The 85th Annual Academy Awards: Nominations & Thoughts

So the nominations for the 85th Annual Academy Awards have been released, and like usual with me, there are more snubs than joyous feelings. Even with the solid slate of really good Hollywood films, judging by the nominations, this feels like it might be another film where the Academy goes for smaller films.

Yes, Lincoln did get the most nominations out of every film, but other films that should have scored some nominations didn't. Ben Affleck lost out on what seemed to be a sure thing directing nomination for Argo along with John Goodman for supporting actor. Alan Arkin was fun in Argo, but John Goodman, out of all the supporting actors, felt like he should have secured a nomination.

Not surprisingly, The Master was only nominated for acting categories. As a film that polarizes every viewer, I am at least glad the Academy still offered nominations to Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.

Robert De Niro and his return to being an Oscar contender in Silver Linings Playbook. It is always a welcome sight when a veteran actor comes out of the doldrums of awful films and returns with a solid performance.

Samuel L. Jackson's turn as a house slave in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained missed a nomination, which I feel might be the biggest snub of the year. His role and performance were damn good and a shame that it was overlooked. Also overlooked was a directing nomination for Quentin Tarantino. This is not as surprising, but still a snub.

Also missing was Kathryn Bigelow's directing nomination for Zero Dark Thirty. For a film that has been in the press a lot and getting a lot of critical love, this feels more like a political move than providing the correct nominee. Politics at the Oscars? Who knew!

And Tom Hooper didn't get nominated for Les Miserables. He must only get nominated when David Fincher does, so he can steal away David Fincher's Oscar. (Sorry, sore spot for me.)

So anyway, below are all the nominations for the 85th Annual Academy Awards. From what was nominated, I now think that Lincoln is the obvious front runner. The Academy hasn't shown Steven Spielberg love in a while, and this might be his year again. Beyond that, it seems small movies again run wild throughout the nominees, which can be a good thing. It just feels like some films that could have had a chance to compete with Lincoln (Zero Dark Thirty and Argo come specifically to mind) have lost a lot of steam with the nominations that were announced.

We will find out, though, on February 24th, when Seth MacFarlane hosts the Oscar ceremony.


Performance by an actor in a leading role
*   Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook"
*   Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln"
*   Hugh Jackman in "Les Miserables"
*   Joaquin Phoenix in "The Master"
*   Denzel Washington in "Flight"


Performance by an actor in a supporting role
*   Alan Arkin in "Argo"
*   Robert De Niro in "Silver Linings Playbook"
*   Philip Seymour Hoffman in "The Master"
*   Tommy Lee Jones in "Lincoln"
*   Christoph Waltz in "Django Unchained"


Performance by an actress in a leading role
*   Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty"
*   Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook"
*   Emmanuelle Riva in "Amour"
*   Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
*   Naomi Watts in "The Impossible"


Performance by an actress in a supporting role
*   Amy Adams in "The Master"
*   Sally Field in "Lincoln"
*   Anne Hathaway in "Les Miserables"
*   Helen Hunt in "The Sessions"
*   Jacki Weaver in "Silver Linings Playbook"


Best animated feature film of the year
*   "Brave" Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
*   "Frankenweenie" Tim Burton
*   "ParaNorman" Sam Fell and Chris Butler
*   "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" Peter Lord
*   "Wreck-It Ralph" Rich Moore


Achievement in cinematography
*   "Anna Karenina" Seamus McGarvey
*   "Django Unchained" Robert Richardson
*   "Life of Pi" Claudio Miranda
*   "Lincoln" Janusz Kaminski
*   "Skyfall" Roger Deakins


Achievement in costume design
*   "Anna Karenina" Jacqueline Durran
*   "Les Miserables" Paco Delgado
*   "Lincoln" Joanna Johnston
*   "Mirror Mirror" Eiko Ishioka
*   "Snow White and the Huntsman" Colleen Atwood


Achievement in directing
*   "Amour" Michael Haneke
*   "Beasts of the Southern Wild" Benh Zeitlin
*   "Life of Pi" Ang Lee
*   "Lincoln" Steven Spielberg
*   "Silver Linings Playbook" David O. Russell


Best documentary feature
*   "5 Broken Cameras"
Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
*   "The Gatekeepers"
Nominees to be determined
*   "How to Survive a Plague"
Nominees to be determined
*   "The Invisible War"
Nominees to be determined
*   "Searching for Sugar Man"
Nominees to be determined


Best documentary short subject
*   "Inocente"
Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
*   "Kings Point"
Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
*   "Mondays at Racine"
Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
*   "Open Heart"
Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
*   "Redemption"
Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill


Achievement in film editing
*   "Argo" William Goldenberg
*   "Life of Pi" Tim Squyres
*   "Lincoln" Michael Kahn
*   "Silver Linings Playbook" Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
*   "Zero Dark Thirty" Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg


Best foreign language film of the year
*   "Amour" Austria
*   "Kon-Tiki" Norway
*   "No" Chile
*   "A Royal Affair" Denmark
*   "War Witch" Canada


Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
*   "Hitchcock"
Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
*   "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
*   "Les Miserables"
Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell


Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
*   "Anna Karenina" Dario Marianelli
*   "Argo" Alexandre Desplat
*   "Life of Pi" Mychael Danna
*   "Lincoln" John Williams
*   "Skyfall" Thomas Newman


Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
*   "Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice"
Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
*   "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted"
Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
*   "Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi"
Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
*   "Skyfall" from "Skyfall"
Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
*   "Suddenly" from "Les Miserables"
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil


Best motion picture of the year
*   "Amour" Nominees to be determined
*   "Argo" Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers
*   "Beasts of the Southern Wild" Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers
*   "Django Unchained" Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers
*   "Les Miserables" Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers
*   "Life of Pi" Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers
*   "Lincoln" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
*   "Silver Linings Playbook" Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
*   "Zero Dark Thirty" Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers


Achievement in production design
*   "Anna Karenina"
Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
*   "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
*   "Les Miserables"
Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
*   "Life of Pi"
Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
*   "Lincoln"
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson


Best animated short film
*   "Adam and Dog" Minkyu Lee
*   "Fresh Guacamole" PES
*   "Head over Heels" Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
*   "Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare"" David Silverman
*   "Paperman" John Kahrs


Best live action short film
*   "Asad" Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
*   "Buzkashi Boys" Sam French and Ariel Nasr
*   "Curfew" Shawn Christensen
*   "Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)" Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
*   "Henry" Yan England


Achievement in sound editing
*   "Argo" Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
*   "Django Unchained" Wylie Stateman
*   "Life of Pi" Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
*   "Skyfall" Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
*   "Zero Dark Thirty" Paul N.J. Ottosson


Achievement in sound mixing
*   "Argo"
John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
*   "Les Miserables"
Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
*   "Life of Pi"
Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
*   "Lincoln"
Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
*   "Skyfall"
Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson


Achievement in visual effects
*   "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
*   "Life of Pi"
Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
*   "Marvel's The Avengers"
Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
*   "Prometheus"
Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
*   "Snow White and the Huntsman"
Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson


Adapted screenplay
*   "Argo" Screenplay by Chris Terrio
*   "Beasts of the Southern Wild" Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
*   "Life of Pi" Screenplay by David Magee
*   "Lincoln" Screenplay by Tony Kushner
*   "Silver Linings Playbook" Screenplay by David O. Russell


Original screenplay
*   "Amour" Written by Michael Haneke
*   "Django Unchained" Written by Quentin Tarantino
*   "Flight" Written by John Gatins
*   "Moonrise Kingdom" Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
*   "Zero Dark Thirty" Written by Mark Boal

Django Unchained

As the holidays come to a close, I bring you the most heart-warming film of the holiday season.

Obviously, there is plenty of sarcasm to that statement, but also, this is a story about a man looking to reunite with his true love. The man I speak of is Django, (Jamie Foxx) a slave who has been separated from his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington).

German dentist-turned bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) finds Django deep in Texas and recruits him to help hunt down the Brittle Brothers. As Django has seen the Brittle Brothers and Dr. Schultz hasn't, Django proves to be useful. In return for Django's help, Dr. Schultz offers to train Django to be a bounty hunter, make him a free man and ultimately, help Django reunite with his wife.

After dispatching of the Brittle Brothers, Dr. Schultz makes good on his word. Dr. Schultz and Django are able to locate the whereabouts of Broomhilda. It is revealed that Broomhilda is owned by Calvin Candie, (Leonardo DiCaprio) a sadistic plantation owner who specializes in mandingo fighting at his plantation: Candie Land. Dr. Schultz and Django pose as men looking to buy a mandingo fighter from Calvin and hope to have Broomhilda thrown into the deal as well. The plan seems to sit well with everyone except for Calvin's house slave, Stephen, (Samuel L. Jackson) who does not trust Dr. Schultz or Django and might be one step ahead of our titular heroes.

Now, a lot of controversy has surrounded this movie regarding the use of the word "nigger". I wholeheartedly hate racism, and truly do not believe someone should be oppressed just due to their skin color. As Quentin Tarantino has set this movie in 1858/9, there are obvious reasons to believe that black men and woman would be referred to by this word. The word itself is not thrown out gratuitously and not there as shock value for the audience. The characters who utter this word use it as their normal speech. This is obviously not America's proudest moment in history, but it still is a chapter in the American history books.

Getting passed the elephant in the room, this is one of Quentin Tarantino's best movies. The film is filled with humor that (most of the time) hits the area it was aiming for. When not laughing, the violence in this film might turn some people away. Myself, I was actually glad to see blood squibs used instead of gaudy CGI blood (I'm looking at you The Departed and Expendables franchise). Granted some might think that the blood flow in this film may be excessive, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing actual blood fly. Maybe it was the fact it seemed like Paul Verhooven circa 1990 had filmed the more violent scenes? I don't know, but I enjoyed it immensely.

Two performances really stand out in this film. First, Christoph Waltz's Dr. King Schultz is a nice guy and a man of his word. In essence, Dr. Schultz is the nice guy version of Colonel Hans Landa from Inglourious Basterds. He's charming when he needs to be and cold-blooded when the situation calls for it. Even more impressive, though, is Samuel L. Jackson's Stephen. What initially starts out as spoof of this type of role, turns much more complex. Stephen really is smarter than Calvin Candie and knows it. He has worked so long at Candie Land, that he is faithful to Calvin and would do anything to protect Calvin's interests and the interests of Candie Land.

The major issue I had with this film, and the only reason it is not my favorite film of the year comes from the editing, mostly regarding the ending. Django Unchained is a leisurely-paced film and moves from one scene to the next when it feels like it. The results of this leaves a lot of fat on the film. Most of the unnecessary scenes are entertaining and don't drag the film down much, but the scene involving Jonah Hill stood out as the first scene that should have been cut. This is an overly-long scene that doesn't add anything to the film (especially how it is placed into the middle of an action scene) and is there only for humorous reasons.

Besides that scene, the last 15-20 minutes of this movie finds Quentin Tarantino's script wandering aimlessly in search for an ending. Django is placed into an almost impossible situation to escape from. Once that is resolved, we are treated to Django being put into a situation that hasn't been mentioned before with a bunch of characters we haven't met (including an awful cameo by QT himself). Django then needs to get out of this situation and wrap up the remaining story threads. I am not sure how Quentin could have ended the movie, but I really wish he chose a different way then what he went with.

Overall, this is one of the year's best and shouldn't be missed just because of the controversy. See the movie and judge for yourself.

8.1/10

The List: Top 5 Kurt Russell Performances

With the release of Kurt Russell's first feature length film in 5 years, Touchback, I felt it appropriate to revisit my opinion of the top 5 best performances from the greatest actor of all time (well, I exaggerate a bit, but I love this guy).


5. Captain Ron - Captain Ron, 1992

"Alright, now stay with me: When we left, we had just enough fuel to make it to San Juan. And now... we are out of fuel!"

1992's Captain Ron finds Kurt Russell at his goofiest, and that is a good thing. Martin Short and his family hire a local sailor, Captain Ron to assist with piloting a boat that they just inherited. Captain Ron is a very free and laid back character which initially does not mesh well with Martin Short's Martin Harvey character. Over time, Martin's family becomes won over by Captain Ron, even when faced with danger by guerillas or landing in Cuba.

Captain Ron is by no means an Oscar caliber film, and never tries to be. What it is, is a small and fun film with very quotable lines and a go-for-broke performance from Kurt Russell. Captain Ron seems like a dullard, but in the end, helps the Harvey family grow closer and enjoy the time they have spent together while also providing a very entertaining and likable character.


Stuntman Mike McKay - Death Proof, 2007

"I'm not a cowboy, Pam... I'm a stuntman."

Even though hyped as the main character, Stuntman Mike McKay plays a supporting character in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. Stuntman Mike is, as his nickname says, a stuntman. When not performing stunts in films, he moonlights as a serial killer; using his car as the murder weapon.

As this is a Quentin Tarantino film, this is not an ordinary slasher film. Tarantino basically breaks the film in half: first focusing on a group of women in Texas, then jumping to a group of women in Tennessee. The female characters, as typical in a Quentin Tarantino film are strong, tough and front and center. It is only after long periods of dialogue between these groups of women does Stuntman Mike really emerge. When he does, though, you get a serial killer unlike no other.

What truly makes Stuntman Mike stand out from other serial killers is his transformation. Without going into specifics, the difference from the Stuntman Mike we get in the first half of the movie compared to the second is night and day. Though the transformation is earned due to watching Kurt Russell using his talents with Quentin Tarantino's brilliant characterization of Stuntman Mike. What starts out as a solid serial killer character turns into much more as the film progresses and Kurt Russell makes it work.


R.J. MacReady - The Thing, 1982

"Hey, Sweden!"

This might draw some ire as to why this performance is only number 3. Kurt Russell's R.J. MacReady is the least charismatic performance on the list. MacReady is a helicopter pilot of Outpost 31 for a scientific research facility in Antarctica. After a situation with a group of Swedish scientists, a parasitic alien that can perfectly imitate its host is loose upon Outpost 31. MacReady becomes the reluctant hero as him and his team try to find out who is "the thing" and survive the winter.

When we first meet MacReady, he is drinking and playing chess on a computer. He does not want to be the leader, as he says, "I just want to get up to my shack and get drunk." MacReady has no answers once "the thing" is let loose on Outpost 31. He has his doubts over who is "the thing" as do the other members of Outpost 31. MacReady is weary and tired, but still heroic. There are no heroic speeches or moments done by MacReady, just the truth. He does not know who is who.

This performance is very subtle when compared to other performances by Kurt Russell. He provides the right type of mood for the story created by John Carpenter, in their third collaboration. There is no fun to be had at Outpost 31, and MacReady knows that. He understands the situation they are in and knows that the odds are not stacked in their favor. All they can do is try to trust each other and hope to make it out alive. As reluctant heroes go, R.J. MacReady is one of the best.


Snake Plissken - Escape From New York, 1981

"Get a new president!"

Snake Plissken is one of the greatest anti-heroes in all of cinema. Teaming up with Kurt Russell for the second time, John Carpenter takes us into the then-future (1997) Manhattan Island is a fully-fortified prison. The current president's plane crashes into the island, where he is kidnapped and held hostage by the inmates of the island. With no choice, the U.S. government offers a deal to Snake Plissken to enter the island, find the president along with a top secret cassette tape and escape the island alive. This film, along with its sequel Escape From L.A. showcase what an iconic performance that Snake Plissken truly is.

Snake Plissken reluctantly takes the deal, after the police commissioner has injected Snake with microscopic explosives that will kill him in 24 hours. Once on the island, Snake meets various people along the way. Dark action and even some dark humor find their way into the film, mostly from Snake's anti-authorial behavior.

Kurt Russell and his performance are iconic from this film. Snake doesn't want to be put in the position he is. He hates it, but he does what he has to do in order to live. Snake is the face of resistance towards the government that John Carpenter was trying to convey. Kurt Russell made this role his and in the process created one of the most iconic roles in film history.


Jack Burton - Big Trouble in Little China, 1986

"Everybody relax, I'm here."

In my opinion, Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China, is the best performance from Kurt Russell. The story is too complicated to dive into completely, but Jack Burton gets involved in Chinese gangs, Asian black magic, gods, martial arts, monsters, mysticism and one-liners.

Jack Burton finds himself in San Francisco's Chinatown with his friend Wang. Wang's girlfriend is kidnapped by an Asian gang and sets off a chain of events that pulls Jack and Wang further into the dark, seedy Chinatown underworld. Teaming up with an assorted cast of characters, Jack and Wang use their physical skills along with their wits to try and escape alive with Wang's girlfriend.

Kurt Russell's performance of Jack Burton is amazing. Jack is a blowhard truck driver who in actuality is a sidekick in a hero's role. He bumbles his way through the story making mistakes left and right with Wang there to cover for him. Even with Wang saving the day throughout the film, Jack still finds a way to make a one-liner or feel like he contributed more than he did. Kurt Russell infuses the role of Jack Burton with the right amount of humor and gusto. His character doesn't understand the situation he is in, but is willing to do what it takes to get out of it.

The way Kurt Russell makes this character so fun to be with is why Jack Burton is ranked number 1 on my list. He is the best sidekick hero in all of film history and is a load of fun to watch.

Now, there are other roles that stand out to me including Eldon Perry from Dark Blue, Stephen "Bull" McCaffrey and Wyatt Earp from Tombstone. I really enjoy those roles along with the ones listed, but unfortunately with a list that only allows for 5 performances, some roles didn't make the cut. This is a list to just show my appreciation of Kurt Russell and showing off some of his best performances.

If there are some that you feel should be included, obviously feel free to post them.