The nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards were announced this morning. I have seen shockingly few of the nominated films. Like not even Social Network and that's embarrassing to admit because, well, you know.
Here are a list of the nominees from the major categories:
Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
My Uneducated Take: I like that they gave a token nod to Toy Story 3, but token is all it is. It won't (and, in my opinion, shouldn't) win. Despite Inception being a huge hit, I don't think it'll go home with the top prize. My money's on Black Swan or The Social Network.
Best Director
Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
David O. Russell for The Fighter
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
David Fincher for The Social Network
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for True Grit
My Uneducated Take: I would bet on Aronofsky, although I'd like to see Fincher win. It might kinda sorta make up for the Academy completely snubbing the fabulous Zodiac. Okay, not really.
Best Actor
Javier Bardem in Biutiful
Jeff Bridges in True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
Colin Firth in The King's Speech
James Franco in 127 Hours
My Uneducated Take: Jeff Bridges was great in True Grit, but he won last year and I don't see him pulling a Tom Hanks. Too few people have seen Biutiful and 127 Hours. This is Eisenberg's first nomination and he's young so I don't see him winning. I think this is Colin Firth's to lose.
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale in The Fighter
John Hawkes in Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner in The Town
Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech
My Uneducated Take: Bale. He won the Golden Globe and has the kind of body of work voters like to reward. This isn't to say there can't or won't be an upset. Bale certainly has his detractors. If not Bale, I'd love to see Jeremy Renner or Geoffrey Rush win.
Best Actress
Annette Benning in The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine
My Uneducated Take: I'd love to see Michelle Williams win. We should reward films that aren't afraid to be honest. Alas, I think he nomination is simply a token. The frontrunner here is likely Natalie Portman, who won the Golden Globe and with whom Hollywood is in the middle of a love affair.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams in The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech
Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit
Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom
My Uneducated Take: Jacki Weaver is the surprise here. She won't win. Why is Hailee Steinfeld nominated in a supporting role when she was in 90% of the film? She was fabulous and could win ala Anna Pacquin in The Piano. I hope Leo and Adams don't cancel each other out as sometimes happens when multiple nominees are in the same category from the same film. Considering all the love around The King's Speech, Helena Bonham Carter could easily take this one.
A couple of snubs that come to mind: I would have like to have seen more love for The Town. Ben Affleck deserved a little thrown his way. Aren't we over hating him yet?
Also, I know it's been a strong acting year, but what about the Keira Knightley and Carrey Mulligan from Never Let Me Go? Or even Andrew Garfield for that matter.
Speaking of the next Spiderman...no acting nods (other than Eisenberg) for The Social Network? I bet Justin Timberlake (who I understand was great) is sad.
Over the next few weeks I plan on catching up with my movie watching and will try to post thoughts as they come to me!
