day 4.42

2012 oscar nominations
we've officially entered oscar season. hunger games star jennifer lawrence and the academy's president announced this year's crop of nominees this morning- here's who got snubbed, who surprised and who i expect to win.

best picture

• the artist
• the descendants
• extremely loud and incredibly close
• the help
• hugo
• midnight in paris
• moneyball
• the tree of life
• war horse

having seen six of the nine nominees, i'm pretty confident in calling the artist as the winner. the academy voters are old and will vote for nostalgia over a modern film. while i like the artist, i didn't think it was as spectacular as everything keeps claiming. if it were up to me, the descendants would take home the top trophy. well, if it were really up to me, bridesmaids would be nominated and win. hey, academy- time for a comedy category!

best actor in a leading role

• demian bichir, a better life
• george clooney, the descendants
• jean dujardin, the artist
• gary oldman, tinker tailor soldier spy
• brad pitt, moneyball

this category packed two surprises- nominations for demian bichir and gary oldman. both gave buzzed about performances, but neither were expected to make it on the academy's short list. demian won't win, but this wil definitely pump up his presence in hollywood (check out a better life if you can). but expect clooney to take it in this category, with dujardin a close second. i just don't think dujardin's over-the-top emoting will overpower clooney's best performance in years.

best actress in a leading role

• glenn close, albert nobbs
• viola davis, the help
• rooney mara, the girl with the dragon tattoo
• meryl streep, the iron lady
• michelle williams, my week with marilyn

the academy loves a good transformation and this year's leading lady nominees reflect that- all 5 completely transformed on screen, some unrecognizably (see: glenn close as transgendered albert nobbs). close and mara were minor surprises, but neither will win against davis, streep and williams. my guess is the academy will go with perennial winner streep (she did take the character from 40something to 80something), even though davis and williams both deserve to take home a golden guy.

actor in a supporting role

• kenneth branagh, my week with marilyn
• jonah hill, moneyball
• nick nolte, warrior
• christopher plummer, beginners
• max von sydow, extremely loud and incredibly close

w ... t ... f is this category? the supporting actor categories are surprise central. to get it out of the way first, christopher plummer is taking home this award hands down- and i haven't even seen the movie. he's taken every other prize, so why not this one? i mean, he's captain von trapp. but let's talk the other nominees- jonah hill? the academy knows he's in the upcoming 21 jump street, right? nick nolte? huh? max von sydow ... ok, i don't think he talks in that movie, but still. i can get behind kenneth branagh, but eddie redmayne should've been nominated alongside him.

actress in a supporting role

• berenice bejo, the artist
• jessica chastain, the help
• octavia spencer, the help
• melissa mccarthy, bridesmaids
• janet mcteer, albert nobbs

my top choice isn't even nominated???!!! where's shailene woodley? where? that girl cried under water. cried. under. water. i get it- she's on secret life of the american teenager, but don't hold that against her, academy. ok, rant over. this category comes down to octavia spencer and melissa mccarthy- it just depends on what kind of work the voters want to reward. my vote would go to melissa mccarthy- she's all anyone could talk about after bridesmaids hit the big screen- but, octavia spencer (and, to be honest, all of black hollywood) deserve the golden guy more.

that does it for the big categories. to see more nominees and make your own prediction, click here. the 84th academy awards air february 26 on abc, 8/7c. 

day 3.240

what i love (this week)

the song

summer is almost over. why?

the show

this is the worst thing on tv right now, but i watched two hours of it last night. and will probably watch the next two hours next weekend.

the movie

i want to see it again. and again. and then at least one more time. ok, two more times.

the look

i wish this were real.

day 3.239

movie review: the help

oscars for everyone! that was my first thought after screening the help, starring emma stone, viola davis, bryce dallas howard, octavia spencer and allison janney. based on kathryn stockett's best-selling novel of the same name, the help follows recent college grad skeeter (stone) back home to jackson, mississippi, where she finds she just doesn't quite fit in anymore. all her high school friends are now married with kids and help of their own, no career aspirations in sight- and plenty of blind racism to go around. aspiring journalist skeeter can't quite stand the social inequality she's faced with on a daily basis. each days she's forced to watch the help look after less-than-appreciative families, the more an idea plants itself in her head- she needs to write a book. taking a big risk, maids aiblene (davis), reserved and respected, and the outspoken minny (spencer) join skeeter in her conquest to take down hilly hollbrook (howard), the leader of the high society pack. the movie holds onto the spirit of the book, making slight changes that work- for the better- on screen. while some dramatic moments are cut short, and some comedic moments beaten to death, the movie does not feel like a two-plus hour history lesson. instead, it's an escape to the past with stand-out performances and memorable moments you won't want to leave behind.