Film Fest

February / March, 2012

Oscar Picks for 2012

The key to predicting the Oscars is balancing critical praise with past trends and mixing in a surprise pick or two. It's a nonsensical art form and a guilty pleasure for movie geeks like me.

By Bernie Sauer

Best Picture: The Artist

Who knew a black & white silent film would inspire a 21st century audience? With its misty knack for romance, laughs and old-school drama, this is the most immaculate example of cinema out there. The Descendants may be its closest competitor, scoring with its sharp screenplay.

Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Most Best Picture packages include the Director category, so this is the safe choice, but my personal preference is Martin Scorsese for his stunning 3-dimensional camera movement in the magical railroad station in Hugo.

Actress and Supporting Actress:

It has occurred only ten times in Oscar history, but I really think Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer will win the Best Actress and Supporting Actress awards respectively for their heart strong roles in The Help. The "dark horse" Best Actress pick could go to Michelle Williams for her all-too real portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn.

Actor: George Clooney

Both Clooney and Brad Pitt (Moneyball) give surprisingly unflashy performances worthy of the Oscar, but Clooney will need to fulfill the critical acclaim for The Descendants (and the political balance the Academy Awards like to uphold between mainstream and independent film). Jean Dujardin may be the next competitor to fortify The Artist regime.

Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer

Hands down, this goes to Christopher Plummer in Beginners, not just because of his brave, sexual-identity performance but his Canadian significance as well. The Oscars love a good story, and Plummer could be the first Canadian to win the Tony, Emmy and Oscar awards.

Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

It's gotta be. He's back with the nostalgic shenanigans that worked for him in the past, only this time, it isn't Manhattan that takes the stage.

Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants

Again, this popular indie drama should take the smaller admirable categories, but I'm rooting for Moneyball, the slickest baseball education film I've seen for the fan and non-fan alike.

Cinematography: The Tree of Life

Although it may be forgotten in its early release, this film actually looks like a painting on canvas.

Original Score (my favorite category): The Artist

There's music in 90 percent of this movie. Shouldn't this be enough for Oscar?

Bernie Sauer is the music teacher at Regis Jesuit High School, Girls Division. Aside from music, Bernie loves movies and continues to uphold his one-movie-a-day celluloid diet. Please send your comments or questions to Bernie at Berno1206@msn.com.