Top 5 films of 2013 so far

I’ve excluded Side Effects and The Paperboy from the list since I already wrote about them earlier this year and I think The Paperboy is considered a 2012 film anyway. So without further ado, my top 5 of 2013 so far (no spoilers):

5) Upstream Color dir. Shane Carruth

I wouldn’t exactly say that I enjoyed this film (especially the first viewing) but it had my brain racing and asking questions for its entire duration. The narrative is far from linear so if you don’t like your mind getting f***ed then this may not be for you. That being said, it’s not in any way an unpleasant experience; there isn’t really anything disturbing except for the fact that you may not understand what’s going on and that might get on your nerves. There was a sense that maybe some things were purposely made to look more confusing then they were - I’m pretty sure the film would have been just as compelling had they made things a bit clearer. Whatever your level of comprehension throughout the film, the ending should be satisfying. I’ll admit that I still don’t completely understand it, and there is of course more than one interpretation, as there is with any piece of abstract art. But what I can say for sure is that the central theme is that of identity – losing it, and finding it again. Are we in control of our lives? Are we a tiny little part of a much larger something? It’s not like anything I’ve ever experienced before and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for something new.

4) Dans la maison (In the House) dir. François Ozon

This film completely seduces you, much like the way the teenage protagonist has his literature professor completely hooked with his writing. The professor gets a little too nosy and involved, and what results is a mysteriously riveting interfusion of fiction and reality. The initial motivation for the protagonist is his friend’s mother – he wants to be near her, he wants to write about her, so he spends a lot of time at this house. From there it dives into the unpredictable and shows us the anatomy of not just the house but the human imagination. It’s paced brilliantly, looks gorgeous, it’s psychological but doesn’t get too dark – it’s actually quite humorous – it’s sly, it’s clever, it’s audacious, it’s an absolutely delightful experience. Sorry, it feels like forever ago when I saw this one so my memory is quite hazy; as you can tell I’m waffling.

3) Stuck in Love dir. Josh Boone

This one’s also about writing – I’m a sucker for films about writing! As an experience I wouldn’t say it’s superior to Dans la maison, but I’m ranking this 3^rd because it surprised me and I like being surprised. In terms of realism, yes, it glamorises writing (they basically chill out and be all artsy and somehow off-screen all the writing gets done) and it’s a little too tidy, but given its genre I can let that slide. It’s surprisingly authentic, it’s engaging, there’s heart and soul – it surpasses the average romcom by a mile. As I mentioned, sure it’s not realistic, but there’s someone you’ll most definitely be able to relate to. I found myself genuinely caring for the characters, and as predictable it may have been, it was so heart-warming and sweet that I didn’t care. It’s a film that makes you want to write!

2) The Great Gatsby dir. Baz Luhrmann

Not being biased because it's DiCaprio, but he was fantastic! From the moment he appears (about 30mins or so into the film) he steadily guides you along for the rest of the ride – his presence is monumental, he is Jay Gatsby. His delivery of dialogue, the purposeful way he says ‘old sport’, the way he looks – I can’t imagine anyone else (haven’t seen the Redford version – sorry!) That first half hour or so before he appears is just chaotic though. It was all over the place, yes, illustrating the menace of the roaring 20s, but it was too much for me. You have to give Luhrmann credit for trying – and what a bold attempt! For me it all works so well: the colours, the music, the pace, the significance of the green light, it all on some deep level fuses into one giant explosion. In the novel Fitzgerald’s virtuoso writing had created this world too colourful and chaotic that it felt hollow, and I thought Luhrmann managed to do a job as good with his auteurship. Amidst the disillusion that he successfully creates, he manifests a powerful existential yearning which you can’t help but be sucked into and moved by. Some people have accused Luhrmann of turning it into a love story, and while I agree that some of those who haven’t read the novel may think that way, I hope that a more unwavering viewer would be able to see beyond the characters for what they represent. Every single performance was fantastic in this film – even Tobey Maguire, who is supposed to be an awkward and a bit of an unreliable Nick Carraway.

1) Mud dir. Jeff Nichols

This is, without doubt, pure brilliance. While the other films in this post you may or may not like depending on your taste, this one I recommend to all; if you are human you will enjoy it. It might still be showing in some cinemas so if you see it playing, consider yourself lucky and go see it! It’s storytelling at its best. You can tell Jeff Nichols took his time to really map things out and develop character arcs - masterfully done. There’s a boat stuck in a tree: we’re intrigued. So are the two young boys played brilliantly by Tye Sheridan (the youngest kid in Tree of Life) and Jacob Lofland, whose curiosity leads them to meddle with McConaughey's character’s affairs. By the way, when did Matthew McConaughey suddenly become awesome? His last few films have been brilliant, and his performance in this film is the best by him I’ve seen. The story is as compelling as the boat in the tree or McConaughey's mysterious character; it’s enchanting but at the same time raw and muddy (no pun intended). It’s a coming-of-age tale about love, family and friendship, character-driven with an incredibly strong sense of place. Its storytelling methods are pretty traditional, a fresh, original story written and executed so well – it’s an absolute gem which I cannot recommend highly enough.

Honourable mentions:

Like Someone In Love dir. Abbas Kiarostami

I read somewhere that the director was in Tokyo looking out from a car window when he got the idea for this film (or something along those lines). Not only was the act of being in a vehicle a reoccurring motif in this multicultural film, but that’s also how this experience felt like for me: loneliness viewed from a non-Japanese person’s POV from a couple of feet away. It takes a look at identity and mistaken identity; communication and miscommunication, perception, judgement... In fact it’s about a whole load of things which may not even cross your mind while you’re watching it. There are some heartbreaking moments, most notably during a sequence inside a taxi which takes place in the first act. Like the taxi driver who probably gets an idea of what’s going on but can’t (or shouldn’t) intervene, we can’t do anything about it either. People have to keep their distance – the film is a look on intimacy and the lack of it as well. The boundary between the viewer and camera is very clear (a lot of the things happen off screen); I still haven’t quite figured out the reasoning behind Kiarostami’s camera angles and POV choices, but hopefully with more thought it’ll become clearer. While the mismatch of what you see and what you hear may or may not bother you, it's an otherwise very easy-on-the-eyes elegantly shot film with an ending which has stirred up a lot of debate.

The Place Beyond the Pines dir. Derek Cianfrance

I appreciate what this film tries to do, and the first two acts are brilliant - but the third disappoints. For such an intimate and naturalistic build up, the pay off is far too unrealistic and forced - sudden too (a certain title card), to the point that it made the overall experience more disappointing than positive. It won't be a spoiler to tell you that basically its comprised of the stories of these two men and then their sons. I’m sure the director’s intention wasn’t for us to find the events of the film believable; I’d say his take was a mythological one, which would naturally involve fateful chance happenings. It just didn’t click that way for me and it seemed like it was trying to be what it simply wasn’t. That being said, I admire what he strove to do and I’m only disappointed because the first two acts were that good (near-perfect) and showed so much promise. The lead performances were brilliant – Ryan Gosling fits into the role nicely and Bradley Cooper seems to be getting better and better. 

The Paperboy (2012) dir. Lee Daniels

The Paperboy centres around the character of Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack) who is in prison, accused of committing murder. Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman) who has a ‘thing’ for prison men, exchanges letters with him, and believing he is innocent seeks help from the paperboys (newspaper journalists): Ward Jansen (Matthew McConaughey) and Yardley (David Oyelowo), with Ward’s little brother Jack Jansen (Zac Efron) watching through naïve goggles and often taking part in the search for the truth. It’s narrated by Anita (Macy Gray) the Jansen family maid, in the form of her recalling the events to another reporter, so it’s kind of meta-journalistic. It’s not really a free-the-guilty-man story though; it’s much more than that, with each character having their own effed up issues. The portrayals of these issues (sex, violence, bizarreness) have been criticised (with people saying it’s too much, too graphic, unnecessary etc), as has the fact that the film is such a big mess with things going all over the place.

I agree it’s a mess, both content-wise and structure-wise, but I disagree with all the criticism. I don’t think anything has been portrayed just for the hell of it or to purposely gross us out. The common thread to their issues is the subject of ‘repression’. Sex-obsessed (misunderstanding it for love?) Charlotte gets a kick out of the repressed sexual desires of prison men who express their yearnings in letters. I don’t want to give anything about Ward’s character away but he also faces a repression, by the time and setting (1969 Florida), and this affects the way he views himself. Jack has an Oedipal passion for Charlotte, and his unfulfillment despite being at a sexually ripening young age is unbearable. All of this has been brilliantly transmitted in the form of the unbearable heat and oozing sweat, constantly on the surface. Once things start to get unleashed, both literally and metaphorically, drama results and truths are discovered. If finding the true killer was the primary goal, indeed they find him, in his truest form.

The film is extremely engaging and memorable. It’s one hell of a feast, so if you’re a light eater don’t see it. I like feasts as long as there’s both quantity and quality, and this film has both. It’s not superficial, it’s a montage of human desires, repressed and liberated. It's meta-journalistic (recollection of a recollection) so structure-wise it would be a bit 'messy'. The cinematography is good, and the performances are absolutely fantastic with all the actors very far out of their comfort zones. Had I seen this last year (it only recently opened in UK cinemas) it would certainly have been in my top 10 of 2012.

Wes Anderson Films Ranked

Ranked from worst to best. Diving straight in:

7) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

After finding his feet with ‘Bottle Rocket’ and achieving his unique and would-go-on-to-become-iconic style with ‘Rushmore’, Anderson went overboard. I’m generally a fan of Anderson’s films and will usually back them when people say they’re pretentious, but not on this occasion. It actually is a pretentious and over-stylised mess of a film, as he seems to have spent far too much time making the caricature characters as quirky as possible and hiring a line up of stars to portray them. I was able to feel a slight, *slight* bit of sympathy for the character of Richie, but elsewhere there was no emotional connection and believability whatsoever. Ultimately at the end of the film I felt hollow. It’s baffling because a lot of people seem to like this film, some calling it his best work.

6) Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

I’m not the most well watched person when it comes to animation so I can’t really comment on how original I felt it to be in that respect, but it was certainly fun to see Wes Anderson auteurism in the form of an animation, and spot the voicing actors as they were introduced (the voices were perfect by the way). However, there wasn’t very much of the original Roald Dahl story left, both in terms of content and style. There was not really any genuine warmth which the original story offered, there was just dark humour, sarcastic wit… things which I like, but wish he hadn’t stuffed into this adaptation. I'm assuming the film's also marketed for kids - not sure they'd react well to some of the stuff. Pulling myself away from that issue, there were moments of excellent dialogue, I enjoyed the characters and their developments (except for ‘Rat’ who I wanted to see more of), the production design was gorgeous and mise-en-scene incredibly detailed, and the overall experience was somewhat enjoyable.

5) Bottle Rocket (1996)

A great starting point for Wes Anderson. Either because he was still finding his feet or because of the low budget, we see the plot and characters stripped-down in its bareness. Without the fancy stuff (though we do get a glimpse of his trademark shots). The dialogue is awesome (really awesome) and the intentions of these characters are very much out there for their ages but there is warmth, there is connection, there is a sweetness. As a wannabe screenwriter this film is a delight to watch - it’s like a step by step guide to making a perfectly structured film with perfect character arcs. Incredibly good writing. Overall a very enjoyable experience with great performances by the Wilson brothers.

4) The Darjeeling Limited (+ Hotel Chevalier) (2007)

A lot of people seem to think this is his most pretentious film, and while it's true that at the end we don’t really feel any completion and may think well what was the point in that?, this film actually is a guilty pleasure of mine. I admire Anderson’s attempt to cram the world into this train, as opposed to take the train out into the world which is what one would normally assume. The outside isn’t really important, that’s why there wasn’t much effort to really show you enough of India, let alone an accurate India. Pretentious or not, I really enjoyed this film, personally I loved the dialogue (as always), especially that long scene in the train restaurant (?) towards the beginning, the three of them and the two German women. By the end of that scene I had so much hope for the film, was engaged, and I wasn’t let down.

3) Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

I felt detached from the non-protagonist characters (all of them except for the 2 kids) so it lessens the ensemble feel which Anderson’s films tend to have, but as I took it as sort of nostalgic, melancholic, child’s POV film, there was no harm done. You accept that they are in control, and the adults are portrayed as powerless and stupid. And it’s charming to have so many stars play the adult characters as that itself gives the characters a sense of presence and meaning. I felt transported to another world, both geographically and POV wise. There’s no tediousness, no pretentiousness at all (I think), and if I watched all of Anderson’s films back to back this would feel the most like a breath of fresh air. Act 3 is a bit weak, but that was the only disappointment. He uses the camera very well, and the actors very well. Thoroughly enjoyable and engaging.

2) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Contrary to the many people saying the film started off well but declined, for me the film got better and better. During the first half I thought it was incredibly pretentious, and the protagonist isn’t likeable at all so difficult to connect to, but slowly I began to like how unlikeable he was, as weird as that sounds. A bit like Jane, the reporter played by Cate Blanchett (very interesting to see her in a Wes Anderson film), who was always going to write an absolutely terrible report but by the end, in that excellent scene, squashed together with the rest of the crew, kind of accepting it all, I did that too. I was genuinely moved by the father-son dynamic, and by the end I felt incredibly satisfied. Hats off to Bill Murray who did a fantastic job with that character. He not only spoke his lines but spoke with his expressions and mannerisms, perfectly done. And I loved Klaus! Everything scene with Klaus was hilarious.

1) Rushmore (1998)

THE best Wes Anderson film. Just as the wonderfully written, fabulously acted, unlikeable but loveable at the same time, incredibly charismatic Max Fischer struggles with the real world, Wes Anderson flings himself at the real world. You’re taken for an entertaining and hilarious ride, but he never crosses the line into being pretentious or overly stylish like his later films may or may not do. You’re pulled into it because the characters aren’t just absurd, they’re believable. And it’s consistent throughout. One of my to-go films when I just can't be asked.

Side Effects (2013) dir. Steven Soderbergh

“It's like this poisonous fog bank rolling in on my mind."

In a nutshell, ‘Side Effects’ is about 28 year old Emily (Rooney Mara) dealing with her depression. Her husband Martin (Channing Tatum) is released from prison having been in there for 4 years, but this added responsibility on her shoulders does no good for her mental health and she drives her car into a wall. She starts to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Banks (Jude Law), who prescribes her a number of anti-depressants which all seem ineffective. Seeking advice from Emily’s previous psychiatrist Dr. Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones) he prescribes a new experimental anti-depressant called Ablixa. Instantly it begins to work; however there are some odd side effects, and the rest I should probably not say.

Having read and listened to a bunch of reviews and interviews before seeing it, I knew that there were going to be a lot of twists and turns. Despite my determination to spot things beforehand, of course I was still taken back by surprise. It not so much ‘tricks’ you but demonstrates the power and control of the mighty camera. It picks out the important things for you but also presents falsities and red herrings right into our faces, ‘locking’ us in. So trying to spot things really does you no good. The music by Thomas Newman illustrates just how sinister the situation is and what’s lying underneath, still to come. The idea of the story may not be entirely new and original, but it’s certainly a very well made film with excellent cinematography and great performances. Rooney Mara very convincingly plays a woman burdened by depression; Jude Law equally as an overworked man who starts to crumble to pieces. None of the characters are played particularly likeably – this moral ambiguity and lack of someone to ‘root for’ is another aspect of the film which adds to the overall eeriness and brilliance of the film. Steven Soderbergh’s final film – it’s good to see him end his directorial career on a high note with such technical excellence and confidence. 

Top 10 Leonardo DiCaprio films

10) Shutter Island (2010) dir. Martin Scorsese

A patient has disappeared from Shutter Island Hospital for the insane and is thought to be hiding nearby. US marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) is called in to investigate… and it becomes a hell of an investigation, a trip into his own sanity and memories. I don’t want to give away too much, and don’t think I could anyway even if I wanted to as it’s extremely complicated, but the confusion you’re made to sit through as a viewer is exactly what the film wants you to feel. I love watching DiCaprio play crazy, and this is the craziest he has ever played. He is absolutely superb in this film.

9) The Aviator (2004) dir. Martin Scorsese

A biopic of Howard Hughes, like his many endeavours from film directing/producing to aviation, his OCD and his womanising ways, the film feels like a jumbled up montage. This is both what makes the film enjoyable (personally) and what fails to make it a masterpiece as it doesn’t feel like there is any clear route or direction it’s headed in. I don’t necessarily think that a film must have a well structured story, but in this case I understand that some people may have felt they were up in the air, wanting to put their feet onto the ground. But regardless of whether it’s perfectly structured or not, the direction is brilliant and the acting is amazing (even Kate Beckinsale). It’s perfectly enjoyable and is great cinema!

8) This Boy’s Life (1993) dir. Michael Caton-Jones

Based on the memoirs of writer Tobias Wolff, this is about a mother, Caroline Wolff (Ellen Barkin) and son Tobias ‘Jack’ Wolff (DiCaprio) who escape from Caroline’s abusive boyfriend and search for a place of comfort, in the 1950s. Caroline meets Dwight (Robert De Niro), who seems a nice guy, and they marry and move to his hometown. Dwight then turns out to be a selfish and abusive douche. They live under his ‘control’ in this small and caged town, until one day Tobias learns that that may not have to be the case. It’s a sad story because many people do live this way and may not be able to find an escape route. The acting is great, the dialogue is great, very witty at times, and the story is told incredibly well. The film is, like I said, quite sad, but also gives you hope at the same time.

7) Marvin’s Room (1996) dir. Jerry Zaks

Lee (Meryl Streep) and Bessie (Diane Keaton) are sisters but they haven’t spoken in 17 years. Through Bessie’s Leukemia and her need for a marrow transplant, Lee and her sons Hank (DiCaprio) and Charlie (Hal Scardino) travel to see Bessie and reignite the sisterly relationship. Hank is a troubled youngster, put into a mental institute after trying to set their house on fire, and we watch him soften and learn to care for others. It’s a sweet little film with a pretty amazing cast (Robert De Niro is also in the film, playing Bessie’s doctor), and DiCaprio doesn’t falter at all. He adds depth to his character, and is very entertaining to watch.

6) Titanic (1997) dir. James Cameron

I’ve watched Titanic many many times, but the more I watch it, the less the terrible sadness becomes about Jack and Rose, but I am reminded and I see that every single passenger on that boat had a family, or a lover, that they were torn away from each other. Humanity is shown in its truest form, both in good ways and bad ways. DiCaprio plays Jack, the poor guy, and Kate Winslet, Rose, the rich girl. DiCaprio and Winslet have great chemistry; though their story is the narrative that you follow, ultimately this is a film about humanity, and the film succeeds in carrying that weight and depth forward to the audience.

5) The Basketball Diaries (1995) dir. Scott Kalvert

Based on the real life published journals of Jim Carroll, the film essentially is about the effects of heroin on Carroll, played by DiCaprio, and his dreams of becoming a professional basketball player. We also watch Carroll confront the realisation of mortality and explore his sexual angst. The reoccurring voiceover narration reminds us that this isn’t just a druggie film, it’s a true story. I enjoy this so much because of DiCaprio’s performance. He is completely convincing as a mischievous youth who’s life spirals out of control. We’d seen him play all sorts of characters before but it was the first time seeing such a dark and desperate side of him. He makes the film an engaging experience, and I think this is one of his best performances ever. 

4) Blood Diamond (2006) Edward Zwick

DiCaprio (Danny Archer) and Djimon Hounsou (Solomon Vandy) give incredible performances in this film set in Sierra Leone (though not filmed there) about the diamond trade. Now I hardly know anything about the history or the politics or the diamond trade in Africa, but I don’t feel that there was any unnecessary violence, and I sensed the characters inside the film to be as horrified by the violence as we the audience are. I’ve also read praising reviews by people who are knowledgeable about the issue, so there you go. As a film it’s perfect. A solid script, brought to life by great directing, characters which draw us in, incredible acting, and I also love the beautiful music by James Newton Howard.

3) The Departed (2006) dir. Martin Scorsese

A remake of the Hong Kong film ‘Internal Affairs’, Billy (DiCaprio) works for Boston mafia chief Costello (Jack Nicholson) but is secretly on the side of the Massachusetts Police. Likewise, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) who works for the police, is secretly on the side of Costello. I’m sure that could’ve been worded better but anyway. They discover that there is a ‘rat’ among them, and it becomes a thrilling cat & mouse chase x2 to find out who the ‘rat’ is. The storytelling is superb and performances are excellent. Mark Wahlberg’s Sergeant Dignam almost steals the show with his awesomely witty dialogue and final scene of the film. Great entertainment!

2) What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) dir. Lasse Hallström

This is a beautiful, tender and warm film, at times heartbreaking, about the Grape family. DiCaprio plays Arnie, the retarded younger brother of Gilbert (Johnny Depp). With so many things on his plate, including their extremely obese mother who can’t/won’t leave the house, Gilbert becomes a bit of an empty vessel, putting other people before him, not really finding any pleasures in life besides the occasional sexual encounters with the married Betty Carver who shops at his grocery store. He meets Becky (Juliette Lewis), who makes his life more interesting and opens him up a bit. Gilbert could easily have become a one dimensional character, but Johnny Depp does a great job by bringing him to life and making him lovable. DiCaprio does a phenomenal job playing Arnie, to the extent that some people who didn’t know DiCaprio thought he was a retarded actor playing the role. 

1) Catch Me If You Can (2002) dir. Steven Spielberg

This is based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., the famous conman who passed himself off as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer mainly by forging cheques and being charming. Played by DiCaprio with such cheek and charm, you’re pulled into the story and root for him. Tom Hanks plays Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent who humorously chases and tries to catch him. It’s a fun, engaging and funny ride, but there is depth too. We see how his relationship with his parents, especially his father, played by the wonderful Christopher Walken, affected his character and actions, and we also take a peek into his lonely soul through the conversation we see between Frank and Carl Hanratty over the phone on Christmas Eve. It’s a film that I watch once every now and then and never get bored by, and I can just back, relax and enjoy!

Leo plays Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann, set to come out in theaters this May. He will also be in The Wolf of Wall Street, based on the memoir by Jordan Belfort, directed by Martin Scorsese. No release date set but probably late this year. Though he's currently taking a break from acting to focus on environmental work, at least we'll be seeing him on screen this year. Then I hope it won't be toooo long till he returns!

Oscar Predictions

The Oscars, alas! It'll be around 2am UK time but I'll be up, and with Seth Macfarlane hosting, I'm very excited :) 

Here are my predictions on who will win for some of the categories, and my thoughts on who I personally think deserve the award:

Best Picture

Nominees:

Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty

Prediction: Argo or Lincoln

I wish it was: Life of Pi

Out of these picks, the film which blew me away the most in terms of its visuals and its themes and meanings was Life of Pi. Argo was great but it’s won way too many things now. I haven’t seen Lincoln so I cannot comment. By the way I am confused as to why The Master wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. What the hell did they increase the number of films that can be nominated for?? This was also 007’s best shot at a Best Picture nomination, so I’m disappointed Skyfall wasn’t nominated.

Best Actor

Nominees:

Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Hugh Jackman, Joaquin Phoenix, Denzel Washington

Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis

I wish it was: Joaquin Phoenix

Haven’t seen Lincoln so cannot comment on DDL’s performance. Joaquin Phoenix was absolutely phenomenal in The Master.

Best Actress

Nominees:

Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Emmanuelle Riva, Quvenzhane Wallis, Naomi Watts

Prediction: Emmanuelle Riva

And so it should be: Emmanuelle Riva

Besides Quvenzhane Wallis (because she's too young) I think everyone in this category was amazing so I wouldn’t mind if any of them won to be honest!

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:

Alan Arkin, Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones, Christoph Waltz

Prediction: Robert De Niro or Tommy Lee Jones

I wish it was: Philip Seymour Hoffman

Again I haven’t seen Lincoln so I cannot comment on TLJ’s performance. I also see Christoph Waltz possibly winning this, and it’s true he did an awesome job supporting Jamie Foxx, but the best thing about that film was Leonardo DiCaprio. I wish wish wish he’d been nominated. Philip Seymour Hoffman is the only one that truly, truly deserves to win in my opinion. His performance was masterful as the Master in The Master.

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees:

Amy Adams, Sally Field, Anne Hathaway, Helen Hunt, Jacki Weaver

Prediction: Anne Hathaway

I wish it was: Amy Adams

Anne Hathaway was the best thing about Les Mis for me. But I don’t want to start a Les Mis rant, that could go on for pages. But just because I know she’s going to win, I want Amy Adams to win. Her role in The Master really was effectual in giving off this sinister sense of control lurking behind the Master.

Best Director

Nominees:

Michael Haneke - Amour, Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ang Lee - Life of Pi, Steven Spielberg - Lincoln, David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction: Steven Spielberg

I wish it was: Michael Haneke or Benh Zeitlin

I’m not sure why Beasts hasn’t been nominated for best cinematography! It looked gorgeous! He directed a 9 year old to put on an Oscar nomination worthy performance right? Haha. Also gutted for Beasts being thrashed by Silver Linings Playbook at the Indie Spirit Awards yesterday. SLP is really ‘indie’, yeah.

Best Cinematography

Nominees:

Anna Karenina, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall

Prediction: Life of Pi

I wish it was: Skyfall

See this is the thing. I’m confused about what ‘Cinematography’ actually means, because I used to think it meant cinematography WITHOUT visual effects, but apparently it doesn’t? Life of Pi should win Visual FX, definitely, but in terms of non-completely-reliant-on-CGI, I’m rooting for Skyfall. GO ENGLAND!!! (and Scotland) The whole stage-production-within-a-film thing in Anna Karenina was an interesting thing to do but it didn’t do anything for me. If only they’d had more vastness and openness in Levin’s scenes. I mean that was the point I thought, when I was reading the novel many years ago. That we were liberated from all the suffocation and tension through Levin’s outdoor scenes.

Music – Original Score

Nominees:

Dario Marianelli - Anna Karenina, Alexandre Desplat - Argo, Mychael Danna - Life of Pi, John Williams - Lincoln, Thomas Newman - Skyfall

Prediction: Life of Pi

I wish it was: Anna Karenina

The score was the best character of the film. It really supported the characters and the actions, and brought the production to life.

Best Original Screenplay

Nominees:

Michael Haneke - Amour, Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained, John Gatins - Flight, Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola - Moonrise Kingdom, Mark Boal - Zero Dark Thirty

Prediction: Django Unchained

I wish it was: Moonrise Kingdom

Act 3 of Django was disappointing for me. Throughout all 3 acts there were scenes that went on waaay too long, and elements such as Samuel LJ’s character I wish he’d explored a bit more. Not sure what ZDT is doing in this category, wasn’t that based on true accounts? Flight was terrible. After the plane crash it was just downhill in terms of plot and characters. I wouldn’t mind if Amour won, but I’m rooting for Moonrise Kingdom! It was fun, unique, with more depth than you think.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominees:

Chris Terrio - Argo, Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild, David Magee- Life of Pi, Tony Kushner - Lincoln, David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook

Prediction: Silver Linings Playbook

And so it should be: Silver Linings Playbook

I thought the writing was the foundation of SLP. Also wouldn’t mind if Chris Terrio won for Argo. In fact I’d be happy as DOR has already bagged a few awards for this one (either for director or screenplay).