Ours Go to 11: Volume 28, People I Would Have Relished Seeing on the Oscars

I watched the Oscars last night, all nearly 5 hours of the telecast.

Although I had seen all the Best Picture nominees and was actively curious about what film would win that category, as well as which actors & directors would be honored with trophies, I found myself largely bored.

I appreciate the show attempting to be inclusive, and respectful, towards woman and non-white, non-American talents in the film industry, who still represent too small a minority.

But I felt the telecast--and much of Jimmy Kimmel's comedy--was far too tepid.

Given the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, it would seem a female host could've been more appropriate--perhaps Tiffany Haddish or Sarah Silverman--and probably more inspired.

As it was, on a show celebrating 90 years of the Academy Awards, my favorite moments were when classic stars and moviemakers were commemorated. Not so much in the compilation clips, but actually onstage.

Occasionally, in the cases of James Ivory (for best adapted screenplay) and Roger Deakins (for cinematography) it was great to see old pros win Oscars. But I also relished seeing Eva Marie Saint, Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda and--in a reprise from last year--Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.

I would have liked more of this honoring of Hollywood's past (and the international film community), as other than the awards themselves--and those often seem flawed--I like the Oscars best as a celebration of film. (I don't care so much about the fashions, and the political statements--while on target--can become a bit much.)

I'm not saying all 11 of these people should have been included in this year's Academy Awards telecast on ABC, and I truly don't know if any or all would be healthy enough to present an award or participate in some kind of special number. But in the spirit of celebrating film greats who are still among us, I would have relished seeing: 

1. Sidney Poitier 
2. Gene Hackman 
3. Francis Ford Coppola 
4. Sophia Loren 
5. Robert Redford 
6. Robert De Niro 
7. Al Pacino 
8. Sally Field 
9. Katherine Bigelow (narrating a featurette on female directors)
10. Julie Andrews 
11. George Lucas

What Will and Should Win: Last Minute Oscar Predictions

Unlike 2012 and 2011, this year I haven't found the time nor need to write a full-fledged Oscar post.

But with the telecast still 90 minutes away, there's no time like the present.

Having seen all of the Best Picture nominees and most of those in the acting categories, I thought I'd take a stab at predicting what will win, while indicating a few cases where I think what "will win" differs from what "should win."

Speaking of "should win," some may enjoy this list of historical Alternative Best Picture Winners my friend Brad Strauss, an organizer of the Chicago Film Discussion Meetup Group, compiled for my blog last year, before The Artist took the prize.

I also think this Hollywood Reporter piece on a Academy member's voting process is rather insightful and fascinating.

But rather than bother with a post-haste text-heavy post, I marked up an Oscar Ballot I found on MovieFone.com, which I include below.

If so inclined, I may revisit my picks tomorrow to see how I did, but I certainly would not suggest anyone take my predictions to their local bookie.

In full disclosure, I should note that in some categories (beyond the major ones) where I didn't have any basis for a good guess, I took a look at what "experts" had predicted--as compiled on MetaCritic.com--for a bit of guidance.

And now, the envelope please....

---
Post-Oscar Update:

I wound up getting 16 of 24 categories right, although I obviously did not predict the tie in Sound Editing. But I missed on many of the major awards, including Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Animated Feature, Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay. I did pick Argo to win Best Picture; it was the clear favorite but I felt it deserved its award.

And the Winner Should Have Been... -- Brad Strauss Picks His Alternate Oscars

In case you haven't heard, the 84th Annual Academy Awards will be presented tonight. 

Having already pontificated on the Oscar nominations and made whatever predictions I care about--I think The Artist will win Best Picture and hope it does--I thought I would turn to a film buff friend who has looked back through history and indicated the movies he thinks should have won Best Picture.

Brad Strauss is an organizer of the Chicago Film Discussion Meetup Group and runs the monthly Sunday Brunch Discussion Meetups where we opine on a given topic, such as films of a chosen director, genre or country. Our next meetup, on March 25, will be about Documentaries. I have been watching many docs and will likely write about some favorites in the weeks to come.

Inspired by a 1993 book by Danny Peary called Alternate Oscars, in which Peary indicated substitute choices for Best Picture, Actor and Actress--unless there were cases where he agreed with the Academy; I don't have the book--and gave his reasoning, Brad compiled his own list of Alternate Oscars.

I thought it would make a good post for today and Brad kindly allowed me to share his picks with the world. So below is a list of the films that the Academy chose as Best Picture and those that Brad thinks should have won for each year (in many cases, his choices weren't even nominated).

I fully respect Brad as a highly knowledgeable cinemaniac with diverse tastes and am happy to share his opinions, even if they aren't necessarily congruent with mine.

In several cases I agree with him; The Social Network should have won last year, Citizen Kane is a fairly obvious Oscar gaffe and Brad's advocacy of a broader vernacular than the Academy typically celebrates makes picks like Memento, Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, Do the Right Thing, This Is Spinal Tap and M*A*S*H not only agreeable but laudable.

There are also many cases where Brad's picks are just that, his picks. But that's what's makes Oscar night so much fun, more than the awards themselves or even the glamor. We all have opinions and everyone else's--including quite often the Academy's--are usually terribly wrong. Or so we like to think.

If it wasn't for the arguments amongst ourselves, all we'd be left with is a bunch of egomaniacs in fancy clothes thanking their agents.

On that note...

I would like to thank Brad Strauss for straightening out the Academy. 

And his winners are...

Academy Award for Best Picture              Brad Strauss' Choice

2011 - ????…………………………………….. A Separation 
2010 - The King’s Speech……………………..The Social Network
2009 - The Hurt Locker ………………………. Inglourious Basterds
2008 - Slumdog Millionaire…………………….Synecdoche, New York
2007 - No Country for Old Men ……………… Black Snake Moan
2006 - The Departed…………………………..  United 93
2005 - Crash……………………………………  Sin City
2004 - Million Dollar Baby…………………….  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2003 - Return of the King……………………... Kill Bill: Volume 1
2002 - Chicago…………………………………  Adaptation
2001 - A Beautiful Mind……………………….  Memento
2000 - Gladiator………………………………..  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
1999 - American Beauty………………………  Fight Club
1998 - Shakespeare in Love…………………...The Truman Show
1997 - Titanic…………………………………..  Wag the Dog
1996 - The English Patient……………………  Breaking the Waves
1995 - Braveheart……………………………..  Se7en
1994 - Forrest Gump………………………….  Pulp Fiction
1993 - Schindler’s List………………………….Schindler’s List
1992 - Unforgiven ……………………………... The Player
1991 - Silence of the Lambs…………….       Silence of the Lambs
1990 - Dances with Wolves………………….. Goodfellas
1989 - Driving Miss Daisy……………………. Do the Right Thing
1988 - Rain Man……………………………….  A Fish Called Wanda
1987 - The Last Emperor……………………..  Wings of Desire
1986 - Platoon………………………………….  Hannah and Her Sisters
1985 - Out of Africa…………………………….Shoah
1984 - Amadeus………………………………..This is Spinal Tap                  
1983 - Terms of Endearment………………….The Right Stuff
1982 - Gandhi…………………………………..E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial
1981 - Chariots of Fire…………………………Raiders of the Lost Ark
1980 - Ordinary People……………………….. The Empire Strikes Back
1979 - Kramer vs. Kramer……………………. Apocalypse Now!
1978 - The Deer Hunter………………………. Animal House
1977 - Annie Hall……………………………….Star Wars
1976 - Rocky…………………………………… Taxi Driver
1975 - One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest……Nashville
1974 - The Godfather Part II…………………..Young Frankenstein
1973 - The Sting………………………………..The Exorcist
1972 - The Godfather …………………………  The Godfather
1971 - The French Connection………………. Fiddler on the Roof
1970 - Patton……………………………………M*A*S*H
1969 - Midnight Cowboy……………………… The Wild Bunch
1968 - Oliver!……………………………………2001: A Space Odyssey
1967 - In the Heat of the Night………………..Samurai Rebellion
1966 - A Man for All Seasons…………………The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1965 - The Sound of Music…………………... Chimes at Midnight
1964 - My Fair Lady…………………………… Dr. Strangelove…
1963 - Tom Jones……………………………….8 ½
1962 - Lawrence of Arabia……………………  Lawrence of Arabia
1961 - West Side Story……………………….. West Side Story
1960 - The Apartment…………………………  Psycho
1959 - Ben-Hur…………………………………  Rio Bravo
1958 - Gigi……………………………………….Vertigo
1957 - The Bridge on the River Kwai………....Throne of Blood
1956 - Around the World in 80 Days………….The Searchers
1955 - Marty……………………………………. Night of the Hunter
1954 - On the Waterfront………………………Seven Samurai
1953 - From Here to Eternity………………….Tokyo Story
1952 - The Greatest Show on Earth………… Ikiru
1951 - An American in Paris…………………. A Streetcar Named Desire
1950 - All about Eve……………………………Sunset Boulevard
1949 - All the Kings Men………………………The Third Man
1948 - Hamlet………………………………….. Red River
1947 - Gentleman’s Agreement……………… Black Narcissus
1946 - The Best Years of Our Lives…………..Notorious
1945 - The Lost Weekend……………………..Children of Paradise
1944 - Going My Way………………………….The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
1943 - Casablanca…………………………….  Casablanca
1942 - Mrs. Miniver……………………………. Bambi
1941 - How Green Was My Valley……………Citizen Kane
1940 - Rebecca…………………………………The Grapes of Wrath
1939 - Gone with the Wind…………………… The Wizard of Oz
1938 - You Can’t Take It with You…………….The Lady Vanishes
1937 - The Life of Emile Zola………………… The Grand Illusion
1936 - The Great Ziegfeld…………………….  Modern Times
1935 - Mutiny on the Bounty…………………. Bride of Frankenstein
1934 - It Happened One Night……………….. The Scarlet Empress
1932/1933 - Cavalcade……………………….. King Kong
1931/1932 - Grand Hotel……………………..  Horse Feathers      
1930/1931 - Cimarron…………………………  City Lights
1929/1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front…Pandora’s Box
1928/1929 - The Broadway Melody…………. The Passion of Joan of Arc
1927/1928 - Wings…………………………….  Metropolis

Obligatory Oscar Opinions: Nominations, Snubs, Predictions

After weeks of anticipation, major entertainment news was announced this morning. Yes, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be embarking on a U.S. tour this Spring.

Unfortunately, those of us in the Chicago area are being passed over, but rumors abound that the Boss and his band--no word yet on how the late saxophonist Clarence Clemons might be replaced--will play Wrigley Field in September, after a run of European dates.

And in other entertainment news, the Oscar nominations were announced.

You can see the actual announcement, of the major categories, in this YouTube clip, and beyond my addressing of those nominees below, you can view all the nominations here (or just about anywhere).

I enjoy the Oscars as a celebration of film and a topic of conversation. They are a fun diversion, but as history has shown, clearly not an impeccable arbiter of cinematic excellence. The Academy is comprised of about 6,000 film industry professionals, whose votes determine the nominees and award winners. Like any electoral process, the Oscars are purely subjective, based on personal--possibly uneducated and/or biased--opinion, with popularity, politics, self-interest and sentimentality often being factors, and thus reasons to take the selections with a grain of salt.

As such, I really don't care if the Oscar choices right or wrong, as there really is no right or wrong. But that won't stop me from pontificating a bit. Here are the nominees for the 84th Academy Awards--to be presented on February 26--and what I think about them (you may also wish to see my recent picks for the Best Movies of 2011).

Best Picture

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

After years of nominating 5 films, for the 2009 awards (presented in 2010), the Academy went to 10. That seemed unnecessary, as does subsequent tinkering that means that now, between 5 and 10 movies can be nominated (the convoluted tabulation process is explained here). Of the 9 that were nominated, I've seen seven of the films, and have heard that The Tree of Life is quite good though rather challenging. I would excise War Horse, which I found far too sentimentalized, and conceivably for similar reasons, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, whose reviews have been lukewarm. Completely missing in action, from any category, was Trust, a March release that I thought was excellent, and Take Shelter, which got great reviews but which I missed in theaters. I just saw The Ides of March and think it belongs as well, even if not quite in a top 5.

The silent film, The Artist, was the most original movie I saw last year, while Martin Scorsese's Hugo was nearly as inventive. I'll be happy if either wins, and imagine that The Artist will.

Best Actress

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

I haven't seen Close or Streep, but assume both were great. Mara was good as Lisbeth Salander, but Kirsten Dunst was better in Melancholia as was Charlize Theron in Young Adult. I didn't see Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin but she was seen as a likely nominee. Based on what I've seen, I think Williams should win, but Davis would be worthy and I wouldn't be shocked if Streep gets it.

Best Actor

Demian Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

I'm not familiar with A Better Life but can't gripe much about this field. Would've been nice to see longtime Chicago stage actor Michael Shannon get a nod for his heralded work in Take Shelter. I think Clooney will win, not undeservedly, but would vote for Dujardin.  

Supporting Actress

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

No complaints, though I haven't seen Albert Nobbs. Some nice performances that I also liked include Melanie Laurent in Beginners, Evan Rachel Wood in The Ides of March, Emily Watson in War Horse and Charlotte Gainsbourg in Melancholia. My vote here goes to Spencer.

Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Didn't see von Sydow and am not planning to. Nolte was good, as was Plummer, probably a sentimental pick to win, but I have no problem with that. It's a shame they couldn't nominate the dog from The Artist, who was outstanding. Ryan Gosling is a surprising omission for his work in The Ides of March (was it considered a leading role?) and Patton Oswalt also gave a notable performance in Young Adult.

Best Director

Michel Hazanivicus, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

I vote for Haznivicus from a strong group, though I don't think that Allen deserved the nom over Bennett Miller for Moneyball.

Best Original Screenplay

Michel Hazanivicius, The Artist
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo, Bridesmaids
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

I'm looking forward to seeing A Separation, said to be sensational. For now, I'll go with The Artist. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Beau Willimon and Grant Heslov, The Ides of March
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, Moneyball
Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Moneyball was a strong adaptation from Michael Lewis' book, but I think I'd vote for Logan for Hugo.

Sorry that I didn't see any of the nominees for Documentary Feature, Foreign Language Film or Animated Feature and thus can't provide an opinion.

If you want to argue about the Oscar nominees or discuss other 2011 faves, consider coming to the Chicago Film Discussion Meetup Brunch this Sunday.

11 of the Worst Best Picture Oversights, As Selected by a Friend -- Now Posted on Booth Reviews

Click here or on the image below to see my latest post to Booth Reviews on ChicagoNow.com, featuring my friend Brad Strauss' picks of 11 Films That Should Have Won "Best Picture" Oscars but didn't.

My 11 Favorite Non-Oscar Nominated Performances From 2010 Movies

A new article with a photo slide-show is now posted on the Booth Reviews blog. Click here to see it.

Oscar Nominations Don't Leave Too Much Room To Grouch

Nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards--to be presented on Sunday, February 27--were announced this morning. While everyone with an opinion will share their thoughts about who was snubbed, who will win, etc.--and if you could give two hoots about mine, you probably should stop reading now--, excepting Christopher Nolan not getting a Best Director nomination for Inception, at first blush there doesn't appear to be too many egregious oversights.

Take the Best Picture category; while the expansion to 10 nominees--begun last year--still seems silly to me and I have some minor quibbles based on personal preferences, 9 of 10 noms matched Entertainment Weekly's  most recent predictions (with just The Town missing out to Winter's Bone).

8 of 10 Best Picture nominees also matched the composite Film Critic rankings (as tabulated by MetaCritic), as well as IMDB's composite user rankings for 2010 films.

Before I comment on the major categories--you can see the full list of Oscar nominees here--I'll draw attention to my own Seth Saith ranking of the 2010's Best English-language Feature Films. (I separately ranked Foreign-language Films and Documentaries.) Since compiling that list on December 29, 2010, I have seen nine more 2010 releases, of which one--Rabbit Hole--would make my Top 10 and three others--Another Year, The Ghost Writer and Blue Valentine--would make my Top 25.

These lists provide a clearer indication of the films I liked best from 2010--and really, as replicated by your own favorites, are much more important than Oscar nominations or awards. In fact, although I won't deny enjoying the Academy Awards, I do so more as conversation fodder about movies, rather than as a historically accurate arbiteur of film greatness or as a star-studded telecast. So while there were movies I really enjoyed that were seemingly too much of the "popcorn flick" variety for Oscar consideration--Unstoppable, Salt--or just not as universally beloved--It's Kind of a Funny Story, Fair Game, Mao's Last Dancer, Easy A, Nowhere Boy, Four Lions--I won't spend too much time here griping about how they were overlooked. I understand why most weren't given much consideration, so will leave my pontificating largely within the vein of realistic possibilities.

BEST PICTURE
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

I think The Social Network should and will win Best Picture, although I imagine The King's Speech might resonate more with older, more traditional voters. In a way, I like that Toy Story 3 got a nom, as technically it was remarkable and although Steve Jobs' health issues were publicized too late for the "sympathy vote" to be a factor, what he and Pixar have done over the past 15 years certainly merits industry recognition. But I don't even think it's the best Toy Story movie, yet alone one of 2010's very best films. Though only 4 of my Top 10 got nominated, it's not a bad selection; I have no vehement complaints, but Rabbit Hole is certainly deserving.

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

I haven't seen Biutiful, as it hasn't yet been released in Chicago, but expect Bardem is typically great. So was Bridges in True Grit, yet particularly after finally winning for Crazy Heart, I think I might substitute Ryan Gosling for his performance in Blue Valentine. I also think Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception) and Aaron Eckhart (Rabbit Hole) gave nomination-worthy performances. Of those above, I think Colin Firth will win, but would likely vote for Franco, who's also the co-host (with Anne Hathaway) of the telecast. He almost literally was the entire 127 Hours movie. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Given their roles in The Social Network, it's interesting that Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield probably canceled each other out here. Bale was fantastic and both should and will win.

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

It never got much too press, but Naomi Watts was fantastic in Fair Game. I probably would include her here rather than Annette Bening, and actually think Julianne Moore was a bit better in The Kids Are All Right (I also liked what Moore did in Chloe). Hye-ja Kim, who was extraordinary in the title role of the Korean film, Mother, would have been a nice left-field pick. I think Portman will win, but feel Kidman, Lawrence and Williams--in that order--are more deserving.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

I haven't seen Animal Kingdom, but having seen Another Year just yesterday can tell you that Lesley Manville deserves a nom (probably over Bonham Carter). One of the women from The Fighter should win, but might cancel each other out. I'm not betting anyone, but guess I'd put my money on Adams if forced to choose. 

BEST ANIMATED FILM
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

I just saw The Illusionist and liked it a bit less than some other friends; haven't seen 'Dragon.' So I'll pick Toy Story as both should and will win.

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Gasland
Inside Job
Restrepo
Waste Land

I haven't seen Gasland or Waste Land, but of those I did, can't fathom why The Tillman Story, Waiting for Superman or the Israeli-doc Budrus (if it was eligible) were omitted. Inside Job should win and I believe in a just world would run on ABC immediately following the Oscarcast. Restrepo--which follows troops and tragedies in Afghanistan--may well win given its subject matter, but wasn't the best-made film.

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David O. Russell, The Fighter

I'm no technical wonk, but what Christopher Nolan accomplished in making Inception comprehensible, let alone a mainstream blockbuster, definitely deserves a directing nom; astonishingly the film also wasn't nominated for Best Editing. Fincher should and will win.

Agree? Disagree? Join me and other film fans at the Chicago Film Discussion Meetup Brunch on Sunday, February 13 at Holiday Club, where we will be talking about the Oscars. Prior to that, there is also a more general film discussion Meetup brunch, on January 30 at Fat Cat. And I'm not yet sure if there will again be an Oscar party at the bar within the Century Theaters in Evanston, but I might be up for it if there is.