(Scroll over any film title for the full Black Sheep review.)
THE KING'S SPEECH leads the Oscar tally with 12 nominations, including nods for Best Picture and Best Direction of course, as well as one for each of the principal cast members. TRUE GRIT follows closely in second place with 10 nominations, thanks to an unexpected direction nod for Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. THE SOCIAL NETWORK and INCEPTION, then come in third place with 8 nominations between them. I was expecting a stronger showing for these two films and slightly less for the Coen Brothers picture to be honest, but in general, I am very happy with the direction the Academy went in this year with their nominees. There were a number of surprises and snubs, which is inevitable, but for the most part, I think Oscar got it right. Shall we break it down even further then?
Most of the Best Picture nominees were considered locks this year. Really, it seemed as though three films were fighting for the ninth and tenth slot when it came down to it. Those three films would be 127 HOURS, WINTER'S BONE and THE TOWN. Ultimately, it was THE TOWN, Ben Affleck's critically acclaimed dramatic thriller, that missed out. It actually only garnered one nomination, in the Supporting Actor category for Jeremy Renner, when it was considered a strong contender in the Best Picture race, as well as the Adapted Screenplay category. Both 127 HOURS and WINTER'S BONE fared much better than expected and will certainly benefit from these nominations. 127 HOURS, which scored nods for its screenplay as well as the lead performance by Oscar host, James Franco, rolls into 600 theatres this weekend and could use the boost at the box office. WINTER'S BONE meanwhile, is already available to rent or own. This fantastic indie picked up well deserved nominations for it's star, Jennifer Lawrence, and supporting actor, John Hawkes, as well as a nod for its screenplay.
The lead acting categories played out exactly as I wanted them to. The most triumphant success amongst them may be Javier Bardem's seemingly miraculous nomination for his incredible performance in BIUTIFUL, a Mexican film that has not been seen by many at this point. The Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu directed picture, also nabbed a Best Foreign Language spot. Michelle Williams scored her second career nod for her performance in BLUE VALENTINE. This was also not a lock so I am thrilled to see her get this well deserved accolade, as it will also drive more people to see this bleak film. Her co-star, Ryan Gosling, did not make the cut finally.
The supporting acting categories provided some of this morning's biggest surprises. The biggest of those would certainly have to be Jacki Weaver, nominated for her performance in the little seen, ANIMAL KINGDOM. She was always a contender but there was a great deal of confusion in this category this year. Ultimately, Hailee Steinfeld, scored her nomination for TRUE GRIT in the supporting category, when there was much debate over whether she would end up in the lead actress race. Lesley Manville, in ANOTHER YEAR, had a similar confusion and ended up not being recognized in either category, not that she was a shoe-in for either really. A notable absence here would have to be Mila Kunis, in BLACK SWAN. I never saw her performance as award worthy but it was certainly being talked up quite a bit in recent weeks and I thought she would end up on the list. On the men's side, it was the aforementioned nod for Hawkes in WINTER'S BONE that blocked out another young hopeful, Andrew Garfield, in THE SOCIAL NETWORK.
Perhaps the biggest snub amidst this morning's nominations is Christopher Nolan being locked out of the Best Director race once again. He did earn his second nomination for writing INCEPTION today but he was considered a sure thing is the directing category. He has been nominated three times by the Director's Guild of America, including this year, but is consistently shut out here. Instead, the fifth slot went to the Coen Brothers, as mentioned before. Aside from THE SOCIAL NETWORK director, David Fincherm and the Coens, the remaining three nominees are all here for the first time. They are Darren Aronofsky for BLACK SWAN, Tom Hooper for THE KING'S SPEECH and David O. Russell for THE FIGHTER.
The rest of my shocks and disappointments are as follows. While I am thrilled to see Mike Leigh score a nomination for the beautiful original screenplay, ANOTHER YEAR, I am surprised not to see BLACK SWAN there. In fact, I am a little surprised that BLACK SWAN only managed 5 nominations in total the way that film's momentum has been building. I didn't truly expect Daft Punk to score a Best Original Score nomination for TRON: LEGACY but it would have been a hoot if they did. I was very happy to see the progressive Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross score for THE SOCIAL NETWORK make the list though. Oh, and I know BURLESQUE was bad but you could have found at least one song from that the film to round up the Original Song nominees to five. There was another glaring INCEPTION snub in the editing category. I thought for sure that was a lock. I'm very pleased to see great films like Banksy documentary, EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP and Pixar animated short, DAY & NIGHT, earn their spots in their respective categories. Speaking of Pixar, TOY STORY 3, picked up five nominations of its own, including Best Picture and Original Screenplay. And finally, represent Canada! Denis Villeneuve's INCENDIES scored Canada a nomination in the Best Foreign Language race.
I've done the math and I was 87% accurate in my predictions. I got all the lead acting nods right (even Bardem!) and suffered one wrong answer in each of the other categories I made predictions for. Look for reviews of many of the nominated films to come in the weeks ahead on Black Sheep Reviews and I invite you to share your opinions on the Oscar nominations below.
The 83rd annual Academy Awards will be presented on February 27, and hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway. This is the full list of nominations:
BEST PICTURE
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Javier Bardem in BIUTIFUL
Jeff Bridges in TRUE GRIT
Jesse Eisenberg in THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Colin Firth in THE KING'S SPEECH
James Franco in 127 HOURS
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Annette Bening in THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Nicole Kidman in RABBIT HOLE
Jennifer Lawrence in WINTER'S BONE
Natalie Portman in BLACK SWAN
Michelle Williams in BLUE VALENTINE
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Christian Bale in THE FIGHTER
John Hawkes in WINTER'S BONE
Jeremy Renner in THE TOWN
Mark Ruffalo in THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Geoffrey Rush in THE KING'S SPEECH
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams in THE FIGHTER
Helena Bonham Carter in THE KING'S SPEECH
Melissa Leo in THE FIGHTER
Hailee Steinfeld in TRUE GRIT
Jacki Weaver in ANIMAL KINGDOM
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Darren Aronofsky for BLACK SWAN
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for TRUE GRIT
David Fincher for THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Tom Hooper for THE KING'S SPEECH
David O. Russell for THE FIGHTER
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
THE ILLUSIONIST
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BIUTIFUL
DOGTOOTH
IN A BETTER WORLD
INCENDIES
OUTSIDE THE LAW
CINEMATOGRAPHY
EDITING
ART DIRECTION
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
COSTUME DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
I AM LOVE
THE TEMPEST
MAKEUP
THE WAY BACK
ORIGINAL SCORE
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
ORIGINAL SONG
"If I Rise" from 127 HOURS
"Coming Home" from COUNTRY STRONG
"I See the Light" from TANGLED
"We Belong Together" from TOY STORY 3
SOUND MIXING
SOUND EDITING
UNSTOPPABLE
VISUAL EFFECTS
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
GASLAND
INSIDE JOB
RETREPO
WASTE LAND
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
KILLING IN THE NAME
POSTER GIRL
STRANGERS NO MORE
SUN COME UP
THE WARRIORS OF QUIGANG
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
DAY & NIGHT
THE GRUFFALO
LET'S POLLUTE
THE LOST THING
MADAGASCAR, A JOURNEY DIARY
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
THE CONFESSION
THE CRUSH
GOD WE LOVE
NA WEWE
WISH 143
For more information on the Academy Awards, please visit their website at Oscars.org.
9. Get Low
5. Easy A
3. Toy Story 3
2. The Fighter
Black Swan: This almost made the top 10. I really dug Natalie Portman’s high wire performance in this. She plays a ballerina desperate to star in a new production of Swan Lake. She always looks like she’s terrified she’s going to be found out as a phony, even though she clearly isn’t. I do wish the dance sequences were filmed better, without the dancers being cut off at the waist. Too bad director Doesn’t Darren Aronofsky didn’t heed Fred Astaire’s advice. I think it requires multiple viewings to catch everything. For instance, is Barbara Hershey’s mother character real, or also one of Portman’s fantasies? A rather large, middle-aged woman next to us got up in disgust during the lesbian love making scene between Portman and Mila Kunis and it seemed to take forever for her to pass in front of the screen. Very annoying.
The Girl on the Train: French film based on a real case about a young Jewish woman who fakes an Anti-Semitic attack. Sad to watch, but engrossing from start to finish. Catherine Deneuve plays the girl’s mother, and she’s as wonderful to watch as ever.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I: A good build up to the big finale, but more than a bit sluggish in its pacing. What I’ve always liked about the books, and the movies, is how positively Dickensian the characters are who inhabit this world. For me, this one didn’t have enough of those Dickensian moments. And my main complaint about this entry is the same problem I had with the book – when are they going to get out of that damn forest? It had me pining for some awesome Slavko Vorkapich montages to show the passing of time.
The Kids Are All Right: Beautifully acted and written if a bit formulaic. Julianne Moore and Annette Bening are wonderful as the lesbian parents of two teenagers who decide to look for their sperm donor father (Mark Ruffolo). When they find him, the family life is turned upside down in all kinds of unexpected ways.
Letters to Juliet: Vanessa Redgrave talks granddaughter Amanda Seyfried into driving through Italy to look for the lost love of her youth. I know this likely has not appeared on other Best of 2010 lists, but to me it was completely satisfying in a way so many current movies today aren’t. Emotions are honestly earned, the Italian location footage is to die for and the characters are very appealing and very human. Put a Max Steiner score and a Delmer Daves director’s credit on it and it could have been a most enjoyable evening at the movies in the 1960s, and believe me, that is not an insult. Plus, I’m in love with Amanda Seyfried so that helped a great deal.
Get Him to the Greek: As contrived and laugh-free a comedy as I’ve ever seen. I can’t stand Russell Brand, which may have been the problem. One of those awful Judd Apatow—produced yawn fests where the characters engage in all kinds of repulsive behavior for the first three quarters of the movie before getting all gooey and touch feely at the end. I saw this on a brutally hot summer afternoon because I don’t have air conditioning. It led me to think maybe I should invest in a window unit.
The Last Airbender: Another big budget fantasy epic that was duller than dull. It’s the type of movie I had forgotten I’d seen even as I was walking up the theater aisle as the credits rolled.
Red: Something of a cheat, as I only saw the first hour before the power in the theater went off and we were given passes to a future movie. I never had the slightest desire to see the rest of it. One overkill scene is so typical of why I despise most current action movies. A stealth team of three or four special ops guys, all dressed in black and wearing masks, sneak into the house of ex-CIA man Bruce Willis to take him out. Being the hero, he disarms and kills them and walks onto his front porch where he’s greeted by seemingly the rapid fire of a dozen or so machine guns. Because nothing says a stealth operation like hundreds of rounds of ammunition being shot off in a suburban neighborhood. Stupid beyond all words.
“True Grit” (1969). I said this in a previous blog and it bears repeating. Whenever there are articles about past Oscar winners who didn’t deserve to win, John Wayne’s Best Actor win for this film invariably comes up. People say he was just playing himself, they proclaim or it’s the worst Oscar ever handed out. To which I say: Bull. And. Crap. Wayne’s performance as the eyepatch-wearing Rooster Cogburn is a winner all the way. We watch his character evolve from a crude, mean U.S. Marshall to a caring (though still unsentimental) father figure to young Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), who is tracking her father’s killer. It’s not contrived either, but we witness the character’s evolution over the course of the movie. Besides, who should have gotten the Best Actor Oscar that year, those two mopes from “Midnight Cowboy”? No, the Academy made the right decision that year.
“Big Jake” (1971). One of the meanest outlaw gangs in movie history, headed by John Fain (the great Richard Boone), kidnap a young boy from a wealthy ranch and hold him for $1 million ransom. They think his grandfather Jake McCandles (John Wayne) is dead. He isn’t. The Duke takes his estranged sons (Patrick Wayne and Christopher Mitchum) into Mexico to hunt down the Fain Gang and bring his grandson home alive. Probably my all-time favorite John Wayne movie. Not his best, mind you. I even know that. But it was the first John Wayne movie I ever saw, back as an impressionable nine-year-old one summer evening at the Dolton Theater. It’s been almost 40 years, but I can still remember the cheers and applause from a packed house when the movie ended with the freeze frame of Wayne and his family and that triumphant Elmer Bernstein music cue kicked in. I can understand when younger people say watching something like “Star Wars” (1977) or “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) changed their lives, because it happened to me watching “Big Jake.” I’ve been a Wayne fan ever since that night, and it instilled a love for the western genre that has never abated over the years.
“Tales from the Crypt” (1972): I’ve always been a big fan of the horror anthologies that England’s Amicus Studios produced in the 1960s and 1970s, and this is probably the best. It’s actually a very moral film…if you do bad things to people, then bad things will come back to you a hundredfold. Each of the five stories here are good, but my favorites are the third, starring kindly Peter Cushing against a very nasty neighbor, and the final episode where residents at an institute for the blind extract a most ingenious vengeance on the callous and miserly new manager. The first segment, set on Christmas Eve featuring an escaped lunatic in a Santa Claus costume, makes for ideal holiday viewing. Ho Ho Ho.
“That’s Entertainment” (1974): Not really a documentary, but a magnificent overview of M-G-M musicals. In those pre-video and pre-cable days, those clips of musicals rarely revived or shown on TV were absolutely mouth-watering. The early 1970s was a huge feast for nostalgia buffs, and this was the cherry on the sundae. If you’re feeling down, put this on, settle back, watch, and marvel. The blues will be lifted within minutes.
“Breakheart Pass” (1975): I love westerns, mysteries and stories set on trains. This happily combines all three. Charles Bronson is arrested for murder and placed on a train traveling west through the snow-covered wilderness to bring much needed medical supplies to a fort. Someone on the train doesn’t want the train to reach its destination, what with murders and acts of sabotage occurring on a regular basis. Bronson takes it upon himself to investigate. (Hint: he’s really not a murderer). There’s gorgeous scenery on display here, with that beautiful steam engine hauling that train through vast mountain gorges and across bridges. There’s a great fight scene on top of the moving train between Bronson and ex-boxer Archie Moore. This was the last assignment for legendary stuntman/coordinator Yakima Canutt and he went out with a bang with the expert staging of the action scenes here. A terrific cast too, full of such pros as Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, Jill Ireland, Charles Durning, Ed Lauter, David Huddleston and Bill McKinney. This is a perfectly satisfying evening’s entertainment, and the type of fare that contemporary Hollywood has no idea how to make anymore.
“The Man Who Would Be King” (1975): One of the greatest adventure films ever made, and features what are arguably my favorite performances of two of my favorite actors, Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling (who is played in this movie by Christopher Plummer), two cashiered British soldiers in 19th century India decide to travel into the wilderness and find a country where they can set themselves up as kings. One can see the film as a look at greed and man’s driving ambitions, but director John Huston doesn’t allow the message to swamp this marvelously entertaining movie. The Moroccan locations are stunning.
“Race with the Devil” (1975). Another childhood favorite, and one that holds up really well. Two vacationing couples (Warren Oates and Loretta Swit, and Peter Fonda and Lara Parker) drive across Texas in an RV on their way to a skiing vacation in Colorado. One evening they pull over to a clearing to rest for the night and find themselves witnessing a Satanic ceremony, including the ritual murder of a young woman. The rest of the movie is a chase across Texas, with the Satanists seemingly around every corner. The car stunts in this are sensational, and there’s a twist ending they likely would not do today. I saw this on a Saturday afternoon at the Dolton Theater, and I think every kid in my class was there that afternoon. The TV commercials had us drooling to see this title…no way where we going to miss this. It did not disappoint. Leonard Rosenman, of all people, did the score.
“The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977). Roger Moore’s best outing as 007, and one of the best Bond films ever. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but still offers some of the best action scenes in the series’ history. For years I thought the large specially fitted tanker that scoops up American, British and Russian nuclear submarines (thus leading to WW III) was a real tanker that the producers purchased, retrofitted with a new special hull, and then blew it up at the end. I was floored when I read it was a miniature. I would have sworn it was the real thing, strong evidence that CGI is not the be all and end all of special effects. This came out the same summer as “Star Wars” and I couldn’t understand the furor over that when the best Bond movie in years was also playing. High school hormones also likely led me to play favorites here. “The Spy Who Loved Me” gave us Barbara Bach and Caroline Munro. “Star Wars” gave us…Carrie Fisher and her cinnamon roll hair style? No contest.
