My Oscar votes

Posting my votes for the Oscars. It's really hard for me to judge because I haven't seen many of the films. Besides lack of interest in most of the films I also don't have as much time as I used. Really I'm not picking my favorites just highlighting the ones I think are going to win.

Best Picture

"The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer

"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers

"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer

"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers

"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers

"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers

"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers

"The Tree of Life" Nominees to be determined

"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"

George Clooney in "The Descendants"

Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"

Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"

Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"

Nick Nolte in "Warrior" want him to win but think Christopher Plummer will win

Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"

Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"

Viola Davis in "The Help"

Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"

Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"

Jessica Chastain in "The Help"

Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"

Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"

Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

Animated Feature Film

"A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli

"Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal

"Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson

"Puss in Boots" Chris Miller

"Rango" Gore Verbinski

Art Direction

"The Artist" Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan

"Hugo" Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo

"Midnight in Paris" Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil

"War Horse" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography

"The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth

"Hugo" Robert Richardson

"The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki

"War Horse" Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design

"Anonymous" Lisy Christl

"The Artist" Mark Bridges

"Hugo" Sandy Powell

"Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor

"W.E." Arianne Phillips

Directing

"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius

"The Descendants" Alexander Payne

"Hugo" Martin Scorsese

"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen

"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick

The Artist-Review

A wise man once told me casting two good looking people is always a win (something along that lines). The Artist- sweet, nostalgic, and fun. Loved it! Even when it was cheesy or unoriginal it was just a lovely tribute of sorts.

Being Elmo-review

Being Elmo- is the Story of the puppeteer/voice actor Kevin Clash.

It would have been a waste of footage not to put this story together. Seems like Kevin Clash had been documenting his life for this film to be made one day. What a sweet and moving story. It shows a man first falling in love with his craft, moving forward as the doors started opening, and his talent bringing joy to the lives of millions.

Warrior -Review vs. The Fighter

Time for a vs. Haven't done one in a long time but these are two great films to compare.

To start what made The Fighter so good? Christian Bales drug addict role and Melissa Leo's amazing acting Mark Wahlberg hotness plus a good background story.

Warrior a good story, good acting, less familiar faces, good fight scenes. What makes this film better? I wouldn't say it is better. I think it is more entertaining and I am left with a bigger connection to the characters. In addition, the fight scenes are good and the story is sweet although slightly confusing and evasive.

I feel like The Fighter could  have subtracted a few things from their story. The story of Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams characters all together could have been left out. From the bar scenes to the fight with his mom and sisters. The fights in The Fighter were far from exciting as I type this I can't remember any of them. What really drew me into The Fighter was that I felt for the drug addict brother.
The brothers in Warrior did not look related and they were both heroes in different ways (not to say that Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale do but more so). Nick Nolte was great he almost made me cry. I must stress how good he was, he wasn't good how Christian Bale was good. See Christian Bale was good because his character was well written and because his ability to play him. Nick Nolte was that character and not himself. 

That being said both films are great. The Fighter was well written and had that artsy film feel combined with some really good acting.  Warrior was all about the fights with a simple story to keep you rooting for the two brothers. One more entertaining than the other though.

Pariah-Review

I've been trying to figure out how to do a a bunch of things at once lately. Haven't been up for watching movies or doing reviews. Everyone is getting their reviews out now for Pariah so I might as well do mine. I'm sure you've heard enough about it and figure at this point everyone thinks it's an amazing film. Well, it is a good film. Worth the watch with some great performances. I think the best friend really sold me on the movie. What I liked most about it was the story and "relatable" moments. Even though I am heterosexual I remember innocent teen moments experiencing love and getting to know myself. The soundtrack is reminiscent of a time when spoken word artists were making good money and I used to visit New York a lot. I am also happy I didn't have to sit through a sex scene (you know how I don't like that). Congrats to the cast and crew. Catch the movie in the theater while you can.