Nominations for The 84th Annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday, January 24 and the results are predictable, in the sense that they’re disappointing and stale. The Academy has once again resorted to what is—for the most part—a “safe” and “popular” list on nominees, with the usual slew of upsets and snubs to generate talk. Since the press release, various media sources have noted how Leonardo DiCaprio was overlooked for his role in J. Edgar; none of Ryan Gosling’s long-rumored triple nominations happened; Bridesmaids didn’t receive a Best Picture nomination; Albert Brooks wasn’t nominated for Drive; and so on.

The theme of this year's ceremony is "Celebrate the Movies in all of us", which, in addition to not making sense, isn't really a new theme. Aren't we celebrating the movies every year with this awards ceremony? Anyway, perhaps the theme will give way to many deserving awards for the year's favorite "films about films" The Artist and Hugo, easily the two best titles of 2011.

My own commentary on the nominations, snubs, and general insanity present in some of these categories is below. For those who are watching on February 26, follow THIS LINK to Moviefone for a printable ballot and see how you do.

Brian Eggert
brian@deepfocusreview.com
(January 28, 2012)

 

 

BEST PICTURE:
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo 
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse 

Thoughts: Gee, which one these doesn’t belong? I can understand every choice except Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, an almost universally panned title chosen purely because of the post-9/11 subject matter and because it stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Did Academy voters even see this movie? To contrast such a banal decision with an inspired one, the Academy nominates the little-seen independent landmark The Tree of Life, a harrowing achievement whose nomination will hopefully incite mainstream audiences to seek it out. At any rate, the clear leaders are The Artist and Hugo, but The Descendants has a strong chance too, having won the Best Drama award at the Golden Globes. Let’s hope the voters follow this year’s vague theme and choose one of the year’s exuberant films about the love of silent film, instead of yet another dramedy by Alexander Payne.

My Pick(s): The Artist; but if Hugo or The Tree of Life won, I could hardly complain.

Likely Winner: The Artist

Continued HERE

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