OSCARS 2013 - VERDICT
So that's the Oscars over and done with and, as ever, here we have a good bunch of winners and losers.
Some deserved wins, some predictable, some undeserved...
It's a mixed bag.
Let's start off with the big ones:
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Yes, that Ben Affleck movie about a fake sci-fi movie saving a bunch of people from a not very good time. Good film, I enjoyed it, but in no way was it the most memorable film I saw last year. Let alone the best! Would have preferred to see Les Miserables win mostly because of the top performances and the unique, game-changing take it had on movie musicals. Or Django Unchained because... well, it's a good Tarantino flick. Or even Skyfall! But that's just the 007 fan in me whining. I should be happy the film won Best Song and Best Sound Editing. Also surprised Argo won over Lincoln, which was an equally worthy flick I felt. Still, not the best choice but definitely not the worst.
Gotta say I was surprised by this one. Totally expected Spielberg to run away with it. Not that Lincoln was all that amazing but it certainly was far more interesting as a whole than Life Of Pi which had fab visuals but not much else, I would say. Ang Lee's a good director, I just think that Pi deserved a cinematography gong rather than a directing one. Wait... it DID get Best Cinematography! Greedy flick... Oh, and Sam Mendes deserved a nomination at least, just sayin'.
Yup, that one was a no-brainer I guess. If there's one thing Lincoln was it's Oscar-friendly, as was Day-Lewis' performance. Don't get me wrong, he was good, but it was very much a look-at-me-Academy!-I-can-be-Lincoln! performance. Joaquin Phoenix, honestly, should have won this one. His awkward, slightly demented turn in The Master (a far better film than Lincoln, by the way) was much more impressive than Day-Lewis' predictably decent incarnation. Would have liked to see Hugh Jackman win also, he did put in tremendous amounts of work into his Valjean but I guess that was a long shot.
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Urgh. Ok, I'm no Jennifer Lawrence fan. Winter's Bone was a good movie and all but Hollywood's obsession with the actress since has been nothing short of absurd. She was bland in literally everything I've seen her in since, occasionally plunging into the honestly unconvincing, borderline miscast (X-Men First Class, The Beaver). So yeah, I'm not too happy about this one. Literally every other nominee deserved it more. I would have given it to Jessica Chastain personally, a far more subtle and believable performance in my opinion. Moving on...
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Yay! QT wins! Django was a super fun and really good movie, for sure, and a lot of it was thanks to the sharp, smart screenplay. Definitely a good pick though I would have also accepted Amour and Moonrise Kingdom. Zero Dark Thirty I would have understood. Flight? Flight was lame. SO happy it didn't win. Why was it even nominated?!
Ben Affleck winning an Oscar for his writing? Who would have thought it? Again, the screenplay was about as good as Lincoln's so either one makes sense.
That's a BINGO! Very happy to see Mr Waltz, who is always amazing, whether he's being a douche in Carnage, poking elephants in Water For Elephants, being a nazi or even battling The Green Hornet. So of course I'm happy he won, though either Samuel L. Jackson or Leonardo Di Caprio, who were both equally impressive in Django Unchained, would have deserved a win. Would have also been very happy to see Philip Seymour Hoffman win for The Master, he was just crazy good. Tommy Lee Jones winning wouldn't have pissed me off either, he was pretty good in Lincoln, to be fair.
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Finally Les Mis wins something! And Anne Hathaway, though her part was relatively short, sure deserves it. Her performance single handedly brought out of Les Miserables an emotional impact you did not expect and, like Jackman, clearly put in tons of work, which deserves recognition. Amy Adams was also pretty great but none of the nominees stood out quite as much as Hathaway so yeah, an understandable win.
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What?! Are you kidding?! That Scottish bear movie?! Brave wasn't... bad I guess but it was a disappointment from Pixar, I think we can all agree, and was nowhere near as enjoyable as ParaNorman or as good as Frankenweenie, clearly the one that should have won. Boo. Tim Burton got ripped off on this one. Hell, I even enjoyed that Pirates! movie better! And I have a feeling that I'll enjoy Wreck It Ralph more also! Re-boo.
Anyway, that's my Oscar rant, here are more winners:
Let's hope next year has better movies to offer and a better Oscar ceremony!
(and a better host?)
lol I ask for that every year...
Some deserved wins, some predictable, some undeserved...
It's a mixed bag.
Let's start off with the big ones:
BEST PICTURE
ARGO
Yes, that Ben Affleck movie about a fake sci-fi movie saving a bunch of people from a not very good time. Good film, I enjoyed it, but in no way was it the most memorable film I saw last year. Let alone the best! Would have preferred to see Les Miserables win mostly because of the top performances and the unique, game-changing take it had on movie musicals. Or Django Unchained because... well, it's a good Tarantino flick. Or even Skyfall! But that's just the 007 fan in me whining. I should be happy the film won Best Song and Best Sound Editing. Also surprised Argo won over Lincoln, which was an equally worthy flick I felt. Still, not the best choice but definitely not the worst.
BEST DIRECTOR
ANG LEE
Gotta say I was surprised by this one. Totally expected Spielberg to run away with it. Not that Lincoln was all that amazing but it certainly was far more interesting as a whole than Life Of Pi which had fab visuals but not much else, I would say. Ang Lee's a good director, I just think that Pi deserved a cinematography gong rather than a directing one. Wait... it DID get Best Cinematography! Greedy flick... Oh, and Sam Mendes deserved a nomination at least, just sayin'.
BEST ACTOR
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
Yup, that one was a no-brainer I guess. If there's one thing Lincoln was it's Oscar-friendly, as was Day-Lewis' performance. Don't get me wrong, he was good, but it was very much a look-at-me-Academy!-I-can-be-Lincoln! performance. Joaquin Phoenix, honestly, should have won this one. His awkward, slightly demented turn in The Master (a far better film than Lincoln, by the way) was much more impressive than Day-Lewis' predictably decent incarnation. Would have liked to see Hugh Jackman win also, he did put in tremendous amounts of work into his Valjean but I guess that was a long shot.
BEST ACTRESS
JENNIFER LAWRENCE
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
DJANGO UNCHAINED
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ARGO
Ben Affleck winning an Oscar for his writing? Who would have thought it? Again, the screenplay was about as good as Lincoln's so either one makes sense.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPH WALTZ
That's a BINGO! Very happy to see Mr Waltz, who is always amazing, whether he's being a douche in Carnage, poking elephants in Water For Elephants, being a nazi or even battling The Green Hornet. So of course I'm happy he won, though either Samuel L. Jackson or Leonardo Di Caprio, who were both equally impressive in Django Unchained, would have deserved a win. Would have also been very happy to see Philip Seymour Hoffman win for The Master, he was just crazy good. Tommy Lee Jones winning wouldn't have pissed me off either, he was pretty good in Lincoln, to be fair.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ANNE HATHAWAY
Finally Les Mis wins something! And Anne Hathaway, though her part was relatively short, sure deserves it. Her performance single handedly brought out of Les Miserables an emotional impact you did not expect and, like Jackman, clearly put in tons of work, which deserves recognition. Amy Adams was also pretty great but none of the nominees stood out quite as much as Hathaway so yeah, an understandable win.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
BRAVE
What?! Are you kidding?! That Scottish bear movie?! Brave wasn't... bad I guess but it was a disappointment from Pixar, I think we can all agree, and was nowhere near as enjoyable as ParaNorman or as good as Frankenweenie, clearly the one that should have won. Boo. Tim Burton got ripped off on this one. Hell, I even enjoyed that Pirates! movie better! And I have a feeling that I'll enjoy Wreck It Ralph more also! Re-boo.
Anyway, that's my Oscar rant, here are more winners:
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Amour
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Life Of Pi
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Life Of Pi
BEST SONG: Skyfall
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Anna Karenina
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: Searching For Sugar Man
BEST FILM EDITING: Argo
BEST MAKE-UP/HAIR: Les Miserables
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Lincoln
Let's hope next year has better movies to offer and a better Oscar ceremony!
(and a better host?)
lol I ask for that every year...
I'm down with Argo winning best picture. Fucking awesome movie.
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