Oscar Predictions/Picks 2013!

Best picture:
Nominees - Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pie, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty
Tali - My heart says Zero Dark Thirty, but my mind and my gut says Argo.
Leo - Argo, I hope. I wouldn't mind BotSW or Amour winning though. But I could see Lincoln winning too, unfortunately.
WINNER - ARGO

 Best actor:
Nominees - Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Hugh Jackman, Joaquin Phoenix, Denzel Washington
Tali - Daniel. Day. Lewis.
Leo - Obviously Daniel Day-Lewis.
WINNER - DANIEL DAY-LEWIS

Best supporting actor:
Nominees - Alan Arkin, Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones, Christoph Waltz
Tali - Robert De Niro, hands down.
Leo - Christoph Waltz, for a repeat of the last Tarantino movie nominated.
WINNER - CHRISTOPH WALTZ

Best actress:
Nominees - Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Emmanuelle Riva, Quvenzhane Wallis, Naomi Watts
Tali - As previously mentioned, Emmanuelle Riva delivered the year's best performance in all cinema.
Leo - I hope Emmanuelle Riva. I really do. But I think it's going to Jennifer Lawrence.
WINNER - JENNIFER LAWRENCE

Best supporting actress: 
Nominees - Amy Adams, Sally Field, Anne Hathaway, Helen Hunt, Jacki Weaver
Tali - Sally Field.
Leo - Hmmmm. Yea Sally Field.
WINNER - ANNE HATHAWAY

Best director: 
Nominees - Michael Haneke, Benh Zetlin, Ang Lee, Steven Spielberg, David O. Russell
Tali - Wes Anderson. Errr, I mean Ang Lee.
Leo - ^ Michael Haneke deserves it out of these people but I think it will go to Ang Lee but to change it up Steven Spielberg.
Winner - ANG LEE

Best animated film:
Nominees - Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Wreck-It Ralph
Tali - Though it should go to ParaNorman, by money is on Brave.
Leo - Frankenweenie.
WINNER - BRAVE

Best original song:
Before My Time, Everybody Needs a Best Friend, Pi's Lullaby, Skyfall, Suddenly
Tali - SKYFALL.
Leo - Skyfall.
WINNER -SKYFALL

Leo - 5
Tali -  5 

Lincoln

Tali: Lincoln tells the incredibly triumphant story of former US president Abraham Lincoln and the journey towards passing the 13th amendment into the United States constitution, thus abolishing slavery (and perhaps ultimately ending the Civil War). Having known very little about American history, I went into this film with a completely open mind about it's content, but was still very weary about it's long and winded premise I heard from folks who had seen it. And trust me, there are a lot of scenes of old white guys sitting around talking politics. For me, some of that was really exciting, as I enjoy the nitty gritty of the political process! But there were, a lot of white people in a movie that is ultimately about black history (in some degree) and the political elements of the movie were watered down to create this Spielberg epic. Daniel Day Lewis is also as brilliant as always - there is no video footage of Lincoln, but if there was, it would be this movie. Such dedication and skill as an actor that cannot be put into words. He will win the Oscar tomorrow, the movie overall should not.

Leo: Surprisingly, I liked Lincoln. I usually don't love slow-paced history movies, but I was surprised that I liked this movie similar to the King's Speech, though nowhere near as much. The most fun part of the movie was honestly pointing out all of the various cast members that only I would know from the collection of shows and movies I watched recently. The most amusing one was the antagonist in the Bourne Ultimatum as the secretary, and it was fun to think of comedic / plausible cross-over (operation Blackbriar was a black-ops assassination branch of the government). Back on topic....the performance by Daniel Day-Lewis was perfect as expected. He is my pick to win the Oscar without even considering the rest. The whole movie was basically riding on this, and he delivered. Overall, not exciting, not overly entertaining or suspenseful, but interesting and very impressive performances.

Les Miserables

Tali: Les Miserables is a classic musical. You already know what it's about, I'm only going to tell you things that you need to know. For instance, if you don't know already, most of the singing was done live, which adds to the authenticity of the picture and creates a raw honesty not previously seen in movie musicals, and it fits so well with the setting of the film. There is almost no spoken dialogue (I didn't know this!), but that shouldn't deter you from watching - the songs are very engaging and the actors - especially the young ones - are emotionally captivating enough that you become connected to them and their stories. Though very entertaining and uplifting and romantic, I felt like I was missing something from the movie. This is not my favorite musical or style of musical, and perhaps because I was the last person on earth to see this movie, I got too caught up in the hype and missed out on Mis-mania, because I certainly wasn't getting it. I tip my hat to Hugh Jackman and the delicious intellectual revolutionaries!

Leo: Les Mis was an excellent story told in a very dramatic musical fashion. The live singing and no simply spoken words add to the entertainment value because it just further showcases the talent of the actors and singers involved. I think the most unappreciated star of this movie was the actress playing Éponine (brb looking up her name....case in point), Samantha Barks. She has an incredible voice and it fit so well with the tragic life of the character. Sasha Baron Cohen is hilarious as always and pairs incredibly well with Helena Bonham Carter to make a very comedic duo. Hugh Jackman, while not the most surprising or mind-blowing, was amazingly consistent and spectacular in his own right. He was the most convincing character in my opinion. I find it sort of flawed in terms of oscars for having movies like this in the same category as Amour, since one is obviously meant to be over dramatic (musical style) while one is meant to be real. I believe it is much more difficult to act "real" convincing than to over act, so I do not think Hugh Jackman or Anne Hathaway would really have earned the award if they win, however I think they did the best job within the guidelines of a musical performance. The one overall issue I had with the movie (semi-related with my previous point) was that it was too surreal for such a real story. They were speaking english in so many different accents....in France, not that I expected otherwise...I just found it kind of logically distracting. Everyone has to see this movie, the songs alone make it worthwhile.

Amour

Tali: Amour is a French language film which tells the incredible story of a couple who are coming to terms with the end of their time together. Although I cried throughout most of the film, you have to know that the connection between Anne and George is beyond any other on screen couple I can think of. The portrayal of a couple dealing with sickness and health is a very real and remarkable story. Emmanuelle Riva's performance as a stroke victim with declining health 100% deserves every award for acting EVER. Seriously. Not a spoiler, but the scene where they are singing is easily the best moment in cinema from this past year. Nominated for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Film, Amour captivates an audience across the globe, and with incredibly good reason. If you have the time to see it before the Oscar's (and even if you don't), this film is a must-see.

Leo: I really hope this film wins. It was so simple of a story but the feel is quite complicated. It gives you hope then takes it away. It gives you uncertainty then gives you closure, then puts you back into uncertainty. It balances all of these feelings quite impressively and the acting puts this movie as over the edge in terms of its impact. I have not read one intelligent negative review of this movie; they seem to be grasping for reasons why Haneke can't make an impactful film when he has clearly proven them wrong. The cold-real style of this movie adds to the feel of the movie. It brings it scarily close to home which clearly has some people very scared about it. I thought both of the actors deserve to win the academy award for their incredible performances in this film, but I'm not quite sure how it will pan out. See this movie, even if you don't cry you will definitely feel something.

Silver Linings Playbook

Tali: Silver Linings Playbook is a tragi-comedy about Pat and Tiffany, two lost souls with varying degrees of mental illness, both trying to work through their idiosyncrasies and make life possible. Their relationship and their struggles will certainly melt your heart. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are both astonishing in their roles - to a lesser extent with JL, but BC simply blew my mind away (I already know JL was a bad ass). Those two could not have made a better pair! In fact, the entire cast, dealing with all of the complexities and the drama of their own illnesses/baggage made the story believable and likeable. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie! I highly suggest you see it with an open mind (and an open heart).

Leo: Tali and I disagree about whether or not this was a chick flick (after which I will call her a chick and flick her) but the important thing is that I thought it was very entertaining and well done. I really liked the story and how it had an element of realism within the conflict and it wasn't just forced problems to create a story for the audience to watch two people come together (like the majority of chick flicks). It was definitely funny and smart in that sense. In addition to this, the acting was incredible. Robert DeNiro was amazing as Bradley Cooper's father, and Bradley Cooper played an amazing protagonist that you may not expect out of him. His role was likeable even though he was clinically insane. Jennifer Lawrence was very believable in her role, I don't care about the age difference, it made sense. She executed the role of the "equally fucked up love interest" perfectly. I had a few problems with the plot though. SPOILERS: I did not like the way he figured out that Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) wrote the letters. I thought it was obvious at the start that she was writing the letters, but Pat (Bradley Cooper) clearly believed it was his ex-wife, so it seemed forced that she kept unintentionally repeating "if I was reading the signs". I also found it somewhat unrealistic that he went from clinically insane and obsessed about one woman and then BOOM in just a week or so he falls in love with another woman, even if that woman is Jennifer Lawrence. All in all, great movie. One of the best "date movies".

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Tali: Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of Hushpuppy, a head-strong young girl who lives in an isolated Gulf Coast community that is fraught with storms, strife and survivalism. Told with brilliant imagery and expressed through complex emotions, BOSW explores the passions of hardships of growing up too fast. There are so many good moments in this film, so many reasons to make you feel proud of strong female characters, of down-and-out communities banding together, and of "sticking it to the man" if you will. Quvenzhané Wallis is brilliant beyond her years and it will be exciting to see how her career goes from here. I don't think she is an Oscar contender, however - though her performance was pretty great (yes she was five when she filmed it), there is a lot to be said about the other characters in the film who bring complicated imperfections to life.  Unfortunately, feminist icon bell hooks has a lot of negative things to say about the film, which is clouding my judgement of it several weeks later.

Leo: I thought Beasts of the Southern Wild was an incredibly different type of film from what we're used to seeing at the oscars and it's only natural that some people don't know how to react. Like Tarantino movies, we are not used to seeing so politically off-beat movies. I personally think it is refreshing to see a movie that pulls no punches for political reasons. People are how they are and this movie at least feels like it is delivering us the unfiltered version of the world from the view of Hushpuppy, the small girl in which this movie is based around. It does not follow the basic plot scheme we are used to, being the rise, climax, then fall of action. It acts as more of a documentary in the sense that it feels as though we are getting a report about the way things are in the Bathtub. Even with this documentary-style narrative, there are so many amazing scenes in this movie, particularly with the dialogue and the acting. I don't know if it's right or not but it made me crave seafood (especially deep fried seafood). I'm hopeful that the movie robs Zero Dark Thirty of best picture because I don't even think the two compare in involvement.