And the 2011 Oscar Nominees are...

[Bearcat729]

Hugo gets 11 nominations, but not much else is a surprise.


Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Director
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Hugo, John Logan
The Ides of March, George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball, Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Bridget O' Connor and Peter Straughan

Best Original Screenplay
The Artist, Michael Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids, Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
Margin Call, J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
A Separation, Asghar Farhadi

Best Animated Feature
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

[gstelmack]

Well, the only Best Picture nominee I have much interest at all in seeing is War Horse, and even that's iffy. Maybe Hugo, but I still can't figure out what that movie is actually about.

Disappointed in the Best Animated Feature list. I haven't heard of A Cat in Paris or Chico & Rita, Puss in Boots was okay, Rango stunk, Kung Fu Panda 2 was reasonably good, but I thought Arthur Christmas was better than all of the last 3.

[Honolulu_Blue]

This may be the first time in a while that I'm skipping the Oscars. I've barely seen any of these - which isn't really new - but there's something about the nominee list that just feels dull to me.

I will just watch "Walking Dead" and hockey or something instead.

[spleen1015]

Arthur Christmas is the best animated movie this year, hands down.

[larrymcg421]

No Tintin in Animated feature is a pretty big surprise. Also, the new Oscar rules still ended up with 9 Best Pictures, so they didn't change much.

[ISiddiqui]

I have seen "The Help", "Moneyball", "Midnight in Paris", and "The Tree of Life". I really, really wanted to see "Hugo", but it didnt' work out.

Glad "Moneyball" got honored, though I do think that "Midnight in Paris" was better (that's my film of the year).

[larrymcg421]

I've seen all the Best Pic nominees except Tree of Life and Extremely Loud. I'll see both of them this weekend. As for the rest: I loved The Descendants and The Artist; really liked Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, and Hugo; and did not like War Horse or The Help.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

No Tintin in Animated feature is a pretty big surprise.

Yes, I agree. It was an impressive film, just from a pure animation standpoint, let alone plot. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Lathum]

I haven't seen any of these, actually I haven't seen any movies pretty much since my son was born almost 2 years ago.

[Butter]

I would rank the ones I've seen this way:
The Descendants
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Hugo

Don't care to see: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close or War Horse.

[ntndeacon]

I have enjoyed the three nominees I have seen:
The Artist, Tree of Life, and Moneyball

And I loved Oldman getting a nod. He was great in Tinker, Tailor

[Young Drachma]

I'm sure Viola Davis will win an award for playing a maid. In 2011.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

I'm sure Viola Davis will win an award for playing a maid. In 2011.

The three minority nominees are maid (Davis), maid (Spencer), gardener (Bichir). I think Davis might lose to Streep, but Spencer will probably win. At least Bichir's movie was told completely through his character's eyes and there was no condescending crap about the white person saving a minority that Hollywood loves so much.

[CrimsonFox]

You know whenever you see a sitcom and they do an episode involving going to the movies and they just make up movie titles? I feel like I've hit that point.

[MJ4H]

Wait, was Rochelle Rochelle nominated???

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I haven't seen any of these, actually I haven't seen any movies pretty much since my son was born almost 2 years ago.

Yeah, this is still pretty much the case for me 8 and a half years out. I didn't see anything at all for years, and I still only see maybe four or five a year. I miss knowing about movies, especially since the ones I do end up seeing are usually the few blockbusters I follow, meaning I rarely see an actually good movie.

I expect Viola Davis will win, Hollywood loves those roles. I hope Gary Oldman will win. I expect he might as one of those sort of cumulative career awards. I'm surprised to see the love for Midnight in Paris. That's one of the only one of these I've seen and while I enjoyed it I wouldn't have pegged it for an Oscar nominee.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

I would rank the ones I've seen this way:
The Descendants
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Hugo

Don't care to see: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close or War Horse.

I've only seen Moneyball from your list, but we both agree on what we don't care to see. Extremely Loud looks like a stinky pile of shit.

My daughter and I were waiting at the movies the other night, staring at a War Horse display. And we managed to do 10 minutes of material on how predictibly awful it looked.

[JediKooter]

My vote goes to Rango.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Made me curious to figure out what the last Best Picture nominee I'd see was, so I hit the interwebz.

2011 - none
2010 - parts of Toy Story 3 and a few minutes of The King's Speech
2009 - Ah ha, success - Inglorious Bastards is the most recent nominee I've seen from start to finish. Also saw most of Up from that year.

Hasn't actually been as long as I would have guessed.

While I had the list open anyway, I wondered what the last BP nominee I saw in a theater was: 1999 The Sixth Sense, which is the only movie I've ever actually walked out on because I thought it was so incredibly bad. Prior to that, looks like maybe 1992 Unforgiven since I honestly don't remember whether I saw 1994's Pulp Fiction in the theater before seeing it at home.

[Izulde]

I don't see movies in theatres very much anymore because assholes texting on cellphones make it difficult for me to concentrate on the picture.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Izulde

I don't see movies in theatres very much anymore because assholes texting on cellphones make it difficult for me to concentrate on the picture.

Where do you go to the movies at? Don't have that problem where I am.

[Izulde]

Politeness and following rules of decorum are not markers of Las Vegas society.

[Scoobz0202]

Not a bad list. The snubs to me though:

Tilda Swinton
Kirsten Dunst for Melancholia (Wasn't surprised about this though)

Really really disappointed that Drive didn't get much love, either. I though that was fucking great.

I haven't seen War Horse or Extremely Loud but I've steered clear of Extremely Loud due to some reviews I've read. War Horse just looks dumb as shit to me.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Made me curious to figure out what the last Best Picture nominee I'd see was, so I hit the interwebz.

2011 - none
2010 - parts of Toy Story 3 and a few minutes of The King's Speech
2009 - Ah ha, success - Inglorious Bastards is the most recent nominee I've seen from start to finish. Also saw most of Up from that year.

Hasn't actually been as long as I would have guessed.

While I had the list open anyway, I wondered what the last BP nominee I saw in a theater was: 1999 The Sixth Sense, which is the only movie I've ever actually walked out on because I thought it was so incredibly bad. Prior to that, looks like maybe 1992 Unforgiven since I honestly don't remember whether I saw 1994's Pulp Fiction in the theater before seeing it at home.

Interesting game. I started going to back to the theater more often in 2008 (after breaking up with my non-theater inclined ex), so the Best Picture nominees I've seen since 2008 (with * meaning "in theaters"):

2008:
Slumdog Millionare*
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*
Milk*

2009:
The Hurt Locker
Avatar*
District 9*
Inglourious Basterds*
Up*
Up in the Air*

2010:
The King's Speech
Inception*
The Social Network*
Toy Story 3*
True Grit

2011:
The Help*
Midnight in Paris*
Moneyball*
The Tree of Life*

[Scoobz0202]

I was going to play that game but when I looked at the lists I realized I'd have to go back to 2004 to see a movie I have not seen yet (Finding Neverland).

Outside of the two movies I have yet to see on this years list.

[ISiddiqui]

I guess its slightly easier when there are 5. I think from 2000 until 2007, the only nominees I haven't seen (and most of them that I saw were on DVD or Blu-ray rather than in theaters) are Gosford Park, In the Bedroom, The Hours, Capote, and Babel.

[Autumn]

This is interesting to look at. Here are the Best Picture nominees I've actually seen (* in theater)

2011:
Midnight in Paris

2010:
Black Swan
Inception*

2009:
Up

2008:
-----

2007:
Juno

2006:
Little Miss Sunshine

2005:
Crash

2004:
Finding Neverland
Ray

2003:
Return of the King*
Lost in Translation
Seabiscuit

2002:
The Two Towers*
The Hours
Chicago

2001:
Fellowship of the Ring*
Moulin Rouge

2000:
Crouching Tiger, hidden Dragon
Erin Brockovich
Traffic

-I was surprised to see that all the Lord of the Rings pictures were Best Picture nominees. Id idn't realize that, I thought it was just the last one.

-If you remove Lord of the Rings, which I saw in the theater becuase I'm a geek, I've only seen one best picture nominee in the theater in the past 12 years. Wow, i'ts been a long time since I've been a movie buff it seems. When you get to the '90s I've seen most of the nominees most years.

-You can tell what it's like to have a second child -when my first was born I still managed three movies. When my second was born I got a big fat zero. And the only reason I saw Up was because I watched it with my kids.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It appears that my taste is much more populist & that my interest has waned considerable with age. From 1974 until 1986 (ages 7-19) I saw every top-grossing movie of the year in the theater. After that, it becomes a lot more hit or miss. '89, '93, '95, '96,'99, '00, '06 and '07. If you're curious like I was, here's that list List of highest-grossing films - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Butter]

The ones I haven't seen by year:

2000: None
2001: Moulin Rouge (couldn't make it through that whole thing)
2002: None
2003: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Seabiscuit
2004: The Aviator
2005: Good Night and Good Luck
2006: Letters from Iwo Jima
2007, 2008: None
2009: Avatar, An Education
2010: 127 Hours
2011: The Artist, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Help, The Tree of Life, War Horse


I have Avatar on my DVR right now, just haven't watched it yet. All of the ones from 2006 and back I don't have much interest in. As mentioned before, there are 2 from this past year I have no interest in.

Seems that this is not a great year for GREAT movies, but there were a lot of pretty good movies in 2011.

[larrymcg421]

Going back to 2000 and not counting this year, I've only missed five Best Picture nominees (The Pianist, Seabiscuit, Atonement, There will Be Blood, The Reader), almost all of them having been seen in the theater.

[korme]

No Martha Marcy May Marlene eh

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Politeness and following rules of decorum are not markers of Las Vegas society.

I usually give people the glare of death when they do that during a movie. Prior to and after, I don't care. I also go complain to the workers there that I want my money refunded because they can't enforce the no texting/phone calls policy.

Heck, I'm in Marin county here in california where I've met more rude people than on a New York City subway and this has not been much of a problem.

[ISiddiqui]

larry: You weren't missing much with "Atonement" - what a steaming pile!

Though I think "There Will Be Blood" is one of the greatest movies of the 2000s.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by stevew

My daughter and I were waiting at the movies the other night, staring at a War Horse display. And we managed to do 10 minutes of material on how predictibly awful it looked.

It's absolutely a movie gift wrapped in Spielberg Oscar packaging and lacks virtually anything outside of a cut and paste storyline. Completely beautiful. Completely forgettable.

I know it had no chance, but it would have been nice to see 50/50 get something.

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

larry: You weren't missing much with "Atonement" - what a steaming pile!

Though I think "There Will Be Blood" is one of the greatest movies of the 2000s.

I'd say he was missing out big time with The Pianist as well. I enjoyed The Reader quite a bit (minus it's rushed ending), but I'm a sucker for Kate Winslet.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

larry: You weren't missing much with "Atonement" - what a steaming pile!

Though I think "There Will Be Blood" is one of the greatest movies of the 2000s.

I do want to see There Will Be Blood. I love PTA and think Magnolia was one of the best of the 90s. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[molson]

I'm as surprised about the Moneyball love as I was about all the love the Wrestler got. Two movies that really weren't that compelling or great from a filmaking perspective or anything, they just lached onto interesting topics that hadn't been covered in a big Hollywood movie yet. I mean, I enjoyed them both, but they were both pretty simple and "good", not blow-away best picture kind of stuff. I mean, I like Jonah Hill, but was that really such an amazing performance? It seemed like a pretty easy, mostly-one note performance, no depth or challenges from an acting perspective. He got to be nerdy and say a lot of dry quips. I think he brings more to his comedies than he did to moneyball. I'd say moneyball and the dark side of pro wrestling are two plug-and-play "oscar ready" film concepts. Just get a strong lead, a decent supporting cast, and it's pretty tough to screw up from there.

[sabotai]

For as much as I love movies, I really don't get into the Oscars. Probably because I'm always a year tor two behind on new releases.

[Coffee Warlord]

2000: Gladiator, Crouching Tiger (2/4)
2001: LOTR, Moulin Rouge (2/5)
2002: LOTR (1/5)
2003: LOTR, Master & Commander (2/5)
2004: n/a (0/5)
2005: n/a (0/5)
2006: Departed (1/5)
2007: Juno (1/5)
2008: n/a (0/5)
2009: Avatar, Inglorius Basterds (2/10)
2010: Inception, Toy Story 3 (2/10)
2011: Moneyball (1/9)

So...since 2000, I have seen a whole 14 of the nominees. Gladiator, Departed, and Return of the King are the only 3 winners I've seen in theatre.

Think it safe to safe my tastes don't exactly coincide with the Academy.

[molson]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

I usually give people the glare of death when they do that during a movie. Prior to and after, I don't care. I also go complain to the workers there that I want my money refunded because they can't enforce the no texting/phone calls policy.

Heck, I'm in Marin county here in california where I've met more rude people than on a New York City subway and this has not been much of a problem.

I've gone to a ton of movies in the last couple of years and the key here has always been to stay to the downtown movie-only buildings rather than malls and shopping centers. That's eliminated 99% of the asshole factor for some reason.

[Ryan S]

2000 - Gladiator
2001 - None
2002 - None
2003 - None
2004 - Million Dollar Baby
2005 - Munich
2006 - The Departed
2007 - Juno, No Country for Old Men
2008 - None
2009 - Up, Inglorious Basterds
2010 - The Fighter, Inception, Toy Story 3
2011 - None

Just eleven nominated films since the turn of the century. Going back a bit further, I saw 4 of the nominees in both '94 and '97 and 22 films across the decade.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by molson

I'm as surprised about the Moneyball love as I was about all the love the Wrestler got. Two movies that really weren't that compelling or great from a filmaking perspective or anything, they just lached onto interesting topics that hadn't been covered in a big Hollywood movie yet. I mean, I enjoyed them both, but they were both pretty simple and "good", not blow-away best picture kind of stuff. I mean, I like Jonah Hill, but was that really such an amazing performance? It seemed like a pretty easy, mostly-one note performance, no depth or challenges from an acting perspective. He got to be nerdy and say a lot of dry quips. I think he brings more to his comedies than he did to moneyball. I'd say moneyball and the dark side of pro wrestling are two plug-and-play "oscar ready" film concepts. Just get a strong lead, a decent supporting cast, and it's pretty tough to screw up from there.

I think that's selling it a bit short. The visuals were pretty decent for one as well as the snappy dialog (that's Sorkin's forte), but also Pitt's job in acting as the up & comer against the old guard was pretty well done. Hill stretched out of his comfort zone and got rave reviews everywhere. There is something that is rare about a well made film where every aspect is done well.

I mean it was just about universally loved by reviewers (95% on Rotten Tomatoes) and on many reviewers Top 10 lists and nominated for Best Picture in a ton of groups (including Golden Globes and the Academy, of course).

Perhaps those of us who are steeped in the story don't see it as those with new eyes to it do. I really enjoyed it, but my baseball loving friend, who knew about Moneyball, but not really all that much nitty-gritty, absolutely loved it and pre-ordered the Blu-ray.

[mckerney]

2000 - Gladiator (Was shocked to see this had won best picture)
2001 - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002 - None
2003 - Mystic River, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Another surprise to see nominated, did not enjoy)
2004 - None
2005 - None
2006 - Little Miss Sunshine, The Departed
2007 - There Will Be Blood, Juno, No Country for Old Men
2008 - Frost/Nixon
2009 - Inglourious Basterds
2010 - Inception
2011 - None

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by molson

I'm as surprised about the Moneyball love as I was about all the love the Wrestler got. Two movies that really weren't that compelling or great from a filmaking perspective or anything, they just lached onto interesting topics that hadn't been covered in a big Hollywood movie yet. I mean, I enjoyed them both, but they were both pretty simple and "good", not blow-away best picture kind of stuff. I mean, I like Jonah Hill, but was that really such an amazing performance? It seemed like a pretty easy, mostly-one note performance, no depth or challenges from an acting perspective. He got to be nerdy and say a lot of dry quips. I think he brings more to his comedies than he did to moneyball. I'd say moneyball and the dark side of pro wrestling are two plug-and-play "oscar ready" film concepts. Just get a strong lead, a decent supporting cast, and it's pretty tough to screw up from there.

I think you're actually buying into the stereotype that more acting=better acting, which is what the Oscars usually go for, so I'm pleasantly surprised that they dug Hill's performance. Throughout the movie he gets laughs by how he underplays lines. For example, the scene where he talks about doing the player profiles, then after a quick beat says he actually did more and doesn't know why he lied. I also think you're missing alot of depth and subtlety that was there. The scene between Pitt and Hill where they talk about Beane's playing career and if he should've been drafted so high was beautifully played by both actors. I also love the scene where Hill shows the tape of the big guy not knowing he hit a HR. There's just an undercurrent of emotion in his voice that suggests while this guy might be a numbers geek, he still really loves the drama and heart of the game.

[CrimsonFox]

2000 - Gladiator, Crouching Tiger, Erin Brockovich, Chocolat
2001 - Beautiful Mind, Gosford Park, Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge!
2002 - Chicago, Two Towers
2003 - Return of the King, Lost in Translation, Seabiscuit
2004 - Aviator, Finding Neverland, Sideways
2005 - Brokeback Mountain
2006 - None
2007 - No Country for Old Men, Juno
2008 - Slumdog Millionaire
2009 - District 9, Inglorious Bastards, Up, Avatar
2010 - Inception, Toy Story 3
2011 - None

Yeah I definitely see fewer movies nowadays and mainly just see them on DVD.

[sterlingice]

2005 - Good Night and Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain
2006 - The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine
2007 - No Country for Old Men
2008 - Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon
2009 - Avatar, Up, District 9, Inglorious Basterds
2010 - Toy Story 3, The Social Network, Inception
2011 - None; Tho I would have seen Moneyball except for living situation (wife in a different city)

Just looking at that list- 2009 and 2010 were the only years where I saw a lot in theaters. The only ones I saw at full price theater fare were the Pixar pair (Up, Toy Story 3), Avatar, and Inception. The Social Network, District 9, and Slumdog Millionaire were all at $2 theaters- I would have seen Moneyball that way, too, but I want to watch it with my wife and so we'll have to rent it after I move down and rejoin her. Inglorious Basterds, I saw on a plane- so I don't know how to categorize that. Frost/Nixon was the only thing I saw as a rental- I just don't rent movies much anymore. If it's borderline, we'll hit up the $2 theater. How's that any different than renting? And we get the moviegoing experience.

The rest I saw later based on reputation so that seems like cheating. I can't really weigh this year's on reputation yet so I can't compare whether I'll eventually check some out. Moneyball, for sure, and probably Hugo. Can't say much beyond that. Honestly, most of the ones that I watched later on reputation have been pretty disappointing: Little Miss Sunshine was insipid and annoying, No Country for Old Men incredibly boring and pointless but that's Cormac McCarthy for you, The Departed was a pretty generic story with the hook being the juxtaposition of the stories being interesting but Scorsese did his thing with the movie which stretched it out and sucked a lot of life from it.

SI

[revrew]

Part of my job is actually writing movie reviews, so I tend to be pretty passionate about this stuff, but that is one boring list of movies for picture of the year. "War Horse" was very, very pretty, but very, very cliche and largely boring. I agree with previous poster, and though I am in the very small minority, I thought "Moneyball" was ho-hum. The others? Meh. Good films. Not great.

Very happy to see Viola Davis get a nom for "The Help." Alas, she's up against Streep, so she may not get the statue she certainly earned.

Only one on the list I'm really, really cheering for is Nolte in "Warrior." He was brilliant in what I thought was the year's most underrated, underappreciated film. It may not be best picture candidate, but it's on my list of top 10 favorite movies ever.

[molson]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Throughout the movie he gets laughs by how he underplays lines. For example, the scene where he talks about doing the player profiles, then after a quick beat says he actually did more and doesn't know why he lied. I also think you're missing alot of depth and subtlety that was there. The scene between Pitt and Hill where they talk about Beane's playing career and if he should've been drafted so high was beautifully played by both actors. I also love the scene where Hill shows the tape of the big guy not knowing he hit a HR. There's just an undercurrent of emotion in his voice that suggests while this guy might be a numbers geek, he still really loves the drama and heart of the game.

Her underplays lines in all his comedies too, he's never been an over the top kind of guy. I definitely think he's funny, he knows how to deliver lines. I liked him in Cyrus last year, I thought he brought something more unique to the table there. I just think a lot of people could have done the Moneyball role adequately and someone could have knocked it out of the park in a compelling way. But aside from all that, I didn't really connect emotionally with the movie, and certainly not with that character. It was just good, and then somewhat less than good whenever the daughter was on the screen.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by revrew

Part of my job is actually writing movie reviews, so I tend to be pretty passionate about this stuff, but that is one boring list of movies for picture of the year. "War Horse" was very, very pretty, but very, very cliche and largely boring. I agree with previous poster, and though I am in the very small minority, I thought "Moneyball" was ho-hum. The others? Meh. Good films. Not great.

Very happy to see Viola Davis get a nom for "The Help." Alas, she's up against Streep, so she may not get the statue she certainly earned.

Only one on the list I'm really, really cheering for is Nolte in "Warrior." He was brilliant in what I thought was the year's most underrated, underappreciated film. It may not be best picture candidate, but it's on my list of top 10 favorite movies ever.

The question I was wondering when looking at the list (as I do most years): Was it a down year for movies or just a crappy job of selecting by the Academy?

SI

[Scoobz0202]

I haven't watched near as many movies this year as I have in recent years, so I' m probably not "qualified" to answer, but I will anyways. But just going based upon what I have seen this year, and the reviews I read (I do follow movie blogs and reviews a lot even if I haven't watched a lot) I would say Butters was pretty accurate. There were quite a few good movies, but I don't know about great. Also, the past few years have been REALLY good IMO.

I did just finish watching 50/50 a few minutes ago and I was really really surprised. I mean, shit, I think it was better then a few of the best picture nom's this year that I have seen. I also agree with revrew that The Warrior has been underrated.