2011 Academy Awards (Oscars) Outlook: Snubs and Surprises

With all the glitz and glamour that comes along with being a Hollywood celebrity, the Academy Awards are an actor's way of gauging his or her ability. Sure the money is nice (and the paparazzi isn't), but deep down we all just want to be recognized as the best at what we do. Whether it's a teacher, a physician, or even an A-List actor. So you can bet your bottom dollar that all ears were perked up when the Oscar nominations were announced this morning. The Super Bowl of the awards season, an Academy Award is what every actor and actress dreams of winning. Sure the Golden Globes are a nice touch, but it doesn't quite pack the same punch as an Oscar's victory.


First and foremost, you can find a full list of ALL nominees at the following website:
http://www.imdb.com/features/oscars/2011/nominations


It's no exaggeration when I say I spend A LOT of time watching movies. I'm nearing 100 titles released in 2010 alone. That being said, it's still a long ways off from the 240 titles submitted for this year's Oscar contention (foreign films included). Despite only seeing about 40% of all submitted films, there's only one movie that's nominated for a major category that I haven't seen (Biutiful). So allow me to do what I do best, and offer my opinion on this year's Snubs and Surprises for the 2011 Academy Awards.




The Surprises:



The first major surprise I noticed was Javier Bardem's Best Lead Actor nomination for his film Biutiful. All early indicators are that the film is excellent and Bardem is truly brilliant in it. He plays a father whose life is in a free fall as he battles back on a road to redemption. Bardem's Eat Pray Love co-star Julia Roberts even lobbied for his nomination.

Taking a page out of the Golden Globe's book, another huge shocker came from John Hawkes' nomination for his supporting role in the 2010 Sundance Winner Winter's Bone. His performance was stellar, yet such recognition is unwarranted. With this one, Hawkes benefits from the Academy's desire to acknowledge one of the year's best independent films.





Not as much of a surprise here, but many would argue that Mark Ruffalo's role in The Kids Are All Right is far from Oscar worthy. He was above average, but there were many other notable Best Supporting Actor performances out there this year. The film's multiple Golden Globe wins definitely sealed the deal for his nomination.





The Snubs:



More so out of personal spite, I am amazed to see Robert Duvall overshadowed in the Best Lead Actor category. He was magnificent in this year's most-snubbed film Get Low. Without receiving a single nomination, my personal pick for best film of the year definitely deserved some sort of recognition. Many believed Get Low would receive it with its brightest star, Duvall, sneaking a nomination. Unfortunately, it didn't happen.




The Best Director category was overflowing with worthy candidates. However, the Oscars get it wrong this time. With one of the year's most talked about films, Inception, how could its established director Christopher Nolan go unnoticed? Many expected him to be a frontrunner alongside David Fincher, however, the academy has left Nolan out of the running. Clearly a mistake.

Another deserving director is Danny Boyle for his film 127 Hours. The film centers around a stationary character, and Boyle does a standout job keeping the audience's attention. With James Franco as Boyle's one trick pony, he managed to offer a more enjoyable film then most of his nominated peers. For instance, David O. Russell had a brilliant cast (Bale, Leo, Adams, and Wahlberg), yet his film fails to offer the same substance as Boyle's.




Moving on to the Best Supporting Actress category, it's hard to imagine Mila Kunis being left out of the race. Her gritty two-faced portrayal in Darren Aronofsky's psycho-drama thriller Black Swan was excellent. After the credits role and you have an understanding of what actually happens in the film, Kunis' performance becomes even more accomplished.

Finally, a less shocking snub goes out to Andrew Garfield for his role in The Social Network. As Eduardo Saverin, the initial financier of Facebook, Garfield exemplifies the only strong-moralled character in the entire film. The soft spoken, innocent bystander that experiences greed and betrayal first hand. Many expected him to be nominated, despite being overlooked.

What we know now, post nominations:

The Social Network has been nothing short of a freight train pummeling its competition for Best picture. The ten nominated films were all what I expected, and now that we've seen this year's nominees, we could have a big upset on our hands. David Fincher's film is strong in every regard, but a few other titles surprised us with their bulk of nominations. The Social Network could be this year's Avatar (losing in Best Director and Best Picture).

One of the other two films alongside of The Social Network receiving a ton of recognition is David O. Russell's The Fighter. Having been quite down on the film myself, I was surprised by all of the nominations it received by the academy. Perhaps it could dethrone The Social Network, but I honestly doubt it. The Fighter will get plenty of wins in other big categories, most likely Best Supporting Actor (Bale) and Best Supporting Actress (Leo or Adams). However, the chances of O. Russell winning Best Director or the film itself winning Best Picture is a little far fetched.

The true underdog to watch out for is Tom Hooper's brilliant film The King's Speech. The film contains everything the academy looks for in a movie. Charming characters, witty dialogue, strong acting, and wonderful direction. After seeing the lofty number of nominations for The King's Speech, my first thought was watch out for this one. I was remarkably surprised by The Hurt Locker's Best Picture win last year, but it showed me something. The academy wants to differentiate itself from the Golden Globes. By acknowledging The King's Speech over The Social Network, the academy certainly would do so.