My 2013 Oscar Picks.

BEST PICTURE

1. Amour
2. Argo
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild
4. Django Unchained
5. Les Misérables
6. Life of Pi
7. Lincoln
8. Silver Linings Playbook
9. Zero Dark Thirty

Who Will Win: Argo

Who Should Win: Argo

Who Could Win: Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook

Who Got Snubbed: The Dark Knight Rises, The Master, Looper

This years race has gotten interesting. If you would have asked me when the nominee were named this year, I wouldn’t have given Argo much of a chance, especially since Mr. Affleck was snubbed for the Directing category. I really thought Lincoln was going to take this category, which would have been a shame because I personally thought it wasn’t all that entertaining. Same thing with Life of Pi. But can Silver Linings Playbook, which seems to have captured the heart of critics and movie-goers alike (including me), pull off an upset? We’ll see, eh?

DIRECTING

1. Ang Lee, Life of Pi
2. Benh Zeitlin, Beast of the Southern Wild
3. David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
4. Michael Haneke, Amour
5. Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Who Will Win: Steven Spielberg

Who Should Win: Ben Affleck (Argo)

Who Could Win: David O. Russell

Who Got Snubbed: Ben Affleck (Argo), Rian Johnson (Looper), Christoper Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises), Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)

There is a chance Argo may not take home the Best Picture trophy, But Ben Affleck hands down will take home the dire- oh, wait, he wasn’t nominated. Which is a bit crazy to me. There’s no reason for him not to be. His directing is superb in Argo. But that’s not going to happen. So I guess Spielberg is taking home the statue, even though David O. Russell is more deserving.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

1. Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
2. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
3. Denzel Washington, Flight
4. Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
5. Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Who Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis

Who Should Win: Bradley Cooper

Who Could Win: Denzel Washington

Who Got Snubbed: Daniel Craig (Skyfall)

If I haven’t made it apparent yet, I found Lincoln to be a mediocre film. But I will concede that Daniel Day-Lewis is very good in the role of the 16th President. Better than Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook? No, not really. But Lewis has been the favorite in all the other awards shows this year. And if the Academy is anything, it likes to play it safe in its selections.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

1. Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
2. Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
3. Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
4. Naomi Watts, The Impossible
5. Quvenzhane Wallis, Beast of the Southern Wild

Who Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence

Who Should Win: Jennifer Lawrence

Who Could Win: Jessica Chastain, Naomi Watts

Who Got Snubbed: ?

For whatever reason, every year this category is the biggest mystery for me because I never seem to have a chance to see the films these amazing ladies have starred in sadly. The only two I have seen are Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook. Of the two I would pick Lawrence, who is pure electricity this year.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

1. Alan Arkin, Argo
2. Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
4. Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
5. Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Who Will Win: Robert De Niro

Who Should Win: Robert De Niro

Who Could Win: Any of them

Who Got Snubbed: Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained)

This is going to be the most interesting category of the night to me. There is no predictability here. Anyone can take home the statue, and worthy of it too. But I think De Niro will be the one walking away with it. In one of his best performances in years, how could he not? The only thing that would have made it more interesting is if Leo DiCaprio has received a nod.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

1. Amy Adams, The Master
2. Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
3. Helen Hunt, The Sessions
4. Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
5. Sally Fields, Lincoln

Who Will Win: Anne Hathaway

Who Should Win: Anne Hathaway

Who Could Win: Anne Hathaway

Who Got Snubbed: Kerry Washington (Django Unchained)

How did Sally Fields get a nomination? I mean that was probably the worst aspect of Lincoln for me. As I said, The Academy likes to play it safe. Any who, Anne Hathaway will win this category and rightly so. Her heartbreaking and fearless rendition of “I Dreamed A Dream” is enough to cement her brief but brilliant performance in Les Miserables as a win.

Well, that’s it- the six big categories. There are a few others that have my interest as well like the short film category but I save that for the Twittercast. If you want to hear my thoughts and comments on the 85th Oscars you can follow my Twitter, @KevinAE. Then again you could just enjoy this celebration of film without my probable annoying Tweets.

I Saw A Film Today… The Amazing Spider-Man

A while back I watched the original Spider-man from 2002 and… it just doesn’t hold up all that well. Not knocking Sam Raimi, but for some reason it is just too goofy and comical. The New York City in it is just too polished, even when it is supposed to be gritty. You remember the famous scene where Maguire and Dunst kiss in the alley? Well it is still a good scene but unfortunately all I could think about during it was “wow, I bet there isn’t a single alley in New York City that looks that clean”. Quite frankly, I was glad when a reboot was announced, more so when the cast was announced.

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is a high-school student with a heavy past. When he was just a kid his parents (Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz) left him with his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field) and then mysteriously vanishes.

Now Pete is just trying to survive the terrors of high school, from dealing with a bully named Flash (a little gift for comic fans, portrayed by Chris Zylka) to crushing on the gorgeous Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). But this all changes one day when Peter is lead to meeting Dr. Curt Conners (Rhys Ifans), a man who used to work with Peter’s father. While visiting and snooping around, Peter is bitten by a spider which gives him unusual powers.

One night Uncle Ben is murdered in the streets of the city and Peter decides it’s time take a stand against crime using his new-found powers. But shortly after taking to the streets at night, both worlds of Peter’s regular life and night life collide when a giant lizard begins terrorize the City. Can Peter protect his love, his family, and save the city at the same time?

The Amazing Spider-Man is everything you would want or expect from it. It truly gives justice to the story of Peter Parker and gives him a grittier and truer New ‘Ork City to play in. There is plenty of web slinging here and the action has a fantastic pace. Best examples of this are the scenes that take place on the bridge and inside Peter’s school. Yet instead of merely action and visuals, it has a stronger story and depth, which was something rather lacking from its predecessors.

There were a few minor problems. For one, the villain for this film doesn’t feel very inspired. Sure, he has a bit of back story but in the end he is still just a lizard. One with quick regeneration of limbs and a crazed scientist under its scaly skin, but it was still just a lizard. There is just not a terrible amount of work that can be done with a villain of that caliber. Although I personally enjoyed the attention given to the Peter/Gwen love story line, I can see it being rather off-putting to movie goers who are wanting pure web slingin’ and lizard kickin’. And for those expecting a little appearance by Nick Fury or a nibble of Avengers 2, you are going to be rather disappointed.

As for performances, comparisons are unavoidable. Andrew Garfield is, quite simply, a brilliant and better Peter Parker. I never really liked Tobey Maguire because when it came to emotions, he was comatose. Garfield is the opposite. He has plenty of comedic moments as well as plenty of heart-felt moments, and he does them all fantastically. His opposite, Emma Stone, is great as well. She is sassy and smart as Gwen Stacy, which isn’t much of a stretch for her I’m guessing. The chemistry between the two was at times hypnotic, which is what you expect when dealing with such beloved characters.

The supporting cast is great as well. Rhys Ifans is a brilliant actor who I think is slightly underrated in Hollywood. Thankfully he gets to showcase his talents here. I thought Martin Sheen was decently well cast as Uncle Ben but I’m not really impressed with Aunt May being Sally Fields. She does a good job, no denying that, but I don’t know how she’ll do in the unavoidable sequels. As for Denis Leary, he is his usual schmucky self. And you may miss him but it was nice to see C. Thomas Howard make an appearance.

I didn’t see Spidey in 3-D so I can’t really tell you how it looks in stereoscopic photography. But the film itself is a fantastic reboot of one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes. This Spider-man has heart and truly earns his title of hero. I have a new-found love for the web-slinger. As for spiders themselves, they are still the spawn of Satan himself in my eyes.

Verdict: SEE IT!

*Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence.

**Poster by Matt Ferguson.