Ho hum, the 2012 Academy Award nominations
are out for another year. What did we think? Here's a quick recap:
War Horse. Nominated for Best Picture, Art Direction, Cinematography
What we said: "
War Horse, has the exact same plot as a children’s film: 1945’s
Son of Lassie.
In both pictures, a British Isles pet—substitute plow horse for
collie—is dropped behind German enemy lines, and has encounters with
innocents who promptly die."
Read the full review.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Nominated for Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Max von Sydow)
What we said: "There’s a
five-second montage with a beatific gay man, as if to signal that Daldry
has lost interest in exploiting queer masochism. Now, apparently, he
exploits intellectual masochism. It’s painful to watch.
" Read the full review.
Tinker Tailor
Soldier Spy. Nominated for Best Actor (Gary Oldman)
What we said: "We are
being sold some combination of nostalgia and cynicism. Think of the
movie’s poster as a spy’s cover that’s already been blown. No
intelligence here."
Read the full review.
The Iron Lady. Nominated for Best Actress (Meryl Streep)
What we said: "
The Iron Lady
is that most condescending of objects: the “sympathetic” biopic of a
conservative directed by a liberal, reducing all ideologies to personal
hang-ups."
Read the full review.
My Week With Marilyn. Nominated for Best Actress (Michelle Williams), Supporting Actor (Kenneth Branagh)
What we said: "a typical Weinstein Company property in the wake of
The King's Speech: light, British and shapeless."
Read the full review.
In fairness, our tastes did match up with those of the Academy in a few cases. Full credit for these:
Hugo. Nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design
What we said: "Scorsese’s strongest non-documentary work since
Casino."
Read the full review.
The Tree of Life. Nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Cinematography
What we said: "What is so piercing about
The Tree of Life is not that it knows life’s answers, but that it knows how the questions
feel."
Read the full review.
Moneyball. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Film Editing
What we said:
"There
is heart in Moneyball, but it’s the part of the heart that swells
at the sight of numbers on the back of a Topps card and breaks beneath
tacky banners commemorating past championships." Read the full review.
The Academy certainly went with much higher brow nominees this year which I think will lose them a large portion of their young audience. After doing better at being in touch with the public the past two years, these stiff nominees just fall flat. I usually have something in common with the choice but not this year- if the contenders seem stuffy to you, check out my own Top 10 Movie Picks of 2011 at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2012/01/top-10-movie-picks-of-2011.html where you won’t see a single of the Academy’s nominees for Best Picture but you will get some movie artwork I drew up as well as the reviews!
But, really, who cares? It's just your opinion. You're not even a film critic. Enough already with all this What We Think Is Cool stuff y'all are uploading lately...
Me? Nope, I'm just the person who collated this post because the film editor was busy. The reviews, however, were indeed written by film critics.