Thoughts On The Oscar Noms

Alright, the Golden Globes are over and it's almost time for the big show. Read on for my thoughts on the Oscar nominations!

The Golden Globes have come and gone, in a year not as memorable for it's winners as for host Ricky Gervais' smart stings on Hollywood elite that left them crying. Now we're on the road to the Oscars, with the nominations being announced this morning, and the ceremony on February 27th, being hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway (I doubt they'll attack their fellow Hollywooders quite like Gervais, but who knows?) Here are the nominations and my thoughts on them:


Best Original Screenplay
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are Alright
The King's Speech
  
 -This is a strong category this year. The only one I haven't seen on this list is Another Year, though it's on my list. The rest of these were all great, but if we're being honest, Inception should win because it was just that-original. It was smart, fun, exciting, and thought-provoking. Nolan especially deserves to win since he was completely snubbed in the director category (more on that BS later...)

Best Adapted Screenplay
 127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

-Another very strong category! I haven't seen Winter's Bone, though it's also on my list given how much praise it's received. The rest are all favorites of mine from last year, and it's really fantastic to see Toy Story 3 in the mix because it means it's being respected as more than just an animated film-because that's what it was. It'd be nice to see it win, but for me personally, I'd like to see 127 Hours win. The true story it's based on is of course an exciting and worthy story, but it's the way that it was adapted that really impressed me. It was not only exciting, but moving and fascinating.

Best Original Score
John Powell-How To Train Your Dragon
Hans Zimmer-Inception
Alexandre Desplat-The King's Speech
A.R. Rahman-127 Hours
Trent Reznor and Atticus Rose-The Social Network

-It's safe to say I really enjoyed every score in this category. It's also a good mix of classical-style scores and modern scores, which is nice to see. I'd be happy to see any of these win, but if it were my choice, I think Rahman should win for 127 Hours for a score that added a lot to the excitement and intrigue of the film.

 Best Director
Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
David O. Russell for The Fighter
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
David Fincher for The Social's Network
Joel and Ethan Coen for True Grit.

-OK, there are obviously two absolutely ridiculous snubs in this category. Nolan for Inception and Danny Boyle for 127 Hours. The directing category always manages to piss me off, though. But snubbing Nolan?! Really?! Keep in mind James Cameron was nominated last year for a film you could hardly say was quality because of the direction (at least he didn't win...thank God). Boyle is also a director who doesn't get enough credit for his unique films, though at least Slumdog Millionaire got some well deserved recognition. Out of those nominated, I'd like to see Hooper or Fincher win.

Now you have f***ed up Academy. Now you have f***ed up.

Best Cinematography
Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

-Man, another category with great nominations all around! I was impressed by the cinematography in all of these films. If I had to choose a winner, I think I'd probably say True Grit for it's beautiful shots of the open country of the old west.

Best Actress In A Supporting Role
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

-OK, first of all I have to be honest and say that I've never even heard of Animal Kingdom. When did this come out? Anyway...another strong category. I have to note that I'm very happy to see Steinfeld nominated, as she really blew me away in True Grit-when a 14-year-old newcomer can hold her own against Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon (and sometimes even show them up), she deserves to be recognized. I'll actually go ahead and say that she should win. If not her, Helena Bonham Carter for her charming performance in The King's Speech.

Best Actress In A Leading Role
Annette Benning, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

-I've only seen two of these five films, so I have to admit that first and foremost. But I still think the performance to beat is Portman's stunning role in Black Swan-she made the film what it is, and the buzz for her to win has been huge.

Best Actor In A Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech

-Renner's nomination for The Town seems a little thrown in, though I must admit he did give a really good performance, and he is a great actor (he did a fantastic job in last year's best picture winner The Hurt Locker). It's tough for me to choose between Rush and Bale, but I'd have to pick Bale, for his amazing job and transforming from a bulky, scary Welshman into a scrawny, drug-addicted former boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts.

 Best Actor In A Leading Role
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

-Again, to be honest, I've never even heard of Biutiful. Despite that fact, it does seem that the Academy nominated all the performances that deserved nominations. These are all strong performances, but I'd have to give it to Colin Firth just over James Franco. Those two were my favorite performances of the year, but Firth's was incredibly powerful and inspiring.

Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kid's Are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours 
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

-Wow, something magical happened this year-there is not a single nomination that I strongly feel doesn't belong in the category! It's quite the list this year, and I must say I'm pretty over the moon to see both Toy Story 3 and Inception nominated. It's really just amazing to see Toy Story 3 get the respect that it should and have it stand up against these other nominees. I think the winner will be The King's Speech, and I'm actually really good with that-I'd say it was my favorite film of the year and had all the ingredients-writing, performances, score, cinematography, directing, all of it.

 So there we have it! The nominations are set and in just over a month the winners will be announced. I have to say that the nominations this year look pretty damn good, in fact, some of the best in years. But I also still can't believe that Nolan was snubbed. But that's the Academy for you...they can be some real morons.

Thanks for reading!