Oscars 2013 Nominees and Winners

I really enjoyed this years Oscars I was a little unsure on how Seth Macfarlane would do, but I do think he didn't do too bad. I laughed a lot actualy. I thought the random Shatner bit was a little weird, and not funny, but I liked the general gist of the skit. I thought his other jokes throughout the night were pretty hilarious, and his musical numbers were great. I really liked that this year had a theme of appreciating the music. There were some really great performances, and surprise guests to remind us how much the music really matters. Here are my thoughts on the big winners last night;

Best Picture

Amour
Argo
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

I was so excited that Argo won! Such a great film. Honestly, I think my vote would have been for Django Unchained, definitely my favorite of the choices, but Argo definitely deserved it as well!

Actor In A Leading Role

-  Bradley Cooper
"Silver Linings Playbook"

- Daniel Day-Lewis
"Lincoln"
- Hugh Jackman
"Les Misérables"
- Joaquin Phoenix
"The Master"
- Denzel Washington
"Flight"

Definitely 100% deserved. I think everyone would have died of shock if Daniel hadn't have won. 

Actress In A Leading Role

- Jessica Chastain
 "Zero Dark Thirty"
- Jennifer Lawrence
 "Silver Linings Playbook"
- Emmanuelle Riva
 "Amour"
- Quvenzhané Wallis
 "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
- Naomi Watts
 "The Impossible"


I think this was the category that I was most unsure about. Although, not overly surprising, and Jennifer Lawrence definitely deserved it, I really wasn't sure if it would go to JLaw or Jessica Chastain. I'm happy it went to Jennifer though, I really like how she doesn't take herself too seriously. 

Actor In A Supporting Role

-Alan Arkin

"Argo"
- Robert De Niro

"Silver Linings Playbook"
- Philip Seymour Hoffman

"The Master"
-  Lee Jones

"Lincoln"
- Christoph Waltz

"Django Unchained"

So happy about this one. Lots of great performances this year, but Christoph was my fave. 

Actress In A Supporting Role:

- Amy Adams

"The Master"
- Sally Field

"Lincoln"
- Anne Hathaway

"Les Misérables"
- Helen Hunt

"The Sessions"
- Jacki Weaver

"Silver Linings Playbook"

A well-deserved win for Anne, despite some oddly bad reviews of her performance, she really made the film. Loved every minute of it.

Animated Feature Film

Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band Of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

I've only seen 2 of these, Brave and Wreck-It Ralph, but Brave really is such a sweet inspiring story for young girls. It was also gorgeous, so I think I did deserve the Oscar.

Directing 

- Michael Haneke

"Amour"
- Benh Zeitlin

"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
- Ang Lee

"Life Of Pi"
- Steven Spielberg

"Lincoln"
- David O. Russell

"Silver Linings Playbook"

I actually haven't seen Life of Pi yet, but its obviously getting big awards, so I guess I should get on that. Ang Lee is a great director, so bravo to him.

Documentary (Feature)

5 Broken Cameras

The Gatekeepers
How To Survive A Plague

The Invisible War
Searching For Sugar Man

I've only seen "How To Survive A Plague" and "The Invisible War", so I have no idea how good this film is. What I can say is that the two films that I just mentioned were absolutely amazing documentaries, focusing on very important issues that needed to be recognized so if this films beat it, it must be a seriously fantastic documentary. 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

- Chris Terrio

"Argo"
- Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin

"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
- David Magee

"Life Of Pi"
- Tony Kushner

"Lincoln"
- David O. Russell

"Silver Linings Playbook"

Writing isn't one of the awards that most people think about, and the writers aren't normally known names unless they are also directors. Chris Terrio did a great job on this screenplay and his speech is really nice as well.

Writing (Original Screenplay) 

- Michael Haneke

"Amour"
- Quentin Tarantino

"Django Unchained"
- John Gatins 

"Flight"
- Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola 

"Moonrise Kingdom"
- Mark Boal

"Zero Dark Thirty"

I think of all of the categories and winners last night, this one I was most excited about. I absolutely loved this film, and I'm so glad the genius of Quentin Tarantino was recognized. I adored this movie beyond words. Such great writing. 

Music (Original Song)

-"Before My Time" From "Chasing Ice"
(Music and Lyrics: J. Ralph)
-"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" From "Ted"
(Music: Walter Murphy; Lyrics: Seth Macfarlane)
-"Pi's Lullaby" From "Life Of Pi"
(Music: Mychael Danna; Lyrics: Bombay Jayashri)
-"Skyfall" From "Skyfall"
(Music and Lyrics: Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth)
-"Suddenly" From "Les Misérables"
(Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil)

I'm so happy for Adele, at this point she's won almost every award possible. She's so talented and this has been such a great year for her and she looks great after having her baby.

Kiwi Film Review: Top 10 Actors

Surprisingly this is the list that so far has taken me the longest to decide. All of these actors are top notch actors, including the ones in the honourable mentions list. All of these actors have either won Oscars themselves or have been in Oscar winning movies. I still feel bad about not being able to fit a couple of people in the Top 10 so please check out the honourable mentions as well.



10.) Daniel Day-Lewis
Oh Daniel, what a treasure he is. The first movie I saw him in was Gangs of New York and I fell in love with him, funny I know because he's a total bad-guy and it not attractive at all, but I just knew, he was amazing. Later I saw There Will Be Blood, In The Name Of The Father, and most recently, Lincoln. However, I think he is most famous for My Left Foot for which he won an Oscar. So far he's won the Golden Globe and BAFTA for his performance in Lincoln, and I'm pretty confident he'll be winning the Oscar as well. I'd watch any movie he was in, he is magnificent, and I think he's one of the greatest character actors of our time.

Check out my review for Lincoln HERE

9.) Leonardo DiCaprio
Surprisingly I like Leo before Titanic, he was in Growing Pains which just so happened to be one of my favorite TV shows growing up. However, the love came when Titanic was released. Funny enough, I was far too young to actually see it then, but because of the huge Leo frenzy I saw him everywhere. I remember once I heard that a bunch of the stars were coming into St. John's because they were heading out to see the location of where the Titanic actually sunk. I just so happened to be out here and begged my parents to bring me to the harbour to see the love of my life, and they did so, unfortunately I saw no one, and he wasn't even one of the cast members coming in. Very disappointing. Little did I know that I would grow to hugely respect his amazing talent. The Aviator, The Departed, Blood Diamond, Inception, Shutter Island, Catch Me If You Can, Body Of Lies, and most recently in Django Unchained. I'm also extremely excited about his next role in The Great Gatsby.
Check out my review for Django Unchained HERE

8.) Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon has had a pretty diverse career, I think the film he's probably best known for is Footloose, but the films I love him in were actually ones that I hadn't heard of until I found them in the $5 bin at Walmart. My favorites of his are Mystic River, Sleepers, A Few Good Men, Apollo 13, X-Men First Class. Stir of Echoes was also pretty good. He's in a new TV show called The Following that came out this month. Theres only been a few episodes but so far its very good. The thing I like about Kevin Bacon is that he can play both a hero and a villain amazingly well. I mean, he's one of the most horrifying people of all time in Sleepers, but in films like Footloose and Apollo 13 he's the great guy. Sleepers and Mystic River are such awesome movies, if you haven't seen them yet, please do so ASAP.

Check out my review for Mystic River HERE.




7.) Edward Norton
Edward Norton is an awesome actor. He has been in such masterpieces as Fight Club, American History X, Primal Fear,  Red Dragon, The Painted Vail, and The Illusionist. He also played Bruce Banner/Hulk in the last Hulk movie (not including The Avengers). Chances are he normally doesn't come to mind when thinking about your favorite actors, but seriously just look at that list and tell me he doesn't deserve the number 7 spot on this list? Between Fight Club, American History X and Primal Fear, I just listed some of my favorite films. All of them would definitely be in my top 25. If you haven't seen these, especially the first 3 or 4, do it now because you're very much missing out.

6.) Sean Penn
Where do I begin with this Oscar winning actor? His first big hit was Fast Times at Ridgemont High as the classic character, Spicoli. Looking at his list of works there was actually a pretty big gap between that film, and another film I've even heard of. I don't think its until Dead Man Walking that I see another film I've heard of, and I haven't even seen that one. I think the role that made him a household name was his role as Sam Dawson in I Am Sam, one of the saddest movies of all time. After that we have 21 Grams, Mystic River, The Interpreter, Milk, Fair Game, The Tree Of Life, and most recently Gangster Squad. He has won 2 Oscars for Actor in a Leading Role for Mystic River and Milk. He has also been nominated for I Am Sam, Sweet and Lowdown and Dead Man Walking.
Check out my review for Mystic River HERE.

5.) Gary Oldman
Like Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman is an amazing character actor. I think his most famous roles would be as Officer Jim Gordon in The Dark Knight Trilogy, or Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films. However, he has had many successful films including JFK, Dracula, Léon the Professional, The Fifth Element, Air Force One, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Lawless. Somehow even with that insane list of performances, he's only been nominate for one Oscar for his role as George Smiley in in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. 
Check out my review for The Dark Knight Rises HERE

4.) Christian Bale
Christian Bale is definitely best known for his role as Batman, but I don't know if most people are aware of just how fantastic of an actor he is. He is known for his intense method acting. He lost 63 pounds for his role in The Machinist, and went down to 121 pounds for The Fighter. His earliest hit was when he was a child in Empire of the Sun, then Newsies. A few years later he was in the well known period film Little Women. Since then he has been in such amazing films as American Psycho, The Machinist, Batman Begins, The Prestige, 3:10 To Yuma, I'm Not There, The Dark Knight, Terminator Salvation, Public Enemies, The Fighter (for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and The Dark Knight Rises. I really think that The Dark Knight trilogy has been mostly under-appreciated. Granted, I am biased because I love them so much, but I can't believe none of them have gotten a best picture nomination at the Oscars. 
Check out my Dark Knight Rises review HERE.



3.) Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe quickly became one of my favorite actors after seeing A Beautiful Mind, but he's been in other amazing films that helped me put him at number 3. L.A Confidential, Gladiator, Master and Commander, Cinderella Man, The Insider, 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Body of Lies, State of Play, The Next 3 Days, and most recently Les Misérables. He has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Insider and A Beautiful Mind, and won for Gladiator. I'm sure these will not be his final nominations, as I'm sure he has a few more amazing films to come. He's actually visited Newfoundland a number of times, so it is my life dream to see him in a coffee shop someday down town. I think I would die of joy if that happens.
Check out my Top 10 Films Of All Time list HERE

2.) Tom Hanks
I think Tom Hanks is one of those people who you just can't not like. He just seems like such a great guy, and he's even more talented then nice somehow. Its pretty amazing considering how many amazing films he has under his belt, most people would let the amount of success he's had go to their heads, but not good ole' Tom.  Some of his biggest hits include Big, Turner & Hootch,  Sleepless In Seattle, You've Got Mail, Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Toy Story, The Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, Catch Me If You Can, The Polar Express, The Da Vinci Code, and his most famous film Forrest Gump. He was also in Cloud Atlas last fall which made my Top 10 Films of 2012 list. He has won Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role two years in a row (1994 and 1995) for his roles in Forrest Gump and Philadelphia. As surprising as it is, he's made many more films then I have listed, thats just a condense list of his most well known films. This man has made some amazing, heartwarming, and life altering films. Do yourself a favor and look up his acceptance speeches for both of his Oscars, an unbelieveably amazing man who definitely deserves the #2 spot on this list.
Check out my Top 10 Films of 2012 list HERE
Check out my Cloud Atlas review HERE

1.) Kevin Spacey
I adore Kevin Spacey. He has such an unusual but impressive career. Spacey has been in such movies as The Usual Suspects, Se7en, A Time To Kill, L.A Confidential, American Beauty, K-PAX, Pay It Forward, The Shipping News, The Life of David Gale, Superman Returns, 21, Moon, Margin Call, Horrible Bosses, and currently he's in the original Netflix show House Of Cards which is currently a pretty big hit. He's won two Academy Awards, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Usual Suspects 1996, and Best Actor in a Leading Role for American Beauty in 2000. American Beauty reached #2 on my Top 10  Films Of All Time list, and if I'd had a top 20 I think another 2 or 3 of his would have inched their way on there as well. I really love this guy, when I found out that he had been in The Shipping News (filmed here in Newfoundland), I was so excited to know that he knew where it was. I will watch any film that he's in, and I can't wait to see what he has next, and the next season of House of Cards!
Check out my Top 10 Films Of All Time list HERE



Honourable Mentions: Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Colin Firth, Robin Williams, Sam Rockwell, Christoph Waltz, Johnny Depp, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins.

Kiwi Film Review: Lincoln

IMDB: 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%

Roger Ebert: 4/4 Stars

Star: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones.
Director: Stephen Spielberg
Writer: Tony Kushner

Release Date: 16 November 2012
Described by IMDB as: "In 1865, as the American Civil War winds inexorably toward conclusion, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln endeavors to achieve passage of the landmark constitutional amendment which will forever ban slavery from the United States. However, his task is a race against time, for peace may come at any time, and if it comes before the amendment is passed, the returning southern states will stop it before it can become law. Lincoln must, by almost any means possible, obtain enough votes from a recalcitrant Congress before peace arrives and it is too late. Yet the president is torn, as an early peace would save thousands of lives. As the nation confronts its conscience over the freedom of its entire population, Lincoln faces his own crisis of conscience -- end slavery or end the war."

I find it quite hard to review films like this. I like to refer to them as "Oscar films" even though the nominations obviously have not yet been released. These are films that without doubt, will definitely be nominated for oscars based on their actors, directors, and general themes. Since all of these categories are covered far and beyond with Daniel Day-Lewis, Steven Spielberg, and Abraham Lincoln, this film is not only an "Oscar film", but probably one of the top contenders for winning best picture. Unfortunately, the difficult part in reviewing these films is the fact that there are many parts that are, for lack of a better word, dull. 

Now, don't let this deter you from watching this film, as it was a fantastic film, and displays a very important part in history. I found it hard not to see clear parallels between the 1865 fight to abolish slavery, and the current day fight in America for equal rights for gay lesbian people. I will never understand how people could be so hateful that they feel people shouldn't have equal rights. I felt myself quite enraged through some parts of this film, when talking about how all men are not created equal. How dare someone presume that they have the authority to decide that.

I have to say almost the entire first half of the film was so, so dull. Now, I totally understand how important it was to set up the second half, but that doesn't make it any less, well, boring. But the second half definitely made up for it. Its not one of those films with crazy thrill and excitement, but when the 13th Amendment passed I have to say I just wanted to stand up and cheer as the people on the screen were doing. I definitely teared up a little bit when that happened, as I'm sure anyone with a heart would have. Its astonishing that slavery was abolished almost 150 years ago, and yet slavery still persists. I thought it was great timing to release this film, right after the election. I think its a great film to reignite patriotism among Americans in a time that they are incredibly divided.

I'm not even sure how to begin on how fantastic Daniel Day-Lewis was in this film, but lets be honest,  could we expect anything less? He has to be one of the greatest character actors of our generation, possible even of all time. Whenever I see his name in the titles I almost know for sure that I'm going to enjoy it. I couldn't believe how much he resembled Abraham Lincoln in this film. Unbelievable. Makeup should definitely get an Oscar nod for that one. The cast list in this film is pretty incredible. Mrs. Lincoln is played by Sally Field, their child Robert Lincoln is played by none other then Joseph Gordon Levitt. There were numerous other cameos by great actors as well, most of them only for a few moments really, I guess everyone wanted in a big film like this, even if it was just a small part. I really liked Tommy Lee Jones' storyline. I loved his pure enthusiasm and hope for the Amendment to pass, I won't give any spoilers, but his part at the end added a little extra to my heart.

I have to say that I didn't know anything about the timeline of these evenets, but I was pretty shocked by how quickly the whole thing happened. I mean, obviously the war went on much longer then what was in this film. I didn't realize that the amendment was passed on January 31st 1865, then the war was ended in the beginning of April and Lincoln was killed on April the 15th. I really didn't realize three of those things were so close together. 

Overall I really liked this film, unfortunately I'm going to have to take off a few points for the beginning, but I couldn't give it a low score because it really was an amazing piece of work. I went with a friend who said it could have ended earlier, but I think it was important to show both the ending of the Civil War, and Lincoln's death.

I'm going to give it an 8/10. Solid film, definitely expecting big things at the Oscars.