2011 Academy Awards Are In…Our Predictions

So the highly anticipated, most coveted award show for the motion picture industry released their nominations for this years Academy Awards this morning. This seems to be an exciting time of year for all the filmmakers and most of the majors that are pining for their pictures to get some free publicity. We at KNOCKERS love to see what the industry turns out to consider some of the best work put out that year.

Here is the list of nominations and our own predictions on the top categories.

BEST PICTURE

Black Swan – Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin – PRODUCERS

The Fighter – David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg – PRODUCERS

Inception – Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan – PRODUCERS

The Kids Are Alright – Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray – PRODUCERS

The King’s Speech – Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin – PRODUCERS

127 Hours – Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson – PRODUCERS

The Social Network – Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin – PRODUCERS

Toy Story 3 – Darla K. Anderson – PRODUCER

True Grit – Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen – PRODUCERS

Winter’s Bone – Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin – PRODUCERS

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

James Franco – 127 Hours

Jeff Bridges – True Grit

Javier Bardem – Biutiful

Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network

Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale – The Fighter

Jeremy Renner – The Town

John Hawkes –  Winter’s Bone

Mark Ruffalo –  The Kids Are Alright

Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Annette Bening – The Kids Are Alright

Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone

Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Michelle Williams  – Blue Valentine

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams  – The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech

Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Hailee Steinfeld –  True Grit

Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom

DIRECTION

Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan

David O. Russell – The Fighter

Tom Hopper – The King’s Speech

David Fincher – The Social Network

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – True Grit

To see the complete list of nominations: 2011 Academy Award Nominations

True Grit

True Grit

 

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Drama/Western

Info: Official Website

Directed By: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Hailee Steinfeld

This is the story of a U.S. Marshall hired by a wise young woman to track her father’s murderer and bring him to justice.

The Coen bros. do it again. Now, I am going into this review on a film in which I have no basis of reference to the original film. Standing on its own this is a great film with all good elements of storytelling for entertainment purposes. The subtle and some not so subtle instances of humor make this seemingly rough and tumble picture into a nice ride into the old west.  Performances are abundant in this installment of the Coens bros. productions, capitalized by both Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld. Steinfeld makes her bones against some of the industry’s top including Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper to name a few.

This is set just a few years after the Civil War, Mattie Ross (Steinfeld) seeks revenge and retribution against her father’s murderer Tom Chaney played by Josh Brolin. She hires out one U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn to track Chaney through Indian Territory and to bring him to justice, whether that be death or imprisonment. Alongside the two is Texas Ranger LeBoeuf (“Le Beef”) played by Matt Damon, ‘hunting’ Chaney for a crime committed in Texas which warrants a large reward.

If you’re familiar with the works of the Coen’s, you’ll quickly see that this is an installment which is an extension of their brilliance. From the opening scenes until the credits role there wasn’t one dull point. With the brief moments of hard action and the dancing performances of the actors, this picture truly stands as one of their best. The witty dialogue exemplifies their ability in storytelling.

Any review of True Grit has to mention the outstanding performance of Barry Pepper as “Lucky Ned”. The almost unrecognizable Pepper splashes into this story at just the right time, as the lead henchman in his gang which consists of the sought after Tom Chaney. This performance capitalizes on the height of the climax and delivers a one-two punch at just the right moment. Barry Pepper is one of the most underworked actors of our time that needs the ability to shine and the Coens give him this ability in “True Grit”.

4.5 Knocks out of 5