Night at the Oscars

Night at the Oscars

It's the season to watch the Oscars, and where the A-list, elite get excited in the vain hope they win a statue of a gold, bald little man. Since it’s the biggest night on the film calendar the Sunday lister will once again be postponed. My apologies. However, this week I will run down the top categories at the Academy Awards, who I think will win and who I want to win. So sit back and enjoy Dan’s night at the Oscars. 

Best Supporting Actor

Who I think will win: Christopher Plummer Who I want to Win: Nick Nolte.

Best supporting Actor is one of the few categories where I haven’t seen all the nominees. But, I have seen Moneyball, Beginners and Warrior. Out of these three, my personal choice would have to be Nick Nolte. I thought Nolte was an absolute tour de’ force in Warrior, throwing his heart and soul into every scene.

However, I can’t see anybody but Plummer winning. He’s British, he’s respected and his character in Beginners is a pretty good one. Not to mention that Plummer has practically won every award under the son. I preferred Nolte, but I can’t complain if Plummer does win. 

Best Supporting Actress

Who I think will win: Octavia Spencer Who I want to Win: Jessica Chastain

Spencer like Plummer has won most awards under the son. And she looks to be a shoe in for this year. I thought Spencer was good, but not great. Sure her performance is fine and somewhat compelling, but she doesn’t grab me completely.

Her Help counterpart Jessica Chastain on the other hand, offers up a charming, compelling and routable character Celia Foote who is definitely my favourite thing in The help. 

Best Original Screenplay

Who I think will win: The Artist Who I want to Win: Midnight in Paris

I’m not a Woody Allen fan. That may be pretty blasphemous to some, but I’m not. I like his ‘classics’, but the majority of the stuff he’s done in the last decade or so has been mediocre at best. Then comes Midnight in Paris. I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed Midnight in Paris. It smacked of charm and quick, something refreshing and reminiscent of classic Allen.

However, sadly Midnight in Paris will undoubtedly be overshadowed by The Artist, which will most likely pick up this award and every other award available to it tonight. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Who I think will win: The Descendants Who I want to Win: The Descendants

Four categories in and we have come to the point where what I think will win and what I want to win are one and the same. I know it’s now been thrust out of the loop in Oscar contentions, but I really enjoyed Alexander Payne’s The Descendants. There is no doubt that Payne is a genius for creating story conflict out of almost nothing and is rapidly becoming one of my favourite modern day screenwriters.

Thankfully, I have high hopes for Payne getting his second screenwriting gong this year. That being said, I wouldn’t complain if Ides of March picked up the Golden Baldie either. 

Best Actor in a leading Role

Who I think Will Win: Jean Dujardin Who I want to win: George Clooney

I haven’t seen all of these nominations either, with me not getting round to Birchir’s performance in A Better Life. However, no disrespect to Birchir, but it does seem to be Dujardin vs. Clooney in this category. I thought Dujardin’s performance was comical and fresh. However, it lacked the real passion that Clooney’s did.

That being said, I’ve got a feeling that Mr Clooney will not win his second acting Oscar this year and it will go to Mr Dujardin. 

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Who I think will win: Meryl Streep Who I want to win: Rooney Mara

I didn’t love The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I know a lot of people did and I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t love it. For me it was far too long, with the really good bits coming to few and far between. With that in mind, Mara would definitely my pick for the Academy Award this year. No it wasn’t an original role, but Mara’s Salander was so strong, that it’s hard not to be impressed.

Alas, it will not be Salander’s year. Miss Streep is far and away the clear favourite to win this year, and to be fair to her, you can’t really argue it. Her performance as Thatcher is impressive as it is bold. Also, Lisbeth Salander is probably too hardcore of a character for the academy to really appreciate it. 

Best Director

Who I think will win: Michael Hazanavicius Who I want to win: Michael Hazanavicius  

This one’s a close one for me. Whereas I prefer Paris as a film, I think The Artist’s strongest point is Hazanvicius’ directing. The Artist is clearly his brain child, and his passion comes through in abundance, breathing life in what could become an over-the-top farce.

I think Hazanvicius will be the second one where my picks align as it looks like he’s a shoe in for this award. However, I don’t think everybody will be utterly surprised if Scorsese doesn’t win. 

Best Film

Who I think will win: The Artist Who I want to win: Midnight in Paris/ The Descendants

I’d be happy for either Midnight in Paris or The Descendants winning this year’s best film title. I love both projects, more so than I ever thought I would, both managing to entertain me and emotionally connect me as an audience member. Albeit, in two very different ways.

However, when it comes down to it, I have no doubt in my mind that The Artist is going to walk away with the Best Film award at this year’s Academy Awards. Does it deserve it? Maybe. There is no doubt that The Artist is a bold movie. I just prefer the other two. But, I know I’m the minority. 

So there my picks. Let me know what you think.

Either email me at cinemascreenandspandex@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @glamgrunge

Until next time, enjoy the show.

Star Spotlight: Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Star Spotlight: Phillip Seymour Hoffman

First of all, thanks to everyone who read my first Star Spotlight on Ryan Gosling. My next star spotlight will be about a man who I consider one of, if not the best actor around today: Phillip Seymour Hoffman. 

I’m probably not alone when I say Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the greatest living actor today, after all, he has won an Academy Award. Despite this, I do think he’s criminally underrated and relatively unheard of compared to Hollywood A listers, who aren’t nearly as capable as big Phil. 

Acting since the early 1990s Phillip Seymour Hoffman had bit part roles in such movies like Scent of A Woman and Twister. Phillip Seymour Hoffman half got a break by being one of P.T Anderson’s go to guys offering great performances in Anderson’s Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love. However, outside of his friendship with Anderson, Mr Hoffman was still a bit part player in the big world of movies. 

In the start of the 21^st century, Phil’s stock rose slightly. However, it wasn’t until 2005 where Big Phil got his big break in 2005’s Oscar nominated Capote. This is arguably, where Phillip Seymour Hoffman showed us all how good of an actor he really is claiming the Academy Award for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote. 

Since then, Hoffman hasn’t looked back, staring in mega bucks blockbusters like Mission Impossible 3, Brit comedies like The Boat that Rocked and other Academy Award nominated movies such as Charlie Wilson’s War, The Savages and Doubt. In the last six years, Phil has really cemented himself as a respectable actor in Hollywood, who can give both Blockbuster and Award winning performances. 

The trend of Phillip Seymour Hoffman doing Academy Award nominated movies looks to continue as he’s just starred in George Clooney’s The Ides of March and alongside Brad Pitt in Baseball movie Moneyball, both possibilities in next year’s Award season. 

Unlike a lot of Actors, Phillip Seymour Hoffman has a light schedule of films coming up with only A Late Quartet and The Master in the works. The Master sees Phillip Seymour Hoffman teaming up with old friend Paul Thomas Anderson again. 

This light schedule could be one of the reasons that Phillip Seymour Hoffman may be overlooked when it comes to high profile roles. Unlike many other actors, it seems that big Phil doesn’t like to saturate the market with his face, bringing out only one or two movies a year with him in it. 

While that may seem like a bad point in becoming well known, it seems to work for him, because the man doesn’t do a bad performance. From The Savages to Mission Impossible to The Boat that Rocked to Charlie Wilson’s War, Phil does it all. All four of the films mentioned are very different in tone and genre, each offering up a completely different character for Phil. A task which, he accomplishes with ease. 

The Boat that Rocked is an average film at best, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman still steals the show with his portrayal of Radio Legend ‘The Count’. Furthering this, I think it’s unfortunate that Phillip Seymour Hoffman has only one Academy Award to his name. This is due to the fact that his performance ‘Gust Avrakotos’ in Charlie Wilson’s War is easily an Academy Award winning one. He was unlucky that it was the same year that Javier Bardem played ‘Anton Chigurh’ in No Country for Old Men. 

Despite, not being known by fans worldwide, it’s easily seen that Phillip Seymour Hoffman is acknowledged as one of the best in the world by his peers. And due to normally preferring ‘lesser’ known movies, I think he would prefer it that way. 

What do you guys think? Do you agree about Big Phil’s talent? Or think I’m hyping him up too much?

Feel free to let me know. 

Email: cinemascreenandspandex@gmail.com

Twitter: @glamgrunge

Until next time, enjoy the show.

Daniel Morris.