Official Oscar Nomination Thread (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

I have seen all the nominated films except for EXTREMELY
LOUD and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.


Thus far, THE ARTIST is my pick for Best Picture. Have

just seen it, and I thought it was simply fantastic. Who would

think a B&W Silent film would evoke so much emotion and
make for one of the most entertaining films of the year.

I viewed The Artist yesterday and though it was a good film, the only reason it would win BP is because it was a silent film which allowed it to stick out from the rest of the films. To me that's a gimmick and I'm disappointed in the film industry for doiing such.







Crawdaddy

 

[TravisR]

I have seen all the nominated films except for EXTREMELY LOUD and MIDNIGHT IN PARIS.

I saw Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close yesterday and you're not missing anything great. It's not a bad movie but rather than give it a Best Picture nomination, there should have only be 8 BP contenders or they should have given a ninth spot to a far more deserving movie. Midnight In Paris is a lovely little movie and well worth seeing though.

 

[TravisR]

I viewed The Artist yesterday and though it was a good film, the only reason it would win BP is because it was a silent film which allowed it to stick out from the rest of the films.  To me that's a gimmick and I'm disappointed in the film industry for doiing such.

Maybe you've said it already but would be your pick for Best Picture? I agree that the gimmick (for lack of a better word) of The Artist being a silent picture is what is going to give the edge to win but I can't really point to another movie and say that X definitely should win instead.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I agree it's a gimmick. And I understand why many would

think it shouldn't receive more praise than it has.


However....


I really wasn't impressed with any of the other nominated

films outside of what I already stated I did not see.


Nothing is really sticking out here for me as being a really

great picture. Really, I thought DRIVE was one of the most

enjoyable films I saw all year -- but it's not the kind of film

that gets nominated.


I went into THE ARTIST thinking I would hate it. Yes, the

movie is gimmick, but I give it credit for taking something

old and making it seem very new. By the time it was over

I thought, "Wow, that was good!" -- a feeling I certainly did

not feel as strongly about with the other nominated titles.


THE DESCENDANTS was very good, but I thought much

too depressing to want to ever watch again. I didn't care

much for WARHORSE. Thought GIRL WITH THE DRAGON

TATTOO was excellent, but so was the Swedish version it

almost mimicked entirely. I really enjoyed HUGO and THE
HELP, and I wouldn't be upset if either those pictures won

the honor.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

My personal favorite of the year was Hugo, but I really enjoyed The Artist as well. (I guess it's the film history buff in me.) The funny thing about The Artist is that I think most of the general moviegoing public sees it as one of those pretentious "arthouse" films that they've barely heard of, when it's actually a charming, entertaining, and witty crowd-pleaser (or would be if more crowds outside of LA & NY went to see it).

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Double-post; sorry.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by TravisR


Maybe you've said it already but would be your pick for Best Picture? I agree that the gimmick (for lack of a better word) of The Artist being a silent picture is what is going to give the edge to win but I can't really point to another movie and say that X definitely should win instead.

Of the nominated films, Hugo is my favorite. However, I really liked Drive and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

 

[TravisR]

Of the nominated films, Hugo is my favorite.  However, I really liked Drive and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I'm with you. As I've said, Hugo would probably get my vote and if The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo had been nominated, I'd prefer that win over any of the other movies up for Best Picture.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Originally Posted by Bryan Tuck

The funny thing about The Artist is that I think most of the general moviegoing public sees it as one of those pretentious "arthouse" films that they've barely heard of, when it's actually a charming, entertaining, and witty crowd-pleaser (or would be if more crowds outside of LA & NY went to see it).

So, so true. I imagine one thing it has going for it is that when people do see it they have low expectations going in (like Ron did), so when they greatly enjoy it they feel that resonating more. A lot of people probably expect a silent film to be terribly boring, but 10 minutes into The Artist they're hooked because it wins people over rather effortlessly, especially with the dog's early antics.

 

[Kevin EK]

I for one am disappointed that the dog was not recognized with a much-deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Once I see ALBERT NOBBS this weekend I'll be done with all of the nominations. I still need to see a few other films before I make any "Top 10" list but as of today I'd probably give DRIVE my vote as Best Picture. I remember on Ebert Presents they reviewed THE ARTIST and HUGO at the same time and I believe one of the critics said that Scorsese did a better job showing off silent films than THE ARTIST. Again, I haven't really thought out my Top 10 yet but THE ARTIST isn't what I'd call a gimmick but more of a risk that someone took and it paid off. Had this film been simply so-so or bad then it would have never found anyone to distribute it. I'm still shocked to read a few publications who are bashing the movie because it's "poor box office" results. I think $15 million for a silent movie is rather amazing. What HUGO has done isn't as shocking but I still didn't expect it to do as well as it did.

 

[TravisR]

Once I see ALBERT NOBBS this weekend I'll be done with all of the nominations.

I've seen most of the nominations in all the categories. Albert Nobbs is playing somewhat near me but I don't know if I'll check it out or not and I think all the word of mouth about The Iron Lady is going to keep away from that one. I'll finally be seeing The Descendents this weekend which is the last Best Picture nominee I need to see.

 

[Adam_S]

of the non doc/foreign/animation/short nominations, I have the following to still see:



A Better Life

Albert Nobbs

Margin Call

A Separation

Jane Eyre

W. / E.

Real Steel


I just saw Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, I didn't expect to hate it, but the movie is so deadly dull for the first one hour and fifty minutes, the pacing is awful, the character is atrocious (though the actor does a pretty decent job) and the emotions often ring hollow. The best thing about the film is by far the forty second scene explaining Max von Sydow's back story. It's not as bad as A Serious Man, but it's nearly down there with that film for worst film to earn a BP nomination in the last ten years. Having now seen all the BP nominees I think Artist will win (Hugo is my alt, Help is probably third, Descendants fourth).

and my individual ratings of the BP nominees (Hugo was my favorite film of the year as well, I'd be so thrilled if it won BP)


1. Hugo - 10 of 10

2. Moneyball - 9 of 10

3. Midnight in Paris - 9 of 10

4. The Help - 9 of 10

5. The Artist - 9 of 10

6. War Horse - 9 of 10

7. Tree of Life - 7 of 10

8. The Descendants - 6 of 10

9. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - 5 of 10

 

[Brandon Conway]

You didn't like A Serious Man? I thought that was a great film. Especially after Burn After Reading, my least liked Coen Bros. film.


That said, I have zero inclination to see EL&IC.

 

[Adam_S]

Burn After reading was actually quite good, not one of their best comedies, but still very enjoyable. Serious Man was awful though, pretentious and insular in all the wrong ways, as well as being deadly dull to watch, it's very nearly their worst film (not as bad as Ladykillers).

 

[Brandon Conway]

Well, I guess we're just on the opposite sides for those two films.

 

[Tino]

Do we post our predictions in this thread?

 

[Patrick Sun]

I'll start a 2012 Oscar prediction thread...