Sin #88: Oscar Season 2011

After the Golden Globes nomination fiasco, where some of the worst-reviewed movies of the year were in for big awards (namely “The Tourist” and “Burlesque”), the Academy Awards nominations show a much saner choice of candidates for the top prizes. The 10-best list include: Black Swan, The Social Network, True Grit, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The Fighter, Winter’s Bone, Toy Story 3, The King’s Speech and 127 Hours. There are fantastic movies on this list (including “True Grit”, a movie that was completely ignored at the Golden Globes), but since there are only 5 directing nominations, those usually reflect the five films that are truly in the race. The nominated directors are Darren Aronofsky for “Black Swan”, the Coen brothers for “True Grit”, David Fincher for “The Social Network”, Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech” and David O. Russell for “The Fighter”. So those are the real best picture nominees. If I had to take a guess I would say that the winner will be “The Social Network”; not only has it won in almost every major awards event but it is also representative of our times and our cultural obsession with digital communication and social media (there seems to be rumors that “True Grit” is gaining momentum and that maybe “The King’s Speech” might take the award since it is a more “traditional” Oscar movie).

Just as in any year, there are upsets; one of the most prominent is Christopher Nolan’s snub as a directing nominee. After “The Dark Knight’s” snub a couple of years ago as a deserving Best Picture nominee, it is now clear that the Academy doesn’t really appreciate Nolan’s talent to produce smart and sprawling entertainments. His “Inception” is an outstanding movie of great imagination and technical craft; it is a grand work of ideas that caused endless debate among audiences. Even though it is my favorite movie of 2010, it is highly unlikely that it will be rewarded in any category except for the technical ones.

I am glad though that the Academy recognized the brilliant “Black Swan”. Aronofsky is quickly becoming one of cinema’s most audacious directors and his latest work is an amazing descent into madness set in the competitive world of professional ballet. It is safe to say that Natalie Portman will take the award for Best Actress, she surely deserves it. Colin Firth, the most probable winner for male acting, also deserves the recognition (he should have won for “A Single Man” a year ago).

It’s sad (but unsurprising) that the Oscars showed no love for “Scott Pilgrim” or “Tron: Legacy”. “Scott” should’ve been rewarded for its awesome editing and special effects and “Tron” for its brilliant soundtrack composed by Daft Punk. In the acting categories it’s incredible that Noomi Rapace wasn’t acknowledged for her work in the Millennium Trilogy or any of the actors in “Never Let Me Go”.

There are actually two happy surprises as Javier Bardem was nominated for his amazing work in “Biutiful” and the film got also a nod in Best Foreign movie (representing Mexico); also that “Exit at the Gift Shop” got a nod as best documentary (I would love to see a Banksy doppelganger at the podium, accepting the award). The one Oscar that nobody doubts is in Best Animated Feature with “Toy Story 3” which seems to be universally loved (except for maybe critic Armond White).

The Academy Awards will be hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco (who is also nominated for his great performance in “127 Hours”) and will air on February 27.