[saann]

These pity awards for Ben Affleck are getting on my nerves. He's such a nonentity as a director.. Absolutely uninspiring and his attempts at adding some flair to his usual crime drama style were too amateurish and obvious. The clumsy match cuts and matching dialogue got on my nerves and the constant juxtaposition of the Iran+America were too try hard.

Bigelow did a hundred times better job of creating suspense from a story everyone knew the ending to.

[KINGofVERSAILLES]

I've barely seen any of the acclaimed films from this year, which is strange, since in past years I see everything as soon as it comes out. But this year I just can't find the motivation.... I just haven't been excited about almost any releases this year.

But anyway, I agree with your assessment that Affleck's direction was nothing amazing, since Argo is one of the few I've seen. I liked the film overall, but I didn't think as a director he made any amazing choices. It was just a solid script, good story, good cast, decent direction. Nothing extraordinary.

[sobriquet87]

I don't think Ben Affleck is winning any awards due to "pity." I saw Argo and it was one of the absolute BEST films I've seen in a long time. Yeah he was snubbed for the Oscar (which is complete bullsh*t), but I think he still would be winning all of these awards even if he hadn't been snubbed.

I can't think of any other director who deserves to winning instead of Ben. There were a lot of fantastic films this year (and I still need to see some of them), but the fact of the matter is...Argo was brilliantly directed. And I for one think Ben Affleck is seriously underrated as a director and it's nice to see him actually getting much deserved recognition for once. I also loved his films, "The Town" and "Gone Baby Gone." Directing is his strong point. I hope Argo gets the Best Picture Oscar.

Since Ben isn't nominated for the Oscar, I honestly can't see whose going to win it. None of the nominated films were strong in the directing arena in my opinion, with the exception of Amour...maybe.

[wild roses]

I'm very slowly working my way through the nominees.

I don't get the all the praise for SLP. It screamed of over-acting and cliches to me. Jennifer was good, but it wasn't a brilliant performance. Nor do I understand the nominations for Robert and Jackie. Jackie basically was....there... and Robert did the same sing-song he's been doing the past decade. Bradley was good, but I hated how they conflated the bipolar and stalking/obsessing over the ex into one big happy category.

Argo. Wow! I don't know if it's the BP of the year, but it was good. My biggest qualms with the picture were primarily the Islamophobia (yes, I know it was a brutal regime but I think a little complexity could have been shown) and the whitewashing of Mendez. (Although it is one of Ben's best performances.) I consider those minor qualms though cuz it was so good. Everything just really gelled.

[jmrmartinho]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sobriquet87 I don't think Ben Affleck is winning any awards due to "pity." I saw Argo and it was one of the absolute BEST films I've seen in a long time. Yeah he was snubbed for the Oscar (which is complete bullsh*t), but I think he still would be winning all of these awards even if he hadn't been snubbed. I can't think of any other director who deserves to winning instead of Ben. There were a lot of fantastic films this year (and I still need to see some of them), but the fact of the matter is...Argo was brilliantly directed. And I for one think Ben Affleck is seriously underrated as a director and it's nice to see him actually getting much deserved recognition for once. I also loved his films, "The Town" and "Gone Baby Gone." Directing is his strong point. I hope Argo gets the Best Picture Oscar. Since Ben isn't nominated for the Oscar, I honestly can't see whose going to win it. None of the nominated films were strong in the directing arena in my opinion, with the exception of Amour...maybe.

I think Zero Dark Thirty was better directed than Argo, but since is not nomineed either :rolleyes, its obvious that Spielberg will win (I think they didnt nominee Ben and Katherine on porpose). From the nominees Im rooting for O. Russell

[saann]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sobriquet87 I don't think Ben Affleck is winning any awards due to "pity." I saw Argo and it was one of the absolute BEST films I've seen in a long time. Yeah he was snubbed for the Oscar (which is complete bullsh*t), but I think he still would be winning all of these awards even if he hadn't been snubbed.

Looking at the awards predictions objectively (is this even possible?) Argo was never this clear of a frontrunner until the snub. Lincoln, SLP, Life of Pi and even ZDT seemed much more likely to take it home. A lot of the praise seems to be a counter reaction to him being left out in Best Director.

Whether or not it is the best picture in the race is subjective, you and many others loved it while others, including me, didn't. But I personally don't believe this sweep, especially in a year with a ton of strong contenders, would have happened if the reactions to his snub weren't so vocal.

[wild roses]

So I watched ZDT last night. What a snoozefest. The controversy surrounding the film is more interesting the film itself. It had a haphazard and sloppy feeling thoughout. It also felt rushed into production. The only thing that stuck with me is all the transitional food/eating/drinking scenes. (Which I don't think was the point of the movie.)

I wasn't that impressed with JC's performance either. It's not her fault the film was a mess, but even she couldn't save it. The real life woman sounds like quite the BAMF! though.

Since I disliked both SLP and ZDT I'm not sure who I'm rooting for to win in the Best Actress category. SLP was over the top, and even cheesy, where the acting was concerned. Every lovely, quiet subtle moment was shortly followed by screaming! dramatic gestures! wide-eyed faces!. I liked the acting better in ZDT but I felt the film propped Maya's character too much to compensate the allegedly understated unfeminine portrayal. (I say allegedly cuz I don't think the performance was that clinical or that groundbreaking.) Also, the acting didn't compensate for the sloppiness of the film itself.

[MyNameIs]

I think Argo is a fine film and I enjoyed it quite a bit, so I can't really be that mad that it's winning 'everything'. I'm more on board with its success than say The Artist last year. With that said, I don't understand how anyone could look at that lineup and think Argo is the best film. I've seen all the Pic nominees but Life of Pi, and here's how I think I would rank them:
1. Zero Dark Thirty
2/3. Beasts of the Southern Wild
2/3. Silver Linings Playbook
4. Amour
5. Argo
6. Lincoln
7. Django Unchained
8. Les Miserables
na. Life of Pi
My 7 and 8 films wouldn't come anywhere close to Picture nominations. The other six are very good movies.

[KINGofVERSAILLES]

I would rank them:


Django Unchained
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild


loved the performances in BotSW but wasn't especially taken with the film as a whole.

[chickadee]

I'm literally watching Beasts of the Southern Wild as I write this. OMG, this is one epic film. The performances are just incredible, especially considering Wallis was 5/6 when she filmed this and Dwight Henry was a baker with absolutely no acting experience beforehand. I also love all the amazing imagery and the magical, fairy tale element to it all. Ultimately--in my opinion anyway--we're seeing a child coping with the impending loss of a parent . I like how Zeitlin has described it in some interviews, saying something to the effect of what would you do if you broke the universe or the world was coming to an end? Emotionally, Hushpuppy's world is coming to an end because her father is dying and he's all she's ever known, and on some level, in her innocence she blames herself for it.But even though the end is not a happily ever after or typical Hollywood, it's uplifting in that you get the sense that she's going to be alright. She still has her community and the strength her father has cultivated in her. Also, the score is just distilled perfection in a bottle. I cannot believe it wasn't nominated.

Anyway, it's my second favorite of the year behind Cloud Atlas, and I do wish that it actually had a chance to win something on Oscar night--like score!--but I suppose the nominations for Benh and Quvenzhane will have to suffice.

That said, I tend to agree with the consensus. Argo is pretty incredible; Zero Dark Thirty: not so much. It's definitely true that Argo is amazingly suspenseful despite most audience members, myself included, going into the theater already knowing the ending. And as much as I would rather have Zeitlin be in Affleck's place, scooping up all the awards, I don't think the latter is totally undeserving. He's consistently proven himself a rather adept director, going from strength to strength. But I agree: Argo is far from the best in its lineup. Crossing my fingers for an upset, but given the reaction to Affleck's snub, it looks like this is going to be his consolation prize.

[Label Basher]

BAFTA Award Winners

BEST FILM
Argo
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Anna Karenina
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Seven Psychopaths
Skyfall

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Bart Layton (Director), Dimitri Doganis (Producer) The Imposter
David Morris (Director), Jacqui Morris (Director/Producer) McCullin
Dexter Fletcher (Director/Writer), Danny King (Writer) Wild Bill
James Bobin (Director) The Muppets
Tina Gharavi (Director/Writer) I Am Nasrine

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Amour
Headhunters
The Hunt
Rust And Bone
Untouchable

DOCUMENTARY
The Imposter
Marley
McCullin
Searching For Sugar Man
West Of Memphis

ANIMATED FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
Paranorman

DIRECTOR
Michael Haneke - Amour
Ben Affleck - Argo
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained
Ang Lee - Life Of Pi
Kathryn Bigelow - Zero Dark Thirty

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Michael Haneke - Amour
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained
Paul Thomas Anderson - The Master
Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola - Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal - Zero Dark Thirty

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio - Argo
Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin - Beasts Of The Southern Wild
David Magee - Life Of Pi
Tony Kushner - Lincoln
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook

LEADING ACTOR
Ben Affleck - Argo
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master

LEADING ACTRESS
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour
Helen Mirren - Hitchcock
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard - Rust and Bone

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin - Argo
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
Javier Bardem - Skyfall
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - The Master
Anne Hathaway - Les Misérables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Judi Dench - Skyfall
Sally Field - Lincoln

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Anna Karenina - Dario Marianelli
Argo - Alexandre Desplat
Life Of Pi - Mychael Danna
Lincoln - John Williams
Skyfall - Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anna Karenina - Seamus McGarvey
Les Misérables - Danny Cohen
Life Of Pi - Claudio Miranda
Lincoln - Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall - Roger Deakins

EDITING
Argo - William Goldenberg
Django Unchained - Fred Raskin
Life Of Pi - Tim Squyres
Skyfall - Stuart Baird
Zero Dark Thirty - Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Anna Karenina - Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
Les Misérables - Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life Of Pi - David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
Lincoln - Rick Carter, Jim Erickson
Skyfall - Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock

COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Karenina - Jacqueline Durran
Great Expectations - Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
Les Misérables - Paco Delgado
Lincoln - Joanna Johnston
Snow White And The Huntsman - Colleen Atwood

MAKE UP & HAIR
Anna Karenina - Ivana Primorac
Hitchcock - Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater
Les Misérables - Lisa Westcott
Lincoln - Lois Burwell, Kay Georgiou

SOUND
Django Unchained - Mark Ulano, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Wylie Stateman
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Brent Burge, Chris Ward
Les Misérables - Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst
Life Of Pi - Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill
Skyfall - Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
The Dark Knight Rises - Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Peter Bebb, Andrew Lockley
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
Life Of Pi - Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer
Marvel Avengers Assemble - Nominees TBC
Prometheus - Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, Trevor Wood, Paul Butterworth

SHORT ANIMATION
Here To Fall
I’m Fine Thanks
The Making Of Longbird

SHORT FILM
The Curse
Good Night
Swimmer
Tumult
The Voorman Problem

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Elizabeth Olsen
Andrea Riseborough
Suraj Sharma
Juno Temple
Alicia Vikander

[pixiedust1603]

Bafta went the way I thought it would with the exception of O'Russell winning Best Adapted Screenplay. So as I thought, it is Riva v Lawrence for the Oscar.

[jmrmartinho]

^I agree, unfortunately Jessica is now out of the race.

[Chloe24]

^^ I have a feeling the Oscar might go to Riva.

[pixiedust1603]

Jessica never has truly been in the race imo; she is the Michelle Williams of last year.

I think the story is there for both Riva and Lawrence and it's up to the Academy member to decide which one they'll go for.