much time at the movie theater. I see them much later on dvd.
Well many of them release on Dvd not long after the Oscars so you’re totally good. We’ll see how Life of Pi does!
You aren’t going to believe this. Or maybe you will believe this, but I’m sure you’ll be thoroughly appalled. I have not seen even one of the movies that have been nominated for the Oscars. I know, it’s horrifying. I’m just not a moviegoer. Husband and I wait until everyone else in the whole world has seen all these films and told us how fabulous they are — and then we see them on AppleTV. We don’t dig the big screen experience. Or something. I seriously just saw E.T. for the first time a few years ago. How pathetic is that?
Actually I’m just jealous you have an AppleTV.
But yah the ET thing is pathetic Renee.
My prediction for Best Picture is “Lincoln.”
My personal pick for Best Picture is “Argo.”
Though I haven’t seen “Lincoln” yet so, in all fairness, I’m really just blabbering on without really knowing what I’m talking about.
I suspect “The Hobbit” will be honored in 2015, once the 3rd and final film comes out, much as “Return Of The King” garnered all the big honors in the LOTR trilogy.
You may be on to something with your Hobbit predictions Mark. I should’ve looked into that.
Hey Monsieur Foodie, any recommendations for appetizers for me to serve at the party?
Geoduck fritters, of course!
We are movie fanatics but still haven’t see SLP, Life of Pi or Zero Dark Thirty. We won’t get to them before the Golden Globes tomorrow night but I promise we’ll see them before your Oscar party. Was thrilled to see Ben get recognized so well by the Critics Awards since Oscar snubbed him!
Geoduck fritters …??? Will there be dipping sauce with that?
You’re a world traveler. Have you tried geoduck? Mark swears by it!
I hope I can see a bunch more of the films before the oscars. I’ll miss the Golden Globes due to inventory. Cheer loud for me!
I’m ashamed to say I haven’t seen any of these. That’s not really surprising, considering we never go to the theater, but still embarrassing. I’m rooting for Argo and Silver Linings though. One, I think Ben Affleck was robbed not being nominated for Best Director… especially considering he’s been KILLING IT at the other award shows. And two, I’ve heard such fantastic things about Cooper and Lawrence’s performances in SLP. I will definitely see both of these as soon as I can.
Yah both Affleck and Lawrence took home Golden Globes for their acting chops. And while I am really pumped for Bradley Cooper I think the Oscar will go to Daniel Day Lewis for Lincoln. If it doesn’t that would be a first for him. Can’t wait to find out!