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Oscar Nominations – Best Picture

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The List:

  • The Artist
  • The Descendants
  • Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
  • The Help
  • Hugo
  • Midnight in Paris
  • Moneyball
  • The Tree of Life
  • War Horse

Hooray for:

The Tree of Life, the most avant-garde nominee in recent memory. Also, Hugo.  I was afraid it might not be taken seriously enough.

Where the hell is:

  • Coriolanus
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  • The Ides of March
  • Melancholia

Instead of:

The Help had great performances, but a great movie? No.  I haven’t seen War Horse or Extremely Loud, but what I’m hearing isn’t too impressive.  Just standard-issue Oscar bait.

My prediction:

The Artist is the easy frontrunner. It’s such an oddball choice (in a good way), I’ll be thrilled if it wins. The only other contender is probably The Descendants (my favorite film of the year).

Oscar Nominations – Best Actress

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The List:

  • Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
  • Viola Davis – The Help
  • Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  • Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
  • Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn

Hooray for:

Mara, who beat out any number of equally qualified actresses for that fifth spot.

Where the hell is:

Where to begin?  This was a remarkable year for lead actresses

  • Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia
  • Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene
  • Charlize Theron in Young Adult
  • Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids
    I’ll probably think of some more by the end of the day.

Instead of:

Sorry, but Albert Nobbs was a complete misfire, partly because Close just isn’t convincing in the role. At all.

My prediction:

Davis was the frontrunner, but Streep is moving ahead (she was the only watchable thing about Iron Lady). This will be close – let’s see what the SAG awards give us.

Oscar Nominations – Supporting Actress

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The List:

  • Berenice Bejo – The Artist
  • Jessica Chastain – The Help
  • Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
  • Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
  • Octavia Spencer – The Help

Hooray for:

Chastain, who could easily have canceled herself out with the 800 or so movies she made in 2011.  And, of course, McCarthy, who is just damn funny.

Where the hell is:

  • Shailene Woodley for The Descendants (she was great, what happened?)
  • Vanessa Redgrave for Coriolanus (I will not let go of that film)
  • Carey Mulligan for Shame (so good, she almost makes you forget about Michael Fassbender’s enormous schlong)
  • Keira Knightley for A Dangerous Method (I think it’s a lead performance, but either way, she should be here somewhere)

My prediction:

Octavia Spencer has been riding a wave lately.  She’ll probably nail it, but this can be a tricky category…