2013 Oscar Nominees Official - So Who Should Win? by FilmCrave

By Chris Kavan - 01/11/13 at 01:26 AM CT

Now that we have the official nominations for the 2013 Oscars, it's time to predict the winners. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the strongest years for film in a few years. For once, I've seen the majority of films up for the biggest awards (though not all of them, yet) and I feel I have a pretty good grasp of where things stand. That doesn't mean I'm going to be right, but this is my best guess - along with some commentary.

Best Picture

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

The Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

My Prediction: Lincoln - it has everything voters love - history, spectacular acting, riveting story.

Should Have Been Nominated: Moonrise Kingdom - Still my favorite film of the year. With such a spectacular lineup, though, it doesn't surprise me it didn't show up. Despite praise from critics and audiences, neither Skyfall or The Dark Knight Rises were nominated for Best Picture. In fact, Dark Knight Rises was shut out of all categories.

Dark Horse: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Secretly Want to Win: Django Unchained - Just because it would be an amazing acceptance speech and even greater accomplishment.

Best Director

David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"

Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"

Michael Haneke, "Amour"

Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

My Prediction: Steven Spielberg - See Lincoln, above.

Should Have Been Nominated: Probably the biggest surprise category in how many people were left out - Ben Affleck for Argo, Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty, Tom Hooper for Les Miserables, Quentin Tarantino for Djano Unchained and Paul Thomas Anderson for The Master all could have easily been nominated in this category.

Dark Horse: Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Secretly Want to Win: Still going with Spielberg - although Michael Haneke would be an interesting pick to buck the system.

Best Actor

Daniel Day Lewis, "Lincoln"

Denzel Washington, "Flight"

Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"

Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"

My Prediction: Daniel Day Lewis - A great field, but Lewis is far and away my favorite out of the bunch and should be a front-runner.

Should Have Been Nominated: A lot of people are crowing about the exclusion of Matthew McConaughey in films like Magic Mike and Killer Joe, but as I haven't seen either film, I don't know if that's justified or not.

Dark Horse: Joaquin Phoenix - "The Master" - considering his earlier quotes regarding awards, it's probably a long shot.

Secretly Want to Win: Lewis owns this category, hands down.

Best Actress

Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"

Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"

Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"

Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

My Prediction: After seeing the film tonight, Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty.

Should Have Been Nominated: Once again going by general consensus, Marion Cotillard received a lot of praise for
Rust and Bone, but couldn't secure a nomination.

Dark Horse: You have two records to consider: both the oldest (85-year-old Riva) and youngest (9-year-old Wallis) are up for nominations, and either would be a pleasant surprise if they won.

Secretly Want to Win: Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook - Proving she's one of the best young actresses in Hollywood today, I would love to see her win.

Best Supporting Actor

Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"

Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"

Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Alan Arkin, "Argo"

Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"

My Prediction: Tommy Lee Jones - "Lincoln" - His depiction of Thaddeus Stevens was every bit as well done as Lewis was as Lincoln.

Should Have Been Nominated - Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson deserve just as much credit as Waltz for making Django Unchained a memorable and entertaining film. But three actors from one film is a bit much, especially with the competition this year. Javier Bardem could also have scored a nomination for the most interesting Bond villain in a long time in Skyfall.

Dark Horse: Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained. I think his King Schultz character is every bit as good as his Hans Landa character from Inglourious Basterds.

Secretly Want to Win: Waltz for being such a gentlemanly badass.

Best Supporting Actress:

Sally Field, "Lincoln"

Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"

Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"

Amy Adams, "The Master"

My Prediction: Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables. This is as close to a lock as you're going to find this year.

Should Have Been Nominated: Eh, none immediately come to mind.

Dark Horse: Pretty much everyone other than Hathaway, though Weaver is probably the most surprising nomination

Secretly Want to Win: Hathway has this hands down, and rightfully deserves it.

Best Animated Feature:

"Frankenweenie"

"The Pirates! Band of Misfits"

"Wreck-It Ralph"

"ParaNorman"

"Brave"

My Prediction: Wreck-It Ralph - probably the most fun I had at the movies all year. From characters to story to music to the animation itself - it was about as good as I could hope from an animated film.

Should Have Been Nominated: Despite the fact it is ineligible for being nominated for the 2013 awards (since it was released in Japan back in 2010) I still say The Secret World of Arrietty is one of my favorite animated films of the year, rules be damned.

Dark Horse: It was a tough year for stop-motion animation, with none of the nominated films making that big of waves at the box office. Pirates! is probably the longest shot.

Secretly Want to Win: No secret here, Wreck-It Ralph all the way!

That covers the major awards, check the 2013 Oscar Nominations and Predictions forum thread for the full list of my predictions. Otherwise, let me know who you think is going to win, who should have been nominated and anything else you feel like shouting about.

Comments

Chris Kavan

Chris Kavan - wrote on 01/11/13 at 10:37 PM CT

Best Picture is wide open - I though Lincoln was truly great and based on how Oscar has voted in the past, that's why I chose it. However, if I'm going by my personal top 2012 list, then Argo should really take the top prize. As for best supporting actor, I still give the edge to Tommy Lee Jones. Out of all the major categories, I think this is going to be the toughest one to predict simply based on the fact there are so many Oscar winners in this category.