Oscars: Winners

 
The winners of the 84th Academy Awards are in! While I myself was hoping for some unexpected winners, most of the results were as predicted. We will give the list below, with some comments. Although Hugo and The Artist both won 5 oscars, The Artist is definitely the big winner here, securing the more 'important' oscars.  Now, without further ado, here they are!

Best Picture: The Artist
== Definitely a worthy victor, and no surprises there. It's been decades since a silent movie won this most prestigious award.

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist
== To bring a silent movie in a convincing manner, requires skill.

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady 
== Ahh Meryl. One of the greatest of all time. This was her seventeenth(!) nomination and third win. Look at her fantastic, funny and emotional reaction:  Meryls reaction

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
== The oldest winner ever, but so very much deserved, and to be honest, not only for this movie 

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help
== Very emotional acceptance speech. That's what the oscars are all about.

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
== This one was between Michel Hazanavicius and Scorsese, both directing a movie about the beginning of the film medium. But, it wasn't Scorseses best...

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
== For a man far in his seventies, still writes amazing screenplay. Very much deserved award.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, The Descendants
== It's very hard to rewrite a story into something new, without seriously harming the original. This is what they achieved.

Best Animated Feature: Rango
== Very original animated movie, gracefully perfected by Depp.

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: A Separation (Iran)
== The obvious winner. I haven't seen it yet, but will soon enough.

Best Original Score: The Artist, Ludovic Bource
== Music is very important in every movie, but maybe even more so in a silent movie. Brought in a superb fashion by Bource and the Brussels Philharmonic

Best Original Song: Man or Muppet, The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie

Best Achievement in Art Direction: Hugo

Best Achievement in Cinematography: Hugo

== Amazing how one feels like one is actually in Paris, living the story. These two awards are a well earned tribute to those who made that happen.

Best Achievement in Costume Design: The Artist  

Best Documentary Feature: Undefeated

Best Documentary Short Subject: Saving Face

Best Achievement in Film Editing: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
== Many a movie fanatic (myself included) don't really know what an editor exactly does. All I know is he or she makes the 'raw' movie look the way he looks at the end. Since The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is an amazing movie, i'd say: job well done!

Best Achievement in Makeup: The Iron Lady
== A bit surprising to me. Best explained through this picture: 

Best Animated Short Film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Best Live Action Short Film: The Shore

Best Achievement in Sound Editing: Hugo
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing: Hugo
== Once more, music can make or break a movie. Well deserved.

Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Hugo
== A bit surprising. Harry Potter was the real winner here in my opinion. That movie is just one big visual effect.


And that's it! It was an amazing show. Comments or reactions are most welcome.

Spirit Awards winners

Since last night, we know the winners of the Spirit Awards! The spirit awards are given to independent filmmakers, whose budgets are fairly low compared with other movies and filmmakers.
Here they are:

Best Feature – The Artist
Best Male Lead – Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Best Female Lead – Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Best Supporting Male – Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Supporting Female – Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Best Director – Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 
Best First Feature – J.C. Chandor (director) - Margin Call
Best Screenplay – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash – The Descendants
Best First Screenplay – Will Reiser, 50/50
Best Cinematography – Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Best Documentary – Steve James (director) – The Interrupters
Best International Film – A Separation (Iran)
Piaget Producers Award – Take Shelter
Robert Altman Award – Margin Call
John Cassavetes Award – Dee Rees (director), Nekisa Cooper (producer) – Pariah
Audi Someone to Watch Award – Mark Jackson (director), Without
Nokia Truer Than Fiction Award – Heather Courtney (director), Where Soldiers Come From

The Artist won several important awards, including best feature. Is this an indication for the Academy Awards as well? We will find out tonight!
On a personal note, I'm happy to see that Margin Call won two awards as well, including Best First Feature.

Oscars

As many of you know, this sunday it's Oscar day! The 84^th Academy Awards are bestowed upon some of the best in several criteria (24!) of movies and movie making... at least that's the ambition. We made a quick list of every award and the corresponding nominees. We also had the audacity to add our choice of winners. After all, this is a movie blog.

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

G(oines) & M(ovie)T(ree): Hugo, definitely. Scorsese really made a pearl of a fairytale-like movie about the beginning of movie-making, fixing things and love

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball 
 
G: Brad Pitt with an excellent performance, catching the stressing theme of the movie
MT: Jean Dujardin. No Doubt.

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
 
G: Even though i expected more from the girl with the dragon tattoo, Rooney Mara is mystery incarnate. Love it
MT: Meryl Streep. Playing Thatcher is really right up her alley

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close 
 
G & MT: Nick Nolte in warrior, as the remorseful drunk father. (By the way, we also think that Warrior should have been nominated for more than one award. Amazing movie)


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

Best Director
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo 
 
G: Scorsese. He pulls the viewer in the movie, leaving no one untouched.
MT: Michel Hazanavicius. What he made, was daring, to say the least.

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
JC Chandor, Margin Call
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, Bridesmaids 
 
G: JC Chandor with Margin Call. Amazing how the 2008 bank crisis is viewed from an important investment bank. (Deserves a best picture award as well I think.)
MT: Michel Hazanavicius with The Artist

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughn, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 
 
G & MT: Hugo. 
 
Best Animated Feature
A Cat In Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

G & MT: Rango. An original story, very convincingly voiced by Johnny Depp, among others

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

G: Bullhead
MT: A Separation

Original Score
The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams

G: John Williams in Tintin. The music adds to the adventure
MT: Ludovic Bource in the Artist.

Best Original Song
Man or Muppet, The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
Real in Rio, Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

G & MT: Man or Muppet, The Muppets

Best Achievement in Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

G: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
MT: The Artist

Best Achievement in Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

G: Hugo
MT: The Artist

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

G & MT: Hugo

Best Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

Best Documentary Short Subject
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Achievement in Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

G: Hugo
MT: The Artist

Best Achievement in Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady

G & MT: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Two words: Nose gone.

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

G & MT: Tuba Atlantic

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

G: Drive. Definitely spices up the movie
MT: Transformers

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

G & MT: Transformers

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

G: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Even though the rest of the movie was debatable, the visual effects were amazing,
MT: Hugo



And that's all folks! I think our favorite movies are obvious: Goines chooses Hugo, Movie Tree roots for the Artist to be the big winner!
Sunday, here we come