Oscar Preview: 83rd Annual Academy Award Predictions

Who will take home gold on Oscar sunday? picture from oscars.org

The Oscars are this Sunday and the 83^rd Annual Academy Awards will be hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco. Every year we see new faces rise with recognition while familiar ones receive honors of their own. The question is will any of your favorites get to bring home the gold?

 Best Picture – 127 Hours, Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are Alright, The King’s Speech, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter’s Bone

Prediction – The Academy always falls in love with two things, period pieces and English accents, conveniently this film has both. For months it looked like The Social Network would dominate awards season, but we’ve seen it fall into the shadow of The King’s Speech which has all the momentum (12 Oscar nominations) and buzz to take home the big prize.

Actor in a leading role –Javier Bardem for Biutiful, Jeff Bridges for True Grit, Jessie Eisenberg for The Social Network, Colin Firth for The King’s Speech, James Franco for 127 Hours

Prediction – Jeff Bridges was brilliant as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit but the Academy isn’t going to crown him for the second year in a row (a feat only Tom Hanks has pulled off). Jessie Eisenberg made The Social Network a fascinating film and James Franco wowed in 127 Hours, but both actors have long careers ahead of them. Last year Colin Firth was nominated in this category for the first time for his role in A Single Man, but it was Bridges’ award to lose, this time the tables are turned and it should be Firth who goes home with the Award.

Actress in a leading role – Annete Benning for The Kids Are Alright, Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole, Jennifer Lawrence for Winter’s Bone, Natalie Portman for Black Swan, Michele Williams for Blue Valentine

Prediction – All the nominees in this category are worthy of the category but none carry the momentum of Natalie Portman’s performance in Black Swan. She’s brilliant in the film and it’s the sort of role the academy loves to recognize (meaning its a little crazy). Few nominees are as much of a lock as Portman is here.

Bale recieved a best supporting actor nod for The Fighter, picture from screenrant.com

Actor in a supporting role – Christian Bale for The Fighter, John Hawkes for Winter’s Bone, Jeremy Renner for The Town, Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are Alright, Geoffrey Rush for The King’s Speech

Prediction – Christian Bale steals the show in The Fighter, his performance is stunning and it should be enough to grant his victory. Jeremy Renner was another scene stealer in The Town but his performance may not be close enough to the front of voter’s mind’s to make him a serious dark horse. The man who could challenge Bale here is Geoffrey Rush, who’ll benefit simply from being in the spot light the awards season has put on The King’s Speech.

Actress in a supporting role – Amy Adams for The Fighter, Helena Bonham Carter for The King’s Speech, Melissa Leo for The Fighter, Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit, Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom

Prediction – Here it’s Melissa Leo in The Fighter who has the most buzz and she does give a performance worth of recognition. Another name to watch is Hailee Steinfeld for her role in True Grit, the Academy likes to dote on new comers in this category and the 14 year old certainly fits that bill. Steinfeld is worthy of recognition but the crime here is that she is no supporting actress, you’d think being the only actress with a major speaking role and being in every scene of the film would make her a lead actress… I guess the Academy feels otherwise. Watch for Leo’s name to be pulled from the envelope on Sunday night but don’t be surprised if Steinfeld gets called to the stage either.

Christopher Nolan is the missing nominee for Best Director, photo from obsessedwithfilm.com

Best Director – Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan, Ethan and Joel Coen for True Grit, David Fincher for The Social Network, Tom Hooper for The King’s Speech, David O. Russell for The Fighter

Prediction – Another category where all the nominees are worthy of recognition but after winning the Directors Guild Award for The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper has this one practically gift wrapped. This doesn’t upset me, what upsets me is who’s wasn’t nominated. Christopher Nolan’s Inception was one of the most original films in year and was recognized with eight nominations, but not this one. Again the academy denies Nolan a nomination because he makes big budget films and they should be ashamed of themselves.

Movie Review: True Grit

Jeff Bridges plays Rooster Cogburn in the Coen's True Grit, picture from empiremovies.com

The Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel, are becoming a powerhouse team of writer/directors in Hollywood. After making films like “No Country for Old Men”, “Burn After Reading”, and “A Serious Man” the duo brings us “True Grit”, a western that brings a new face to our attention while giving some familiar ones another chance to shine. Like the famous John Wayne version, made in 1969, the Coen’s new film is based on the book by Charles Portis, but unlike its predecessor this is not a film dominated by one man’s mere presence, this is an ensemble piece that’s brilliantly put together.

The movie begins, like most memories, a little blurry and as it clears we go from hearing Mattie Ross tell her story to watching it unfold. Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is a fourteen year old girl who’s father’s been shot by the hired hand who turned out to be a seasoned criminal. Seeking revenge against the man, Tom Chaney, Ross hires Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to hunt him down and bring him to justice. As a mature beyond her year’s type of girl, Ross insists she travels with Cogburn to see the job, and along the way they’re joined by a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf. Their quest to take down Chaney proves to be a classic western tale.

Steinfeld, who was 13 when the movie was filmed, is far and away the star of this film. She holds her own against a handful of recognized and respected actors and has been recognized with a slew of nominations for it. To go from a handful of TV shows/movies and short films to a major motion picture, directed by the Coen’s and starring opposite Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon is a lot to ask of anyone, this girl does it brilliantly. She makes Ross’s character completely believable, strong enough to chase down her father’s murderer and run the family estate while still showing the vulnerability that can exist in any 14 year old.

Bridges, as Cogburn, is equally brilliant. One of his greatest talents is his ability to disappear into a role, you never look at the screen and see the actor, you only see the character.  Cogburn is a former soldier, a shoot first ask questions later type of U.S. Marshall who’s fallen to sleeping in bottles of whiskey. He may be a cantankerous drunk with an eye patch but Cogburn is still a gunslinger of the deadliest nature, and as Ross says a man of “true grit.” Cogburn doesn’t start as character who’s necessarily likeable, but Bridges helps create a wonderfully deep character that’s great to watch.

Some talented familiars fill out the Coen’s cast. Josh Brolin plays a classic evil western villain; his Tom Chaney has no good in him. Damon plays LaBoeuf as a proud Texan, quick to let you know the quality of his home, his gun, and his fellow Rangers. Barry Pepper plays another antagonist, Lucky Ned Pepper, his history and face off with Cogburn make for one of the film’s best moments. They’re roles, of varying sizes but not importance, fill out “True Grit” and help elevate the film.

Hailee Steinfeld stands her ground with veteran actors like Jeff Bridges, photo from jasoncollin.org

After making their classically quirky films (“Raising Arizona”, “O Brother Where Art Thou?”, and “The Big Lebowski”) the Coen’s have crafted a true genre film, their “True Grit” can stand side by side in the category of westerns with films like “The Magnificent Seven” and “Silverado” and seem perfectly in place. It’s a testament to their abilities that they can make such a differently film without losing the quality they’ve become known for.

“True Grit” can now claim 10 Oscar nominations, and it’s earned every single one of them. Top to bottom it’s a fantastic film with a number of great performances. The films big enough that its certainly worth a trip to the theaters and is another movie to earn the Kenneth J. Sheehan Seal of Approval.