Oscar Nominees 2013: Part 11 of 13

Hitchcock

1 Nomination

• Hair & Makeup

Director: Sacha Gervasi

Cast: Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Danny Huston, Scarlett Johannson, Toni Collette, Jessica Biel, James D'Arcy

Apparently no one in the Academy liked this picture, because although Mirren looked like a shoo-in for a Best Actress nomination, she was beat out by five actresses, none of whom is as famous as she. Mirren already has an Oscar, of course (the year The Queen came out no one talked about anyone else), so the other five needed their nominations much more than she, and I can't feel too sorry for her, especially since her role really isn't that interesting here. Truth be told, the acting really isn't the showcase in Hitchcock, and Anthony Hopkins (despite being an Oscar-winner himself) was apparently on no one's radar as a Best Actor candidate. Now, I liked this movie. I thought it was charming and quite funny in a totally unrealistic, whimsical sort of way that the film cultivated. But I thought the prosthetics used to make Hopkins look like Hitchcock were decidedly unsuccessful and did nothing but look like prosethetics. I didn't believe them for one second, and indeed found Hopkins' look so distracting that I couldn't take even his serious scenes seriously. And though the Academy has often nominated the people-in-fat-suits look for Best Makeup (Norbit, Click, The Nutty Professor), those films rarely have gone on to win the Oscar. Don't expect Sacha Gervasi's film to take home a little gold man either.

Will Win: N/A

Could Win: N/A

My Rating: #38 out of 65

Chasing Ice

1 Nomination

• Original Song: J. Ralph

Director: Jeff Orlowski

Cast: James Balog, Svavar Jonatansson, Adam LeWinter, Louie Psihoyos, Kitty Boone, Orlowski

This is one of the only nominees this year that I haven't seen. I guess I'll see it eventually, but Chasing Ice has not been released anywhere near where I live. If you haven't heard the nominated song, you should click here to hear it. It's a song about – well, actually, I am not quite sure what it's about (maybe growing old before one ought to?) – anyway its melody is quite beautiful. It is also sung by Scarlett Johansson, who goes quite flat on the low notes, but whose voice is lovely when it is in range.

Will Win: N/A

Could Win: N/A

My Rating: Not Ranked - Documentary

Ted

1 Nomination

• Song: Seth MacFarlane & Walter Murphy

Director: MacFarlane

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel McHale, Patrick Warburton, Patrick Stewart, Jessica Barth

I really disliked this movie, but I should perhaps start by saying that I love Mark Wahlberg. I love Mark Wahlberg so much that I think his movies are worth seeing just because he is in them even when they are terrible movies. Still, Ted made me pretty irritated. The Oscar-nominated song in the movie, which plays over the opening credits, is charming enough, I suppose, if unmemorable, but I really want to just take this moment to voice my complete bafflement over the exclusion of John Legend's awesome "Who Did That to You?" from the Best Original Song category. Seriously, that song is so good and it comes at a crucial turning point in Django Unchained that is instantly memorable. My companions and I all left the theatre talking about that song. With Ted I left the theatre talking about Giovanni Ribisi.

Will Win: N/A

Could Win: N/A

My Rating: #56 out of 65

Dick, Revisited

The Nominees: Part VIII of VIII / Summary

SUPERMAN RETURNS

1 Nomination:

Best Visual Effects

Director: Bryan Singer (X2, X-men, Apt Pupil, The Usual Suspects)
Cast: Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Frank Langella, Parker Posey, Kal Penn, Eva Marie Saint, James Marsden

High flying effects. This movie is big on effects and probably deserves to win this award. The effects really are top-notch. The movie, on the other hand, is laugh-out-loud bad, with all of the main characters being played by people far too young (and untalented) to fill their shoes. Sometimes the movie looks like a really expensive community theatre production of Superman III. And Kevin Spacey hams it up like you've never seen. Don't expect it to win anything on Sunday.
Will Win: N/A
Might Also Win: Best Visual Effects
My Rating: #70 out of 74

POSEIDON

1 Nomination:

Best Visual Effects

Director: Wolfgang Petersen (Troy, The Perfect Storm, Air Force One, Outbreak, In the Line of Fire, The NeverEnding Story, Das Boot)
Cast: Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Jacinda Barrett, Mia Maestro, Emmy Rossum, Mike Vogel, Jimmy Bennett, Freddy Rodriguez, Andre Braugher, Kevin Dillon

I liked this movie, and there are a lot of special visual effects in the film, but—here's the thing—they all look fake. I mean, they don't look really fake, but they don't exactly look real, either. I'm assuming that the exterior of the ship is all special effects, which is great, except the boat looks like a CGI creation. I liked the effects better in Casino Royale, though I liked that movie less than this one.
Will Win: N/A
Might Also Win: N/A
My Rating: #39 out of 74

CLICK

1 Nomination:

Best Makeup

Director: Frank Coraci (Around the World in 80 Days, The Waterboy, The Wedding Singer)
Cast: Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Henry Winkler, Julie Kavner, Sean Astin, Christopher Walken, David Hasselhoff, Jennifer Coolidge

The makeup in this film is really, really good. The film is the most peurile, asinine waste of time you could ever sit through. It's the worst movie I saw in 2006, and I didn't think anything could get worse than De Niro's The Good Shepherd. Boy was I wrong. This movie is unspeakably bad. It has no intended audience, and it recycles a plot we've all seen about three hundred times. Spend less time at work. Spend more time with your family. You'll miss your family when you're older. Then the movie is racist and homophobic on top of all that. Awful. The makeup, as I said, is really, really good. They make Adam Sandler look around 50, and he really looks 50. Like, for real, you believe it. It's damn good makeup.
Will Win: N/A
Might Also Win: N/A
My Rating: #74 out of 74

HAPPY FEET

1 Nomination:

Best Animated Feature

Director: George Miller (Babe: Pig in the City, Lorenzo's Oil, The Witches of Eastwick, Mad Max and its two sequels)
Cast: Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Robin Williams, Hugo Weaving, Brittany Murphy, Johnny A. Sanchez, Carlos Alazraqui, Lombardo Boyar, Savion Glover (for the dancing)

This film is insane, but it's a fun, ridiculous animated feature. Not my favorite of the year, but in a year without Miyazaki, this film deserves its nomination. The plot begins with a cliché, but quickly leaves any semblance of reality behind. It's an out of control plot with totally unbelievable plot elements, and I was fine with all of it.
Will Win: Best Animated Feature
Might Also Win: N/A
My Rating: #45 out of 74

MONSTER HOUSE

1 Nomination:

Best Animated Feature

Director: Gil Kenan
Cast: Michael Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Kathleen Turner, Jason Lee, Jon Heder

So fun. This is a truly imaginative feature with all kinds of cool things going for it. My friend Elizabeth even told me that all of the characters' movement is done through a motion-capture process like the one they used for Andy Serkis when he played Gollum. For all the characters! That is so cool. Anyway, it can't really win the award, but it's a cool picture.
Will Win: N/A
Might Also Win: N/A
My Rating: #42 out of 74

Wrap-up:

Best Picture - The Departed
Best Director - The Departed
Best Actor - The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress - The Queen
Best Supporting Actor - Dreamgirls
Best Supporting Actress - Dreamgirls
Best Original Screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay - The Departed
Best Foreign Language Film - Pan’s Labyrinth
Best Cinematography - Children of Men
Best Film Editing - The Departed
Best Costume Design - Marie Antoinette
Best Art Direction - Pan’s Labyrinth
Best Original Score - The Queen
Best Sound Mixing - Dreamgirls
Best Sound Editing - Letters from Iwo Jima
Best Original Song - An Inconvenient Truth
Best Visual Effects - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Best Makeup - Pan’s Labyrinth
Best Animated Feature - Happy Feet