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The nominations are out and the countdown to the big night is underway. As usual there were a few surpises. Demiàn Bichir revceived good reviews for his turn in A Better Life, but who would have guessed he'd receive an Oscar nomination. The odds of Jonah Hill being an Oscar Nominated Actor seemed about as remote as hell freezing over, but apparently someone needs to check the thermometer down there because that happened.
Some nominations seem like a lock (Meryl Streep and Christopher Plummer), while others are up in the air. Can The Artist become just the second silent movie to win Best Picture? The Guild Awards between now and the Oscar broadcast on February 26th will narrow the field, but on the night you know there will be a few upsets, otherwise what would be the fun?
Below we list the nominees with links to our reviews of the films so you can see where we agreed or disagreed with the Academy.
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BEST PICTURE
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The Artist |
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Scott:
"Absolutely charming and Jean Dujardin delivers one of the most beautiful and heartfelt performances of the year."
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Patrick:
"A truly classic Hollywood movie in a style that hasn't been seen for the better part of a century."
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Eric:
"The Artist is a wonderful tribute to those old glorious black and white films."
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The Descendants |
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Patrick:
"A touching and funny movie about family. Well worth seeing."
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Scott:
"This slice of life melodrama is elevated beyond its mere tearjerker premise by a wonderful cast and some gentle humor."
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Eric:
"The Descendants is all about the truth as we know it."
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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close |
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Scott:
"This over the top piece of Hollywood melodrama feels completely staged."
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Eric:
"As a father of two sons, how could I not be touched by this film?"
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Patrick:
"Just how Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Picture is beyond me."
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The Help |
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Scott:
"Entertaining enough, but some shades of grey and added nuance would have given it more depth."
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Patrick:
"The real joy to be found here is in simply watching this talented cast of ladies brilliantly playing off of each other."
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Eric:
"The Help does not deserve to win best picture."
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Hugo |
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Scott:
"A heartwarming story about finding your place in the world, while also being a loving tribute to the early days of cinema."
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Eric:
"Hugo casts quite a spell."
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Patrick:
"Every scene that paid homage to the birth of cinema enthralled me, the rest of the movie not so much."
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Midnight in Paris |
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Patrick:
"Woody Allen transports us to Paris in the 1920s."
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Scott:
"As Hemingway might say, this is a fine movie, but it's not a great movie."
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Eric:
"Has some nice moments, but it is more interesting than entertaining."
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Moneyball |
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Scott:
"While the use of math to put together a baseball team might sound like a pretty dry idea for a movie, the makers of this one keep it interesting and deliver a decent sports movie that gives Brad Pitt a chance to shine in the lead role."
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Eric:
"Like the movie says, you can't help but be romantic about baseball."
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Patrick:
"One thing that sets Moneyball apart from most sports movies is the fact that it features actual people and players rather than fictionalized characters."
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Tree of Life |
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Scott:
"I was so fucking bored while watching it that the very thought of spending another second even thinking about it seems to me a wasted second that I will never get back, much like the 13,200 seconds I wasted watching this movie."
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Patrick:
"Although I appreciated and was moved by The Tree of Life it is too intentionally abstruse and self-reverent to be truly great."
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Eric:
"The Tree of Life represents the very heart of humanity."
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War Horse |
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Scott:
"Even though it doesn't add up the way it should, enough of it works so that I wasn't really bored. I was just hoping for more.."
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Eric:
"Not only is Warhorse long winded, but it often has an old fashioned feel to it."
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Patrick:
"The script, direction and score for War Horse are all unforgivably schmaltzy."
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BEST DIRECTOR
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Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist |
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Scott:
"Obviously this movie was a real labor of love for writer/director Michel Hazanavicius."
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Patrick:
"The concept of The Artist sounds like a great idea that would be impossible to pull off. Well somehow this French filmmaker did it."
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Eric:
"The most accolades should go to Michel Hazanavicius. His attention to detail is astounding. "
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Alexander Payne - The Descendants |
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Patrick:
"Payne brilliantly intertwines the comic with the tragic and gets good performances from his casts."
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Scott:
"A big improvement over Payne's earlier work."
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Eric:
"Payne shows us beauty on the surface, while the truth behind this paradis is that it has all the same problems as the rest of the world."
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Martin Scorsese - Hugo |
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Scott:
"Scorsese's foray into 3-D proves that you can teach old directors new tricks."
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Eric:
"Movies, whether based on reality or fantasy, are a brief vacation from the rest of our lives. Scorsese understood this."
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Patrick:
"Scorsese at least deserves credit for trying his hand at a family movie."
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Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris |
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Patrick:
"Woody gives us his third great movie of the century after Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona."
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Scott:
"Doesn't come close to Woody's greatest films, but it is one of his strongest of the past decade."
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Eric:
"Today he is little more than just an over rated writer/director living on the credits of his past, who occasionally makes something worth viewing."
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Terrence Malick - Tree of Life |
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Scott:
"Malick knows how to make pretty pictures, but he doesn't know how to tell a story."
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Patrick:
"It has a consistent mood throughout and Malick brilliantly captures the look and feel of flickering long-lost childhood images as seen through the prism of memory."
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Eric:
"His decision to include the creation of the world may help in his theme of metaphysical dualism, but it was needlessly wasted screen time."
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BEST ACTOR
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Demiàn Bichir - A Better Life |
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Scott:
"Bichir gives a heartfelt and very real performance."
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Patrick:
"I for one will be rooting for Demian Bichir’s name to be called come Oscar night."
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Eric:
"Demian Bichir at first plays Carlos cold, but he warms up, creating a very real, heart felt character."
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George Clooney - The Descendants |
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Patrick:
"Clooney is aging gracefully. As an actor he is at the top of his game."
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Scott:
"Clooney delivers a subtle and ultimately heartwarming performance in the lead role."
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Eric:
"In The Descendants we actually find George Clooney the actor."
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Jean Dujardin - The Artist |
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Scott:
"Jean Dujardin delivers one of the most beautiful and heartfelt performances of the year."
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Patrick:
"Jean Dujardin is absolutely mesmerizing as silent matinee idol George Valentin."
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Eric:
" Dujardin has classic movie star charm and was perfectly cast."
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Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy |
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Scott:
"A subdued and restrained Gary Oldman plays the role of George Smiley with great skill."
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Patrick:
"This is one of those instances where the nomination is the reward, as he doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of winning."
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Eric:
"For the life of me I cannot imagine why Oldman was nominated for an Academy Award. Is being subdued really all it takes? "
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Brad Pitt - Moneyball |
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Scott:
"Brad Pitt shines in the lead role."
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Eric:
"My favorite dramatic role of Pitt's."
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Patrick:
"I agree Brad Pitt (continuing his career emulation of Robert Redford) is very good as Billy Beane."
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BEST ACTRESS
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Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs |
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Scott:
"While Close does do a good job in the lead, to be honest it feels like a stunt or an acting exercise."
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Patrick:
"Glenn Close deserves the Oscar for this role."
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Eric:
"Glenn Close gives one of the best performances of the year. "
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Viola Davis - The Help |
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Scott:
"She maintains a stoic facade and yet delivers a nuanced performance."
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Patrick:
"Viola Davis proves yet again that she possesses some of the best acting chops in the business today."
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Eric:
"Viola Davis plays a sad defeated woman, with surprising grace and poise."
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Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo |
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Scott:
"Buried under leather and piercings, Mara does excellent work,"
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Eric:
"Mara's Lisbeth Salandar is a great character."
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Patrick:
"Rooney Mara is decent in the part but it still belongs to Noomi Rapace."
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Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady |
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Scott:
"Was there ever a more obvious or perfect casting choice than Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher? It's the kind of idea that just screams Academy Award and I can assure you that Streep lives up to all expectations."
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Patrick:
"The Iron Lady is really just an excuse for the superb Meryl Streep to tackle one of the juiciest roles in her long and distinguished career."
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Eric:
"Streep carries the film like Thatcher carried a country."
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Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn |
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Scott:
"Girl next door Michelle Williams didn't seem like the obvious choice to play Marilyn Monroe, but she nails the part completely."
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Eric:
"Michelle Williams's performance proves her name should be on some nomination lists come award time."
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Patrick:
"Williams is pretty good at impersonating Monroe when all she has to do is mimic Marilyn's actions, voice and facial expressions, but is far less successful in the dramatized scenes away from the set where she has to summon Marilyn's real life persona."
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
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Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn |
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Scott:
"Branagh captures the spirit of Olivier, if not quite the physical presence."
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Eric:
"Branagh, who is pretty much a modern day Olivier, has some of the film's best lines."
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Patrick:
"Kenneth Branagh lacks Laurence Olivier's dashing good looks but he does convey the same impressive gravitas."
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Jonah Hill - Moneyball |
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Scott:
"He's adequate enough, but really? Oscar nominee Jonah Hill?"
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Eric:
"Like the movie says, you cannot help but be romantic about baseball."
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Patrick:
"All I'll say about Jonah Hill's one-note performance as Peter Brand is Albert Brooks was robbed of an Oscar nomination."
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Nick Nolte - Warrior |
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Scott:
"Nolte is good as the repentant father trying to reconnect with his sons after years of abuse."
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Eric:
"Nolte is good here as the drunk father seeking redemption. A best supporting nomination would not be too surprising."
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Patrick:
"I do hope he relishes the Oscar nomination since Christopher Plummer is sure to win."
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Christopher Plummer - Beginners |
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Patrick:
"Christopher Plummer deserves to win an Oscar for this role. He perfectly embodies the newfound freedom and excitement of a man being completely himself for the first time in his life just as his time is running out."
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Scott:
"Plummer certainly deserves awards for his performance."
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Eric:
"I sympathized with but also respected Oliver's father, Hal as played by Christopher Plummer"
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Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close |
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Scott:
"Of the cast, only von Sydow manages any subtlety."
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Eric:
"Max von Sydow brings some serious gravitas to his scenes. With a glance or a change in posture, he says more than Horn can say in a paragraph of dialog."
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Patrick:
"Max von Sydow is a talented actor playing an interesting character."
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
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Berenice Bejo - The Artist |
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Scott:
"Berenice Bejo is cute as Peppy and a fine actress, but she is completely outshone by Dujardin."
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Patrick:
"She perfectly embodies the moxie of a flapper turned depression era musical star."
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Eric:
"Berenice Bejo adds a spark to the lighter moments."
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Jessica Chastain - The Help |
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Scott:
"Chastain provides one the film's more interesting subplots in one of her many stellar performances in 2011."
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Patrick:
"Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain make Minny and Celia two of the most likable people in the story."
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Eric:
"Jessica Chastain makes like Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop, nice to look at, but hopelessly clueless."
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Octavia Spencer - The Help |
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Scott:
"Ocativa Spencer is a scene stealer."
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Patrick:
"Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain make Minny and Celia two of the most likable people in the story."
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Eric:
"Octavia Spencer gives strength to Minny, who faces a challenge at every turn."
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Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids |
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Scott:
"Of the supporting cast of women, Melissa McCarthy gets the showiest part. Her tough talking, fight club bridal shower wanting, heavy-set character is rough and funny."
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Eric:
"Bridesmaids is one of the funniest chick flicks I have ever seen."
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Patrick:
"Melissa McCarthy is a real scene stealer."
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Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs |
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Scott:
"Makes a much less convincing man than Close."
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Patrick:
"Albert Nobbs shows the hypocrisy of some people who claim to be Christians but are actually self-serving, sanctimonious assholes."
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Eric:
"I will remember her large breast longer than her performance."
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