2013 Academy Award nominations announced; Lincoln in the lead

Lincoln leads this year's Oscar nominations with 12 total while The Dark Knight Rises got snubbed completely. It didn't even get a nomination for visual effects or original score. I am also a little bummed The Avengers only got visual effects. I thought it had a decent shot at a couple other categories. Also among the snubs are Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper, and Ben Affleck for Best Director and Moonrise Kingdom in just about every predicted category. John Hawkes and Leonardo DiCaprio were also left out of the Best Actor category.

So here we go:

Best Picture:
Argo
Amour
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director:
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
Michael Haneke - Amour
Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Actor:
Denzel Washington - Flight
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actress:
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Quevenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts - The Impossible
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

Best Supporting Actor:
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
Alan Arkin - Argo
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Sally Field - Lincoln
Amy Adams - The Master
Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Screenplay:
Mark Boal - Zero Dark Thirty
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained
Michael Haneke - Amour
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola - Moonrise Kingdom
John Gatins - Flight

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Tony Kushner - Lincoln
Chris Terrio - Argo
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
David Magee - Life of Pi
Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Foreign Language Film:
Amour
No
A Royal Affair
Kon-Tiki
War Witch

Best Animated Feature:
Frankenweenie
Brave
ParaNorman
Wreck-It Ralph
The Pirates! A Band of Misfits

Best Documentary:
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
Searching for Sugar Man
5 Broken Cameras
The Invisible War

Best Documentary Short:
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

Best Production Design:
Lincoln
Life of Pi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables

Best Cinematography:
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Lincoln
Django Unchained
Anna Karenina 

Best Film Editing:
Zero Dark Thirty
Argo
Silver Linings Playbook
Lincoln
Life of Pi

Best Original Score:
Dario Marianelli - Anna Karenina
Mychael Danna - Life of Pi
Thomas Newman - Skyfall
John Williams - Lincoln
Alexandre Desplat - Argo

Best Original Song:
"Skyfall" - Skyfall
"Suddenly" - Les Miserables
"Pi's Lullaby" - Life of Pi
"Before My Time" - Chasing Ice
"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" - Ted

Best Visual Effects:
Life of Pi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
The Avengers

Best Costume Design:
Lincoln
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables

Best Sound Editing:
Skyfall
Argo
Zero Dark Thirty
Life of Pi
Django Unchained

Best Sound Mixing:
Skyfall
Lincoln
Life of Pi
Les Miserables
Argo

Best Animated Short:
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole 
Head over Heels
The Longest Daycare
Paperman

Best Live Action Short:
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow
Henry


As far as my predictions go, I expect Lincoln to win as many as it was nominated for because that is how these awards seem to go every year. However, I am really pulling for Quevenzhane Wallis to take home Best Actress. That girl pulled me in and didn't let me go and she deserves the best recognition in the industry for that. If she doesn't win I will be disappointed. I will also be upset if Hugh Jackman doesn't take it home. He was fantastic in Les Miserables.
And for once I think I will be happy with any winner for Best Animated Feature. I would prefer Frankenweenie take the statue, but I won't be upset if Brave or Wreck-It Ralph or ParaNorman beat it out. I don't mention the Pirates flick because I don't think it has a chance of winning. I think it was a filler nomination.
I also want to say that if Adele doesn't win for "Skyfall" I am going to flip my lid. And speaking of Skyfall, how did this not get nominated for Best Picture? That is a shock to me.

2012 Annie Award Nominees

The Annie Awards, which celebrates achievement in animation, announced the Best Picture nominees for 2012. Nominated this year are:

Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
Wreck-It Ralph
Hotel Transylvania 
Rise of the Guardians
The Rabbi's Cat
The Pirates! Band of Misfits 

As you can see, a majority of the nominees were wide release films. Movies like The Lorax and Ice Age missed out this year... bummer haha.

21 films submitted for Best Animated Feature

The competition for the Best Animated Feature category at the 2013 Academy Awards just got a little more intense. A total of 21 animated films were submitted into the category.

The list of potentials:

Adventures in Zambezia 
Brave
Delhi Safari
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
Frankenweenie 
From Up on Poppy Hill 
Hey Krishna 
Hotel Transylvania
Ice Age Continental Drift
A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman 
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted 
The Mystical Laws 
The Painting 
ParaNorman 
The Pirates! Band of Misfits 
The Rabbi’s Cat 
Rise of the Guardians 
Secret of the Wings 
Walter & Tandoori’s Christmas 
Wreck-It Ralph 
Zarafa


In my opinion... my final nomination list would be this:

Brave
Frankenweenie 
ParaNorman
Wreck-It-Ralph
Rise of the Guardians

Granted, I have not seen Rise of the Guardians yet but from what I have observed from the trailers the animation alone deserves recognition. I foresee Brave winning it just because Disney/Pixar has dominated the Oscars for years so I don't see why this upcoming awards show would be any different. However, I think ParaNorman and Frankenweenie will give Pixar a run for their money this time around. Both of those films were incredible.

The 2013 Oscar nominations will be released on January 10th, 2013.

Frankenweenie - Review

Frankenweenie tells the tale of a young boy named Victor who brings his perished dog Sparky back to life. Little does he know the consequences of his scientific breakthrough as it creates mayhem in his small town of New Holland.


I have been excited for Frankenweenie since early this year. I saw the first trailer and I was immediately pumped. I loved Tim Burton's original 1984 Frankenweenie film with Daniel Stern and I wasn't sure if this new one would top it. I must say that I honestly and truly think this is the best Tim Burton film we have received in the past 15 years. It is much better than Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which are both crap imo. I thought it was still more enjoyable than Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow, and even Corpse Bride.

The animation is fantastic! I love that he returned to the stop animation and that it was in black & white. It added to the atmosphere of the story and it worked really well with how the town was designed. I also loved the voice talent used. Catherine O'Hara was fantastic as was Martin Short and Winona Ryder. I was really excited to have them a part of this movie. The kids were also well voiced and the dialogue had its funny moments which helped lighten the mood a bit.
 What I loved was Tim Burton kind of returning to his roots both with the cast and the style. It was very much like his short film "Vincent" and had a lot of elements from the 1984 Frankenweenie short. It is the first film since Big Fish to not have Johnny Depp and the first since Sleepy Hollow to not have Helena Bonham Carter and I think that was a wise move. I love both of them but there comes a time where enough is enough. They were paired together for Corpse Bride and I think it would have been redundant to pair them again for Frankenweenie. I have no doubt if they were cast they would have voiced Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein. He used this opportunity to reunite himself with Winona Ryder, who hasn't worked with him since Edward Scissorhands, and Catherine O'Hara.

In terms of the plot it is very simple but it is played out very nicely. Nothing feels too rushed or too slow. I thought it was the perfect pace and there is a lot to touch someone who has ever been a pet owner. I will admit that my eyes got a bit misty when Sparky passes away because it reminded me of when I lost my first dog. You understand how Victor feels in just wanting his dog back.
One thing I loved was the amount of adults laughing throughout the movie. Yes, it is a kids movie but I love it when as an adult you are able to enjoy it just as much as the children. The dialogue had funny moments and the characters were priceless. The "weird girl" was probably the best character in the whole movie for me. She was hilarious and her cat Mr. Whiskers was just as funny. Catherine O'Hara did a fantastic job voicing her.

Another thing I want to mention is the tie into previous Burton films. The general feel of the town, New Holland, made me think of Edward Scissorhands. The general family structure of the working father with the homemaker mother sitting at home was similar along with the design of the neighborhood. The houses seemed very old-fashioned, like they were in Scissorhands, with perfect yards and gardens. You also can notice the similarities between characters. The Mayor especially reminded me of Mr. Everglot from Corpse Bride. You also notice a striking similarity between Victor Frankenstein and Corpse Bride's main character Victor Van Dort. Also the mutant sea monkeys looking like the swamp monster from The Nightmare Before Christmas.


Overall I would give Frankenweenie an easy A rating. It was truly a joy and I am very happy to say that I finally have the Tim Burton I love back. I hope it stays this way from now on and he stops making ridiculous movies like Alice in Wonderland and Planet of the Apes.

Frankenweenie full length trailer debuts

The newest, full length trailer for the upcoming film Frankenweenie has surfaced! I have been excited about this movie for months so I can't wait.

Frankenweenie trailer debuts

And it is amazing. =^D

New look at Frankenweenie

And apparently we get the trailer tomorrow, March 1st. Yes!

Frankenweenie poster revealed

The first poster for the upcoming Tim Burton film Frankenweenie surfaced this week. I am really excited for this movie and think the poster looks great.

If you never saw the first go around of Frankenweenie, starring Daniel Stern, I have no doubt it is on YouTube somewhere. It was in the special features of the 10th anniversary DVD release of The Nightmare Before Christmas along with another Burton short titled "Vincent." That is also on YouTube. I have searched for it and found it before.