In just one week the whole of Hollywood and the world will have their steely eyes fixed on the Academy Awards; it's kind of creepy how quickly they ome about. It feels like only yesterday that, bleery eyed and regretting my decision, I emerged from watching the full ceremony live to start a full day's shift an hour later. I shall of course be doing exactly the same thing again this coming week; I'm a glutton for a very fine punishment.
I will also happily put my hand on my heart and admit I got a couple of my predictions very, very wrong; I can say this without question after what the rest of the Awards Season this year has provided us with. Luckily for me, I am not the only person to have got it so wrong; it seems the Academy did too. Ben Affleck has been recieving a virtual clean sweep of Best Director awards for his work on Argo, which has also been picking up Best Film awards all over the place. Affleck is not nominated for an Oscar though; this is perhaps one of the most ridiculous and sublime oversights that the Academy has ever partaken. In fact, this will probably be remembered for decades to come, certainly when he actually wins the award for what will no doubt be a lesser film. This is always the case; look at Scorcece and The Departed; it's a very good film but his best? Hell and indeed no.
Over the past two weeks I have indulged myself in a few trips to watch some of the other highly tipped films for Oscar glory. In Django Unchained we find what could be both our Best Supporting Actor, Christoph Waltz (though I won't rule out Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln still) and Best Original Screenplay. The film, though slightly too long, is furious and fun escapism, the kind that Tarantino does best, with a stellar cast working their socks off; Waltz is magnificent, DiCaprio is slimy to the core and Samuel L Jackson is the best he's been for a while. Jamie Foxx is very good as the title slave, though once again the female characters are left slightly out on a limb; they seem to be either damsels in distress or just plain stupid.
Zero Dark Thirty is a thrilling ride; despite the fact that you know how the film is going to end you are still on the edge of your seat throughout. The last half hour, filmed mainly as if you were wearing night vision goggles, is superb. Jessica Chastain, who may just pip Jennifer Lawrence to the post of Best Actress (And I would argue this is probably the most close race for the prize, next to Best Director, in this year's ceremony), is stunning in her portrayal of a woman driven by one cause and one cause alone. Though controversial at times, the film does not endorse or celebrate the torture techniques used by the US Army against their prisoners in the hunt for Bin Laden; in fact, it shows just how useless they were by the very fact that it takes so long to gain a credible lead. The only minor blip for myself was when John Barrowman turned up; though with only two lines, in this country at least one would feel his presence takes a little of the belivability away from the plot somewhat. Then again, Tony Soprano is playing the Head of the CIA.
Finally, Wreck-It Ralph, which won't win Best Animation, despite being actually very good; this prize will go to the slightly sub-par Brave from pixar. Hopefully, though, the prize for Best Animation Short will go to the cartoon that was before it, Paperman; this was a stunning, enchanting, romantic piece that filled my heart with optimism and joy, not just about the state of Disney right now but about life itself. The main feature's plot was nicely written with a few neat twists that I didn't see coming, and the voice cast including John C Reiley and Sarah Silverman are excellent.
So this year could still throw some surprises at the Oscars; I'll be watching and reporting all night. Why? Glutton for punishment, and I've been a bad boy.
Django Unchained: 7/10
Zero Dark Thirty: 8/10
Wreck It Ralph: 7/10
Paperman: 9/10
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