If I Were The Academy (My Nominations)

By Daniel L. Bamberg

Daniel@Centrevillepress.com

Many who read this may perhaps wonder why my opinion should matter. My opinion really doesn't matter. I am simply a journalist from a small town newspaper who may be one of the biggest film geeks on the planet. I've watched and studied more film than I care to count. There was once an attempt to rate every film I had ever seen. Not only was this a tedious task, but the resulting figures (just on a year by year basis) of how much time I had spent watching films was too much to take.

It is shocking that I have a life considering how much of it has been dedicated to wasting time with motion pictures. Yes, wasting time - because we all know most movies are not worth the film they take to shoot. With that being said I have decided to write a few opinions this week for this blog about the upcoming Academy Awards. In this posting, I will waste all of your time by listing who and what I believe should've been nominated with my choice for winner. * indicates who or what I believe earns the Oscar. Enjoy.

Best Picture

Inglorious Basterds *

"Quentin Tarantino's Masterwork. This is first class art cinema with enough cool to satisfy the hip elite. The performances throughout are stellar with the exception of the "Basterds" themselves, (Pitt and Roth) who are basically dark comic relief. The combination of a serious vengence tale combined with breaks of neurotic black comedy (as much as I feel strange to admit this) are reminiscent of Shakespeare. "Inglorious Basterds" is an inspired classic that I don't believe will be fully appreciated for some time." A+

Sin Nombre

"Fantastic and touching story telling with tremendous child acting and amazing cinematography. Far superior to many foreign films which have been given Academy nods this year or in the last decade. Easily one of the best films of 2010." A+

The Hurt Locker

"The closest I believe any film could bring an audience to actually being there. One of the most personal and emotional war films of all time. 'The Hurt Locker' vividly enhances the respect we should have for our soldiers." A+

Precious

"The hardest film (emotionally) I have watched since "Monster's Ball." The theme is heavy and the direction is personal and moving. 'Precious' contains some of the most amazing female performances I have seen in this or any year recently. The only flaw is the harsh theme which should not invite repeated viewing." A-

(500) Days of Summer

"The most original Romantic Comedy I have ever seen. Nothing is tired about this story and it won't go in the direction you'd expect. Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivers another outstanding performance in a career that has already stood out for his brave independence. Funny, realistic, and for its genre, all-out brilliant!" A-

Antichrist

"This film won't settle well with most viewers. It may be hard to understand the metaphor. Many will pass this off as torture-porn when in fact there is something much more important working beneath the surface and obvious to anyone who can get past the shocking visuals. This film is dangerous art and played brilliantly by two outstanding acting talents who slide into nameless roles the way hermit crabs exits mostly permanently in their shell. Rarely does a film come along so daring that it begs to be taught in every film education class possible (from acting to cinematography to direction to metaphorical story telling). This is an awe-inspiring work of art which only suffers from too many viewers missing the point." A-

The Missing Person

"Noir that a viewer can believe in. Rarely (if ever) has any film maker pulled off a more beleivable and welcoming crime thriller. Buschel is a talent to watch for." B+

Crazy Heart

"This story has been told before, and to its credit 'Crazy Heart' doesn't try too hard to be original for knowing that fact. It relies and relishes heavily on the key performances which seperate it from many of those before it. Jeff Bridges gives what may be the performance of his career by doing what he has done so remarkably for years, (becoming a role and allowing an audience to forget Jeff Bridges in on the screen.) B+

Gomorrah

"A sweeping and brutal epic which allows the backdrop to be its most important and looming character. The direction is superb. Gomorrah suffers from being preceded by 'City of God' (a superior similar film) but achieves tremendously by not trying too hard to be something it isn't." B+

The Soloist

"Jamie Foxx delivers the performance of his career in a film that explores schizophrenia without kid gloves. The Soloist is brave and touching. This is not a film for everyone's taste but holds an importance that should welcome any and all viewership." B +

Best Director

Quentin Tarrentino for Inglorious Basterds *

Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

Cary Fukunaga for Sin Nombre

Noah Buschel for The Missing Person

Lars von Trier for Antichrist

Best Actor

Willem Dafoe for Antichrist *

Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker

Morgan Freeman for Invictus

Joseph Gordon-Levitt for (500) Days of Summer

Best Actress

Melanie Laurent for Inglorious Basterds *

Sandra Bullock for The Blindside

Charlotte Gainsbourg for Antichrist

Helen Mirren for The Last Station

Gabourey Sidibe for Precious

Best Supporting Actor

Woody Harrelson for The Messenger

Christopher Plummer for The Last Station

Jamie Foxx for The Soloist

Christoph Waltz for Inglorious Basterds

Zachary Quinto for Star Trek

Best Supporting Actress

Mo'Nique for Precious *

Amy Adams for Sunshine Cleaning

Penelope Cruz for Nine
Amy Ryan for The Missing Person
Diane Kruger for Inglorious Basterds

Best Original Screenplay
Sin Nombre *
Inglorious Basterds
The Hurt Locker
The Missing Person
Sunshine Cleaning

Best Adapted Screenplay
Precious  *
Gomorrah
The Soloist
The Last Station
Invictus

Best Animated Motion Picture
Up *
Avatar
Coraline

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog

Best Cinematography
Sin Nombre *
Inglorious Basterds
Antichrist
The Hurt Locker
The Missing Person

Best Art Direction
Antichrist *
Sherlock Holmes
Nine
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Star Trek

Best Costume Design
Sherlock Holmes *

The Young Victoria
Star Trek
The Imaginarium of Dr. Pasnassus
Inglorious Basterds

Best Film Editing
The Hurt Locker *
Avatar
Sin Nombre
Inglorious Basterds

Precious

Best Foreign Language Film
Sin Nombre *
Gomorrah
The Milk of Sorrow
The White Ribbon
A Prophet

Best Sound Editing
Public Enemies *
The Soloist
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Nine

Best Sound Mixing

Public Enemies  *

The Hurt Locker

Up

Avatar

The Soloist

Best Makeup
Star Trek *
The Young Victoria
II Divo

Best Original Score
The Soloist *
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Sherlock Holmes

Best Visual Effects
Avatar  *
Star Trek
Paranormal Activity
Sherlock Holmes
District 9