This is something that I know my fellow film studies students, researchers and faculty get a lot from people they run into. "Oh! You do film studies? What are your favourite movies? What should I watch?"
This is an incredibly difficult task. You may not realize it, but it is.
"Oh, boy. What do I recommend them? Do I go for the Film Studies 101 canon? Do I name my personal favourites? Heck, what are my personal favourites? How many should I list? Will recommending a French film make me sound pretentious? Will a Japanese film make me sound like some fanboy? I should probably say something they've at least heard of... but then again, there are some pretty famous movies out there that I know some people haven't heard of. Remember that time I tried to rent Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? from the Blockbuster, and I got a blank stare in return from the counter guy? Or The Apartment? That's a bloody Oscar winner and he hadn't even heard of it. But this person here asking me this question... what do I say? I can't choose too many things that they've already seen. Or are they asking me this question just to gauge their taste in film? Do they want to hear movies they've already seen? Oh god oh god oh god."
Granted, I'm a anxiety-prone person, but it's nonetheless a loaded query. And so, in preparation for the next time someone asks me, I'm making a few different lists of recommendations. These lists are by no means thorough, but I think by making multiple lists people can decide which ones are targeted at them. And first up, I present...
Recommendations from a Film Snob for the Average Audience
Primarily English-language, mainstream, mostly contemporary, well-known but under-seen.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
"Les Misérables" Review
After writing this review, I've come across an article in the New Yorker that pretty much summarizes what I thought of Les Misérables. Oh, and do I have some scathing opinions. As one of my friends noted on Facebook as I posted my one-word response last night, there will be blood. (My response: "Ugh.")
Where do I begin? I'm really not sure. But how about with one of the most obvious elements of the mise-en-scène: the makeup and costuming. Oh boy.
Overdone makeup that piles on the sores, bruises, decaying teeth, dirt and mud -- to comical levels. Stephanie Zacherek suggests calling it "hobo chic", and I'm inclined to agree. The film has been art directed to death, with the only apparent direction being "More! More grime! More dirt!" The hyperbolic level of grime that covers every surface in an attempt at bludgeoning the audience with Misery is a dangerous romanticizing of what suffering is. The melodramatic form, of course, asks the audience to share in its characters' suffering as a cathartic roller-coaster of emotions -- one that I am often very glad to take a spin on. But here, the romanticization of misery strikes me as a particularly dangerous** style of kitsch, as it turns past, real-life suffering into spectacle. This becomes acceptable for some because this suffering is so far away from us: the film is a period piece in France with British accents and talk of Kings and lots of old-fashioned poverty. But the situation depicted is also oh-so-close, with the contemporary repetition of an increasingly wealthy and powerful elite towering over massive income gaps, while reinforcing their statuses through more and more drastic legal measures.
But such social commentary is beyond Les Misérables. Instead, such analysis is reduced to a simple "Be nice to those less fortunate, and Trust in God." The musical asks us to surge with some sort of pride or hope when we see good-doers do good-things, and empathy for those who are covered with lots of really really gross sores and dirty dirt.
"Strive for your dreams!", it seems to be saying in a kind of vague self-affirmation mantra. I, of course, find such proverbial affirmations to be misguided, ineffective and flatly irritating. Good intentions and a belief in a god are not enough to change the world, as Victor Hugo seemed to be slyly, faintly aware of as he sets his epic's climax the failed revolution of June 1832. Much like Baudelaire or Flaubert, I appreciate Hugo's attempts to highlight social problems, but find his crude sentimentality and aestheticizing to be misguided.
And thus enter Schönberg and company. The novel has proven a popular source for adaptations, but I have not seen or heard any of these other versions, and my familiarity with Hugo's material has been second-hand exposure to Les Miz through friends and a high school production of the score's "highlights" (a term I use loosely). I remember four songs: "Castle on a Cloud", "Master of the House", "Do You Hear the People Sing" and, of course, the power-ballad "I Dreamed a Dream".
I don't want to spend too much time analyzing the score, as there really isn't much to say about it. Let's all admit something: it's mostly forgettable. Kretzmer's English lyrics are an endless surge of rhyming couplets and recitative, bludgeoning the audience with easily digestible narrative cues and nary a clever phrase. How many of the songs end with a ringing final note, Jackman or Crowe or whomever belting out the piece's final lyric as if it's the most significant existential cry or a perfect encapsulation of the song's Theme? These criticisms have surrounded the musical for years, with most critics regarding the show as middle-brow popera.
As a film theorist, my problems with the movie are with its technique and its ideology. Much has been made in the popular press about Les Misérables' supposedly groundbreaking technique of live-set recording. It's a neat trick, I guess... that's been done before. (Notably, Bogdanovich's At Long Last Love from 1975 with Cybill Shepherd and Burt Reynolds, of all people.) And what are we supposed to take away from this stunt? A more raw emotional performance, as if the practice of dubbing isn't done in virtually every other film made since the 30s? Sorry, I don't buy it. I didn't get anything more out of Hathaway's performance if she had recorded her vocals afterwards. And maybe if they hadn't made such a fuss around this technique, they wouldn't have thought twice about re-recording Russell Crowe's vocals, which are often off-key, restrained and sound as if he's daydreaming. Big mistake.
Oh, but it's more "realistic" that Seyfried's sky-high notes are a bit strained, that Hathaway catches a few notes in her throat as she cries, or that Jackman occasionally falters? I see.
So what? Why are we so obsessed with pseudo-realism?
If the filmmakers were so keen on realism, why the shunning of deep focus? The rapid-style editing, which is as far away from DeSica as possible? The bombastic camera swoops through obviously-CGI Paris streets and ships? Hooper's auteurist stamps of canted and expressionist ultra-high angles? Realism and the musical form are often uncomfortable bedfellows, with the successful examples I can think of being those whose goals are near-Brechtian irony, or at the very least, some sort of edge. Pennies From Heaven or New York, New York blend gritty noir and some realist touches to create biting, jarring films that leave the audience deeply uncomfortable, and A Star is Born or West Side Story aim for touches of pathos amongst their beautiful, jazzy numbers. Les Misérables is utterly without edge, and any possible prickly bits are sanded down with bombast. Everything is ramped up to the highest level of superficial emotion, with only the Thénardiers (Helen Bonham-Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen) appearing as the requisite "comic relief". But the Thénardiers seem to have dropped in from a different movie (a French Sweeney Todd through kabuki) and just don't blend in with the attempts at realism and, in fact, are a jarring trumpet blast announcing realist failure. They also serve to remind us just how lacking in any humour the rest of the film is, which takes itself much too seriously.
And I'm not sure where to fit this, but one scene really struck me as gratuitous and... ugh. I speak of the romanticizing of shit. You know what I'm talking about it. The scene could have been filmed without this wonderful element, but instead we witness our characters swimming in it, emerging from the water with their faces caked in it, probably having swallowed some of it. I couldn't help but be reminded of Salo at this point. The petty bourgeoisies savour their meal of shit, just as we are supposed to watch this scene and gush "Oh, how horrid!"
I understand melodrama. I often crave the purging elements the form offers. But Les Misérables offers too much, and seems to be primarily designed --nay, constructed-- to be a big sob-fest. Instead of being sucked into its emotional sway, I found myself chortling. Rolling my eyes. Staring at audience members who were duped into becoming blubbering messes. And I'm the kind of person that will gleefully gasp, coo and "aww" at the most cliché-ridden Bollywood epic. Perhaps it's that Les Misérables tries too hard in its attempts to be "about something", its underlining of Hugo's Christian elements, and its hammer-blow emotional subtlety. Marius and his fellow young, idealistic men seem to me as sharing the same goals of the film: full of hopeful ideas, and relying on rousing people's superficial emotions to get them to join in the choir.
But who are these people, and why should I care? The eponymous "miserables" are archetypes drowning in period gear and slathered with mud. They don't strike me as real people. And as for the rest of the revolving-door cast, we have Éponine, played by Samantha Barks, as the insufferable child who somehow grows into a self-sacrificial lamb, for no apparent reason other than her capital-L love for freckled Eddie Redmayne's Marius. Some annoying blonde, blue-eyed boy whose name I don't think was even mentioned, foolishly playing with the big boys. Hathaway's Fantine, a hyperbolic martyr figure, is only in the first act. Valjean is just pathetic, Javert is too one-note in his conviction (WHY is he so obsessed with capturing Valjean, other than to be a representation of The Law?), and I've just stopped caring to continue or bother editing this more.
Oh, and Russell Crowe.
Where do I begin? I'm really not sure. But how about with one of the most obvious elements of the mise-en-scène: the makeup and costuming. Oh boy.
Overdone makeup that piles on the sores, bruises, decaying teeth, dirt and mud -- to comical levels. Stephanie Zacherek suggests calling it "hobo chic", and I'm inclined to agree. The film has been art directed to death, with the only apparent direction being "More! More grime! More dirt!" The hyperbolic level of grime that covers every surface in an attempt at bludgeoning the audience with Misery is a dangerous romanticizing of what suffering is. The melodramatic form, of course, asks the audience to share in its characters' suffering as a cathartic roller-coaster of emotions -- one that I am often very glad to take a spin on. But here, the romanticization of misery strikes me as a particularly dangerous** style of kitsch, as it turns past, real-life suffering into spectacle. This becomes acceptable for some because this suffering is so far away from us: the film is a period piece in France with British accents and talk of Kings and lots of old-fashioned poverty. But the situation depicted is also oh-so-close, with the contemporary repetition of an increasingly wealthy and powerful elite towering over massive income gaps, while reinforcing their statuses through more and more drastic legal measures.
But such social commentary is beyond Les Misérables. Instead, such analysis is reduced to a simple "Be nice to those less fortunate, and Trust in God." The musical asks us to surge with some sort of pride or hope when we see good-doers do good-things, and empathy for those who are covered with lots of really really gross sores and dirty dirt.
"Strive for your dreams!", it seems to be saying in a kind of vague self-affirmation mantra. I, of course, find such proverbial affirmations to be misguided, ineffective and flatly irritating. Good intentions and a belief in a god are not enough to change the world, as Victor Hugo seemed to be slyly, faintly aware of as he sets his epic's climax the failed revolution of June 1832. Much like Baudelaire or Flaubert, I appreciate Hugo's attempts to highlight social problems, but find his crude sentimentality and aestheticizing to be misguided.
And thus enter Schönberg and company. The novel has proven a popular source for adaptations, but I have not seen or heard any of these other versions, and my familiarity with Hugo's material has been second-hand exposure to Les Miz through friends and a high school production of the score's "highlights" (a term I use loosely). I remember four songs: "Castle on a Cloud", "Master of the House", "Do You Hear the People Sing" and, of course, the power-ballad "I Dreamed a Dream".
I don't want to spend too much time analyzing the score, as there really isn't much to say about it. Let's all admit something: it's mostly forgettable. Kretzmer's English lyrics are an endless surge of rhyming couplets and recitative, bludgeoning the audience with easily digestible narrative cues and nary a clever phrase. How many of the songs end with a ringing final note, Jackman or Crowe or whomever belting out the piece's final lyric as if it's the most significant existential cry or a perfect encapsulation of the song's Theme? These criticisms have surrounded the musical for years, with most critics regarding the show as middle-brow popera.
As a film theorist, my problems with the movie are with its technique and its ideology. Much has been made in the popular press about Les Misérables' supposedly groundbreaking technique of live-set recording. It's a neat trick, I guess... that's been done before. (Notably, Bogdanovich's At Long Last Love from 1975 with Cybill Shepherd and Burt Reynolds, of all people.) And what are we supposed to take away from this stunt? A more raw emotional performance, as if the practice of dubbing isn't done in virtually every other film made since the 30s? Sorry, I don't buy it. I didn't get anything more out of Hathaway's performance if she had recorded her vocals afterwards. And maybe if they hadn't made such a fuss around this technique, they wouldn't have thought twice about re-recording Russell Crowe's vocals, which are often off-key, restrained and sound as if he's daydreaming. Big mistake.
Oh, but it's more "realistic" that Seyfried's sky-high notes are a bit strained, that Hathaway catches a few notes in her throat as she cries, or that Jackman occasionally falters? I see.
So what? Why are we so obsessed with pseudo-realism?
If the filmmakers were so keen on realism, why the shunning of deep focus? The rapid-style editing, which is as far away from DeSica as possible? The bombastic camera swoops through obviously-CGI Paris streets and ships? Hooper's auteurist stamps of canted and expressionist ultra-high angles? Realism and the musical form are often uncomfortable bedfellows, with the successful examples I can think of being those whose goals are near-Brechtian irony, or at the very least, some sort of edge. Pennies From Heaven or New York, New York blend gritty noir and some realist touches to create biting, jarring films that leave the audience deeply uncomfortable, and A Star is Born or West Side Story aim for touches of pathos amongst their beautiful, jazzy numbers. Les Misérables is utterly without edge, and any possible prickly bits are sanded down with bombast. Everything is ramped up to the highest level of superficial emotion, with only the Thénardiers (Helen Bonham-Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen) appearing as the requisite "comic relief". But the Thénardiers seem to have dropped in from a different movie (a French Sweeney Todd through kabuki) and just don't blend in with the attempts at realism and, in fact, are a jarring trumpet blast announcing realist failure. They also serve to remind us just how lacking in any humour the rest of the film is, which takes itself much too seriously.
And I'm not sure where to fit this, but one scene really struck me as gratuitous and... ugh. I speak of the romanticizing of shit. You know what I'm talking about it. The scene could have been filmed without this wonderful element, but instead we witness our characters swimming in it, emerging from the water with their faces caked in it, probably having swallowed some of it. I couldn't help but be reminded of Salo at this point. The petty bourgeoisies savour their meal of shit, just as we are supposed to watch this scene and gush "Oh, how horrid!"
"The misery! How delightful!"
I understand melodrama. I often crave the purging elements the form offers. But Les Misérables offers too much, and seems to be primarily designed --nay, constructed-- to be a big sob-fest. Instead of being sucked into its emotional sway, I found myself chortling. Rolling my eyes. Staring at audience members who were duped into becoming blubbering messes. And I'm the kind of person that will gleefully gasp, coo and "aww" at the most cliché-ridden Bollywood epic. Perhaps it's that Les Misérables tries too hard in its attempts to be "about something", its underlining of Hugo's Christian elements, and its hammer-blow emotional subtlety. Marius and his fellow young, idealistic men seem to me as sharing the same goals of the film: full of hopeful ideas, and relying on rousing people's superficial emotions to get them to join in the choir.
But who are these people, and why should I care? The eponymous "miserables" are archetypes drowning in period gear and slathered with mud. They don't strike me as real people. And as for the rest of the revolving-door cast, we have Éponine, played by Samantha Barks, as the insufferable child who somehow grows into a self-sacrificial lamb, for no apparent reason other than her capital-L love for freckled Eddie Redmayne's Marius. Some annoying blonde, blue-eyed boy whose name I don't think was even mentioned, foolishly playing with the big boys. Hathaway's Fantine, a hyperbolic martyr figure, is only in the first act. Valjean is just pathetic, Javert is too one-note in his conviction (WHY is he so obsessed with capturing Valjean, other than to be a representation of The Law?), and I've just stopped caring to continue or bother editing this more.
Oh, and Russell Crowe.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Point Form Review: "Rust and Bone"
Rust and Bone (Jacques Audiard, 2012)
Most attention has been given to Marion Cotillard's magnificent performance, and for good reason: it's quite the feat of acting. But much has also been written about its meandering narrative, and usually in the negative -- which I must disagree with. Here are my quickly typed out notes immediately after the film, with some expansion.
-Chilly realism, beautifully shot: highlights include the movements of humans, water and whales in the bravura MarineLand sequence; sunlight dappling off of the reflective surface of water and through trees above; the multitude of shots of the body in action.
-Audiard is not so much interested in telling tightly scripted narratives as he is in a pseudo-realist mode of the quiet moments of everyday life interspersed with crunching violence; while it may seem stretched out for some audiences, those that are game will find beauty and depth. The film is unsentimentally understanding of its broken characters, and manages to find romance even as it avoids, and even shuns, romanticism.
-Audiard's cinema is a physical one, something we also experienced with the brutality of Un prophète. Here, we find a film preoccupied with physical exertion: blood, skin, sensation, sights and sounds, muscle and bones crunching, bloodied surfaces of snow, ice and glass, bubbling bloody spit, bloody water, broken skin from punches and thrown champagne glasses, a tooth falling to the ground. It is a film that attempts to capture the desire to feel, touch, dance and move: swimming, boxing, fucking. We simultaneously see the commodification of the body in contemporary France, as security cameras capture forbidden movements and actions of employees, whose menial jobs in chain stores are utterly without meaningful physical sensation or even exertion, or as with Stephanie's career as a marine animal trainer, the choreography of bodies (both animal and human) becomes a tacky spectacle set to Katy Perry. Ali, when he first meets Stephanie at the dance club the Annex, says that she dresses like a whore and doesn't quite understand her desire to simply go to the bar and dance. But Ali is generally indifferent to the gravity of his physicality: sex is the fleeting pleasure of one night stands, fighting a cheap way to spend excess energy and get quick money.
-I disliked the choices of music, but am unsure whether or not the selection of bland pop and boring, misty-eyed indie twee was a conscious decision or not.
-Matthias Schoenaerts' performance has been unfairly ignored, shadowed by the behemoth of Cotillard's international celebrity. His Ali is a complex mixture of goofy man-child sympathy and near-antagonistic imperfections, a bubbling concoction of masculine violence and attempts at fatherly responsibility. Audiard doesn't try to make his lead character likeable in any conventional sense, as Ali stumbles in his journey. Like most men, he makes mistakes, finds his temper flare and lets his immediate desires occasionally take over: but Cotillard's Stephanie isn't the magical saviour of grace and angelic perfection that most narratives would have her be, either. She struggles with depression and has her own flares of anger -- but nevertheless is a strong woman. Their chemistry is undeniable even as it's imperfect, and the scenes of Ali carrying Stephanie to and from the sea are some of the most beautiful and rousing images captured on camera in 2012.
Most attention has been given to Marion Cotillard's magnificent performance, and for good reason: it's quite the feat of acting. But much has also been written about its meandering narrative, and usually in the negative -- which I must disagree with. Here are my quickly typed out notes immediately after the film, with some expansion.
-Chilly realism, beautifully shot: highlights include the movements of humans, water and whales in the bravura MarineLand sequence; sunlight dappling off of the reflective surface of water and through trees above; the multitude of shots of the body in action.
-Audiard is not so much interested in telling tightly scripted narratives as he is in a pseudo-realist mode of the quiet moments of everyday life interspersed with crunching violence; while it may seem stretched out for some audiences, those that are game will find beauty and depth. The film is unsentimentally understanding of its broken characters, and manages to find romance even as it avoids, and even shuns, romanticism.
-Audiard's cinema is a physical one, something we also experienced with the brutality of Un prophète. Here, we find a film preoccupied with physical exertion: blood, skin, sensation, sights and sounds, muscle and bones crunching, bloodied surfaces of snow, ice and glass, bubbling bloody spit, bloody water, broken skin from punches and thrown champagne glasses, a tooth falling to the ground. It is a film that attempts to capture the desire to feel, touch, dance and move: swimming, boxing, fucking. We simultaneously see the commodification of the body in contemporary France, as security cameras capture forbidden movements and actions of employees, whose menial jobs in chain stores are utterly without meaningful physical sensation or even exertion, or as with Stephanie's career as a marine animal trainer, the choreography of bodies (both animal and human) becomes a tacky spectacle set to Katy Perry. Ali, when he first meets Stephanie at the dance club the Annex, says that she dresses like a whore and doesn't quite understand her desire to simply go to the bar and dance. But Ali is generally indifferent to the gravity of his physicality: sex is the fleeting pleasure of one night stands, fighting a cheap way to spend excess energy and get quick money.
-I disliked the choices of music, but am unsure whether or not the selection of bland pop and boring, misty-eyed indie twee was a conscious decision or not.
-Matthias Schoenaerts' performance has been unfairly ignored, shadowed by the behemoth of Cotillard's international celebrity. His Ali is a complex mixture of goofy man-child sympathy and near-antagonistic imperfections, a bubbling concoction of masculine violence and attempts at fatherly responsibility. Audiard doesn't try to make his lead character likeable in any conventional sense, as Ali stumbles in his journey. Like most men, he makes mistakes, finds his temper flare and lets his immediate desires occasionally take over: but Cotillard's Stephanie isn't the magical saviour of grace and angelic perfection that most narratives would have her be, either. She struggles with depression and has her own flares of anger -- but nevertheless is a strong woman. Their chemistry is undeniable even as it's imperfect, and the scenes of Ali carrying Stephanie to and from the sea are some of the most beautiful and rousing images captured on camera in 2012.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Omega 3 Fatty Acids& Other Supplements
OMEGA THREES!
Yes, we've all heard the vague hype about them. They're good for you. But good for what? Most people, I'd be willing to wager, have no idea. But for me, I'm interested in them for one very good reason: mental health. My doctors, counsellors and group members all praise them and are handing out materials. So I'll give them a shot.
How Much?
Between one and six grams a day of omega-3 fatty acid. But what kind?
There are three kinds of omega-3:
EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid): found in fish, seaweed, and interestingly, purslane (pigweed, hogweed); may be particularly helpful for depression and schizophrenia
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): synthesized by the body from EPA; seaweed and fish oil also a source
ALA (alpha-Linolenic acid): found in a variety of seed oils (canola, soy, walnut, flax, chia, hemp), purslane and lingonberries; not synthesized by the body, must be consumed; this is the one that is probably the most important for those using omega-3s for depression and bipolar.
So I am particularly interested in a supplement that has both EPA and ALA. But another important thing to think about is the ratio of Omega-3 and Omega-6, which is a common fatty acid. Apparently, omega-3 is the particularly 'good' fat, while omega-6 is 'not-so-good'. So, one needs to be somewhat conscious of the ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 one is consuming.
The simplest way of thinking of this is to increase your intake of omega-3, and decrease your intake of omega-6. Using this link on Wikipedia, we can arrange some common cooking oils according to their ratio of omega-6 to omega-3:
Canola 2:1
Soybean 7:1
Olive 3-13:1
Corn 46:1
Sunflower (no 3)
Peanut (no 3)
In comparsion, flaxseed oil has a ratio of 1:2. So I may be switching to canola oil as my 'bland cooking oil' of choice instead of sunflower or peanut, and I'll continue to use copious amounts of olive oil -- because, frankly, none of them are particularly high in omega-3, and I love me some olive oil. I'll just take a supplement for my omega-3 and not worry about using the right kind of vegetable oil. (As an aside, I've recently been using sunflower oil instead of peanut oil for my Chinese cooking, just to give it a try. It's not as good as the peanut!)
Sources of Omega-3
Fish oil
Mostly a source of EPA and DHA.
Flaxseed Oil
Also known as linseed oil. For those artists out there, yes, this is the same stuff used in oil painting! Artists will also know that this stuff also goes rancid fairly quickly, and only lasts a few weeks in the refrigerator. Flaxseed oil is source of ALA, which the body converts into EPA and DHA -- but according to the University of Maryland Medical Centre, the body is not very efficient converting ALA into EPA and DHA.
One tablespoon is the equivalent of around 7 grams of ALA; the recommended dose for adults is between one and two tablespoons.
Oily Fish (per 3oz, 85g serving)
Mostly a source of EPA and DHA.The best selections are herring, sardines, salmon, mackerel and halibut. Using this handy chart from Wikipedia, we find that in a 3 oz (85 g) serving of fish, the following amounts (in grams) are found:
Herring, sardines, 1.3-2
Salmon: 1.1-1.9
Mackerel: 1.1-1.7
Swordfish 0.97
Halibut 0.60–1.12
Flounder 0.48
Pollock 0.45
Blue eye cod 0.31[79]
Red snapper 0.29
Tuna, canned 0.23[79]
Grouper 0.23
Catfish 0.22–0.3
Snapper 0.22[79]
Tuna 0.21–1.1
Cod 0.15–0.24
Mahi mahi 0.13
Ground Flaxseed
Unlike the oil, contains lignans, a type of antioxidant phytoestrogen.
Chia Seeds
A source of ALA.
Hemp Seeds
3:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6.
Perilla Oil
High source of ALA, 5:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6.
Algae
Crypthecodinium cohnii, source of DHA
Brown algae (kelp), source of EPA
Other Mood Supplements
Vitamin D
The "sunshine vitamin", particularly important for bones and calcium regulation, is also thought to help with mood, particularly in areas of the world with winter. (The 'winter blues' is thought by some to be the result of a lack of sun exposure, and thus Vitamin D.) Fish and mushrooms are particularly high sources of Vitamin D in food. I'll be taking a supplement of between 1000 and 2000 IU and see what happens.
L-theanine
Found in green tea, this amino acid shows some promise for the treatment of anxiety, as well as some for increased focus and attention. Suggested doses vary, usually between 50-100 mg, but some as high as 200mg -- the higher end being for anxiety, the lower for focus. Interestingly, one of the apparent effects is an increased production of dopamine, the pleasure hormone.
Passionflower
Shows some experimental promise for the treatment of anxiety. Unproven for use with nervous stomach. (Also used in narcotic drug withdrawal, and adjustment disorder.) 90 mg/day is suggested, but there are also some potential ramifications with using passionflower along with anti-depressants or mood stabilizers. I'll be asking my doctor for her opinion.
So off I go to the pharmacy and a few health stores to pick up some omega-3 supplements, Vitamin D, L-theanine and some ground flax and chia seeds. Woo-hoo!
Yes, we've all heard the vague hype about them. They're good for you. But good for what? Most people, I'd be willing to wager, have no idea. But for me, I'm interested in them for one very good reason: mental health. My doctors, counsellors and group members all praise them and are handing out materials. So I'll give them a shot.
How Much?
Between one and six grams a day of omega-3 fatty acid. But what kind?
There are three kinds of omega-3:
EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid): found in fish, seaweed, and interestingly, purslane (pigweed, hogweed); may be particularly helpful for depression and schizophrenia
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): synthesized by the body from EPA; seaweed and fish oil also a source
ALA (alpha-Linolenic acid): found in a variety of seed oils (canola, soy, walnut, flax, chia, hemp), purslane and lingonberries; not synthesized by the body, must be consumed; this is the one that is probably the most important for those using omega-3s for depression and bipolar.
So I am particularly interested in a supplement that has both EPA and ALA. But another important thing to think about is the ratio of Omega-3 and Omega-6, which is a common fatty acid. Apparently, omega-3 is the particularly 'good' fat, while omega-6 is 'not-so-good'. So, one needs to be somewhat conscious of the ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 one is consuming.
The simplest way of thinking of this is to increase your intake of omega-3, and decrease your intake of omega-6. Using this link on Wikipedia, we can arrange some common cooking oils according to their ratio of omega-6 to omega-3:
Canola 2:1
Soybean 7:1
Olive 3-13:1
Corn 46:1
Sunflower (no 3)
Peanut (no 3)
In comparsion, flaxseed oil has a ratio of 1:2. So I may be switching to canola oil as my 'bland cooking oil' of choice instead of sunflower or peanut, and I'll continue to use copious amounts of olive oil -- because, frankly, none of them are particularly high in omega-3, and I love me some olive oil. I'll just take a supplement for my omega-3 and not worry about using the right kind of vegetable oil. (As an aside, I've recently been using sunflower oil instead of peanut oil for my Chinese cooking, just to give it a try. It's not as good as the peanut!)
Sources of Omega-3
Fish oil
Mostly a source of EPA and DHA.
Flaxseed Oil
Also known as linseed oil. For those artists out there, yes, this is the same stuff used in oil painting! Artists will also know that this stuff also goes rancid fairly quickly, and only lasts a few weeks in the refrigerator. Flaxseed oil is source of ALA, which the body converts into EPA and DHA -- but according to the University of Maryland Medical Centre, the body is not very efficient converting ALA into EPA and DHA.
One tablespoon is the equivalent of around 7 grams of ALA; the recommended dose for adults is between one and two tablespoons.
Oily Fish (per 3oz, 85g serving)
Mostly a source of EPA and DHA.The best selections are herring, sardines, salmon, mackerel and halibut. Using this handy chart from Wikipedia, we find that in a 3 oz (85 g) serving of fish, the following amounts (in grams) are found:
Herring, sardines, 1.3-2
Salmon: 1.1-1.9
Mackerel: 1.1-1.7
Swordfish 0.97
Halibut 0.60–1.12
Flounder 0.48
Pollock 0.45
Blue eye cod 0.31[79]
Red snapper 0.29
Tuna, canned 0.23[79]
Grouper 0.23
Catfish 0.22–0.3
Snapper 0.22[79]
Tuna 0.21–1.1
Cod 0.15–0.24
Mahi mahi 0.13
Ground Flaxseed
Unlike the oil, contains lignans, a type of antioxidant phytoestrogen.
Chia Seeds
A source of ALA.
Hemp Seeds
3:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6.
Perilla Oil
High source of ALA, 5:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6.
Algae
Crypthecodinium cohnii, source of DHA
Brown algae (kelp), source of EPA
Other Mood Supplements
Vitamin D
The "sunshine vitamin", particularly important for bones and calcium regulation, is also thought to help with mood, particularly in areas of the world with winter. (The 'winter blues' is thought by some to be the result of a lack of sun exposure, and thus Vitamin D.) Fish and mushrooms are particularly high sources of Vitamin D in food. I'll be taking a supplement of between 1000 and 2000 IU and see what happens.
L-theanine
Found in green tea, this amino acid shows some promise for the treatment of anxiety, as well as some for increased focus and attention. Suggested doses vary, usually between 50-100 mg, but some as high as 200mg -- the higher end being for anxiety, the lower for focus. Interestingly, one of the apparent effects is an increased production of dopamine, the pleasure hormone.
Passionflower
Shows some experimental promise for the treatment of anxiety. Unproven for use with nervous stomach. (Also used in narcotic drug withdrawal, and adjustment disorder.) 90 mg/day is suggested, but there are also some potential ramifications with using passionflower along with anti-depressants or mood stabilizers. I'll be asking my doctor for her opinion.
So off I go to the pharmacy and a few health stores to pick up some omega-3 supplements, Vitamin D, L-theanine and some ground flax and chia seeds. Woo-hoo!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Cathedra
Cathedra, Barnett Newman, 1951
This was his second act of vandalism against a Newman: in 1986, he slashed with a blade Newman’s first Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue? canvas, bizarrely ranting against Jews, the Japanese, flatness in art, both abstraction and realism, and apparent plans for “a new Holocaust”. The restored Cathedra was put on display in 2002 — this time, behind plexiglass.
You can read about this case over at Art Crimes.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
"Here is What Happens When You Cast Lindsay Lohan in Your Movie"
The dynamic between Scrader, Lohan, Pope, Ellis and Deen is fascinating.
We have Scrader, the talented screenwriter-turned mediocre director.
Lohan, the actress who lives in a world of no common sense.
Pope, trying to keep things together.
Ellis, a wretched, disgusting stain of a human being that is also immensely talented in his nihilistic vision.
Deen, the guy next door that has no business being in the Biz.
Lots of bad decisions, questionable aesthetic choices, the gritty details of a microbudget that wants to look expensive. The collision of what Hollywood thinks is gritty, the po-faced blandness of contemporary noir, the sun-bleached plasticity of Los Angeles, and lots of broken careers trying to make themselves 'relevant' again -- and how poor their ideas of relevance are.
The dynamic between Scrader, Lohan, Pope, Ellis and Deen is fascinating.
We have Scrader, the talented screenwriter-turned mediocre director.
Lohan, the actress who lives in a world of no common sense.
Pope, trying to keep things together.
Ellis, a wretched, disgusting stain of a human being that is also immensely talented in his nihilistic vision.
Deen, the guy next door that has no business being in the Biz.
Lots of bad decisions, questionable aesthetic choices, the gritty details of a microbudget that wants to look expensive. The collision of what Hollywood thinks is gritty, the po-faced blandness of contemporary noir, the sun-bleached plasticity of Los Angeles, and lots of broken careers trying to make themselves 'relevant' again -- and how poor their ideas of relevance are.
Friday, January 11, 2013
"Der Mussolini"
"Der Mussolini" by D.A.F. (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft)
I quite like this song. It’s grim, straightforward dance-pop with a simple synth bassline that doubles as the main melody. “Dance the Mussolini” is just a phrase that rolls off the tongue - if you didn’t know it, you’d think it was just another silly dance name à la “The Macarena”. It’s sarcastic aloofness that’s very nearly gone too far, and purposely so. How many young Germans at the time still thought that Hitler was primarily responsible for the Autobahn? And now thirty years later, how many contemporary Westerners don’t quite know who that Mussolini guy was? Doesn't "den Kommunismus" sound like an awesome version of the Charleston? And how comfortable are you simply doing what the voice over the speakers is telling you to do?
Geht in die knie (Get up)
Und klatscht in die hände (Clap your hands)
Beweg deine hüften (Move your hips)
Und tanz den Mussolini (And dance the Mussolini)
Tanz den Mussolini (Dance the Mussolini)
Dreh dich nacho rechts (Turn to the right)
Und klatsch in die hände (And clap your hands)
Und mach den Adolf Hitler (And carry the Adolf Hitler)
Und jetzt den Mussolini (And now the Mussolini)
Beweg deinen hintern (Move your ass)
Klatscht in die hände (Clap your hands)
Tanz den Jesus Christus (Dance the Jesus Christ)
Geh in die knie (Get up)
Und dreh dich nach rechts (Spin to the right)
Und dreh dich nach links (Spin to the left)
Klatsch in die hände (Clap your hands)
Und tanzt den Adolf Hitler (And dance the Adolf Hitler)
Und tanzt den Mussolini (And dance the Mussolini)
Und jetzt den Jesus Christus (And now the Jesus Christ)
Klatscht in die hände (Clap your hands)
Und tanz den Kommunismus (And dance the Communism)
Und jetzt den Mussolini (And now the Mussolini)
Und jetzt nach rechts (And now to the right)
Und jetzt nach links (And now to the left)
Melancholy Loops: "Phoenix"
You know how it works.
You start off with a simple sonic phrase, and you loop it maybe two or four times. A four-on-the-floor kick comes in, and your head starts to bounce. A minute later, you have a flurry of drum programming going on, as the snares and claps smack on the second and fourth beats and a hi-hat or two hit on the off-beats. Add in a few other synth loops -- a deep bass, maybe a few string chords -- and voilà! The recipe of layering is underway.
It all seems so simple, and we've all heard the flippant criticism "it's so repetitive". For fans of techno, it's one we've heard a million time before. So why do we like it so much? I'm sure there are many reasons people will give, but for me, it's the same reason why I listen to modernist classical, minimalism and its descendants, and some varieties of ambient: the immersing quality of looping. As we hear the same phrase over and over, we begin to become hyper-aware of any variations. When a new layer emerges, the elements that we've been listening to before become contextually transformed. And with the steady algorithm of layering common to so much modern electronic dance music, we begin to anticipate when these new layers will emerge.
So it all becomes a remarkably active form of listening. Certainly, many audiences don't quite take it to the level of immersion that I do, perhaps instead using the patterns as a way to simply groove along at a happy, steady rhythm without much thought. But this minimalist impulse behind electronica is something I find quite fascinating, and I'm particularly keen on artists and tracks that readily use the conventions to create melancholy aural environments that are built on a kind of suspense.
This series of postings, which I'm calling Melancholy Loops, will be a review of some of my favourite electronic recordings that draw game listeners into an insular, solitary and aurally-aware frame of mind. But to begin, perhaps a not particularly melancholy track, but one that I think expertly illustrates how an active listener can pick apart and anticipate layering, resulting in a remarkably satisfying experience from so few elements.
Daft Punk - Phoenix
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Oscar Nomination Reaction: Snub-O-Rama
WOW. What else can I say that others haven't been? Major snubs all around, and a jolly good morning.
82/107
BEST PICTURE
1. Argo
2. Lincoln
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. Les Misérables
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. Life of Pi
7. Django Unchained
8. Amour
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
9/9
DIRECTOR
The most bizarre lineup since... well, any ideas? DGA only matched up 2/5 this year, and there were audible gasps from the press when they realized who was missing: Affleck, Bigelow and Hooper.
3. Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (DGA, Globes, CC, Chicago)
4. Ang Lee, Life of Pi (DGA, Globes, BAFTA, CC)
6. Michael Haneke, Amour (BAFTA, NFSC Winner)
8. David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (CC)
11. Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Chicago)
2/5
ACTRESS
1. Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (LAFC, SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty (NBR, SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Emmanuelle Riva, Amour (LAFC, BAFTA, CC, NFSC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
5. Naomi Watts, The Impossible (SAG, Globes, CC, Chicago)
7. Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild (CC, Chicago)
4/5
ACTOR
The Hawkes miss is a bit surprising, but I must admit that I felt it in my gut coming. I was also expecting Hunt to miss, too, but she made it in.
1. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (NYFCC, Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC, NFSC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
2. Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables (Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC)
3. Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook (NBR, Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC) +1
5. Joaquin Phoenix, The Master (LAFC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
6. Denzel Washington, Flight (Globes, SAG, CC, Chicago)
4/5
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jacki Weaver is the surprise here, and makes Silver Linings Playbook the first movie since Reds to be nominated in all four acting categories. A sign of general support for the film?
1. Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Sally Field, Lincoln (SAG, NYFCC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Helen Hunt, The Sessions (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
5. Amy Adams, The Master (LAFC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago)
11. Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
4/5
SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master (SAG, Globes, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (SAG, Globes, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Alan Arkin, Argo (SAG, Globes, CC)
5. Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook (SAG, CC)
6. Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained (Globes, Boston)
4/5
WRITING, ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
They really didn't like The Master, eh?
1. Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty (Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
3. Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom (WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
5. Michael Haneke, Amour (BAFTA)
7. John Gatins, Flight (WGA, CC)
4/5
WRITING, ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Tony Kushner, Lincoln (NYFCC, Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
2. David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Chris Terrio, Argo (LAFC, Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. David Magee, Life of Pi (WGA, BAFTA, CC)
6. Benh Zeitlin & Lucy Alibar, Beasts of the Southern Wild (BAFTA)
4/5
CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Roger Deakins, Skyfall (ASC, BAFTA, LAFC, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Cloudio Miranda, Life of Pi (ASC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln (ASC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
5. Seamus McGarvey, Anna Karenina (ASC, BAFTA)
8. Robert Richardson, Django Unchained
4/5
FILM EDITING
1. William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty (LAFC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
2. William Goldenberg, Argo (BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Tim Squyers, Life of Pi (BAFTA, CC)
5. Michael Kahn, Lincoln (CC)
7. Jay Cassidy, Silver Linings Playbook
4/5
PRODUCTION DESIGN
1. Anna Karenina (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
2. Lincoln (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
3. Les Misérables (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. Life of Pi (AGA Fantasy, BAFTA, CC)
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (AGA Fantasy, CC)
4/5
COSTUME DESIGN
Guess I shouldn't have underestimated Atwood.
1. Anna Karenina (BAFTA, CC)
2. Les Misérables (BAFTA, CC)
3. Lincoln (BAFTA, CC)
10. Snow White and the Huntsman (BAFTA)
11. Mirror Mirror
3/5
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (CC, BAFTA)
3. Les Misérables (CC, BAFTA)
5. Hitchcock (BAFTA)
2/3
ORIGINAL SCORE
1. Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina (Globes, BAFTA)
2. Mychael Danna, Life of Pi (Globes, BAFTA, CC)
3. John Williams, Lincoln (Globes, BAFTA, CC)
4. Thomas Newman, Skyfall (BAFTA)
5. Alexandre Desplat, Argo (Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
5/5
I got perfect here? Wow! Sweet!
ORIGINAL SONG
1. "Skyfall" from Skyfall
2. "Suddenly" from Les Misérables
From Life of Pi: "Pi's Lullaby"
3/5
Not quite sure how to do my math here, as I only numbered two of them -- but honestly? If I did, Life of Pi's lullaby would have been by number 3. Honestly. Really! So I'm giving myself 3/5. Ha!
SOUND EDITING
1. Skyfall
3. Django Unchained
4. Zero Dark Thirty
7. Life of Pi -1
Other Possibilities: Argo
3/5
SOUND MIXING
1. Les Misérables (CAS, BAFTA)
2. Skyfall (CAS, BAFTA)
5. Lincoln (CAS) +3
7. Life of Pi (BAFTA) +3
NEW: Argo
3/5
Life of Pi showed its muscle by sneaking into both categories. But why oh why didn't more of us predict Argo in these categories? Best Picture frontrunner, action film...? Come on, guys. It's simple math.
VISUAL EFFECTS
1. Life of Pi (VES, BAFTA, CC)
2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (VES, BAFTA, CC)
3. The Avengers (VES, BAFTA, CC)
4. Prometheus (VES, BAFTA)
10. Snow White and the Huntsman
4/5
Definitely didn't expect Snow White to do so well today.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
1. Brave (Globes, PGA, BAFTA, Chicago)
2. Wreck-It Ralph (Globes, PGA, CC, Chicago)
3. Frankenweenie (Globes, PGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
4. ParaNorman (PGA, CC, BAFTA, Chicago, Boston)
8. The Pirates! Band of Misfits
4/5
The appearance of The Pirates! pleasantly surprised me, but certainly didn't shock: this branch loves Aardman Animations.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
1. Searching for Sugar Man (BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. How to Survive a Plague (Boston)
3. The Gatekeepers (LAFCA, NSFC Winner)
5. 5 Broken Cameras
13. The Invisible War (Chicago)
4/5
Quite pleased with my performance here, considering how many contenders were closely duking it out.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
2. Amour, Austria (Globes, NYFCC, LAFC Winner, BAFTA Chicago, Boston)
3. A Royal Affair, Denmark (Globes)
4. War Witch, Canada
5. Kon-Tiki, Norway
7. No, Chile
82/107
BEST PICTURE
1. Argo
2. Lincoln
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. Les Misérables
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. Life of Pi
7. Django Unchained
8. Amour
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
9/9
DIRECTOR
The most bizarre lineup since... well, any ideas? DGA only matched up 2/5 this year, and there were audible gasps from the press when they realized who was missing: Affleck, Bigelow and Hooper.
3. Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (DGA, Globes, CC, Chicago)
4. Ang Lee, Life of Pi (DGA, Globes, BAFTA, CC)
6. Michael Haneke, Amour (BAFTA, NFSC Winner)
8. David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (CC)
11. Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Chicago)
2/5
ACTRESS
1. Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (LAFC, SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty (NBR, SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Emmanuelle Riva, Amour (LAFC, BAFTA, CC, NFSC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
5. Naomi Watts, The Impossible (SAG, Globes, CC, Chicago)
7. Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild (CC, Chicago)
4/5
ACTOR
The Hawkes miss is a bit surprising, but I must admit that I felt it in my gut coming. I was also expecting Hunt to miss, too, but she made it in.
1. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (NYFCC, Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC, NFSC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
2. Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables (Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC)
3. Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook (NBR, Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC) +1
5. Joaquin Phoenix, The Master (LAFC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
6. Denzel Washington, Flight (Globes, SAG, CC, Chicago)
4/5
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jacki Weaver is the surprise here, and makes Silver Linings Playbook the first movie since Reds to be nominated in all four acting categories. A sign of general support for the film?
1. Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Sally Field, Lincoln (SAG, NYFCC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Helen Hunt, The Sessions (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
5. Amy Adams, The Master (LAFC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago)
11. Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
4/5
SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master (SAG, Globes, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (SAG, Globes, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Alan Arkin, Argo (SAG, Globes, CC)
5. Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook (SAG, CC)
6. Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained (Globes, Boston)
4/5
WRITING, ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
They really didn't like The Master, eh?
1. Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty (Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
3. Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom (WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
5. Michael Haneke, Amour (BAFTA)
7. John Gatins, Flight (WGA, CC)
4/5
WRITING, ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Tony Kushner, Lincoln (NYFCC, Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
2. David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Chris Terrio, Argo (LAFC, Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. David Magee, Life of Pi (WGA, BAFTA, CC)
6. Benh Zeitlin & Lucy Alibar, Beasts of the Southern Wild (BAFTA)
4/5
CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Roger Deakins, Skyfall (ASC, BAFTA, LAFC, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Cloudio Miranda, Life of Pi (ASC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln (ASC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
5. Seamus McGarvey, Anna Karenina (ASC, BAFTA)
8. Robert Richardson, Django Unchained
4/5
FILM EDITING
1. William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty (LAFC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
2. William Goldenberg, Argo (BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Tim Squyers, Life of Pi (BAFTA, CC)
5. Michael Kahn, Lincoln (CC)
7. Jay Cassidy, Silver Linings Playbook
4/5
PRODUCTION DESIGN
1. Anna Karenina (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
2. Lincoln (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
3. Les Misérables (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. Life of Pi (AGA Fantasy, BAFTA, CC)
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (AGA Fantasy, CC)
4/5
COSTUME DESIGN
Guess I shouldn't have underestimated Atwood.
1. Anna Karenina (BAFTA, CC)
2. Les Misérables (BAFTA, CC)
3. Lincoln (BAFTA, CC)
10. Snow White and the Huntsman (BAFTA)
11. Mirror Mirror
3/5
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (CC, BAFTA)
3. Les Misérables (CC, BAFTA)
5. Hitchcock (BAFTA)
2/3
ORIGINAL SCORE
1. Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina (Globes, BAFTA)
2. Mychael Danna, Life of Pi (Globes, BAFTA, CC)
3. John Williams, Lincoln (Globes, BAFTA, CC)
4. Thomas Newman, Skyfall (BAFTA)
5. Alexandre Desplat, Argo (Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
5/5
I got perfect here? Wow! Sweet!
ORIGINAL SONG
1. "Skyfall" from Skyfall
2. "Suddenly" from Les Misérables
From Life of Pi: "Pi's Lullaby"
3/5
Not quite sure how to do my math here, as I only numbered two of them -- but honestly? If I did, Life of Pi's lullaby would have been by number 3. Honestly. Really! So I'm giving myself 3/5. Ha!
SOUND EDITING
1. Skyfall
3. Django Unchained
4. Zero Dark Thirty
7. Life of Pi -1
Other Possibilities: Argo
3/5
SOUND MIXING
1. Les Misérables (CAS, BAFTA)
2. Skyfall (CAS, BAFTA)
5. Lincoln (CAS) +3
7. Life of Pi (BAFTA) +3
NEW: Argo
3/5
Life of Pi showed its muscle by sneaking into both categories. But why oh why didn't more of us predict Argo in these categories? Best Picture frontrunner, action film...? Come on, guys. It's simple math.
VISUAL EFFECTS
1. Life of Pi (VES, BAFTA, CC)
2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (VES, BAFTA, CC)
3. The Avengers (VES, BAFTA, CC)
4. Prometheus (VES, BAFTA)
10. Snow White and the Huntsman
4/5
Definitely didn't expect Snow White to do so well today.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
1. Brave (Globes, PGA, BAFTA, Chicago)
2. Wreck-It Ralph (Globes, PGA, CC, Chicago)
3. Frankenweenie (Globes, PGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
4. ParaNorman (PGA, CC, BAFTA, Chicago, Boston)
8. The Pirates! Band of Misfits
4/5
The appearance of The Pirates! pleasantly surprised me, but certainly didn't shock: this branch loves Aardman Animations.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
1. Searching for Sugar Man (BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. How to Survive a Plague (Boston)
3. The Gatekeepers (LAFCA, NSFC Winner)
5. 5 Broken Cameras
13. The Invisible War (Chicago)
4/5
Quite pleased with my performance here, considering how many contenders were closely duking it out.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
2. Amour, Austria (Globes, NYFCC, LAFC Winner, BAFTA Chicago, Boston)
3. A Royal Affair, Denmark (Globes)
4. War Witch, Canada
5. Kon-Tiki, Norway
7. No, Chile
4/5
The Intouchables snub is quite significant, as the supposed frontrunner and Weinstein workhorse. Some were even guessing 'surprise' Best Picture and Screenplay nominations. Oops! I correctly predicted both War Witch and Kon-Tiki getting in.
The Intouchables snub is quite significant, as the supposed frontrunner and Weinstein workhorse. Some were even guessing 'surprise' Best Picture and Screenplay nominations. Oops! I correctly predicted both War Witch and Kon-Tiki getting in.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Final Oscar Nomination Predictions
BEST PICTURE
1. Argo (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, SAG, PGA, WGA, NBR, AFI, NSFC Winner, Chicago)
2. Lincoln (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, SAG, PGA, WGA, NBR, AFI, Chicago)
3. Zero Dark Thirty (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, PGA, NYFCC, NBR Winner, AFI, NSFC, Chicago, Boston)
4. Les Misérables (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, SAG, PGA, NBR, AFI)
5. Silver Linings Playbook (Globes, SAG, PGA, NBR, AFI, TIFF)
6. Life of Pi (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, PGA, WGA, AFI)
7. Django Unchained (Globes, PGA, AFI)
8. Amour (LAFC, Palme d'Or, variety of "Best Foreign Language")
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild (PGA, NBR, AFI, Chicago, Camera d'Or)
10. Skyfall (PGA)
11. Moonrise Kingdom (Globes, PGA, AFI)
12. The Master (Globes, NSFC, Chicago)
13. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Globes, SAG)
14. The Impossible
15. The Intouchables
Other Contenders: Anna Karenina, The Dark Knight Rises, Flight, The Sessions, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Rust and Bone, Holy Motors, Take this Waltz, Hitchcock
DIRECTOR
1. Ben Affleck, Argo (DGA, Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
2. Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty (DGA, Globes, BAFTA, NYFCC, NBR, NFSC, Globes, Chicago, Boston)
3. Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (DGA, Globes, CC, Chicago)
4. Ang Lee, Life of Pi (DGA, Globes, BAFTA, CC)
5. Tom Hooper, Les Misérables (DGA, CC)
6. Michael Haneke, Amour (BAFTA, NFSC Winner)
7. Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (Globes, BAFTA)
8. David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (CC)
9. Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master (LAFCA, NFSC, Chicago, Boston)
10. Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom
11. Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Chicago)
12. Sam Mendes, Skyfall
13. Robert Zemeckis, Flight
Other Contenders: John Madden (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), J.A. Boyana (The Impossible), Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises), Joe Wright (Anna Karenina), Ben Lewin (The Sessions), Peter Jackson (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), Sarah Polley (Take this Waltz)
ACTRESS
1. Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (LAFC, SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty (NBR, SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Emmanuelle Riva, Amour (LAFC, BAFTA, CC, NFSC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
4. Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC)
5. Naomi Watts, The Impossible (SAG, Globes, CC, Chicago)
6. Helen Mirren, Hitchcock (SAG, BAFTA)
7. Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild (CC, Chicago)
8. Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea (NYFCC, Globes)
9. Maggie Smith, Quartet (Globes)
10. Linda Cardellini, Return
11. Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina
12. Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Globes)
13. Michelle Williams, Take this Waltz
ACTOR
1. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (NYFCC, Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC, NFSC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
2. Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables (Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC)
3. Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook (NBR, Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC) +1
4. John Hawkes, The Sessions (Globes, SAG, CC, Chicago) -1
5. Joaquin Phoenix, The Master (LAFC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
6. Denzel Washington, Flight (Globes, SAG, CC, Chicago)
7. Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour
8. Anthony Hopkins, Hitchcock
9. Richard Gere, Arbitrage (Globes)
10. Ben Affleck, Argo (BAFTA) *New*
11. Denis Lavant, Holy Motors (NSFC, Chicago, Boston) -1
Other Contenders: Jack Black (Bernie), Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained), Bill Murray (Hyde Park on Hudson), Omar Sy (The Intouchables), Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi), Jake Gyllenhaal (End of Watch)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Sally Field, Lincoln (SAG, NYFCC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Helen Hunt, The Sessions (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago) +1
4. Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy (SAG, Globes) -1
5. Amy Adams, The Master (LAFC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago)
6. Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (SAG, Globes)
7. Ann Dowd, Compliance (NBR, CC)
8. Judi Dench, Skyfall (BAFTA, Chicago)
9. Samantha Barks, Les Misérables
10. Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Boston)
11. Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master (SAG, Globes, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (SAG, Globes, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Alan Arkin, Argo (SAG, Globes, CC)
4. Javier Bardem, Skyfall (SAG, BAFTA, CC)
5. Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook (SAG, CC)
6. Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained (Globes, Boston)
7. Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained (NBR, Globes, Chicago)
8. Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (NYFCC, CC, NSFC Winner)
9. Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained
10. Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild (LAFC, Chicago
11. Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Boston)
12. Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty (Chicago
13. Michael Pena, End of Watch
14. Eddie Redmayne, Les Misérables
15. Tom Wilkinson, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Other Possibilities: Jude Law, Anna Karenina; William H. Macy, The Sessions
WRITING, ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty (Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
2. Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master (WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom (WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
5. Michael Haneke, Amour (BAFTA)
6. Rian Johnson, Looper (NBR, WGA, CC, Chicago
7. John Gatins, Flight (WGA, CC)
8. Ava DuVernay, Middle of Nowhere
9. The Intouchables
10. Nicholas Jarecki, Arbitrage
WRITING, ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Tony Kushner, Lincoln (NYFCC, Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
2. David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Chris Terrio, Argo (LAFC, Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. David Magee, Life of Pi (WGA, BAFTA, CC)
5. Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (WGA, CC)
6. Benh Zeitlin & Lucy Alibar, Beasts of the Southern Wild (BAFTA)
7. Ben Lewin, The Sessions
8. John Logan, Neal Purvin & Robert Wade, Skyfall
9. Tom Stoppard, Anna Karenina
10. William Nicholson, Les Misérables
11. Richard Linklater & Skip Hollandsworth, Bernie
12. Ol Parker, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Quartet, Hitchcock, This is 40, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, The Hunger Games, Cloud Atlas, Rust and Bone, The Deep Blue Sea, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The ASC and BAFTA nominees are the same -- an interesting (and telling?) fact. So much for my confidence in Zero Dark Thirty, which only a week ago was sitting happily on top of my list.
1. Roger Deakins, Skyfall (ASC, BAFTA, LAFC, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Cloudio Miranda, Life of Pi (ASC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln (ASC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago) +1
4. Danny Cohen, Les Misérables (ASC, BAFTA, CC) +1
5. Seamus McGarvey, Anna Karenina (ASC, BAFTA) + 4
6. Mihai Malalmare Jr., The Master (CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago, Boston) -3
7. Greig Fraser, Zero Dark Thirty (NYFCC, NSFC, Chicago) -1
8. Robert Richardson, Django Unchained -1
9. Rodrigo Prieto, Argo -1
10. Robert Yeoman, Moonrise Kingdom (Boston)
Other Contenders: Prometheus, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Dark Knight Rises, Samsara, Cloud Atlas, The Impossible
FILM EDITING
1. William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty (LAFC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
2. William Goldenberg, Argo (BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Tim Squyers, Life of Pi (BAFTA, CC)
4. Fred Raskin, Django Unchained (BAFTA)
5. Michael Kahn, Lincoln (CC)
5. Melanie Oliver & Chris Dickens, Les Misérables (CC)
7. Jay Cassidy, Silver Linings Playbook
8. Leslie Jones & Peter McNulty, The Master (Chicago)
9. Stuart & Kate Baird, Skyfall (BAFTA, Chicago)
10. Leslie Jones & Peter Cloud Atlas (Chicago)
11. Melanie Ann Oliver, Anna Karenina
12. Crockett Doob & Alfonso Gonçalves, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Other Possibilities: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Prometheus, Flight, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises, Moonrise Kingdom, Amour
PRODUCTION DESIGN
1. Anna Karenina (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
2. Lincoln (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
3. Les Misérables (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. Life of Pi (AGA Fantasy, BAFTA, CC)
5. Django Unchained (AGA Period)
6. Prometheus (AGA Fantasy)
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (AGA Fantasy, CC)
8. The Master (LAFC, Chicago)
9. Skyfall (AGA Contemporary, BAFTA)
10. Cloud Atlas (AGA Fantasy)
11. Moonrise Kingdom (Chicago)
12. A Royal Affair
13. Argo (AGA Period)
14. The Impossible (AGA Contemporary)
15. The Dark Knight Rises
COSTUME DESIGN
1. Anna Karenina (BAFTA, CC)
2. Les Misérables (BAFTA, CC)
3. Lincoln (BAFTA, CC) +1
4. Django Unchained -1
5. A Royal Affair
6. Argo
7. The Master
8. Cloud Atlas (CC)
9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (CC)
10. Snow White and the Huntsman (BAFTA) +2
11. Mirror Mirror +2
12. Hitchcock -2
13. Prometheus -2
Other Contenders: Moonrise Kingdom, The Hunger Games, Dark Shadows, The Avengers, Lawless
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (CC, BAFTA)
2. Lincoln (CC, BAFTA)
3. Les Misérables (CC, BAFTA)
4. Men in Black 3
5. Hitchcock (BAFTA)
6. Looper
7. Snow White and the Huntsman
ORIGINAL SCORE
1. Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina (Globes, BAFTA)
2. Mychael Danna, Life of Pi (Globes, BAFTA, CC)
3. John Williams, Lincoln (Globes, BAFTA, CC)
4. Thomas Newman, Skyfall (BAFTA)
5. Alexandre Desplat, Argo (Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
6. Jonny Greenwood, The Master (CC, Chicago
7. Reinhold Hell, Johnny Klimek &Tom Twyker, Cloud Atlas (Globes)
8. Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild (LAFC, Chicago)
9. Howard Shore, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
10. Alexandre Desplat, Zero Dark Thirty (Chicago)
11. Alexandre Desplat, Moonrise Kingdom (Chicago)
ORIGINAL SONG
1. "Skyfall" from Skyfall
2. "Suddenly" from Les Misérables
From Django Unchained: "Ancora Qui", "Freedom", "Who Did That to You?"
From Brave: "Learn Me Right", "Touch the Sky"
From Joyful Noise: "From Here to the Moon and Back"
From Life of Pi: "Pi's Lullaby"
From Wreck-It Ralph: "When Can I See You Again?"
From Paul Williams Still Alive: "Still Alive"
SOUND EDITING
1. Skyfall
2. The Avengers
3. Django Unchained
4. Zero Dark Thirty
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey +2
6. Prometheus -1
7. Life of Pi -1
8. Les Misérables
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Wreck-It Ralph
11. Brave
12. Flight
13. Looper
14. Cloud Atlas
15. The Bourne Legacy
Other Possibilities: The Impossible, Jack Reacher, John Carter, Battleship, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Amazing Spider-Man, Men in Black 3, The Hunger Games, The Grey, Frankenweenie, Paranorman, Rise of the Guardians, Argo
SOUND MIXING
1. Les Misérables (CAS, BAFTA)
2. Skyfall (CAS, BAFTA)
3. Zero Dark Thirty (CAS)
4. Django Unchained (BAFTA) +1
5. Lincoln (CAS) +3
6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (CAS, BAFTA)
7. Life of Pi (BAFTA) +3
8. The Avengers -4
9. Prometheus -2
10. The Dark Knight Rises -1
11. Flight
12. Looper
13. Cloud Atlas
14. Brave (CAS)
Other Possiblities: The Impossible, Jack Reacher, John Carter, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Grey, Frankenweenie (CAS), Rise of the Guardians (CAS), The Hunger Games, Rock of Ages, The Bourne Legacy, Wreck-It Ralph (CAS),
VISUAL EFFECTS
1. Life of Pi (VES, BAFTA, CC)
2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (VES, BAFTA, CC)
3. The Avengers (VES, BAFTA, CC)
4. Prometheus (VES, BAFTA)
5. The Dark Knight Rises (CC, BAFTA) +2
6. Cloud Atlas (CC) -1
7. John Carter -1
8. The Amazing Spider-Man
9. Skyfall
10. Snow White and the Huntsman
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
1. Brave (Globes, PGA, BAFTA, Chicago)
2. Wreck-It Ralph (Globes, PGA, CC, Chicago)
3. Frankenweenie (Globes, PGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
4. ParaNorman (PGA, CC, BAFTA, Chicago, Boston)
5. Rise of the Guardians (PGA)
6. The Painting
7. The Rabbi's Cat
8. The Pirates! Band of Misfits
9. A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
10. From Up on Poppy Hill
11. Zarafa
12. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (CC)
13. The Lorax
14. Hotel Transylvania (Globes)
15. Ice Age: Continental Drift
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
1. Searching for Sugar Man (BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. How to Survive a Plague (Boston)
3. The Gatekeepers (LAFCA, NSFC Winner)
4. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
5. 5 Broken Cameras
6. Bully (CC)
7. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
8. Chasing Ice
9. The Imposter
10. Detropia
11. The House I Live In
12. This is Not a Film (NSFC)
13. The Invisible War (Chicago)
14. The Waiting Room
15. Ethel
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
1. The Intouchables, France (Globes, BAFTA, Chicago)
2. Amour, Austria (Globes, NYFCC, LAFC Winner, BAFTA Chicago, Boston)
3. A Royal Affair, Denmark (Globes)
4. War Witch, Canada
5. Kon-Tiki, Norway
6. The Deep, Iceland
7. No, Chile
8. Beyond the Hills, Romania
9. Sister, Switzerland
1. Argo (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, SAG, PGA, WGA, NBR, AFI, NSFC Winner, Chicago)
2. Lincoln (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, SAG, PGA, WGA, NBR, AFI, Chicago)
3. Zero Dark Thirty (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, PGA, NYFCC, NBR Winner, AFI, NSFC, Chicago, Boston)
4. Les Misérables (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, SAG, PGA, NBR, AFI)
5. Silver Linings Playbook (Globes, SAG, PGA, NBR, AFI, TIFF)
6. Life of Pi (Globes, BAFTA, DGA, PGA, WGA, AFI)
7. Django Unchained (Globes, PGA, AFI)
8. Amour (LAFC, Palme d'Or, variety of "Best Foreign Language")
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild (PGA, NBR, AFI, Chicago, Camera d'Or)
10. Skyfall (PGA)
11. Moonrise Kingdom (Globes, PGA, AFI)
12. The Master (Globes, NSFC, Chicago)
13. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Globes, SAG)
14. The Impossible
15. The Intouchables
Other Contenders: Anna Karenina, The Dark Knight Rises, Flight, The Sessions, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Rust and Bone, Holy Motors, Take this Waltz, Hitchcock
DIRECTOR
1. Ben Affleck, Argo (DGA, Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
2. Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty (DGA, Globes, BAFTA, NYFCC, NBR, NFSC, Globes, Chicago, Boston)
3. Steven Spielberg, Lincoln (DGA, Globes, CC, Chicago)
4. Ang Lee, Life of Pi (DGA, Globes, BAFTA, CC)
5. Tom Hooper, Les Misérables (DGA, CC)
6. Michael Haneke, Amour (BAFTA, NFSC Winner)
7. Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (Globes, BAFTA)
8. David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (CC)
9. Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master (LAFCA, NFSC, Chicago, Boston)
10. Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom
11. Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Chicago)
12. Sam Mendes, Skyfall
13. Robert Zemeckis, Flight
Other Contenders: John Madden (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), J.A. Boyana (The Impossible), Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises), Joe Wright (Anna Karenina), Ben Lewin (The Sessions), Peter Jackson (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), Sarah Polley (Take this Waltz)
ACTRESS
1. Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (LAFC, SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty (NBR, SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Emmanuelle Riva, Amour (LAFC, BAFTA, CC, NFSC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
4. Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC)
5. Naomi Watts, The Impossible (SAG, Globes, CC, Chicago)
6. Helen Mirren, Hitchcock (SAG, BAFTA)
7. Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild (CC, Chicago)
8. Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea (NYFCC, Globes)
9. Maggie Smith, Quartet (Globes)
10. Linda Cardellini, Return
11. Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina
12. Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Globes)
13. Michelle Williams, Take this Waltz
ACTOR
1. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (NYFCC, Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC, NFSC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
2. Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables (Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC)
3. Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook (NBR, Globes, SAG, BAFTA, CC) +1
4. John Hawkes, The Sessions (Globes, SAG, CC, Chicago) -1
5. Joaquin Phoenix, The Master (LAFC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
6. Denzel Washington, Flight (Globes, SAG, CC, Chicago)
7. Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour
8. Anthony Hopkins, Hitchcock
9. Richard Gere, Arbitrage (Globes)
10. Ben Affleck, Argo (BAFTA) *New*
11. Denis Lavant, Holy Motors (NSFC, Chicago, Boston) -1
Other Contenders: Jack Black (Bernie), Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained), Bill Murray (Hyde Park on Hudson), Omar Sy (The Intouchables), Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi), Jake Gyllenhaal (End of Watch)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Sally Field, Lincoln (SAG, NYFCC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Helen Hunt, The Sessions (SAG, Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago) +1
4. Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy (SAG, Globes) -1
5. Amy Adams, The Master (LAFC, Globes, BAFTA, CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago)
6. Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (SAG, Globes)
7. Ann Dowd, Compliance (NBR, CC)
8. Judi Dench, Skyfall (BAFTA, Chicago)
9. Samantha Barks, Les Misérables
10. Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Boston)
11. Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master (SAG, Globes, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln (SAG, Globes, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Alan Arkin, Argo (SAG, Globes, CC)
4. Javier Bardem, Skyfall (SAG, BAFTA, CC)
5. Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook (SAG, CC)
6. Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained (Globes, Boston)
7. Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained (NBR, Globes, Chicago)
8. Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (NYFCC, CC, NSFC Winner)
9. Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained
10. Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild (LAFC, Chicago
11. Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Boston)
12. Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty (Chicago
13. Michael Pena, End of Watch
14. Eddie Redmayne, Les Misérables
15. Tom Wilkinson, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Other Possibilities: Jude Law, Anna Karenina; William H. Macy, The Sessions
WRITING, ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty (Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
2. Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master (WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained (Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom (WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
5. Michael Haneke, Amour (BAFTA)
6. Rian Johnson, Looper (NBR, WGA, CC, Chicago
7. John Gatins, Flight (WGA, CC)
8. Ava DuVernay, Middle of Nowhere
9. The Intouchables
10. Nicholas Jarecki, Arbitrage
WRITING, ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Tony Kushner, Lincoln (NYFCC, Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago, Boston)
2. David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
3. Chris Terrio, Argo (LAFC, Globes, WGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. David Magee, Life of Pi (WGA, BAFTA, CC)
5. Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (WGA, CC)
6. Benh Zeitlin & Lucy Alibar, Beasts of the Southern Wild (BAFTA)
7. Ben Lewin, The Sessions
8. John Logan, Neal Purvin & Robert Wade, Skyfall
9. Tom Stoppard, Anna Karenina
10. William Nicholson, Les Misérables
11. Richard Linklater & Skip Hollandsworth, Bernie
12. Ol Parker, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Quartet, Hitchcock, This is 40, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, The Hunger Games, Cloud Atlas, Rust and Bone, The Deep Blue Sea, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The ASC and BAFTA nominees are the same -- an interesting (and telling?) fact. So much for my confidence in Zero Dark Thirty, which only a week ago was sitting happily on top of my list.
1. Roger Deakins, Skyfall (ASC, BAFTA, LAFC, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. Cloudio Miranda, Life of Pi (ASC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln (ASC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago) +1
4. Danny Cohen, Les Misérables (ASC, BAFTA, CC) +1
5. Seamus McGarvey, Anna Karenina (ASC, BAFTA) + 4
6. Mihai Malalmare Jr., The Master (CC, NSFC Winner, Chicago, Boston) -3
7. Greig Fraser, Zero Dark Thirty (NYFCC, NSFC, Chicago) -1
8. Robert Richardson, Django Unchained -1
9. Rodrigo Prieto, Argo -1
10. Robert Yeoman, Moonrise Kingdom (Boston)
Other Contenders: Prometheus, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Dark Knight Rises, Samsara, Cloud Atlas, The Impossible
FILM EDITING
1. William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty (LAFC, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
2. William Goldenberg, Argo (BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
3. Tim Squyers, Life of Pi (BAFTA, CC)
4. Fred Raskin, Django Unchained (BAFTA)
5. Michael Kahn, Lincoln (CC)
5. Melanie Oliver & Chris Dickens, Les Misérables (CC)
7. Jay Cassidy, Silver Linings Playbook
8. Leslie Jones & Peter McNulty, The Master (Chicago)
9. Stuart & Kate Baird, Skyfall (BAFTA, Chicago)
10. Leslie Jones & Peter Cloud Atlas (Chicago)
11. Melanie Ann Oliver, Anna Karenina
12. Crockett Doob & Alfonso Gonçalves, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Other Possibilities: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Prometheus, Flight, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises, Moonrise Kingdom, Amour
PRODUCTION DESIGN
1. Anna Karenina (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
2. Lincoln (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
3. Les Misérables (AGA Period, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
4. Life of Pi (AGA Fantasy, BAFTA, CC)
5. Django Unchained (AGA Period)
6. Prometheus (AGA Fantasy)
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (AGA Fantasy, CC)
8. The Master (LAFC, Chicago)
9. Skyfall (AGA Contemporary, BAFTA)
10. Cloud Atlas (AGA Fantasy)
11. Moonrise Kingdom (Chicago)
12. A Royal Affair
13. Argo (AGA Period)
14. The Impossible (AGA Contemporary)
15. The Dark Knight Rises
COSTUME DESIGN
1. Anna Karenina (BAFTA, CC)
2. Les Misérables (BAFTA, CC)
3. Lincoln (BAFTA, CC) +1
4. Django Unchained -1
5. A Royal Affair
6. Argo
7. The Master
8. Cloud Atlas (CC)
9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (CC)
10. Snow White and the Huntsman (BAFTA) +2
11. Mirror Mirror +2
12. Hitchcock -2
13. Prometheus -2
Other Contenders: Moonrise Kingdom, The Hunger Games, Dark Shadows, The Avengers, Lawless
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (CC, BAFTA)
2. Lincoln (CC, BAFTA)
3. Les Misérables (CC, BAFTA)
4. Men in Black 3
5. Hitchcock (BAFTA)
6. Looper
7. Snow White and the Huntsman
ORIGINAL SCORE
1. Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina (Globes, BAFTA)
2. Mychael Danna, Life of Pi (Globes, BAFTA, CC)
3. John Williams, Lincoln (Globes, BAFTA, CC)
4. Thomas Newman, Skyfall (BAFTA)
5. Alexandre Desplat, Argo (Globes, BAFTA, CC, Chicago)
6. Jonny Greenwood, The Master (CC, Chicago
7. Reinhold Hell, Johnny Klimek &Tom Twyker, Cloud Atlas (Globes)
8. Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild (LAFC, Chicago)
9. Howard Shore, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
10. Alexandre Desplat, Zero Dark Thirty (Chicago)
11. Alexandre Desplat, Moonrise Kingdom (Chicago)
ORIGINAL SONG
1. "Skyfall" from Skyfall
2. "Suddenly" from Les Misérables
From Django Unchained: "Ancora Qui", "Freedom", "Who Did That to You?"
From Brave: "Learn Me Right", "Touch the Sky"
From Joyful Noise: "From Here to the Moon and Back"
From Life of Pi: "Pi's Lullaby"
From Wreck-It Ralph: "When Can I See You Again?"
From Paul Williams Still Alive: "Still Alive"
SOUND EDITING
1. Skyfall
2. The Avengers
3. Django Unchained
4. Zero Dark Thirty
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey +2
6. Prometheus -1
7. Life of Pi -1
8. Les Misérables
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Wreck-It Ralph
11. Brave
12. Flight
13. Looper
14. Cloud Atlas
15. The Bourne Legacy
Other Possibilities: The Impossible, Jack Reacher, John Carter, Battleship, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Amazing Spider-Man, Men in Black 3, The Hunger Games, The Grey, Frankenweenie, Paranorman, Rise of the Guardians, Argo
SOUND MIXING
1. Les Misérables (CAS, BAFTA)
2. Skyfall (CAS, BAFTA)
3. Zero Dark Thirty (CAS)
4. Django Unchained (BAFTA) +1
5. Lincoln (CAS) +3
6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (CAS, BAFTA)
7. Life of Pi (BAFTA) +3
8. The Avengers -4
9. Prometheus -2
10. The Dark Knight Rises -1
11. Flight
12. Looper
13. Cloud Atlas
14. Brave (CAS)
Other Possiblities: The Impossible, Jack Reacher, John Carter, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Grey, Frankenweenie (CAS), Rise of the Guardians (CAS), The Hunger Games, Rock of Ages, The Bourne Legacy, Wreck-It Ralph (CAS),
VISUAL EFFECTS
1. Life of Pi (VES, BAFTA, CC)
2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (VES, BAFTA, CC)
3. The Avengers (VES, BAFTA, CC)
4. Prometheus (VES, BAFTA)
5. The Dark Knight Rises (CC, BAFTA) +2
6. Cloud Atlas (CC) -1
7. John Carter -1
8. The Amazing Spider-Man
9. Skyfall
10. Snow White and the Huntsman
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
1. Brave (Globes, PGA, BAFTA, Chicago)
2. Wreck-It Ralph (Globes, PGA, CC, Chicago)
3. Frankenweenie (Globes, PGA, BAFTA, CC, Chicago, Boston)
4. ParaNorman (PGA, CC, BAFTA, Chicago, Boston)
5. Rise of the Guardians (PGA)
6. The Painting
7. The Rabbi's Cat
8. The Pirates! Band of Misfits
9. A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
10. From Up on Poppy Hill
11. Zarafa
12. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (CC)
13. The Lorax
14. Hotel Transylvania (Globes)
15. Ice Age: Continental Drift
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
1. Searching for Sugar Man (BAFTA, CC, NSFC, Chicago)
2. How to Survive a Plague (Boston)
3. The Gatekeepers (LAFCA, NSFC Winner)
4. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
5. 5 Broken Cameras
6. Bully (CC)
7. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
8. Chasing Ice
9. The Imposter
10. Detropia
11. The House I Live In
12. This is Not a Film (NSFC)
13. The Invisible War (Chicago)
14. The Waiting Room
15. Ethel
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
1. The Intouchables, France (Globes, BAFTA, Chicago)
2. Amour, Austria (Globes, NYFCC, LAFC Winner, BAFTA Chicago, Boston)
3. A Royal Affair, Denmark (Globes)
4. War Witch, Canada
5. Kon-Tiki, Norway
6. The Deep, Iceland
7. No, Chile
8. Beyond the Hills, Romania
9. Sister, Switzerland
BAFTA Reactions
This morning, the British Academy of Film and Television revealed its slate of nominees. While there are always significant differences from the American Academy's nominees, the BAFTAs can be a sign of surprise nominees and snubs in the Oscar race. Much is written about a supposedly large number of British voters in the Oscars, and if a film fails to do well with the BAFTAs, it can be sometimes reflected on this side of the pond.
So how does this morning's announcement effect my predictions?
So how does this morning's announcement effect my predictions?
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Point Form Review: Anna Karenina (2012)
Anna Karenina (Joe Wright, 2012)
-most notable is the stunning production design: the film's diegesis is a strange, wonderful mixture of a theatrical stage with ever-morphing and sometimes impossible set changes, along with the Russian wilderness behind -- space and time are splintered, mimicking the burgeoning changes of modernity
-the artifice of the theatre mimics social performance, a most pressing notion in Tolstoy's novel
-bitingly ironic, almost cruel in its tragedy; the tragedy that is love, sin, desire
-the first hour features incredible editing and a wickedly flamboyant pace
-sets up a nature vs. theatre dynamic: Anna is associated mostly with the interior, with escapes to the outside world where she is surrounded by a peaceful, loving nature; whats-his-face finds finds solace in the fields, but is constantly drawn to the chaos of the urban. The decision we face is whether we abandon (modern) society for a doomed utopia (a rural world that is being eaten up, being oppressed, and potentially excruciatingly lonely), or whether we brave the simultaneously judgemental and aloof gazes of a modern, urban, capitalist Society with its unwritten but strict "rules".
-the cruelty of a distant God: we are but puppets on a string, but the string is constantly breaking and shifting and our stage is fracturing
-love is both destructive and healing; will God punish those that give into love? Or does it depend on what kind of love?
-incredible score: an old-fashioned romantic violin motif runs throughout, like a classical Hollywood melodrama: in fact, much of the film seems to be in the vein of a Sirkian irony, where all the sumptuous design, colours, costumes and complicated dynamics of the plot become 'too much' and unstable -- revealing its biting, almost cruel, vision of romance. Is this style over substance, as many critics have charged? I don't think so, because it seems to me that the hyperbolic style enhances Tolstoy's underpinnings. I love a good straight-forward costume drama, too --take The Last Station-- but we've already seen these kind of adaptations of Anna Karenina before.
-Wright and screenwriter Stoppard have taken some big chances here. They don't always work, but I love when filmmakers attempt the gutsy.
-most notable is the stunning production design: the film's diegesis is a strange, wonderful mixture of a theatrical stage with ever-morphing and sometimes impossible set changes, along with the Russian wilderness behind -- space and time are splintered, mimicking the burgeoning changes of modernity
-the artifice of the theatre mimics social performance, a most pressing notion in Tolstoy's novel
-bitingly ironic, almost cruel in its tragedy; the tragedy that is love, sin, desire
-the first hour features incredible editing and a wickedly flamboyant pace
-sets up a nature vs. theatre dynamic: Anna is associated mostly with the interior, with escapes to the outside world where she is surrounded by a peaceful, loving nature; whats-his-face finds finds solace in the fields, but is constantly drawn to the chaos of the urban. The decision we face is whether we abandon (modern) society for a doomed utopia (a rural world that is being eaten up, being oppressed, and potentially excruciatingly lonely), or whether we brave the simultaneously judgemental and aloof gazes of a modern, urban, capitalist Society with its unwritten but strict "rules".
-the cruelty of a distant God: we are but puppets on a string, but the string is constantly breaking and shifting and our stage is fracturing
-love is both destructive and healing; will God punish those that give into love? Or does it depend on what kind of love?
-incredible score: an old-fashioned romantic violin motif runs throughout, like a classical Hollywood melodrama: in fact, much of the film seems to be in the vein of a Sirkian irony, where all the sumptuous design, colours, costumes and complicated dynamics of the plot become 'too much' and unstable -- revealing its biting, almost cruel, vision of romance. Is this style over substance, as many critics have charged? I don't think so, because it seems to me that the hyperbolic style enhances Tolstoy's underpinnings. I love a good straight-forward costume drama, too --take The Last Station-- but we've already seen these kind of adaptations of Anna Karenina before.
-Wright and screenwriter Stoppard have taken some big chances here. They don't always work, but I love when filmmakers attempt the gutsy.
If I Voted in Sight & Sound
Ah, film nerds and listing: like peas and carrots, peanut butter and jelly, Thelma and Louise.
We're obsessed with them. The IMDb Top 250, the annual slew of critic lists, national film institutions, Flickchart, They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? -- and the grand sultan of them all, the film magazine Sight & Sound's list. Coming out every ten years, this has historically been the most prestigious ranking of cinema, and is one of the primary reasons why many call Citizen Kane as the greatest film ever made. This year's 2012 selection represents a watershed of sorts, as the number of voters has increased drastically with the magazine making a conscious effort to extend the critical voice beyond the bread-and-butter (look! another duality!) realm of Hollywood and European critics.
And when it dropped a number of months ago, there were perhaps two big stories that emerged. The one that dominated headlines --the unseating of Citizen Kane by Hitchcock's Vertigo as the new victor-- hinted at perhaps the more interesting story of the Top Ten's rather unsurprising picks. With the new plethora of international voices, some suspected that a wildly new top echelon would emerge. Instead, 'the classics' showed their continuing forté: the aforementioned Citizen Kane and Vertigo, Ozu's Tokyo Story, Renoir's La Règle du jeu, Fellini's 8 1/2. Furthermore, four of the critics' top 11 were from the silent era: Sunrise, Man With a Movie Camera, The Passion of Joan of Arc, and perennial favourite Battleship Potemkin.
Moving further down the list into the rest of the top 50, we find some very strong showings for Jean-Luc Godard and Andrei Tarkovsky, with Breathless (#13), Mirror (#19), Contempt (#23), Andrei Rublev (#27), Stalker (#29), Pierrot le fou (#43) and Histoire(s) du cinéma (#48) making appearances. Other widely-cited filmmakers in the upper regions of the list include, unsurprisingly, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Ingmar Bergman and Martin Scorsese. The most recent films, as have been widely noted, are Wong Kar-Wai's 2000 romance In the Mood for Love at #24 and David Lynch's 2003 surrealist-noir Mulholland Dr. coming in at #28.
As any good film nerd that has a particular obsession with these lists, I have been working on my own for quite a long time. Rather than simply arranging films in a sort of Flickchart-style order based on an ever-changing "Which one is better?" process, my Top Ten is a curated list: I have taken the effort to select films that I feel cover a large range of cinema, can be seen to have impacted filmmaking in a significant way, are of excellent technical quality, and most importantly, represents my own particular taste. The films that appear speak very closely to me, and are fundamental to my understanding of cinema.
And so, without further ado, the list I would have submitted to Sight & Sound in 2012.
Oscar Nominations Predictions
This Thursday is my favourite day of the year. Why, you ask?
IT'S OSCAR NOMINATION TIME! That's right, boys and girls. Time to get up early, load up a stream on Oscar.com, and watch as bleary-eyed celebrities and journalists react to the news. I think many Oscar watchers would agree with me that this is actually the more exciting event of the Academy Awards, over the grand ceremony in a few months. There are just so many possibilities, so much hypothesizing, and so much anticipation: what will be snubbed, as inevitably something will be? Who will be nominated that no one saw coming?
These surprises are what many of us in the Oscar watching game really thrive on, and why we keep coming back year after year. I still remember the feeling of stunned giddiness when Alan Alda was nominated for The Aviator, or that brief moment in the winter of 2007 watching Sid Ganis and Salma Hayek listed off the five Best Picture nominees... and realized that something was missing. (That was the perceived frontrunner Dreamgirls, which many predicted would win the Best Picture Oscar and was indeed the most nominated film that year.) Or how about last year, the first time a flexible number of Best Picture nominees was possible, when Tom Sherak and Jennifer Lawrence listed off eight nominees, filling the screens behind them in a nice symmetrical pattern... and then delivered a delightful (or horrific, depending on who you ask) shockwave felt around the Oscar-net when Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close popped up on the monitor above their heads as the ninth nominee. Truly delicious, especially for those that obsess about these things. It's all remarkably inconsequential in the greater scheme of things. We know this. But when these surprises happen, it's like a jolt of "Wowwww, I didn't see that coming!" or "They got snubbed! Hahahahahaaaaa!!!"
And so, without much further ado, let's get to my predictions, shall we?
IT'S OSCAR NOMINATION TIME! That's right, boys and girls. Time to get up early, load up a stream on Oscar.com, and watch as bleary-eyed celebrities and journalists react to the news. I think many Oscar watchers would agree with me that this is actually the more exciting event of the Academy Awards, over the grand ceremony in a few months. There are just so many possibilities, so much hypothesizing, and so much anticipation: what will be snubbed, as inevitably something will be? Who will be nominated that no one saw coming?
These surprises are what many of us in the Oscar watching game really thrive on, and why we keep coming back year after year. I still remember the feeling of stunned giddiness when Alan Alda was nominated for The Aviator, or that brief moment in the winter of 2007 watching Sid Ganis and Salma Hayek listed off the five Best Picture nominees... and realized that something was missing. (That was the perceived frontrunner Dreamgirls, which many predicted would win the Best Picture Oscar and was indeed the most nominated film that year.) Or how about last year, the first time a flexible number of Best Picture nominees was possible, when Tom Sherak and Jennifer Lawrence listed off eight nominees, filling the screens behind them in a nice symmetrical pattern... and then delivered a delightful (or horrific, depending on who you ask) shockwave felt around the Oscar-net when Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close popped up on the monitor above their heads as the ninth nominee. Truly delicious, especially for those that obsess about these things. It's all remarkably inconsequential in the greater scheme of things. We know this. But when these surprises happen, it's like a jolt of "Wowwww, I didn't see that coming!" or "They got snubbed! Hahahahahaaaaa!!!"
And so, without much further ado, let's get to my predictions, shall we?
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