Saturday, February 25, 2012

RT's Oscar Picks

We present our best guesses for all the Academy Awards categories!

Oscar

Every year, we at Rotten Tomatoes sit in a room and try to pick who's going to win what at the Academy Awards. And every year, when Monday rolls around, we're frustrated, stunned, hurt -- we run the whole gamut of emotions, but one thing is clear: we didn't have any idea who would win. So why do we continue to apply scientific theories to our predictions, knowing that the whole process is a futile as guessing who will win the NFC East next year? Because we must. Without further ado, we present the RT editors' picks for the 84th Academy Awards. Take this list with a grain -- nay, a shaker -- of salt.


Best Motion Picture of the Year: The Artist


There's been a certain inevitability about The Artist; it's taken top honors at the Golden Globe, the BAFTAs, and the Directors Guild of America Awards. It's a celebration of the movies (which the Academy can certainly appreciate) that's likeable but not lightweight. In other words, it has just enough gravitas that voters can feel comfortable choosing it over Hugo (another delightful homage to old movies that might lose simply because Martin Scorsese got his long overdue Best Picture/Director statues in 2007) and The Descendants (which just doesn't feel like it has the momentum). We think The Artist is going to win big Sunday night, and we haven't seen many signs that would dissuade us from what's become a majority opinion.

Best Achievement in Directing: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist


It's rare that the director of the Best Picture winner doesn't take this one as well. Plus, if you win the Directors Guild of America award, you're practically a mortal lock for the Oscar. Even though Hazanavicius is up against some big names, we think he's got this one.

Best Performance by an Actor in Leading Role: George Clooney, The Descendants


The Academy loves George Clooney. The Academy also loves it when people deglamorize themselves. Thus, we're giving the Descendants star the nod over Jean Dujardin in what amounts to a two man race.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Viola Davis, The Help


Just about everyone commended The Help's ensemble acting, but even then, Viola Davis was singled out for praise. She was nominated once before (for Doubt, in 2008), and we think she's taking home the hardware this time.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Plummer, Beginners


This category is tough, because it features two elderly legends who've never won an Oscar: Christopher Plummer and Max Von Sydow. The Academy has snubbed these guys many times before (Von Sydow deserved to win for The Seventh Seal, Plummer for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). Since Plummer already won the BAFTA, the Golden Globe, and like, every critic organization's award, we think he'll get the nod here.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Octavia Spencer, The Help


We think this one's pretty much a gimmie -- Spencer won the BAFTA, the Golden Globe, and the Screen Actors Guild awards in this category. And like Davis, she stood out in The Help, which is no small praise considering the actresses in that movie.

Best Animated Feature Film: Rango


With no Pixar flicks in the running this year, this category is wide open. We think Rango will take it, because it's fun and funny, and because it's loaded with movie references. (We could see the widely-praised but little-seen Chico & Rita sneaking in here, but we're sticking with the lizard.)

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris


It won both the Golden Globe and the Writers Guild of America award in this category, so that's a good sign. Plus, it's another opportunity to give some love to the Woodman's prodigious, prestigious output -- even if Allen's recent films have varied in quality, he's still capable of making really good movies at an advanced age, which is something that the Academy members certainly admire.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash, The Descendants


Alexander Payne is a screenplay adaptin' maniac. He already won an Oscar for Sideways, and it seems safe to say he'll get his second one here.

Remember when Lord of the Rings: Return of the King swept the Oscars partly because it was awesome but partly because the Academy wanted to give props to the whole series? This is the documentary version of that scenario. It also doesn't hurt that the Paradise Lost movies help spring three innocent people from the joint.

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation


This one seems like a lock, since audiences and critics love it, and because it was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. It also provides the Academy with a chance to spread some international goodwill at a time when the world community is rattling its sabers at Iran.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924604/news/1924604/

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