Stumbling across the finish line: Oscar picks part 2
Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique for Black Swan, Wally Pfister for Inception, Danny Cohen for The King’s Speech, Jeff Cronenweth for The Social Network, Roger Deakins for True Grit
My pick: Roger Deakins for True Grit
Probable winner:Jeff Conenweth for The King’s Speech
Black Swan‘s gritty, realistic visuals provide a striking counterpoint to the madness it contains and Cohen’s use of wide angle lenses and tight close-ups in The King’s Speech make for a unique looking film within a pretty traditional genre. The Social Network‘s look is dark, ambient and cold (in a good way). I’m not sure Inception‘s greatness owes much to the cinematography, but it’s a well-shot film to be sure.
Best Directing: 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 & Ethan Coen for True Grit
My pick: David Fincher
Probable winner: David Fincher
Darren Aronovsky’s commitment to the madness is admirable and Tom Hooper’s unique style adds much to The King’s Speech. O. Russell’s The Fighter looks pretty good, but the fight sequences leave much to be desired, and even though it’s incredibly difficult for me to pass up the Coen brothers here I think the cinematography and performances are the real standouts for True Grit.
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 pick:
There’s no need to go into great detail as my previous posts in The Great Oscar Race already do so. Critics have called this a down year. I suppose they’re somewhat correct. Most of the films in this category are very good, but few are great. Perhaps someone should recommend going from ten to five films? There I go again.
Narrowing this oversized (sorry) category down to a top three was easy for me. True Grit, Winter’s Bone and The Social Network were my clear standouts. But if I had to pick a film that really represents a total package, a perfect storm of cinematic brilliance, if you will, I’d have to take The Social Network. It’s just too well made, too well acted and too damned smart to ignore. It’s also better than a film about Facebook has any right to be.
That being said, The King’s Speech has gained so much momentum at this point that anything else winning (except maybe The Social Network) would be considered a fair sized upset. We shall see.
Probable winner:
Your thoughts?
I noticed, now that the oscars are over and the winners have all won, that you were right on a good portion of who was going to win. I agree that The Social Network should have won best picture. I did not think that The Kings Speech was nearly as good of a movie, neither in acting or how it was made. I disagree that Natalie Portman should not have won Best Actress in a Leading Role though. C’mon Kev! She was brilliant! Otherwise I agree with you on most of these….we will have a discussion later….promise.
For the record I have no problem with Natalie Portman winning. She’s very good in a very demanding role. It’s just that Jennifer Lawrence’s performance had me more emotionally involved.
The King’s Speech is very good and it’s exactly the kind of movie the Academy tends to dig. Overall I think that The Social Network is just a far more impressive movie to have pulled off so well.