The 85th Academy Awards ceremony will take place Feb. 24. The Academy Awards, first started in 1929, recognize the best that film had to offer over the past year. Though every year brings a plethora of incredible films, 2012 seemed to have a particularly powerful bunch of movies. Not only did the main nominees receive (generally) critical acclaim, but most of them also boasted high box office winnings.
The films competing for the acclaimed “Best Picture” title span a wide array of genres. The nominees include “Amour” (a interesting choice, given that it is a French-language Austrian drama), “Argo,” a thriller, “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” a fantasy drama, “Django Unchained,” a western, “Les Miserables,” a musical, “Life of Pi,” an adventure drama, “Lincoln,” a historical drama, “Silver Linings Playbook,” a romantic comedy-drama and “Zero Dark Thirty,” another thriller based on the American effort to kill Osama Bin Laden.
The “Best Director” nominees include Michael Haneke (“Amour”), Ang Lee (“Life of Pi”; Lee also received this nomination for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2001) and won the award for “Brokeback Mountain” (2006)), David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook”), legendary director Steven Spielberg for “Lincoln,” his second nomination after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1978) and Benh Zeitlin (“Beasts of the Southern Wild,” his feature film directorial debut).
The frontrunner for the “Best Actor” Oscar is certainly Daniel Day-Lewis for his portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln, for which he received widespread critical acclaim. Jennifer Lawrence, despite her youth, also has a good chance of scoring the “Best Actress” award for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook” and practically everyone is placing their bets on Anne Hathaway winning the title of “Best Supporting Actress” for her portrayal of Fantine in “Les Miserables.” Considering all three won “Golden Globes” for their respective awards, it’s safe to say they’ll repeat this with the Oscars.
The gods of the Academy have truly blessed “Lincoln,” which garnered a total of 12 nominations, though “Life of Pi” wasn’t far behind with 11. “Les Miserables” and “Silver Linings Playbook” both managed to nab eight nominations.
Which films do you think will clean house? Leave your opinions in the comments!
