Oscars 2012

I really hope some of this mess makes them re-evaluate the rules again. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting in for Best Picture is plain EMBARRASSING. Go back to 5 Best Pic nominees.

And it's time to throw out the Best Song category. On a good year, there may be one song that has any kind of relevance. In a typical year, it's 3-4 songs no one cares about. And then this year, it's like...why even bother?

However, I think the acting categories are pretty good this year. Thrilled for Oldman. So glad Nick Nolte got in. Yes, I would've preferred Swinton to Rooney, but it's not an outrage. Even Jonah Hill isn't an embarrassment. He did a solid job in Moneyball.

Now, I start my fervent hoping that ANYONE but Clooney takes Best Actor.

What annoys the hell out of me is that the list of songs shortlisted was actually pretty decent. It's not like they had a shortage of choices. I can't imagine why they only decided to go with just two. Why have the category at all then?

Yeah I'm not a fan of the film nominations (Although I liked some of them), I do like the acting categories though. I would have swapped out Rooney Mara for Charlize Theron, and I am sad that Michael Fassbender didn't get in, but I am so happy for Demien Bichir and Gary Oldman. They both deserve it. And agreed on Jonah Hill. I am not a huge fan normally but hes been doing some good work lately. And I really liked Moneyball and the Descendents. So I will be one of the two people that don't riot if Pitt or Clooney take it. I was also super happy for McCarthy.

I can't bring myself to care about the song category. Its always generally been a mess to me.

mrinsouciance wrote:We've seen all of the best picture nominees except Tree of Life.

You should see it. It's definitely Out There, but also a movie I found myself thinking about *a lot* after watching it, where many movies (such as Moneyball) you watch and then mentally discard.

Don't get me wrong, it's very easy to go to "Wow, that's incredibly pretentious" with Tree of Life, but I ended up finding it fascinating how the story came together from so many little bits and pieces.

I agree that the nominees are kind of bleh, but I think the ceremony might be interesting. I kind of like that there aren't any clear runaways, so there might be some suspense. Are there any front runners in the acting categories? I'd guess Christopher Plummer for supporting actor, but I haven't seen Beginners, so I don't know.

laddical, do you mind if I borrow this quote:

But I'm letting it go before I get too annoying with the ranting.

and apply it to my own situation since I'm about to complain about Jonah Hill AGAIN?

So I haven't seen Moneyball, so I really have no basis for this opinion except from what I've read and my personal bias, but from what I've read, he seems to be getting accolades simply for "playing against type." And that's a problem I have with actors other than just Jonah Hill, really. People get nominations for "playing against type" as though it's such a huge achievement, and I always think, "Shouldn't actors always be playing against type?" To me playing a character that's different from yourself or the ones you usually play is, I dunno, the bare minimum of what an actor should be doing. Not something award-worthy.

But again, haven't seen it (and won't because he repulses me THAT MUCH) so whatever. /rant

I thought Moneyball was great and Pitt deserves his nom but Hill? I would swap him out for Albert Brooks in Drive any day. Or the dog from The Artist. Heh.

I agree with MrI. This was a year of average/good movies, but very few superior ones. I've seen all the noms for best pic and...eh. My favorite movies, Beginners and Drive are basically absent, except for the I hope supporting actor winner Plummer (hurrah), so I'm not hugely invested. It's just been such a mediocre year.

In terms of snubs: the Fassbender one was huge! Most critics thought he was a lock. But for me it's all about GOSLING. WTF? He had a huge year: Drive, Stupid Crazy Love, and Ides of March and gets shut-out? I call bullshit. It was a crowded year for actors, but still. I think Hollywood has a case of the jealousies.

I really liked Young Adult too and would have been happy to see Theron and Patton Oswalt nominated. Oh well.

The vast majority of these nominees leave me completely unexcited about the Oscars this year, which is the exact opposite that I felt last year.

Last year, I easily saw all 10 Best Picture nominees. I may not have liked all of the nominees equally, but there were things that I enjoyed about each of them. This year, I've seen 4 at this point, will probably see a couple more, but have no interest in the rest. And the ones that I've seen are good, but nowhere near the caliber of last year's nominees. So many of the nominees in general this year seem conservative and safe, which is disappointing. Three recent movies that I would put in my top ten for 2011 (Drive, Young Adult and Take Shelter) scored a grand total of one nomination.

I just can't get over Jonah freaking Hill being an Oscar nominee. I've seen Moneyball and while I appreciate the departure that this role was for him and the subtle work that he did, I can easily think of four performances off the top of my head that belong in that category over him: Albert Brooks for Drive, Patton Oswalt for Young Adult, Corey Stoll for Midnight in Paris and Andy Serkis for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. At the very least, I'm pleased that Nick Nolte broke into that category since it seemed like Warrior's chances were dead in the water lately.

The Best Original Song category is an embarrassment. If they're not even going to try, just get rid of it. It makes me sad because that category used to be so prestigious in the past. And I'm crushed to see that Midnight in Paris didn't make the cut for Best Original Score. I love its tipsy sound!

The strongest aspect of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was the acting job turned in by the young lead, who I thought was terrific. Drive was a fairly unpleasant story, but was a better film, in my opinion. I could easily swap those two.

queenofdenile wrote: Tilda Swinton is out and Rooney Mara is in. This means no SWINTON! on the red carpet, and an opportunity for Rooney Mara to be even more obnoxious in interviews. I think I speak for most of us when I say that this is NOT a good trade-off.

You trade Swinton for anything, and it's a losing trade.

Very happy for The Artist, hope it wins. Completely puzzled by Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Not sure why they give a Best Song award if they can't come up with three nominations.

A big resounding Meh.

I haven't seen any Best Picture nominees, but the only one I even kind of want to see is Moneyball. I'm curious if it will cure my hatred of Jonah Hill (Oscar-nominee...that doesn't even make sense to me).

I am rooting for Melissa McCarthy, but if she didn't win at the Globes, I doubt she'll win there. I thought she deserved the nomination for her performance. She definitely stole the movie and damn, I want to see comedy rewarded. I wish they had separate categories for drama and comedy, to be honest.

Probably the sole reason I can handle Jonah Hill's nomination is that I think he rode in on Brad's coattails. Which hopefully means Brad's position is strong enough to knock out Clooney. I just can't handle a reality wherein George Clooney has two Oscars. Just please no.

I couldn't handle the ELAIC kid just in the trailer, so I'm not even going to fool myself that I'm going to try to sit through the whole movie.

I thought Moneyball was fucking great, I thought Hill and Pitt were terrific in it (if I could only give it to one, though, I'd give it to Brad). That being said, that Best Picture list is so cracked out -- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close? REALLY?! And although I actually really liked Midnight in Paris, if someone other than Woody Allen had made it, no way it'd be on the list -- that movie was charming as hell but slight as a toothpick.

Tough year for good movies, this one. Though at least the screenplay nods feel pretty on-target. I'm fine w. Diablo not getting another nomination this go-round. She DID already win one.

We JUST read Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close in book club, and I hated it so much just seeing the TV ads angries up my blood.

I agree about Moneyball, Jessica. But I also really enjoyed The Descendents and George Clooney in it. I was not a fan of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close but the one thing I did really like about it was Max Van Sydow's performance so I was happy for him.

I am not that bothered about Diablo Cody, but I am sad Charlize Theron didn't get in, and I was hoping that Patton Oswalt might sneak in.

This was a year of average/good movies, but very few superior ones.

I actually totally disagree with this and that's exactly why I'm so pissed by the films that were nominated.

In year that gave us Melancholia, as well as Drive, Beginners, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Young Adult, the Academy chose to give 5 slots to movies that had way less critical mass, and some (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) almost NONE. Come the fuck on.

I feel the same way. I saw a LOT of movies this year that I really liked and thought were genuinely good, but they're barely reflected here at all.

queenofdenile, I'm 110% with you on everything, so rant away. Yes, Jonah Hill didn't suck in Moneyball. That means he gets an Oscar nomination now? It's like, "Ooh, you can tie your shoes and walk without falling down! Here's an invitation to the Academy Awards." Uuuuuuugh. And I liked that movie! For the record!

I thought this was a weak year overall for movies, so I shouldn't be so surprised that these nominations are severely underwhelming. However, I am SO. OVER. the Academy's bias against comedies. Bridesmaids not being a nominee for Best Picture is idiotic. I don't care if it was a longshot. ELAIC? Give me a fucking break.

I think the real problem is that all of the really exceptional movies were quite polarizing. Theoretically a small group of dedicated support could put you on the ballot and I am sure that a bunch of movies just missed the 5% mark but ultimately "bigger" movies just have a better chance. A lot of great movies this year were never going to find traction in the Academy. There was absolutely no way that Melancholia was going to get nominated for anything. The Academy HATES Von Trier and that was before he said he understood Hitler. There was a small chance for Kirsten Dunst but between Rooney Mara and Michelle Williams the young actress spots were filled.

Also does Stephen Daldry have some kind of incriminating pictures? Between ELIC this year and the freaking Reader a few years ago, he is a pro at getting his horribly reviewed movies Oscar noms!

Dean Pelton is an Oscar nominee! If only Community were on the air, NBC could use it in there ad campaigns! Oh wait that would imply NBC promoted Community.

Yay Israel is in again with foreign picture nominee..

Since I have been busy with work, kids, babies etc I have no had much time to see movies (I usually tend to go to the cinema for big action movies rather than smaller ones)...so the only nominated movie I have seen is....Puss in Boots - which was great.

I've only seen one of the Best Picture nominees so far, but for the most part, the rest are movies that I have zero interest in going to see. (Watch on dvd/HBO? Sure. But go out to a theater to see? No.) I mean, The Descendents has been playing at the theater around the corner from me for a month now, and every weekend we say we're going to walk over there, and every weekend we get all "meh" when it comes time.
Factor in Billy Crystal as host and no one I'm super rooting for this year (the way I was for Colin Firth last year), and this will likely be the first Oscars I deliberately skip, well, ever.

It's a shame Fassbender didn't get nominated for well, Shame. His performance was great but I didn't think the film itself was. It felt like series of scenes that didn't add up to much personally. I'm all for anyone but Clooney in the actor category.

I'm not getting the fuss over The Artist which I thought was charming but ultimately vapid. I think it'll win the best picture but my vote would go to Tree of Life which I thought was ambitious, challenging, beautiful and lingered with me for days.

MichiSichi wrote:Yay Israel is in again with foreign picture nominee..

Did you see "Footnote"? It was fantastic. I saw it at the Vancouver Film Festival because it won at Cannes for best screenplay, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it.

I haven't seen enough of the prestige pictures this year to really judge the nominees, but I have to say, if The Artist doesn't take home all the prizes it's nominated for, something's severely wrong. It was just the most delightful movie I've seen in ages. I adored Hugo, but I think The Artist left it in the dust.