Oscars - Final Cut

So here it is, the last of the Oscar predictions. Enjoy!
(As a side note, i am aware of the fact that the links on the previous post - as well as this one - come from Wikipedia. They are accurate, I'm sorry if this does not suit referencing standards or whatever, I was looking for quick and easy!)

Best Animated Feature:

• Brave – Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
• Frankenweenie – Tim Burton
• ParaNorman – Sam Fell and Chris Butler
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits – Peter Lord
• Wreck-It Ralph – Rich Moore

One of my FAVOURITE categories! I haven't yet seen Frankenweenie... OR ParaNorman, so that's sad... Anyway the category is really filled with meaty dishes this year and so for a change there isn't really a distinct (Pixar) winner. As much as i loved the animation in Brave, I didn't enjoy the story half as much. Pirates! is fantastic in its humour, animation and story, but just doesn't have enough momentum to win. Then i saw Ralph and it totally blew me away. It has everything a great animated film requires: appeal for adults and kids alike, gamers and non gamers too. It's funny, it's beautifully animated, it plucks the heart strings and comes together in a solid clump of awesomeness! In case you haven't realised it, I want Ralph to win this.

Best Film Editing:

• Argo – William Goldenberg
• Life of Pi – Tim Squyres
• Lincoln – Michael Kahn
• Silver Linings Playbook – Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
• Zero Dark Thirty – Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

I have a feeling Argo's taking this along with best picture. The others are all good, but Argo is possibly a few centimeters ahead (yes, we use centimeters here).

Best Cinematography:

• Anna Karenina – Seamus McGarvey
• Django Unchained – Robert Richardson
• Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda
• Lincoln – Janusz Kamiński
• Skyfall – Roger Deakins

I loved Life of Pi! But part of me feels its cheating to use so much green screen (you're left with a kind of "is it cinematography or special effects" kind of dilemmas). Because of this I'm gonna want Skyfall to win, even though I think it's going to go to Pi.

Best Original Screenplay:

• Amour – Michael Haneke
• Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino
• Flight – John Gatins
• Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
• Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal

Because Flight and Moonrise have few nominations, they are sort of at the back of the pack. Either one of the remaining three could take it. As of today i have still only seen Django, so i think this category is out for me in terms of who should win. Who i think will win? Django, with Amour and ZDT in tie for second - but it is STILL anyone's to take really...

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Argo – Chris Terrio from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez & The Great Escape by Joshuah Bearman
• Beasts of the Southern Wild – Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin from Juicy and Delicious by Lucy Alibar
• Life of Pi – David Magee from Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• Lincoln – Tony Kushner from Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell from The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Whoever takes Best Picture should take this one too, whether its Argo, Licoln, Silver Linings Playbook or even Life of Pi. Beasts still has a chance, but unfortunately they don't have the bulk support of the academy behind it. Lincoln's screenplay is AMAZING, and Tony Kushner should be the one making a speech tonight, but i have a feeling that its gonna be now front-runner, Argo instead. Silver Linings could come from behind and produce an upset too though.

Best Supporting Actor:

• Alan Arkin – Argo as Lester Seigel
• Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook as Pat Solitano Sr.
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master as Lancaster Dodd
• Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln as Thaddeus Stevens
• Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained as Dr. King Schultz

On Awardsdaily, this category was voted the most unpredictable category of the evening. I'm rooting for Waltz, just because I enjoyed his performance so thouroughly. But it's really anyone's game. If Lincoln manages to pull off this win for Lee Jones, then they have a shoe in for their other categories too. If Arkin wins, its all over, and you could probably call it for Argo right at the start of things, before the event even gets going. Hoffman and De Niro are also brilliant (leaning towards Hoffman out of the two of them, but then again Hoffman reminded me very much of the mysterious Father Flynn in Doubt...). This will definitely be an interesting one!

Best Supporting Actress:

• Amy Adams – The Master as Peggy Dodd
• Sally Field – Lincoln as Mary Todd Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables as Fantine
• Helen Hunt – The Sessions as Cheryl Cohen-Greene
• Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook as Dolores Solitano

This category is Hatheway's to lose. She's won countless precursors and is set to win the gold in a couple of hours. The only possible upset is Fields (who's performance was absolutely phenominal). That said, it would be awesome for Silver Linings to take all of the Acting awards, but as you're about to see, that is kind of a longshot.

Best Actor:

• Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook as Pat Solitano Jr.
• Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln as Abraham Lincoln
• Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables as Jean Valjean
• Joaquin Phoenix – The Master as Freddie Quell
• Denzel Washington – Flight as William "Whip" Whitaker

Danile Day-Lewis. That is all.
okay, as much as i'd love to leave it there, i have so say something about the other performances I've seen: Cooper certainally surprised a few people with his ability to balance the dramatic and the comic, Jackman was also amazing, but perhaps a little too melodramatic for some voters. Pheonix is also incredible, and if Day-Lewis doesn't get it, I'd possibly vote for him. Haven't seen Flight yet.

Best Actress:

• Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty as Maya
• Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook as Tiffany Maxwell
• Emmanuelle Riva – Amour as Anne
• Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild as Hushpuppy
• Naomi Watts – The Impossible as Maria Bennett

Two weeks ago Lawrence was 9 tenths of the way to a lock, then Riva won the BAFTA which totally messed with the heads of voters (not to mention my head too). As much as Jennifer Lawrence and I have a scret love affrair (whoops!) and as much as I loved her in the film, I'd rather Riva gets it as a "life Time Achievement Award" kind of thing. Castain (so I've hear) is also phenominal, but I think she'd take home the bronze if this were an Olympic event.

and finally...

Best Director:

• Michael Haneke – Amour
• Ang Lee – Life of Pi
• David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
• Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
• Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild

With Ben Afflck's snub (the most talked about travesty this awards season), and his momentum in the BP category, who on earth wins this!? I believe most would call it for Spielberg, but lately I've been reading that some would'nt want him to win it because, well, you don't hand a 'god' a prize for being a god. If it's not him, it could be Silver Linings or Pi. But then again either of the other two could shock the way they did at the nominee announcement. My vote would be for Spielberg, with Zeitlin in second, just because Beast's was unlike anything I've seen before on cinema. It was this year's "Tree of Life" on creative steroids! The script was incredible, solid performances and score to boot. It's my film of the year...