Film Projections: What Should Have Been Nominated for Oscars

The 2012 Academy Awards have been awarded.  Did the Academy make the right decisions?  Franklin Laviola, writer of our Film Projections column, tells us what films he thinks should have been nominated for awards.  

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Picture

The Tree of Life

Hugo

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

The Princess of Montpensier

Certified Copy

House of Pleasures

Of Gods & Men

Drive

Mysteries of Lisbon

Aurora & Essential Killing (tie)    

[NOTE: Listed in order of preference in this particular category, but in alphabetical order in all other following categories] 

Director

Werner Herzog, Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Abbas Kiarostami, Certified Copy

Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Bertrand Tavernier, The Princess of Montpensier

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Actor

Vincent Gallo, Essential Killing

Ryan Gosling, Drive

Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Lambert Wilson, The Princess of Montpensier

Koji Yakusho, 13 Assassins

 

Actress

Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy

Emily Browning, Sleeping Beauty

Marie Feret, Mozart’s Sister

Eva Green, Cracks

Melanie Thierry, The Princess of Montpensier         

 

Supporting Actor

Rhys Ifans, Anonymous

Michael Lonsdale, Of Gods & Men

Hunter McCracken, The Tree of Life

Brad Pitt, The Tree of Life

Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes    

 

Supporting Actress

Alice Barnole, House of Pleasures

Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life

Isla Fisher, Burke & Hare

Clotilde Hesme, Mysteries of Lisbon

Celine Sallette, House of Pleasures      

 

Original Screenplay

Certified Copy

House of Pleasures

Margaret

Of Gods & Men

The Tree of Life    

 

Adapted Screenplay

13 Assassins

Drive

Hugo

Mysteries of Lisbon

The Princess of Montpensier

 

Animated Feature

The Adventures of Tintin

 

Documentary Feature

Cameraman: The Life & Work of Jack Cardiff

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Nostalgia for the Light

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Pina    

 

Foreign Language Film

13 Assassins (Japan)

Aurora (Romania)

Le Quattro Volte (Italy)

Mysteries of Lisbon (Portugal)

The Princess of Montpensier (France)  

[NOTE: Not selected according to the Academy’s submission rules, but I allowed only one film per country, nonetheless]

 

Film Editing

13 Assassins

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Drive

Hugo

The Tree of Life         

 

Cinematography

Drive, shot by Newton Thomas Sigel

Hugo, shot by Robert Richardson

Of Gods & Men, shot by Caroline Champetier

The Princess of Montpensier, shot by Bruno de Keyzer

The Tree of Life, shot by Emmanuel Lubezki

 

Art Direction

House of Pleasures

Hugo

Mozart’s Sister

The Princess of Montpensier

The Tree of Life         

 

Costume Design

House of Pleasures

Hugo

Mozart’s Sister

The Princess of Montpensier

The Tree of Life         

 

Sound Mixing      

Drive

Hugo

Le Quattro Volte

The Tree of Life

War Horse

 

Sound Editing

13 Assassins

The Adventures of Tintin

Drive

Hugo

The Tree of Life

  

Makeup

13 Assassins

Anonymous

House of Pleasures

Sucker Punch

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives          

 

Visual Effects

Captain America: The First Avenger

Hugo

The Mill and the Cross

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The Tree of Life        

 

Original Score

Cave of Forgotten Dreams, composed by Ernst Reijseger

Drive, composed by Cliff Martinez

Hugo, composed by Howard Shore

Mozart’s Sister, composed by Marie-Jeanne Serrero

War Horse, composed by John Williams

 

Original Song

Attack the Block (“Get That Snitch”)

Captain America: The First Avenger (“Star Spangled Man”)

Hugo (“Coeur Volant”)

  

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Very Difficult to Leave Off My Top Ten

13 Assassins

The Adventures of Tintin

Le Quattro Volte

The Mill and the Cross

Miral

Mozart’s Sister

Nostalgia for the Light

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

War Horse

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Best Film Still Without US Distribution

Deep in the Woods, directed by Benoit Jacquot

 

Most Egregiously Overlooked Film

Young Goethe in Love, directed by Philipp Stolzl

 

Best Comedy & Comeback Film

Burke & Hare, directed by John Landis  

 

Best First Feature

Attack the Block, directed by Joe Cornish  

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Best Second Feature 

Take Shelter, directed by Jeff Nichols     

 

Best Summer Blockbuster

Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt     

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Best Film Delayed Five (!) Years

Margaret, directed by Kenneth Lonergan

 

Best Testosterone-Driven Ensemble

Warrior, starring Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, and Frank Grillo

 

Guilty Pleasures

Cracks, directed by Jordan Scott

Sucker Punch, directed by Zack Snyder

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Best Use Of A “Chocolate” Pie 

The Help, directed by Tate Taylor

 

In Need Of A Greater Dose Of “Genre”

The Skin I Live In, directed by Pedro Almodovar

 

Most Surprising Auteur Film

J.  Edgar, directed by Clint Eastwood

Most Disappointing Auteur Film

A Dangerous Method, directed by David Cronenberg

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Franklin P. Laviola is a filmmaker and freelance writer, based in the New York area. He wrote and directed the award-winning short film “Happy Face,” which has screened at over twenty film festivals. He recently gave us his reactions to the latest Academy Awards nominations and shared his picks for worst and best movies of 2011.  Check out his predictions, written before the Oscars, to see how accurate he was.