Oscar Predictions 2013

I may be blinded by my love of ARGO and DJANGO UNCHAINED but I still found a way to make some predictions that don't have those two films winning everything...

BEST PICTURE

Will win: ARGO
Should win: ARGO or DJANGO UNCHAINED

***Should NOT have been nominated: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK


BEST DIRECTOR

Will win: Steven Spielberg, LINCOLN

**SHOULD have been nominated: Ben Affleck, ARGO & Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED


BEST ACTOR

Duh: Daniel Day-Lewis, LINCOLN

**Should have been nominated: Jamie Foxx, DJANGO UNCHAINED & Jack Black, BERNIE


BEST ACTRESS

Will win: Jennifer Lawrence, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Possible surprise winner: Emmanuelle Riva, AMOUR


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Will win: Robert De Niro, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Should win: Christoph Waltz, DJANGO UNCHAINED
Possible upset winner: Tommy Lee Jones, LINCOLN

**Should have been nominated: Samuel L. Jackson, DJANGO UNCHAINED & Michael Fassbender, PROMETHEUS


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Duh: Anne Hathaway, LES MISÉRABLES

**Should have been nominated: Juno Temple, KILLER JOE


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Will win: FRANKENWEENIE
Should win: FRANKENWEENIE
Possible surprise winner: BRAVE

Honorable Mention: THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS


BEST FOREIGN FILM

Will win: AMOUR


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Will win: DJANGO UNCHAINED
Should win: DJANGO UNCHAINED or MOONRISE KINGDOM
Possible upset winner: ZERO DARK THIRTY

***Should NOT have been nominated: FLIGHT

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Will win: ARGO
SHOULD win: ARGO
Possible upset winner: LINCOLN


BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Will win: ANNA KARENINA
Should win: THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY


BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Will win: ANNA KARENINA


BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Duh: ‘Skyfall’ from SKYFALL


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Will win: LIFE OF PI

**Should have been nominated: BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD


BEST DOCUMENTARY

Will win: SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN
Possible surprise winner: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Will win: LIFE OF PI
Possible surprise winner: DJANGO UNCHAINED


BEST FILM EDITING

Will win: ARGO
Possible surprise winner: LINCOLN


BEST MAKEUP

Will win: THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
Possible surprise winner: LES MISÉRABLES


BEST SOUND EDITING

Will win: SKYFALL
Possible upset winner: ZERO DARK THIRTY


BEST SOUND MIXING

Will win: LES MISÉRABLES
Possible surprise winner: LIFE OF PI


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Will win: LIFE OF PI
Just happy to be nominated: MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS


BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Will win: INOCENTE
Possible surprise winner: OPEN HEART


BEST ANIMATED SHORT 

Will win: PAPERMAN
Possible surprise winner: ADAM AND DOG


BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

Will win: DEATH OF A SHADOW (Dood van een Schaduw)
Should win: DEATH OF A SHADOW or ASAD
Possible surprise winner: CURFEW


BEST USE OF FAKE BLOOD (not a real category)

Will win: DJANGO UNCHAINED

FLIGHT

It's weird and upsetting to know that Flight was directed by Robert Zemeckis. The man made Back to the Future and Castaway, proof positive he can make films with interesting characters, good pacing, and few wasted moments. Neither of those films could be considered the best ever made, but they were certainly made right. Flight? This film is just made wrong. It is proof positive Zemeckis can also make films with predominately uninteresting characters, horrible pacing, and bucket loads of wasted moments.

Denzel Washington plays Whip Whitaker an alcoholic airline pilot who happens to pull off an impressive in-air maneuver/crash landing that makes him a hero. But this isn't really what the film is about; it's about Whip's crash and burn with his addiction to drugs and alcohol. The breakdown of his character is more important than the plot and that's a pity because the plot is intriguing while Whip Whitaker is not. He is an irksome character who comes across as frustratingly boring. When it came to the acting, Washington was convincing as a pilot. But Washington as an addict? Not so much. Yes, he looked drunk and had dark circles under his eyes for much the movie, but I’m pretty sure my 12 year old nephew could have done just as good a job given the chance. I know, my young nephew would have been a strange casting choice but if it had been him playing the part, I probably would have cared a tad bit more about Whip. And I probably wouldn’t have found myself making imaginary casting changes and hoping his story would quite stalling and end already.

(Paramount Pictures)

Writer John Gatins must have realized Whip was too insipid to carry the whole film, so he sprinkled in a variety of characters to add depth and prop Whip’s story up. This doesn't work out too well with his ex-wife and son. And it certainly doesn’t work with the flight attendant he was sleeping with (I think her name is 'naked chick' or something similar to that). Of course, they aren’t as extraneous as the character Nicole, played by Kelly Reilly. Nicole is a recovering heroine addict who, I'm sure, was in the film solely to help develop Washington's character. She has a substantial amount of screen time in the film, most of which feels wasted. The funny thing is Whip meets her at the same time he meets a cancer patient who seems to do more to affect Whip in three minutes than she does in her exorbitant screen time. But for as much as I don't care for her being a part of Whip's story I would rather watch a movie about Nicole, the addict, than Whip Whitaker, the addict.

The characters who actually do add something of interest to the film are played by Don Cheadle, John Goodman, and Brian Geraghty. They have the best bits, but they are few and far between. Their characters are written well and played superbly. None of them are enough to save the film from being the life-sucking machine that it is though. To be honest, the plane inversion and crash scene isn't enough either. And that scene comes so early in this considerably long, drawn-out film, it gives a false sense of awesome. Flight is a flimflam of a film. That is all.