2012 Oscar Nominations

Once again, the Oscar nominations are back and a whole bunch of movies that no one has ever heard from got nominated such as Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Silver Linings Playbook.  Of course, now that they have been nominated, they are going to get some attention.  So, I checked Netflix to see if any of these movies were available and sure enough Beasts of the Southern Wild was available as well as some of the titles from the documentary categories and most of the animated films nominees.

View the list of 2012 Oscar nominees which include links to their trailers.


I will highlight in red my predictions and when the winners are announced, I will highlight them in green.  Once again, the only films to consider in the Best Picture category are those where the Best Director are also nominated. So, those films will be highlighted in purple.




And the nominees are....

Best Picture

I've seen most of these movies and I can see why they were all nominated.  Interestingly, none of these are blockbusters so to speak (which is the reason the Academy extended this category from five to ten nominees.  They wanted to give the blockbusters a chance to win an Oscar).  The ones in purple are the ones where the Director is also nominated.  Though Argo has won the Golden Globe, Director's Guild, Screen Actors Guild and seems to be the front runner, I believe, however, that Spielberg will win the Oscar for best director which means that Lincoln will win for best picture.  It would be a major upset if Argo won since its director, Ben Affleck, was snubbed by the Academy in the Directing category.

So, the winner is....Lincoln

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

Best Actor

Once again Ben Affleck gets snubbed in this category for Argo.  But, there is no doubt that Daniel Day-Lewis will win this Oscar.  His performance in Lincoln is outstanding and he's won both the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild awards for his role.

So, the winner is....Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln

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

Best Actress

This category is split.  Chastain won the Golden Globe and Lawrence won the Screen Actors Guild award.  Could 9 year old Wallis become the spoiler and become the youngest winner of the statuette?  She already made history by becoming the youngest nominee ever.  The heavy favorite is Lawrence but I will go with the underdog.

So, the winner is...Quvenzhane Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild

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

Best Supporting Actor

Incredible to believe but all of these actors have either been nominated or won an Oscar in the past. either in this category or in the best actor category.  Arkin has been nominated three times (but won in this category for Little Miss Sunshine in 2006); DeNiro has been nominated six times for the Oscar (once for best supporting actor for the Godfather Part II for which he won his very first Oscar and then for best actor for Raging Bull); Hoffman has been nominated three times for an Oscar (twice in this category for Charlie Wilson's War and Doubt and once for best actor for which he won the statuette for Capote); Jones has been nominated three times for an Oscar (twice in this category for JFK and his Oscar winning performance in The Fugitive and once in the best actor category for In the Valley of Elah in 2007); and Waltz whose most recent and only Oscar nomination and win was in 2009 for Inglorious Basterds.  So, it is basically anyone's guess who could possibly win this Oscar.  This is a tough one for sure.  Arkin, Jones, and Waltz all had very strong performances.  This category is also split.  Waltz won the Golden Globe while Jones won the Screen Actors Guild award.  Waltz deserves to win but Jones will get it.  It will be a good day for Lincoln.

So, the winner is...Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln.

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

Best Supporting Actress

Looks like the Supporting categories are the strongest this year.  All of these nominees have been Oscar nominated before either in this category or in the Best Actress category.  However, the heavy favorite here is Hathaway with both Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild wins.  This would be a major upset for her if someone else wins.  If someone else does, it will likely be Sally Field.

So, the winner is...Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables.

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

Best Animated Feature Film

The animated films this were okay.  ParaNorman was much better than Brave but Brave will get it due to its female heroine (btw, the movie is not about what the trailer led you to believe).  Brave won the Golden Globe so they are the strongest contender for the statuette.  Though ParaNorman deserves it, politics will give Brave the win.

So, the winner is...Brave.

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Wreck-It Ralph

Best Cinematography

This one is a toughie.  Any one of these nominees could win the award and deserve it.  But, I am leaning more towards Life of Pi.  The cinematography in this movie was excellent and fairytale like...very beautiful indeed.

So, the winner is...Life of Pi.

• Anna Karenina
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Best Costume Design

This category usually goes to the historical drama which means the first three movies are the heavy contenders.  Hmmm, however, the statuette might be between Les Miserables and Lincoln.

So, the winner is...Les Miserables

• Anna Karenina
• Les Miserables
• Lincoln
• Mirror Mirror
• Snow White and the Huntsman 

Best Director

All of these movies are very distinctive in some way especially Beasts of the Southern Wild and Life of Pi, but taking home the Oscar will be Lincoln.

So, the winner is...Steven Spielberg for Lincoln

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

Best Documentary Feature

Sugar Man got a Director's Guild Award in its category but it will be The Invisible War that will win it due to its topic on rape in the military.  Then again, the Palestinian entry 5 Broken Cameras (first nomination from this country) could just as well get it.

So, the winner is...The Invisible War.

• 5 Broken Cameras
• The Gatekeepers
• How to Survive a Plague
• The Invisible War
• Searching for Sugar Man

Best Documentary Short

Haven't seen any of these, so your guess is as good as mine.

• Inocente
• Kings Point
• Mondays at Racine
• Open Heart
• Redemption

Best Film Editing

This is also a toughie, but I will go with Argo.

So, the winner is...Argo.

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best Foreign Language Film

Since Amour was nominated in the Best Picture category and will not likely get that Oscar, they are the top contender for Best Foreign Language Film.

So, the winner is...Amour from Austria

• Amour -- Austria
• Kon-Tiki -- Norway
• No -- Chile
• A Royal Affair -- Denmark
• War Witch -- Canada  

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Hmmm, all of these have their makeup and hairstyling challenges but the most difficult one would be The Hobbit.  If this movie had a chance to win any of its three nominations, it would be this category though Les Miserables might win this one.

So, the winner is...The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

• Hitchcock
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Miserables

Best Music (Original Score)

Well, Life of Pi is the leading contender since they won the Golden Globe.  The score for all these movies are great.

So, the winner is...Life of Pi.

• Anna Karenina -- Dario Marianelli
• Argo -- Alexandre Desplat
• Life of Pi -- Mychael Danna
• Lincoln -- John Williams
• Skyfall -- Thomas Newman

Best Music (Original Song)

Though everybody would like to see Seth MacFarlane win this category for Ted,
Skyfall has been winning this category handily.  The song is good and a best seller.  Charted 20th in 2012. 

So, the winner is...Skyfall.

• "Before My Time" from Chasing Ice -- Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
• "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from Ted -- Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
• "Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi -- Music by Mycahel Danna ; Lyric by: Bombay Jayashri
• "Skyfall" from Skyfall -- Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
• "Suddenly" from Les Miserables -- Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Best Production Design

All good choices no doubt, but I think Life of Pi did it best.

So, the winner is...Life of Pi.

• Anna Karenina
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln 

Best Short Film (Animated)

Haven't seen any of these movies.  Didn't even know they existed.  So, no predictions here.

• Adam and Dog
• Fresh Guacamole
• Head Over Heels
• Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" 
• Paperman

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Haven't seen any of these movies.  Didn't even know they existed.  So, no predictions here.

• Asad
• Buzkashi Boys
• Curfew
• Death of a Shadow
• Henry

Best Sound Editing

It would have to be between Life of Pi and Skyfall.  Hmmm, tough one.

So, the winner is...Skyfall.

• Argo
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best Sound Mixing

Again, another tough category.

So, the winner is...Argo.

• Argo 
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Best Visual Effects

All of these movies are deserving of this nomination, but Life of Pi wouldn't be the movie that it is without its visual effects.

So, the winner is...Life of Pi.

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Marvel's The Avengers
• Prometheus
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

A definite challenge here.  Certainly the most creative are Beasts of the Southern Wild and Life of Pi.  However, Argo won the Writers Guild Award for this category.  Tough choice indeed.

So, the winner is...Beasts of the Southern Wild.

• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Life of Pi
• LIncoln
• Silver Linings Playbook

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Django Unchained won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay so they are the leading contender in this category.  However, the Writers Guild Awards gave it to Zero Dark Thirty.

So, the winner is...Zero Dark Thirty.

• Amour
• Django Unchained
• Flight
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Zero Dark Thirty