Movies of a Petite Aspie

Here are my crazy, and sometimes justified, predictions for who will take home the golden statues to night :  BEST PICTURE --> ARGO RUNNER-UP --> LINCOLN BEST ACTOR --> DANIEL DAY-LEWIS (LINCOLN) RUNNER-UP --> HUGH JACKMAN (LES MISERABLES) BEST ACTRESS --> JENNIFER LAWRENCE (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK) RUNNER-UP --> JESSICA CHASTAIN (ZERO DARK THIRTY) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR --> TOMMY LEE JONES (LINCOLN) RUNNER-UP --> ROBERT DENIRO (SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS --> ANNE HATHAWAY (LES MISERABLES) RUNNER-UP --> SALLY FIELD (LINCOLN) BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM --> WRECK-IT RALPH RUNNER-UP --> BRAVE BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY --> LIFE OF PI RUNNER-UP --> SKYFALL BEST COSTUME DESIGN --> ANNA KARENINA RUNNER-UP --> LES MISERABLES BEST DIRECTOR --> STEVEN SPIELBERG (LINCOLN) RUNNER-UP --> ANG LEE (LIFE OF PI) BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE --> SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN RUNNER-UP --> HOW TO ...

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to see every movie, but I really tried; not all of the short films were available on iTunes (does that make sense to you?), not all of the foreign films were playing in a theatre near me, and not all of the documentaries were available on Netflix.  So I had to settle for watching clips and trailers for some of them.  Regardless, I will rank the Oscar nominees in each category.   Best Picture 1. Lincoln 2. Argo 3. Silver Linings Playbook 4. Zero D ark Thirty 5. Life of Pi 6. L es Miserables 7. Amour 8. Beasts of the Southern Wild 9. Django Unchained Best Actor 1. Daniel Day Lewis -- Lincoln 2. Bradley Cooper -- Silver Linings Playbook 3. Hugh Jackman -- Les Mi serables 4. Denzel Washington -- Flight 5. Joaquin Phoenix -- The Master Best Actress 1. Jennifer Lawrence -- Silver Linings Playbook 2. Jessica Chastain -- Zero Dark Thirty 3. Naomi Watts -- The Impossible 4. Emmanuelle Riva -- Amour 5. Quvenzhané Wall...

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper Director : David O'Russell Stars: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, J acki Weaver Genre(s): Comedy; Drama; Romance   Release Date: December 25 , 2012 Rotten Tomatoes Score : 92 % Silver Linings Playbook is one of those rare romantic dramedies that sidesteps ha ck neyed plots and been-there-done-that subplots, and instead opts for a story that focuses on real, relatable characters and avoids using characters that are too perfect or not flawed enough to be believable.  Af ter all, humans are flawed, and audiences often gravitate towards films with characters with whom they can empathize ; although the two leads in Silver Linings are perhaps more flawed than are most people, these flaws draws them together and make us root for them from the very beginning.  David O' Russell ( The Fi ghter ) is one of those gifted flmmakers that takes challenging sourc e material -- it is the adaptation of M...

Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) Directors: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell Stars (Voices of): Kelly M acd onald, Billy Conn olly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters Genre(s): Animation; Family; Adventure ; Fantasy DVD Release Date: N ovember 13 , 2012 Rotten Tomatoes Score : 78 % Brave , nominated this year for the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar, is the latest Disney/Pixar movie, and every Pixar flick [released in the last several years] has had to live up to exceedingly high expectations, which were built by such films as Toy Story , Finding Nemo , and WALL-E .  Unfortunately, Cars 2 , the last Pixar movie released prior to Brave , was a huge disappointment with audiences and with critics.  Brave is as close to a return to form for Pixar as they could possibly get this time around, which is to say that it is not perfect but it is a vast improvement over Cars 2 .  What is so important about Brave , however, is that Pixar has finally put a f...

Julia Roberts and Lily Collins Director: Tarsem Singh Stars: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane Genre(s): Adventure; Comedy; Drama; Fantasy DVD Release Date: June 26 , 2012 Rotten Tomatoes Score : 50% Honestly, the only reason I watched Mirror Mirror , Tarsem Singh's light-as-a-feather take on Snow White, was because it received an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design.  Although I foun d the Kristen Stewart-starring Snow White tale, Snow White and the Huntsman (co incidentally, also nominated for Best Costume s) to be more well-done and exciting, Singh's comedic approach was not a s terrible as I would have expected.  I thoroughly enjoyed some bits and pieces, and I thoroughly disliked other bits and pieces.   It is interesting to contrast the bright, vibrant colors of Mirror Mirror with the bleak, dark colors of Snow White: in both circumstances, these color palettes serve th e ir purposes for the most part, though I'd gi...