Oscar Stuff

POST OSCARS UPDATE -- I'm actually pretty happy with my 19/24 predictions...although it didn't win me the Oscar pool at work (but only because I made a change on that ballot from below...aargh!!!).   Certainly the best I've done since I've started this blog.  I took some big risks and only one paid off (Ang Lee in Direction).  That said, in terms of the actual winners, I think most of them are deserving even if I didn't choose them as my "Should Win" winners.

Seth MacFarlane was okay as host.  Certainly better than the stodgy Billy Crystal, but there were a bit too many jokes that fell flat.  And while I appreciate the thought process to make this an "entertainment show," there were a bit too many musical moments.

Best Picture -- CORRECT
Will Win:  Argo
Should Win: Argo

Best Director -- CORRECT
Will Win:  Ang Lee
Should Win: Steven Spielberg

Best Actor -- CORRECT
Will Win:  Daniel Day-Lewis
Should Win: DDL

Best Actress -- WRONG (Jennifer Lawrence)
Will Win:  Emmanuelle Riva
Should Win:  Naomi Watts

Best Supporting Actress -- CORRECT
Will Win: Anne Hathaway
Should Win:  Anne Hathaway

Best Supporting Actor -- WRONG (Christoph Waltz)
Will Win:  Robert De Niro
Should Win: Philip Seymour Hoffman

Best Adapted Screenplay -- CORECT
Will Win:  Argo
Should Win:  Lincoln

Best Original Screenplay -- CORRECT
Will Win: Django Unchained
Should Win: Flight

Best Cinematography -- CORRECT
Will Win: Life of Pi
Should Win:  Anna Karenina or Lincoln or Skyfall

Best Costume Design -- CORRECT
Will Win: Anna Karenina
Should Win: Mirror Mirror (or Anna Karenina)

Best Editing -- CORRECT
Will Win: Argo
Should Win: Argo

Best Makeup and Hairstyling -- CORRECT
Will Win: Les Miserables
Should Win: Les Miserables

Best Original Score -- CORRECT
Will Win: Life ofPi
Should Win: Anna Karenina

Best Original Song -- CORRECT
Will Win: Skyfall
Should Win: Skyfall

Best Production Design -- WRONG (Lincoln)
Will Win: Anna Karenina
Should Win: Anna Karenina

Best Sound Editing -- WRONG (Tie -- Skyfall/Zero Dark Thirty)
Will Win: Life of Pi
Should Win: Skyfall

Best Sound Mixing -- CORRECT
Will Win: Les Miserables
Should Win: Skyfall

Best Visual Effects -- CORRECT
Will Win: Life of Pi
Should Win: Life of Pi

Best Animated Film -- CORRECT
Will Win: Brave
Should Win: Paranorman

Best Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man -- CORRECT
Best Documentary Short:  Mondays at Racine -- WRONG (Innocente)
Best Animated Short:  Paperman -- CORRECT
Best Live Action Short:  Curfew -- CORRECT
Best Foreign Language Film:  Amour -- CORRECT

My Reviews of Oscar-Nominated Films

Argo -- A

Lincoln -- A-

Amour -- B

Django Unchained -- B

Les Miserables -- B-

Zero Dark Thirty -- B-

Silver Linings Playbook -- C+

Life of Pi -- C+

Beasts of the Southern Wild -- C

The Impossible -- A

The Sessions -- A

Skyfall -- A-

Flight -- A-

Paranorman -- B+

Wreck-It Ralph -- B+

Brave -- B

Prometheus -- B

The Master -- B

Moonrise Kingdom -- B-

Frankenweenie -- B-

Mirror Mirror -- B-

Snow White and the Huntsman -- B-

The Avengers -- C+

Ted -- C+

The Pirates! Band of Misfits -- C+

Hitchcock -- C

Anna Karenina -- C

Note:  The Hobbit (nominated for Best Make-Up/Hairstyling and Best Visual Effects) and Chasing Ice (a documentary nominated for Best Song) are the only films nominated outside of the shorts/documentary/foreign categories that I did not see.