MasterChugs Theater: Oscar picks 2013

Hooray! The Oscars are back again! Will controversy win out? Will the status quo be upheld? Will Chris stop using plot line descriptions from comic books to describe the 2013 Academy Awards? Hopefully.

As always, hit the jump to see my predictions.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin, Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones, Christoph Waltz

This is not the category I like. Robert De Niro phoned in his performance in Silver Linings Playbook (though the same could be said for his career for the past 12 years) and Alan Arkin is vastly overrated (did he really deserve his Oscar for being a dead guy in Little Miss Sunshine?). Christoph Waltz deserves the award, plain and simple. He was masterful in Django Unchained and arguably the main character of the movie. That said, don’t be surprised if De Niro gets it, because the Academy has no problem fouling up this category.

Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Emmanuelle Riva, Quvenzhané Wallis, Naomi Watts

Hands down, Jessica Chastain should win this award. She was critical to Zero Dark Thirty and amazing in the film. Don’t be surprised if Emmanuelle Riva wins it, because the Academy loves both movies that make you feel guilty and old people, but Chastain should edge out Lawrence (who was the best part of Silver Linings Playbook).

Animated Feature Film
Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Wreck-It Ralph

I enjoyed The Pirates. I really liked ParaNorman. I loved Wreck-It Ralph. Give Pixar that gold once more!

Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras, The Gatekeepers, How To Survive a Plague, The Invisible War, Searching For Sugar Man

It’s a crime that The Queen of Versailles was not nominated for this feature. That said, Searching for Sugar Man lived up to the hype of being one of the documentaries of 2012. Don’t deny Malik Bendjelloul his award.

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

Hooboy. This is honestly one of the more difficult picks in recent years. I’ll admit that I have not seen Amour, Lincoln, Les Misérables or Life of Pi, so I’m only going off the industry buzz regarding those four movies.

Amour is a movie of sadness. It shouldn’t win (but could because it’s French). Argo was good. Best Picture good? Almost, but not quite. Beasts of the Southern Wild was a beautiful movie that should be seen by all, but it wasn’t the best picture. Django Unchained, like Argo, was great. It was one of the best times I’ve had at the theater all year, but it’s not quite the best picture. Les Misérables, according to the buzz, lives up to its Americanized-name: it’s miserable. Life of Pi is surprisingly good and could be a sleeper. Lincoln is a favorite and will probably win because of its two main factors: Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis. Silver Linings Playbook could potentially upset Lincoln, but it’s just off from being my personal best picture of the year. Why so? Because of Zero Dark Thirty. Do I feel that it should win the award? Yes. It was, without a doubt, the best movie of 2012 and should be seen by every single American citizen. Will it win? Probably not. Sadly, the controversy behind Kathryn Bigelow not being included in the Best Director nominee is the entire reason why it won’t. If there’s one thing the Academy does, it’s follow-through on being cowards when they absolutely shouldn’t.

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