Jamie J's Oscar Thoughts.

It’s taken me a long time to write this post for a couple reasons. 1) I have been really busy and 2) I still have a couple movies left to watch (Animal Kingdom, Winter’s Bone). I, like Sean, was convinced that The Social Network was going to sweep award season and The King’s Speech was gonna walk away with a Best Actor Nod, and maybe one other, but after it swept the PGAs, DGAs, and SAG awards it has shaken up the Oscar Race. I don’t hate The King’s Speech as much as Sean does. I actually really, really liked the movie. I think both Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush gave two of the best performances of the year and I believe that Colin Firth deserves the Oscar over Jesse Eisenberg (and Sean before you flip out wait a few and I’ll present my case in a bit.) 

So below are my Oscar predictions and thoughts on the nominations!

ps. I totes missed y’all.

Best Supporting Actor

John Hawkes (Winter's Bone), Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right), Jeremy Renner (The Town), Christian Bale (The Fighter), and Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

Christian Bale is going to win the Oscar. I guess there’s nothing any of us can do about it. Don’t give me wrong-I’ll give credit when credit is due and out of the category of men selected, he did give the best performance. BLAH BLAH BLAH. I just wish the rest of the movie didn’t suck such major dick. Mark Wahlberg was a whiny bitch trapped inside the body of a fighter. All he did was whine, fuck Amy Adams, and then go get in a fight. (And Melissa Leo, I’ll get to you in a minute.)

I agree with Jeremy Renner and Geoffrey Rush. I think both actors delivered solid performances and deserve the recognition they are both getting. Here’s what pisses me off- WHY THE FUCK DID YOU LEAVE OFF ANDREW GARFIELD?!? I completely agree with Sean. He was the heart and sole of this movie. It’s really a fucking shame that people forgot him. (Or could it be that he fucked up at the Golden Globes?!? I guess we’ll never know). If you haven’t seen The Social Network yet I urge you to watch it. The dynamic of the two characters that Jesse  Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield have created makes the movie worthy of the praise it’s receiving. I can’t weigh in on John Hawkes because I haven’t watched Winter’s Bone. I don’t know much about him but it was definitely a surprise for me to see his name on the ballot. I really expecting to Matt Damon for True Grit. We’ll see how I feel after I watch the movie.

Who Will Win: Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Who Should Win: Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Who Got Screwed: Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)

Best Supporting Actress

Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech), Amy Adams (The Fighter), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), and Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

Melissa Leo is the Sandra Bullock of this year. Y'all, Melissa is a really good actress and it's a shame that this is the movie that they chose to recognize her for. 

It was no shock that H.B.C. and Amy Adams were going to be nominated. I'm thoroughly convinced that H.B.C. is going to storm the stage if her name isn't announced on Oscar night. Y'all saw her reaction to losing at the Golden   Globes. She was pissed! It was AWESOME. I was rooting for sweet little Hailee to be nominated. I was worried that the Academy was not to recognize how powerful this girl is. Y'all I really think that this lady is going to have a very long and solid and career and I can't wait to watch it unfold. Sean-please tell us more about Jacki Weaver. I haven't heard much about her performance in Animal Kingdom but I look forward to hearing more. Her name caught me off guard. I was expecting to see Julianne Moore for her performance in The Kids Are All Right. I was fine with not seeing Mila but the Julianne ommission caught me a little off guard.

Who Will Win: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)

Who Should Win: Hailee Steinfeld

Who Got Screwed: Sorry Julianne

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges (True Grit), James Franco (127 Hours), Javier Bardem (Biutiful), Colin Firth (The King's Speech), and Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)

Colin Firth deserves the Oscar over Jesse Eisenberg. He delivered a more polished performance and to be honest had to work a lil harder than Jesse E. His attention to detail when it came to his vocal work is what pushed me to my final decision. Bring it, Sean.

The rest of the gentlemen in this category are all well deserving. Each delivered solid performances. I don't think Jeff Bridges or James Franco will win this year. I'm pretty sure they both know it (especially Jeffy) and I think James is more focused on his hosting duties. It was SO HAPPY that Mark Wahlberg was bumped out of the category. What I think is absolutely ridiculous is that Ryan Gosling was NOT included. His performance in Blue Valentine was so well crafted. I found myself rooting for him the entire movie even in the moments where the audience shouldn't. He put so much heart into his character and it's really a tragedy that he isn't getting any recognition for it. It's a real shame.

Who Will Win: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

Who Should Win: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

Who Got Screwed: Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)

Best Actress

Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine), Annette Benning (The Kids Are All Right), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), and Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)

            

Natalie Portman is gonna walk with this one. Its not just because she's pregnant but she also gave a riveting perfornance as a ballerina who is having an epic mental breakdown. It was a hard movie for me to watch and one that I won't be able to watch again for a bit. I didn't think Natalie was capable of a performance like this. I want more juicy roles and less with movies with Ashton Kutcher. There is a 5% chance that Annette Benning could walk away with this award. It would be the upset of the decade. Annette is very well respected among her peers and she has been let down a couple times before. Keep your eye out for this category. I think it'll the most exciting award of the night. 

This category was just what I was expecting. Each of these women (excluding Jennifer Lawrence since I have not seen Winter's Bone) are all deserving of the praise and nominations they have received. I had to give Nicole Kidman a round of applause at the end of Rabbit Hole. Y'all, I had forgotten how good she can really be. When she really commits to a role she is such a power house and she proved that in Rabbit Hole. As a mother dealing with the death of her young son she really locked in to her role. She was present and alive in each scene she was in. And her chemistry with Dianne Wiest is fantastic. Michelle Williams is the same way. She is such a presence on screen and she proves in Blue Valentine. I call her the silent force because she always seems to approach her characters with a softer voice but she is always presents and brings the scene alive. The one problem I have is Tilda Swinton not getting a nomination I Am Love. She is such a chameleon and plays such different characters. She's like the female Johnny Depp and I LOVE that. I would drop Jennifer Lawrence and add Tilda Swinton. Get. Like. Me.

Who Will Win: Natalie Portman

Who Should Win: Natalie Portman  

Who Got Screwed: Tilda Swinton

Christopher Nolan

Inception

Dear Members of The Academy,

Why do you hate Christopher Nolan so much? First The Dark Knight and now Inception?!? Is there something we don't know? Does he gossip behind your back? Did he sleep with you wife? He deserved atleast a nomination for heavens sake. He made two crazy good movies and yet you fail to recognize that....I would really appreciate if someone would come forward and explain why he was left off the list.

Sincerely yours,
Jamie.

ps. David Fincher should win for The Social Network but the way The Kings Speech has been performing makes this a tie between David Fincher and Tom Hooper.

   The Best Movie of 2010

Yes, The Social Network was much better than I was expecting and I do think it was worthy of all the praise it received but for me the best picture of the year was Toy Story 3. For starters, Pixar is by far my favorite studio. They movies they make are always creative and inspiring and this movie was no different. Don't even try to pretend that you didn't cry at the end. I did. I thought back to when I was kid and what my favorite toys were. It was the perfect ending to the trilogy and in a perfect world it would win Best Picture. But, this is not the year. If we went back in time to a month ago I would say with full confidence that The Social Network would win Best Picture. Now that all the awards shows have wrapped up we are left with quite the race. The King's Speech has picked up some major steam and many people are convinced it is going to win Best Picture. I don't think so. I think The Social Network is gonna come out on top.

We won't know until the envelope is open. I'm holding out hope that Toy Story 3 will surprise everyone and pull a MAJOR upset.

jammers