Live Blogging the 85th Oscars

Tonight, Never Mind Pop Film is blogging the Oscars live.

The big talk of the 85th Academy Awards will definitely be whether Argo continues to steamroll into a write-in win for Best Director. Daniel Day-Lewis could make history tonight if he wins Lead Actor for the third time. Also looking to make history is Amour actress Emmanuelle Riva who is poised to become the oldest winner for Best Actress, but in order to so she will have to fend off Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain. The big question tonight will be what wins Best Picture (the last four years, the winner was a given going into the evening, but tonight is a toss-up).

Tonight is my first attempt at doing this, so here goes nothing...

Seth MacFarlane is doing well thus far. He already made Tommy Lee Jones laugh. Still, taking no prisoners.

And there goes his goodwill...

Captain Kirk! Where was he when James Franco co-hosted?

So no Muppets version of Flight then? Bummer.

Best Supporting Actor

Christoph Waltz

Cool! Nice to see that the Academy doesn't make a big deal about winning recently.

Best Animated Short

Paperman

Best Animated Feature

Brave

"So you got nominated for something a 9 year old can do?"

The Avengers assemble to not piss of Samuel L. Jackson.

Best Cinematography

Life of Pi

Best Visual Effects

Life of Pi

That cut-off was a little harsh. Congratulations on the Life of Pi team and Rhythm and Hues anyway.

Best Costume Design

Anna Karenina

Best Make-Up and Hairstyling

Les Miserables

Skyfall wasn't nominated for Best Picture, but here's the attention Bond deserves.

Best Live Action Short

Curfew

Best Documentary Short

Inocente

Any films plugged with Liam Neeson's voice has an excellent chance to win.

"When the Levee Breaks". Best song ever, yes?

Best Documentary Feature

Searching for Sugar Man

Best Foreign Film

Amour

I don't think anyone anticipated the director of Funny Games would win an Oscar for a romance.

Thank you, John Travolta, keep on dancing.

Damn, Jennifer Hudson. Just damn. I feel bad that Les Miserables has to follow her performance.

Best Sound Mixng

Les Miserables

Best Sound Editing

Zero Dark Thirty/Skyfall

Where are the Von Trapps! Well done, MacFarlane, well done.

Best Supporting Actress

Anne Hathaway

Best Editing

Argo

Argo's first win of the evening, Les Mis and Life of Pi lead the pack with two each thus far.

I always wondered where winners put their Oscars for the rest of the show. Thanks, Christoph Waltz.

Best Production Design

Lincoln

There's Lincoln's first win for the night.

D.A. Pennebaker, you rock.

A nicely done In Memoriam.

Best Score

Life of Pi

Life of Pi pulls ahead with 3, is an upset coming with director and picture?

Best Original Song

Adele - Skyfall

Best Original Screenplay

Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained

Best Adapted Screenplay

Chris Terrio - Argo

Best Picture rarely wins without screenplay. Will the Argo train continue?

I really thought that the Academy wouldn't touch the script for Django Unchained with a ten foot pole. Too much controversy didn't bother them apparently.

Best Director

Ang Lee - Life of Pi

Keeping my fingers crossed that picking Life of Pi as Best Picture pans out. Ang Lee looks psyched.

Best Actress

Jennifer Lawrence

Grace under pressure, she earned that Oscar.

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis

Such an amazing lineup for Best Actor, there is literally no way they could go wrong. Meryl Streep didn't even need to look.

That's a record, congratulations, Mr. Day-Lewis, even if you were second choice behind Streep.

Best Picture

Argo

And let the conspiracy theories about George Clooney and the White House begin.

That's a night folks, drive safe and enjoy everything the movies have to offer in 2013!

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Who Needs Oscar?

Judging from videos like the one above, entertainment columnists devoting their columns to the voting selections of octogenarians, and Oscar bloggers grabbing at each other's throats, it must be award season again.

Ideally, award shows should be about the celebration of cinema as all moviegoers get a chance to become acquainted with the nominees. For most people, that is the case, but not for Oscar bloggers. War paint is thoroughly applied, for your consideration ads are placed conspicuously and Twitter turns into a battleground.

The problem with the awards season itself is that it doesn't really strive to provoke interesting conversations, Oscar prognosticators act more like loiterers surrounding a fistfight: they spur on the conflict and get their kicks in when one film gets knocked down. In many ways, it's not that different from The Hunger Games, contestants enter battle to the death and only one is crowned victor.

Read more at Film Annex

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Oscar Happenings: Too Soon?

Regardless of what the Academy eventually chooses for Best Picture, Director, and Actor over the coming months, some will be shouting "again?!" when the winner's name is announced.

Out of all the nominees, nearly none of the leaders in major categories are new to the Oscar derby. Previous winners like Robert DeNiro, Sally Field, Denzel Washington, Joaquin Phoenix, Helen Hunt and Philip Seymour Hoffman could all add to their totals on Oscar night. And those are only a few names; the entire Supporting Actor category is made up of former winners!

With the exception of Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild, the majority of the nominated films also have winners behind them. Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) won Best Director three years ago for Hurt Locker, Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) is a two-time winner for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List and Ang Lee (Life of Pi) also won a Best Director Oscar previously for Brokeback Mountain.

Read the rest over at Film Annex

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85th Academy Award Nominations

Lincoln leads all contenders with twelve nominations to its name, but the big surprise of the morning was Kathryn Bigelow, Ben Affleck and Quentin Tarantino being left off for Best Director. Did not see that one coming. Also worth mentioning, this year has the oldest nominee for Best Actress and youngest ever (Emmanuelle Riva, 85, for “Amour” & Quvenzhane Wallis, 9, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”). And a point for consideration, can we swap Flight for Looper in Original Screenplay?

Best motion picture of the year:
"Amour"
"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

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

Best 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"

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

Best Performance by an actress in a supporting role:
Amy Adams in "The Master"
Sally Field in "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway in "Les Misérables"
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

Best 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

Best 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

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

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

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

Best 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

Best 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 Misérables"
Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

Best 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

Best 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 Misérables"
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Best 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 Misérables"
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

Best 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

Best Achievement in sound mixing:
"Argo"
John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
"Les Misérables"
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

Best 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

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The Oscar Nominations Are Tomorrow

Before tomorrow's Academy Award nominations are announced, I would just like to take a second to offer a few predictions about Best Picture.

One of these films will have 10+ nominations
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

These Films Are Locks
Amour
Argo
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

They Will Be Happy Just to be Mentioned in Any Way
The Dark Knight Rises
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Skyfall

Let the drunken brawl between Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty for the shiny gold man commence!

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The Year It All Nearly Ended (Best Films of 2012)

2012 saw the world's collective obsession with the apocalypse take place on the silverscreen on numerous occasions. Whether it was a downbeat comedy, team-up comic franchise, or exploration of our origins, most protagonists saw themselves battling a cataclysmic event. The planet has nearly been blown up, invaded by aliens, lorded over by evil geniuses and the like.

Batman, the Avengers, 007, Django, and even Abraham Lincoln fulfilled the collective wishes of moviegoers to have someone stand up for others in a time when seemingly there are no heroes left. Perhaps it is for this reason that so many of the year's best films were centered around good guys.

If it wasn't the end of the world, it was the end of line for the characters. Bernie desperately trying to avoid prison, Ottway fending off a pack of wolves systematically eliminating his crew, Bond facing a betrayal from one of MI6's own. The end days have been on the mind of many.

This year was also strangely reminiscent of the 70s: a time where character studies and genre efforts could be both commercially successful and high-caliber films as well. Flight and Argo both did well critically and commercially. An exploitation themed Western hit big screens on Christmas and grossed over $100 million—who would have seen that coming at the dawn of the aughts?

Despite the retro-fitting of these films, the fatalistic nature was still there: Flight depicts the end of a man's career and free life, Argo watches on helplessly as hostages are taken in the Middle East, Silver Linings Playbook lived in the shoes of a blue-collar Philadelphia family whose mental health too often rests with the city's most beloved/hated team. For these films, it is the death of a way of life.

We are the species most fascinated by our end, we are unique in that regard. Whether it ends with a whisper or bang, we are right there waiting for the fall.

And on that note I bring you my favorite ten films of 2012.

10. Bernie
Comic, but never hurtful in its depiction of a man whose genial surface let him get away with murder.

9. Seven Psychopaths
Martin McDonagh's second U.S. release knows no limits in going for a laugh and for a film about getting a script finished in Hollywood, there lies promise.

8. The Dark Knight Rises
A lie built on hope turns ghastly when a masked terrorist throws Gotham off its axis and a disgraced hero must rise again. Rises may not be the best Batman film, but it definitely is the send-off that this icon deserved.

7. Argo
Ben Affleck proved he was capable of making more than crime films in Boston with this picture, it managed to keep breaths baited even though we all knew the ending beforehand.

6. The Imposter
When a son disappears and comes back years later darker and with a heavy French accent you have to wonder if it really is your son. A devastating look at just how far a parent will go to keep their child alive in their minds.

5. Lincoln
Rather than glorifying our sixteenth president, Steven Spielberg deconstructed the myth and left us a man capable of doing the seemingly impossible.

4. Django Unchained
Slavery. It's a divisive issue and one made all the more compelling when placed in the Tarantino-sphere, yet Django is more about the lengths that one man will go to save his wife.

3. The Grey
What could have simply been a vehicle for Liam Neeson to punch wolves became a tone poem that meditated on grief.

2. Skyfall
James Bond turned 50 and turned in the best caper of his career. An aging spy tasked with resurrecting himself and his country connected in ways a Bond film previously never has. Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig killed the immortal hero and left in his stead a living, breathing man.

1. Looper
We never really escape our past and this inventive thriller from Rian Johnson couldn't have proclaimed that more boldly.

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Globes Nominations Tread Worn Path

While the Golden Globes traditionally have been known for nominating odd performances in mismatched categories, this year the Hollywood Foreign Press have played it conservatively. The only surprises of these nominees are the mentions for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (McGregor and Blunt), which hasn't received much consideration elsewhere, and Django Unchained's two supporting actors (DiCaprio and Waltz) are nominated. Lincoln, Les Mis, and Zero Dark Thirty lead the pack, but Django didn't do too poorly either with five nods.

Quentin Tarantino had this to say about the Globes announcements: "It's very gratifying to get this many nominations from the HFPA for a film I worked so hard on and am so passionate about. I look forward to having fun at the Golden Globes with my cast mates and fellow nominees."

Leonardo DiCaprio: “I’m truly honored to be nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association today. Django Unchained was a remarkable experience and I consider myself lucky to work with Quentin and the entire cast on the film. I’m particularly proud to be named alongside my fellow Django nominees.”

BEST PICTURE, DRAMA

"Zero Dark Thirty"

"Argo"

"Lincoln"

"Life of Pi"

"Django Unchained"

BEST PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

"Silver Linings Playbook"

"Les Miserables"

"Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

"Moonrise Kingdom"

"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA

Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln"

Richard Gere for "Arbitrage"

John Hawkes for "The Sessions"

Denzel Washington for "Flight"

Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master"

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA

Marion Cotillard for "Rust and Bone"

Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty"

Naomi Watts for "The Impossible"

Rachel Weisz for "The Deep Blue Sea"

Helen Mirren for "Hitchcock"

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Hugh Jackman for "Les Miserables"

Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook"

Jack Black for "Bernie"

Ewan McGregor for "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

Bill Murray for "Hyde Park On Hudson"

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook"

Meryl Streep for "Hope Springs"

Judi Dench for "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

Maggie Smith for "Quartet"

Emily Blunt for "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tommy Lee Jones for "Lincoln"

Leonardo DiCaprio for "Django Unchained"

Phillip Seymour Hoffman for "The Master"

Christoph Waltz for "Django Unchained"

Alan Arkin for "Argo"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables"

Sally Field for "Lincoln"

Helen Hunt for "The Sessions"

Nicole Kidman for "The Paperboy"

Amy Adams for "The Master"

BEST DIRECTOR

Ang Lee for "Life of Pi"

Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty"

Quentin Tarantino for "Django Unchained"

Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln"

Ben Affleck for "Argo"

BEST SCREENPLAY

"Zero Dark Thirty"

"Argo"

"Lincoln"

"Django Unchained"

"Silver Linings Playbook"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

"Rise of the Guardians"

"Brave"

"Frankenweenie"

"Hotel Transylvania"

"Wreck-It Ralph"

BEST FOREIGN FILM

"The Intouchables"

"Rust and Bone"

"Amour"

"A Royal Affair"

"Kon-Tiki"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Adele ("Skyfall" for "Skyfall")

Jon Bon Jovi ("Not Running Anymore" for "Stand Up Guys")

Hugh Jackman ("Suddenly" for "Les Miserables")

"For You" for "Act of Valor"

Taylor Swift ("Safe and Sound" for "Hunger Games")

BEST SCORE

Mychael Danna for "Life of Pi"

Alexandre Desplat for "Argo"

Dario Marianelli for "Anna Karenina"

John Williams for "Lincoln" 

Reinhold Helil & Johnny Kilmek for "Cloud Atlas"

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Critics Choice Awards Nominees

The Critics Choice Movie Awards air January 10, 2013. A fun aside, the BFCA is introducing several new categories including “Favorite Fan Franchise,” where all fans vote for the winner. You can vote over at Awards Circuit!

BEST PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
John Hawkes – “The Sessions”
Hugh Jackman – “Les Misérables”
Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
Denzel Washington – “Flight”

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Marion Cotillard – “Rust and Bone”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin – “Argo”
Javier Bardem – “Skyfall”
Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
Matthew McConaughey – “Magic Mike”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – “The Master”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Ann Dowd – “Compliance”
Sally Field – “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway – “Les Misérables”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – “Ginger & Rosa”
Kara Hayward – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Tom Holland – “The Impossible”
Logan Lerman – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Suraj Sharma – “Life of Pi”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck – “Argo”
Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Tom Hooper – “Les Misérables”
Ang Lee – “Life of Pi”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Steven Spielberg – “Lincoln”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino – “Django Unchained”
John Gatins – “Flight”
Rian Johnson – “Looper”
Paul Thomas Anderson – “The Master”
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Mark Boal – “Zero Dark Thirty”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio – “Argo”
David Magee – “Life of Pi”
Tony Kushner – “Lincoln”
Stephen Chbosky – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Les Misérables” – Danny Cohen
“Life of Pi” – Claudio Miranda
“Lincoln” – Janusz Kaminski
“The Master” – Mihai Malaimare Jr.
“Skyfall” – Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Anna Karenina” – Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer; Katie Spencer/Set Decorator
“The Hobbit” – Dan Hennah/Production Designer; Ra Vincent & Simon Bright/Set Decorators
“Les Misérables” – Eve Stewart/Production Designer; Anna Lynch-Robinson/Set Decorator
“Life of Pi” – David Gropman/Production Designer; Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
“Lincoln” – Rick Carter/Production Designer; Jim Erickson/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
“Argo” – William Goldenberg
“Les Misérables” – Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens
“Life of Pi” – Tim Squyres
“Lincoln” – Michael Kahn
“Zero Dark Thirty” – William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Anna Karenina” – Jacqueline Durran
“Cloud Atlas” – Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud
“The Hobbit” – Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor
“Les Misérables” – Paco Delgado
“Lincoln” – Joanna Johnston

BEST MAKEUP
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit
Les Misérables
Lincoln

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Avengers
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit
Life of Pi

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
Madagascar 3
ParaNorman
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
Looper
Skyfall

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Christian Bale – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Daniel Craig – “Skyfall”
Robert Downey Jr. – “The Avengers”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Looper”
Jake Gyllenhaal – “End of Watch”

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – “Looper”
Gina Carano – “Haywire”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Anne Hathaway – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Jennifer Lawrence – “The Hunger Games”

BEST COMEDY
Bernie
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
This Is 40
21 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jack Black – “Bernie”
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Paul Rudd – “This Is 40”
Channing Tatum – “21 Jump Street”
Mark Wahlberg – “Ted”

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Mila Kunis – “Ted”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Shirley MacLaine – “Bernie”
Leslie Mann – “This Is 40”
Rebel Wilson – “Pitch Perfect”

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Cabin in the Woods
Looper
Prometheus

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
The Intouchables
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bully
The Central Park Five
The Imposter
The Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man
West of Memphis

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AFI Lists 2012's Top Ten

The AFI came out with their top ten list of American films this year. It was quite a pleasant surprise to see The Dark Knight Rises make an appearance, although it may have come at the expense of a film like The Master. Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty at this point have become must-haves for any top ten list for the year. If AFI's selections hold true, December shall bring a great deal of excellent pictures.

ARGO

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

DJANGO UNCHAINED

LES MISÉRABLES

LIFE OF PI

LINCOLN

MOONRISE KINGDOM

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

ZERO DARK THIRTY

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Review: A Man and His Legacy (Lincoln)

Times are contentious in the Union. The Civil War rages on and the death toll is in the hundreds of thousands. Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) has two choices placed before him by his trusted Secretary of State, William Seward (David Strathairn at his wit's end). One, an amendment that would allow for slaves to be freed and the other, a peace agreement with the South. His recent re-election has bundled some goodwill for his agenda and he means to package it for the amendment.

The House is publicly divided between the Democrats, conservative and radical Republicans, with abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens (an Oscar-bound Tommy Lee Jones) corralling his caucus and Seward's task force of Bilbo (James Spader), Latham (John Hawkes) and Schell (Tim Blake Nelson) trading positions for votes.

Despite the heavy title and the prestige that the marketing and advertising have treated Lincoln with, this is not a biopic that showers its protagonist with awe. This is no Honest Abe by any means, he is a wily politician who knows people and what needs to be done to get legislation passed. It is easy to forget over the course of time that these icons were still men. That truth is often lost to time.

A man like President Lincoln casts a long shadow over history. He presided over an unparalleled time of controversy and he united a nation. What makes Lincoln successful is that Day-Lewis, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner play with the myths in the shadows.

Here, Lincoln's voice is not rich, it is of a plain speaker. He was not a perfect father, nor a perfect husband. He did not possess a crystal ball, but he held his beliefs with fierce conviction. Some of the Lewis' best scenes come when he is pressed on why he feels slavery has to be abolished at the cost of creating peace between the Confederates and the Union.

One of the directors that Steven Spielberg has been most compared with is John Ford. Now, it is no coincidence that both are masters at utilizing light and landscape. Often during the film Lincoln creates a large shadow walking into the room, but very quickly it shrinks down. The human interactions between him and Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) or Abe and Marie Todd (Sally Field) bring Lincoln down to an earthly scale. Day-Lewis and Sally Field's scenes offer a revelatory take on the dynamic between President and First Lady.

Considering the majority of Lincoln takes place in legislative halls and the halls of the White House, Kushner does an excellent job with the dialogue. The shop-talk portions including Spader, Jones and Strathairn feel like being let in the Capital in the 1860s. Limiting the scope of Lincoln's life was the best possible decision that Spielberg and Kushner could have made.

Whatever hold-ups some may have with Spielberg handling Lincoln are largely unfounded. Frequent collaborator, John Williams, refrains from creating swells of music that take viewers out of the drama of the moment. The tone is not Pollyanna-esque as one would expect, Lewis plays Lincoln as the world-weary man tired of war on his watch and tired of what humans are capable of doing to one another.

What Spielberg's film does is take Lincoln out of his marble casing and let's him stretch his legs amongst the people.

***1/2 out of ****

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Lincoln opens November 16, 2012.

(Courtesy: EW)

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