Amour
- Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
- Brief Synopsis: Georges and Anne are in their 80s. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple's bond of love is severely tested.
- My Thoughts: You might want to bring tissues... this French-language film is quite heart-wrenching. A savvy person told me this was his favorite of the year, but I didn't know anything about the storyline going into it, so I had no idea what to expect. I love old people more than the average person, so the story of these sweet aging octogenarians really got me. :-(
- My Oscar Predictions: I don't think this will win Best Picture, but Emmanuelle Riva is nominated for Best Actress and I would NOT be disappointed if she won. Plus, she just won the BAFTA, so the odds might be in her favor!
Argo
- Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
- Brief Synopsis: A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran.
- My Thoughts: I reviewed this movie a few months ago, and after seeing it a 2nd time, my rave review remains: I think this is the best movie of the year. If I was a voting member of the Academy, this would absolutely get my vote for Best Picture.
- My Oscar Predictions: I hooope this wins. It has amazing momentum after pretty much sweeping awards season thus far, but Ben Affleck isn't nominated for Best Director. It will be an extremely rare occurrence (potentially first time ever?) if a film whose director isn't nominated wins Best Picture. Fingers crossed!
Beasts of the Southern Wild
- Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
- Brief Synopsis: Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.
- My Thoughts: If these Best Pictures nominees were getting yearbook superlatives, this one would win "most unique." Definitely an interesting one. Kind of stream-of-consciousness-y. Also- warning- the camera is super shaky, which I did not enjoy (hello motion sickness).
- My Oscar Predictions: I don't think this will win any big ones, but I am very excited to see its adorable 9-year-old Best Actress nominee (the youngest nominee ever in this category!): Quvenzahné Wallis.
Django Unchained
- Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
- Brief Synopsis: With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
- My Thoughts: I am a complete squeamish wimp when it comes to blood/violence, so I was not looking forward to this Quentin Tarantino bloodbath. I sucked it up and just covered my eyes on all the (many) violent parts. Very much to my surprise, however, I really enjoyed it (despite covering my eyes for a semi-significant portion)! It was unexpectedly funny, well-acted, and well-written. I totally think Leonard DiCaprio deserved a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. #snub. I actually would want to see this again post-Oscar season, and that's definitely saying something.
- My Oscar Predictions: I don't think this will win Best Picture, but I wouldn't be surprised if Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor (although some people are saying his role is too similar to his Oscar-winning role a couple years ago in Inglourious Basterds) and Tarantino won Best Original Screenplay.
Les Misérables
- Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
- Brief Synopsis: In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever.
- My Thoughts: I love musicals, but somehow I didn't even know the storyline going into this one, and I was veryyy surprised to find out there is essentially no spoken dialogue in the entire 3 hours. Which leads me to my next thought- it was way too long. I wish it was at least 3o minutes shorter. That said, Aaron Tveit is a hottie and I listened to "I Dreamed a Dream" on repeat for a couple weeks after watching it.
- My Oscar Predictions: I don't foresee a Best Picture win, but I do predict a W for Anne Hathaway for Best Supporting Actress.
Life of Pi
- Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
- Brief Synopsis: A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
- My Thoughts: I liked this one more than I thought I would. Gorgeous cinematography. Made me want to get a pet tiger. ;-)
- My Oscar Predictions: This definitely wasn't my favorite (or even in my top 5), but it has the 2nd most nominations with 11, so it's definitely a contender.
Lincoln
- Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
- Brief Synopsis: As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.
- My Thoughts: I had heard this one was quite boring, so I had pretty low expectations. While it was overly long and I almost certainly would have fallen asleep if I were watching it in the comfort of my own home, I actually enjoyed it more than I expected. Daniel Day-Lewis is superb, and Sally Field is annoying. Extra points for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
- My Oscar Predictions: This might be the one to beat as it has the most nominations of the evening with 12. Daniel Day-Lewis is practically a shoo-in for Best Actor. (I feel bad for all other actors in the years that DDL does a movie. Poor things never really stand a chance). Spielberg is an Academy favorite, too, so he very well could win Best Director.
Silver Linings Playbook
- Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
- Brief Synopsis: After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
- My Thoughts: I saw this one twice, and I enjoyed it both times. Very interesting and insightful portrayal of mental illness mixed with some comic relief and a cute little love story.
- My Oscar Predictions: While I enjoyed it, I don't think it is Best Picture worthy, nor do I think Jennifer Lawrence's performance is Best Actress worthy (don't get me wrong, I love J. Lawr... but this was not the best performance by an actress this year). It's the Weinstein Company, though, and they've won Best Picture the past 2 years...they're very good at this game, so you never know!
Zero Dark Thirty
- Rating on Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
- Brief Synopsis: A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.
- My Thoughts: Due to my aforementioned avoidance of violence, I was nervous for this one too. (Also because Garrett straight up told me he didn't think I could handle it). I closed my eyes on all the (controversial) torture scenes and was totally fine. It was an intense glimpse into such a top secret mission, it made me really curious what parts were factual and what parts were fictionalized for the movie, and how they got as much information as they apparently did.
- My Oscar Predictions: Kathryn Bigelow was also snubbed for a Best Director nomination, which lessens its chances at winning Best Picture (though many people I know would have voted for this one for sure). I think Jessica Chastain is wonderful and I could see her winning Best Actress.
Who do you hope will win on Sunday?
(Go team Argo!)
PS- Watch for me on the red carpet! I'll be in a purple dress. :-)
xoxo,
Annie.
