Every year I get Oscar fever and try to see as many nominated films as possible. Even the nominated in obscure categories like best make-up or animated short films! The great thing is between the day-long AMC Best Picture Showcase, netflix and all the great independent movie theaters here in the District, it's actually not that hard to catch a lot of the nominees.
STILL (OR SOON) IN THEATERS:
Hugo and The Artist lead the nominations with 11 and 10 nods respectively. Hugo in an American film set in France, The Artist a French film set in the USA... either way, France wins righ? Sort of? ;-)
The Artist ~ All chauvinism aside, I don't think I can rave enough about
Zee Artiste. It's a wonderful, lighthearted happy (silent) film that will make you fall in love with Hollywood all over again. And with the dapper Jean Dujardin too ;-) The film is still showing at AMC Loews Georgetown 14, AMC Loews Shirlington 7, Regal Ballston Commons 12, Landmark E Street Cinema, AFI Silver Theater Cultural Center, Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema, Regal Rockville Stadium 13 so you have NO excuse not to see it. (
The Artist is nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in a leading Role - Jean Dujardin, Best Actress in a Suporting Role - Berenice Bejo, Original Screenplay, Film Editing, Original Score, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design and Directing. It is the first time a French film has ever been nominated for best picture/director. The last time a silent film was nominated for an Oscar... was back in 1930!)
Hugo ~ I haven't seen Hugo yet, but it looks like I'll be hitting one of these three theaters soon: AMC Courthouse Plaza 8 (3D), Regal Bethesda 10 (3D), Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14 (
Hugo is nominated for Best Picture, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Original Score, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design and Directing. This is Scorcese's 7th best director nomination, as many nods as Woody Allen. Both have only won once though. Woody for Annie Hall and Martin for The Departed.)
War Horse ~ Steven Spielberg's sweeping tale of friendship between a young soldier and a horse during WWI is still showing at Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14, Regal Ballston Commons 12, Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema (
Nominated for Best Picture, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Original Score, Art Direction and Cinematography.)
The Descendants ~ Obviously, I want The Artist to win the Best Picture award so I really wanted to dislike Alexander Payne's touching character study. But I didn't. It's a good film, *
le darn*. A number of movie theaters are still showing it: Landmark E Street Cinema, AMC Loews Georgetown 14, Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema (
The Descendants is nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role - George Clooney, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing and Directing.)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ~ Landmark E Street Cinema, AMC Loews Georgetown 14, Regal Ballston Common 12, AFI Silver Theater Cultural Center, Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema, Regal Rockville Stadium 13 (
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is nominated for Actor in a Leading Role - Gary Oldman, Adapted Screenplay and Original Score)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close ~ Will Oskar's search for a lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father's closet after he died on 9/11 take him all the way to an Oscar? We'll find out. In the meantime, follow his journey through New York's 5 borroughs at the Avalon, Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14, AMC Loews Georgetown 14, Regal Ballston Commons 12 (
The movie, which received mixed reviews from critics, is nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Max von Sydow.)
My Week with Marilyn: AMC Courthouse Plaza 8, West End Cinema and AFI Silver Theater Cultural Center (
Best Supporting Actor - Kenneth Branagh and Best Actress - Michelle Williams)
A Separation ~ One of the best films I've seen last year, this tale of divorce, Iranian style, is an incisive portrayal of modern iranian society. Watch the Golden Globe winner at AMC Loews Shirlington 7 or
Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema (
Orginal Screenplay, Foreign Language Film)
The Muppets ~ with a 50% chance of winning in a category with only 2 nominees, the Muppets have some pretty good odds of bringing a golden statue home. I mean, seriously, they couldn't come up with more than 2 nominees in this category?? In any case, catch it at AMC Courthouse Plaza 8 (O
riginal Song) or just download the song on iTunes.
The Adventures of Tintin ~ I loved this animated version of my childhood books... The Belgian journalist still appears on screens at Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14 (3D), Regal Potomac, AMC Courthouse Plaza 8 (3D), Regal Bethesda 10 (3D) and AMC Mazza Gallery (
John Williams, who composed the oscar nominated score for Tintin also composed the score of the War Horse. Those are his 46th and 47th nominations in the Original Score category.)
Albert Nobbs ~ this film opens Friday, January 27th at Landmark E Street Cinema and AMC Courthouse Plaza 8 (n
ominated for Best Actress - Glenn Close, Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Janet McTeer, Makeup.)
The Iron Lady ~ this is Meryl Streep's 17th overall nomination, and 14th nod for lead actress yet she hasn't won since Sophie's Choice in 1983. I certainly hope she brings home that 3rd Oscar! (
Best Actress - Meryll Streep, Makeup)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ~ I caught the tail end of its run at The Lincoln Theater... if you go before January 26, you can still see it at the U Street establishment, otherwise it's playing at AMC Loews Georgetown 14, Regal Ballston Common 12, the Avalon, AMC Mazza Gallery, Regal Gallery Place Stadium 14 and Regal Bethesda 10 (
nominated for Best Actress - Rooney Mara, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Cinematography.)
Already on Netflix
The Help (
the film is nominated for best picture, Viola Davis is nominated for best actress in a leading role, her co-stars Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer are both nominated for best actress in a supporting role),
Midnight in Paris (
Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Directing, Art Direction),
The Ides of March (Writing - Adapted Screenplay),
The Tree of Life (
Best Picture, Cinematography, Directing),
Moneyball (Best Picture, Best Actor - Brad Pitt, Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Jonah Hill, Film Editing,
Sound Mixing and Adapted Screenplay),
A Better Life (
Demian Bichir is nominated for actor in a leading role),
Warrior (
Nick Nolte is nominated for best actor in a supporting role),
Beginners (
Christopher Plummer is nominated and should win the oscar for best supporting actor),
Bridesmaids (
Melissa McCarthy is nominated for best supporting actress, the comedy is also nominated for best original screenplay. If she wins over Meryll Strip, I will be very upset!),
Drive (S
ound Editing),
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (
Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects),
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (
Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Makeup),
Real Steel (
Visual Effect),
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (
Visual Effects),
Margin Call (
Original Screenplay),
Kung Fu Panda 2 (
Animated Feature),
Rango (
Animated Feature),
Anonymous (
Costume Design),
Jane Eyre (
Costume Design),
Rio (
Music - Original Song). Additionally, two of the documentary feature nominees are available on demand:
Hell and Back Again and
If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.
AMC Oscar Showcase
If you want to see all 9 nominees in one go (pretty efficient way to do it if you haven't seen any of them or need a refresher) AMC Georgetown 14 is participating in the AMC Best Picture Showcase Marathon February 25, starting with
Hugo in 3D at 11AM and wrapping up Sunday morning with
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close at 6:20AM. Tickets for this 2 day event are $60, which includes a $10 AMC gift card. You can't bring outside food, so if you do this, be prepared to eat a LOT of popcorn ;-) If you don't think you can handle the whole one night deal, you can also split it into two at a couple of theaters I've never been to because they're not really in D.C.: Hoffman Center 22, Potomac 18, Rio 18 and Shirlington 7. On February 18, these theaters will be showing
War Horse (11AM),
Moneyball,
The Tree of Life and
The Descendants (7:20PM). On February 25, they will screen
Hugo in 3D (11AM),
The Help,
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,
The Artist and
Midnight in Paris (9:05PM). A Day One pass (February 18) will set you back $30, Day Two is $40, two-days is $60.
National Geographic Global Glimpses
I'm a little sad neither
Le Havre nor
A Declaration of War got nods, and of course I understand that silence is not a language so
The Artist couldn't be nominated either... oh well. I'm happy to see Quebec and Belgium represented in this category and I'm looking forward to watching them during
National Geographic's Global Glimpses that screens all 5 nominees over a weekend (February 17-19). Other than
A Separation which just came out, most of the nominees in this category are slated to come out later in the yaar, so this is kind of your only chance...The schedule is as follows: February 17 at 7PM Iran's
A Separation; February 18 Belgium's
Bullhead at 5PM and Israel's
Footnote at 8PM; February 19 Poland's
In Darkness at 2PM and Canada's
Monsieur Lazhar at 6PM. Individual tickets are $8.
The National Archives
Don't miss the 8th Annual Showcase of Academy Award®–Nominated Documentaries and Shorts presented by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in partnership with the Charles Guggenheim Center for the Documentary Film and the
Foundation for the National Archives. The tickets are free and seating is on a first come first served basis. GET THERE EARLY! Trust me. The documentary feature nominees will be screened at 7PM on February 22 (
Hell & Back Again), 23 (
Undefeated), 24 (
Pina - in 2D), 25 (
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory) and at 4PM on the 26th (
If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front). The Live Action Short Films (
Pentecost;
Raju;
The Shore;
Time Freak;
Tuba Atlantic) will be screened Saturday, February 25 at noon. The Animated Short Films (
Dimanche/Sunday;
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore;
La Luna;
A Morning Stroll;
Wild Life) will follow at 3:30PM. The Documentary Short Subject nominees (
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement;
G-d is the Bigger Elvis;
Incident in New Baghdad; Saving Face;
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom) will be screened at noon on Oscar day.
Other
West End Cinema is screening all of the Documentary Short Subject nominees on February 10th.
Landmark E Street Cinema will screen the Animated and Live Action Short Films starting 02/10.
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory is available on demand from HBO.
I'll keep updating this list as we get closer to the
Oscars on February 26th. In the meantime, please let me know if you hear anything about
A Cat in Paris. As a cat owner and Parisian, I'm dying to see it! And of course, don't forget the watch the Academy Awards on February 26th!
