Movies Oscar Preview Your Winning Ballot Plus the Best Movies Of 2011

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Entertainment Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from HuffPost's signature lineup of contributors Michael Giltz Freelance writerGET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ Follow Movies , The Oscars , The Oscars , The Academy Awards 2012 , The Oscars , The Oscars , academy awards 2012 , The Oscars , Entertainment NewsReact Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyOscar Preview: Your Winning Ballot (Plus the Best Movies Of 2011) OK, the Academy Awards are Sunday night. It will be long, a little dull, people will be glad to have Billy Crystalback after a long break and the big awards will go mostlyto the movies that everyone expects. But someone has towin the Oscar pool and why shouldn't it be you and me? As with most years, it comes down to a few key categories where the winner is in doubt. Here's my ballot, followed by a description of your options in the races that are too murky or too close to call. I cap it off with my list of the best movies of 2011. Good luck!MY OSCAR BALLOTBEST PICTURE -- The Artist BEST DIRECTOR -- Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist BEST ACTOR -- George Clooney for The Descendants BEST ACTRESS -- Viola Davis for The Help BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR -- Christopher Plummer for Beginners BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS -- Octavia Spencer for The Help BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY -- Midnight In Paris BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY -- The Descendants BEST ANIMATED FEATURE -- Rango BEST FOREIGN FILM -- Monsieur Lazhar BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE -- Undefeated BEST ART DIRECTION -- Hugo BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY -- The Tree of Life BEST COSTUME DESIGN -- The Artist BEST EDITING -- The Artist BEST MAKEUP -- The Iron Lady BEST SCORE -- The Artist BEST SONG -- "Man Or Muppet" from The MuppetsMOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 MAP: Hurricane Isaac's Path Aims For Gulf Coast Republican Attendees Thrown Out After Racist Attack On CNN Worker Chipotle Busted For Cheating Customers Out Of Pennies Limbaugh's Wild Isaac Conspiracy RPatz Agrees To Meet KStew But Is Selling Their Home Isaac Balloons Into A Hurricane, New Orleans Threatened FOLLOW USCelebrity TV Political Hollywood Features Hollywood Buzz Videos Help Us Write 'The Words' Quick Read | Comments (27) | 08.20.2012August 29, 2012 Edition: U.S. FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA CELEBRITY TV COMEDY FOOD STYLE ARTS BOOKS LIVE ALL SECTIONS Bill Moyers Dean Baker John Hillcoat Bobby BowdenHOT ON THE BLOG HuffPost Social Reading Like 102 Posted: 02/24/2012 12:48 pm SHARE THIS STORY Submit this storySPONSOR GENERATED POST Recommend 262 Like 8k Like 607 Like 7k Like 51 Recommend 682The Avengers Political Hollywood Electronic Dance Music One Direction More Log in Create AccountBEST SOUND EDITING -- Hugo BEST SOUND MIXING -- Hugo BEST VISUAL EFFECTS -- Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT -- Saving Face BEST LIVE ACTON SHORT -- Raju BEST ANIMATED SHORT -- A Morning Stroll MY OSCAR BALLOT -- BREAKING IT DOWN AND NAMING THE POTENTIAL SPOILERS BEST PICTURE -- The Artist It's hard to believe a B&W foreign film with modest box office success in the U.S. is the front-runner but that has to be admitted at this stage. A film from overseas should have won the Best Picture Oscar many years ago. (I'm still gutted that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon didn't pull it off.) But for those who find this movie shallow, it could have been worse -- the first foreign film to win Best Picture could have been Life Is Beautiful. The Help did so poorly in everything but acting, it's not the factor here it might have been. If there's an upset, it will be The Descendants. But there won't be an upset. BEST DIRECTOR -- Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist The Best Picture and Best Director awards don't always go hand in hand, but they probably will here.Hollywood loves a Valentine and they love a gambler who places their own money on a passion project and succeeds. Plus Michel and his star/wife Berenice Bejo are charming as heck and have that great dog in tow everywhere they go. The Academy clearly loved Hugo as well, but not enough to nominate any of its actors. Still, Martin Scorsese is the only potential upset here and it's not out of the question. BEST ACTOR -- George Clooney for The Descendants Here's one of the tightest races of the night. Jean Dujardin is the frontrunner for his wonderfully appealing, George Clooney-like work in The Artist. He won the SAG award for Best Actor and the smart money is on him. But I keep thinking the Academy is passionate about The Descendants (far more than The Help and Hugo ). TV ads for the movie with Clooney breaking down in tears at his wife's bedside are reportedly running nonstop in LA and the movie has been one of the great success stories at the boxoffice this year. I think they want to reward the movie with more than Best Adapted Screenplay and thisis the place to do it. If you want to win your Oscar pool you have to do well in the tech categories andpick an upset in the big races. If you like to play it safe, go with Jean. I'm going with George. BEST ACTRESS -- Viola Davis for The Help Meryl Streep is such a good actress she had us all convinced that her performance in The Iron Lady was going to finally win her another Oscar after decades of being an also-ran... even though the movie was poorly reviewed, did poorly at the box office and annoyed the liberal sensibilities of Oscar voters by soft-soaping such a controversial figure. She's very good as always, but the movie just doesn't stay with you.More to the point, The Help is one of the big hits of the year and Viola Davis is the heart of the movie (even though in typical Hollywood fashion it deals with the plight of maids in the racist Deep South bytelling the story of a white woman who risks her social standing to tell their story). Davis is a terrificactress and Streep will have to give an even better performance when her name isn't called and she triesto look delighted. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR -- Christopher Plummer for Beginners A career award, though his role in the little-seen Beginners does press a number of Oscar buttons. The only question is if he'll make some allusion to his most famous film role in his speech, something like "Your applause feels like the sound of music to me." Not likely. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS -- Octavia Spencer for The Help Like Davis, she's won every guild award in sight. For a while, it seemed like Spencer would be carrying the banner for the film come awards time, but Davis fought off Streep again and again so they both get towin. For all its flaws, thank goodness people have the taste to reward the maids and not the white ladiesthey worked for. Is there a possible upset here? Melissa McCarthy caused a stir in Bridesmaids but I think the movie is too vulgar for Academy voters. Still, this category is often a spoiler and I wouldn't besurprised to see McCarthy or even Jessica Chastain of The Help being named. Chastain's win would be an anointing of a new star and recognition for her excellent work in The Tree Of Life, Take Shelter, The Helpand several other films this year. Not out of the question but I believe they'll feel it's in bad taste givenThe Help's story and avoid this. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY -- Woody Allen for Midnight In Paris BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY -- Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash for The Descendants, based on the novel by Kaui Hart HemmingsI'm still a little surprised that the biggest box office success of Woody Allen's career didn't snag his usual Deaf Boy Asked To Make Controversial Change (VIDEO) PHOTO: The Queen Rolls In A Range Rover Wearing A Hoodie GOP Approves Abortion Ban DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5 Bill Moyers WATCH: Both Parties Give Invisible Americans the Silent Treatment Dean Baker Poverty: The New Growth Industry in America TOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 8 MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW 1 of 2 HOT ON FACEBOOK 1 of 3Like 4k Like 1k Recommend 8k Holly Madison Is Pregnant Chateau Marmont Bans Lindsay Lohan After Failing to Pay $46K Bill Cameron Diaz Rocks ShortShorts Samuel L. Jackson's Shocking Tweets About Isaac Madonna's Message For Americans: 'Don't Get Fat And Lazy' WATCH: Raging Grannies Have Some Words For Todd Akin Fact-Checking '2016 Obama's America' clutch of acting nominations. But the Academy loved this movie -- like The Descendants , another major word of mouth hit, especially for the middle-aged voters that dominate the Academy (the media age is roughly 62). I think the major threat is The Artist . If it wins here and for Costumes, the movie is sweeping and Clooney can stop worrying about what speech he'll give. For Adapted Screenplay, The Descendants will win. I have a nutty idea that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy might upset, but that's nutty. Stick with the frontrunner. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE -- Rango How is it that director Gore Verbinksi turned to animation for the first time and made by far the best film of his career? Rango looks great, makes clear and repeated nods to classic movies like Chinatown and the spaghetti western genre, it stars Johnny Depp and made money at the box office. As if that's not enough, Pixar didn't make a good movie this year and wasn't even nominated. A lock. BEST FOREIGN FILM -- Monsieur Lazhar I hope I'm wrong and that A Separation wins the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Heck, it should have been nominated for Best Picture as well. Do not miss this gripping, exceptionally well-made Iranian film that was good enough to snag a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a rarity for foreign films. (The screenwriters have great taste and often make smart nominations like this.) But the "obvious" choice is rarely the one that wins in the Foreign Film race, for reasons too complicated to go into right now. My original choice to upset was In Darkness because it's about the Holocaust. But that movie is a little too caustic in its approach. So the nutty, leftfield, WTF were they thinking pick is this heartwarming Canadian film about a schoolteacher. The smart money is on A Separation. BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE -- Undefeated Another exceptionally difficult category to call. Do they reward Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory for being such a committed project that helped bring justice by shining a spotlight on a remarkable case of railroading teens in a murder case? Do they celebrate Wim Wenders' beautiful 3-D accomplishment andthe career of the late, great Pina Bausch? Do they go all feel-good with Undefeated , a real-life Blind Side ? (Though The Blind Side was based on a real story.) I've been thinking the media attention for the case would tip the scales in favor of Paradise Lost 3 . I'd pick the one movie I saw in this category, Pina , simply because it's so lovely. But you can't go wrong with the unexpected crowd-pleaser so I'm ratherrandomly picking Undefeated . Your guess is as good as mine. BEST ART DIRECTION -- Hugo Assuming The Artist doesn't sweep and that Hugo gets some love in the tech categories it dominated, this one goes to Scorsese's love-fest for the movies. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY -- The Tree of Life Again, The Artist could sweep and win for its gorgeous black and white look. But the work on The Tree Of Life was SO stunning that it should be undeniable. War Horse had the worst cinematography of the year. If the Academy confuses its kitsch overkill with artistry, the howl of despair you hear will be coming from my apartment. BEST COSTUME DESIGN -- The Artist Another very tricky category. The traditional pick would be Anonymous , because it's a lavish period piece. My friend Howard calls this the Most Costumes award. But that movie truly was anonymous in every sense and has been so thoroughly forgotten it seems unlikely. And when you think of Hugo , the costumes do not come to mind. That means it's down to the glamour of The Artist versus the realism of Jane Eyre . Glamour wins every time. Mind you, the Costume guild gave it to Madonna's movie W./E. , which is also period and very glamorous. And this category has been willfully offbeat for the past 10years. Still, that's not how voters think when they're voting; that's just how we think when we're trying topredict how voters think. Michael O'Connor of Jane Eyre won before and that never hurts. But I'm sticking with the "obvious" choice of The Artist. BEST EDITING -- The Artist Sometimes an action film or editing-heavy special effects movie can win here. But there's no tech heavyweight here. It's down to The Artist versus the legendary Thelma Schoonmaker and her work onHugo . I think it's a toss-up myself because The Artist might sweep, but Schoonmaker is a powerful name who has won three times already. Like Scorsese, I think they'll feel she's won enough already and stickwith their heart and go for The Artist. BEST MAKEUP -- The Iron Lady Meryl Streep really did do a marvelous job as Margaret Thatcher and all due credit to her makeup team for giving Streep the tools to deliver that performance. Watch her smile with delight when they win while HOT ON TWITTER 1 of 2 HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES Celebrity babies Rob Shuter The Recession Chris Christie Osama bin Laden Israel Television Elections 2012 Latino Politics MORE BIG NEWS PAGES » ricky_martin RetweetMake Room for (the New) Daddy http://t.co/Q6eIDokm via @huffingtonpost feliciaday RetweetThink on it: Cambridge scientists say all mammals, birds, manyothers including octopi, havehuman-like consciousness. http://t.co/aF6W2ZQhshe's secretly wondering if the Academy thinks the makeup delivers the performance and not her. The work on Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs was too subtle to win. If the final Harry Potter had been nominated for Best Picture I would have seen this as its consolation prize. It still might pull off an upset, but The Iron Lady should win. BEST SCORE -- The Artist This branch should be ashamed of itself for giving the great John Williams not one but two Oscar nominations for his rote work on two disappointing movies. The Artist does face some controversy for its use of extended passages from Vertigo but that was an artistic choice, not a cheat. The movie is wall to wall score so I think it will triumph. If not, Howard Shore might sneak in with Hugo . BEST SONG -- "Man Or Muppet" from The Muppets The biggest disappointment of the night for me is that we don't get to see Jason Segal and the Muppetsperform this charming tune. The song from Rio is a group sing-along I can't imagine winning, though voters may be swayed by the name of Sergio Mendes. Still I doubt it. And why the heck did they only nominate two songs? I still haven't heard a good explanation of why. And here's hoping the brilliant idea of having the Muppets host the show some year comes through. Heck, it airs on ABC which is owned by Disney which owns the Muppets, so that should be a no-brainer, especially since their movie was acommercial success. Animal intros the Best Song, Miss Piggy flirts with actors and tries to hog thespotlight, Kermit is gracious and unassuming...the jokes practically write themselves and actors wouldlove to be paired with muppets while presenting awards. Do it! BEST SOUND EDITING -- Hugo BEST SOUND MIXING -- Hugo One of the most mysterious categories of all for Oscar voters, who have a vague idea of how editing and other tech specialties work but really don't understand sound. Heck, neither do I, particularly. Movies like Transformers: Dark Of The Moon often dominate here, but not this year. BEST VISUAL EFFECTS -- Rise of the Planet of the Apes Here's the most obvious spot for the final Harry Potter to get a pat on the back. But I believe the Oscar push for actor Andy Serkis really educated voters on the amazing technical achievement of Rise of thePlanet of the Apes . It was a ground-breaking leap forward in using motion capture to let an actor create a genuine performance and I think the Apes will triumph. If you're really aggrieved HP7P2 wasn't nominated for Best Picture, you may want to plug for it here because you think Oscar voters will beembarrassed by that omission. But Oscar voters don't really do "embarrassment," so I' sticking with Apes . BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT -- Saving Face This seems the clearest winner to me in the shorts categories. it happens to be the best of the shorts, butthat's rarely the point. It also juggles several stories gracefully: you get women's rights, a court battle andthe charity work of a plastic surgeon all wrapped up in one tale about the horrifying practice of men inPakistan throwing acid on the faces of wives and women they want to punish. I'll be shocked if this loses. BEST LIVE ACTON SHORT -- Raju Often, at least two of the three shorts categories are easy to pick if you've seen them. The crowd-pleasers just jump out. Not this year. We've got three light comedies, one serious drama and one muddled effortwith the only name actors and name director ( The Shore with Ciaran Hinds and Terry George). George has been nominated in major categories before so he seems like a frontrunner. But Raju has a noble tale of adoption, kidnapping and features white people in India. It's a dead heat but since The Shore is pretty lightweight throughout, I'm going to give it to the most "serious" movie on the list. But the namerecognition of The Shore could be a serious draw for Oscar voters. BEST ANIMATED SHORT -- A Morning Stroll Another very hard category to call. Many people are predicting the warm but rather long tale The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr. Morris Lessmore and there's no question the elderly crowd I saw it with oohed and aahed over it. On the other hand, Pixar's entry La Luna was short and sweet and much punchier with a nice Italian air that makes it feel very different from their many other winners in this category. But A Morning Stroll was the cleverest and most ambitious in its tale of a chicken that goes for a morning stroll, revealing the changes in the world via different animated styles and by jumping forwardin time by 50 years each time it goes out for a walk. I just wish the "button" at the end were stronger.And Dimanche had the most distinctive animation. I'd be surprised by absolutely none of them except the weak Wild Life. My heart says La Luna, my brain says go with the top pick of others and choose Fantastic Flying Books but my gut says this category has been very envelope-pushing in recent years and that A Morning Stroll will continue that trend in the absence of a clear front-runner. So that's my Oscar ballot. Good luck with your pool! Now here are my picks for the best films of 2011.FOLLOW ENTERTAINMENT Samuel L. Jackson: 'Unfair' Hurricane Isaac Avoid... Robin Williams As Dwight D. Eisenhower In... Guns N' Roses Slash Once Caught David... '2016: Obama's America' Fact- CheckTHE BEST MOVIES OF 2011 1. The Tree Of Life 2. A Separation 3. Cave Of Forgotten Dreams 4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 5. The Time That Remains 6. Project Nim 7. Meek's Cutoff 8. Take Shelter 9. Pina 10. Arthur Christmas 11. Tuesday, After Christmas 12. The Artist Honorable Mentions Win Win Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes The Sleeping Beauty The Black Power MixtapesMartha Marcy May MarleneBombay Beach The Muppets Early Favorites For 2012 The Kid With A Bike Attenberg The FootnoteThe Fairy Michael I Wish I Knew (dir Zhang Ke Jia; no release date set) Hopefully you'll use this list to check out some movies you haven't seen yet. What were your favorite filmsof 2011? Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog . Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews. Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz Read more from Huffington Post bloggers: Around the Web: The Oscars 2012 | Academy Awards 2012 Oscars Nominations 2012 | Academy Awards Nominees 2012 Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Oscars : Pictures, Videos, Breaking News More in Entertainment... Like 75k GET ALERTSThis user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program 11:33 PM on 02/26/2012 Wow, Michael, you get the Oscar for best list of best pictures. I might have snuck "Another Earth," "Margin Call" or "Take Shelter" in somewhere, and I loved "Buck" and "Cinema Komunisto," which has only been around on the festival circuit. But I don't know how I'd edit your choices. 01:10 PM on 02/28/2012 Thanks for commenting Joseph. Take Shelter is on my list of course. I liked both margin call and Another Earth, both of which I'd give three stars to (and Another Earth almostmade my list).I still need to see Buck, which is on my pile of DVDs to watch and hadn't even heard of Cinema Komunisto. Thanks for the tips. 06:37 PM on 02/26/2012 Thank you for leaving Hugo off the 10 Best List. It was one of the worst movies I saw in 2011. Not just me, I turned to my friend when we left the theater after being silent throughout, and we saidsimultaneously, "What a horrible movie!" The very name of Scorcese must work like crack on critics and cloud their judgement. 10:34 AM on 02/27/2012 You are, of course, entitle to your opinion but I left the theatre saying to myselfWow What a great movie How enjoyable and I bet that somewhere there is someone gnashing teeth and saying What a dreradful movie,You haven't let me down 12:09 PM on 02/26/2012 Solid. But you say Arthur Christmas is better than your prediction to win Best Picture--The Artist?Come on now. And my opinion is that The Artist's long run of award success won't continue as heavily as people think tonight at the Oscars. I bet they win 3 or 4 out of 10, and I don't think one of them will be BestPicture. If it is, The Artist won't win Best Director. I guess I have a hard time seeing a silent black and white film winning the two biggest categories at the Oscars for 2011. I predict Payne wins for The Descendants, Dujardin wins for Best Actor, andPicture goes to either The Artist, Descendants, or The Help. I have a feeling The Help may sneak away with this one--but in the end I wouldn't be surprised if The Artist steals the major awards from the talkies.Recency | Popularity Page: 1 2 Next › Last » (2 total) Joseph Tyrrell Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz freelance writer Permalink | Share it lwalkit Permalink | Share it kettlecharlie Permalink | Share it MattBenincasaComments 29 Pending Comments 0 View FAQ Comments are closed for this entry View All Favorites 14 Fans 127 Fans 2 Fans 13 Fans 36 Fans This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program 01:24 AM on 02/26/2012 I liked The Artist but don't see it as the Best Picture of the year; it's a pleasant gimmick. I couldn't stand Hugo and wouldn't give it any awards. But the Academy voters will undoubtedly disappointme as they so often do.Agree with the kudos for Tree of Life, but my favorites this year in terms of pure entertainment were Drive, Moneyball, and The Descendants. 01:11 PM on 02/28/2012 You can always count on the Academy voters to frustrate you! 11:28 PM on 02/25/2012 My picks, based on what I think should and would be cool to win: Best Pic = ArtistBest Director = Artist Best Actor = Pitt Best Actress = Mara (nice upset)Supporting Actor = PlummerSupporting Actress = Spencer (these last 2 total locks)Animated = RangoOrig Screenplay = Midnight/ParisAdapted Screenplay = MoneyballArt Direction = Harry Potter (an actually good 'consolation' win) Cinematography = Tree/Life Costumes = Artist (so seamless, pun intended)Editing = Dragon TattooMakeup = Albert Nobbs (kinda a consolation for not awarding Glenn)Score = ArtistVisual Effects = Harry Potter (undeniable) Sorry, Scorsese, I'm not feeling Hugo this year. And why wasn't Fincher nom'd for Best Picture or Director for 'Tattoo'?Nor the score for 'Tattoo,' that music was amazing! Billy Crystal is such a yawner choice, who are they trying to attract, sheesh?? Anyway, my ballot is ready, bring on the show! 12:12 PM on 02/26/2012 If Brad Pitt OR Rooney Mara win, I will let you shoot me in the face. They each have literally a 0% chance of winning. Seriously, it's been measured. Close and Streep in one category..and then Dujardin and Clooney. It was nearly an outrage that Pitt was even nominated. 12:12 PM on 02/26/2012 Oh and to qualify that....I am pretty much in love with Rooney Mara and would love if shewon. But she won't...maybe in the next few years. Definitely in her lifetime.Permalink | Share it JHBH Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz freelance writer Permalink | Share it PNK Permalink | Share it MattBenincasa Permalink | Share it MattBenincasa Permalink | Share it40 Fans 127 Fans 54 Fans 36 Fans 36 Fans 09:07 PM on 02/25/2012 "The Rise of The Planet of the Apes" should have been nominated for Best Picture because it was was. Streep should win Best Actress. The category is not foe Best Film, but Best Actress.ArtDirection definitely should go to "Hugo". Simply gorgeous. I have a large framed poster of that train crashing through the station wall down into the street (yes, it really happened) and at La Gare Montparnasse in 1895. To see the actual photos go to: http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/07/19/laccident-a-la-gare-montparnasse/ http://www.worldsfamousphotos.com/2007/12/05/la-gare-montparnasse-1985/ 05:48 PM on 02/25/2012 I think I agree with you on which films/performers you think will win. I'm so happy I'm not the only one who didn't like "The Help," aside for the performances. At least I don't think it's best picture nomination worthy. Octavia Spencer should certainly win in the supporting category, but Meryl Streep blew me away in "Iron Lady." Her performance is the only reason I stayed awake through the whole thing. I wish Pitt would win best actor, but I Clooney was outstanding as well.www.thelettersproject.org 04:52 PM on 02/25/2012 I can see a genuine Academy-Award-quality silent film any day of the week. The Artist is a gimmick,nothing more. As for the return of Billy Crystal? Yawn. This may be the first year in my long life thatI've missed the awards, but I honestly can't see much to look forward to. 10:29 AM on 02/25/2012 When I was a kid I really enjoyed watching movies. Not so much anymore. Without me going into alot of reasons let's just call it a personal preference. Up until the age of nine I used to watch theOscar's. Then one day I said to myself. Hey all these decisions are pretty much all about politics and money. As far as I can see it, it really doesn't have much to do with the quality of most of the productions. I'm not saying don't watch the Oscar's. Some of the entertainment is really pretty good. All I'm saying is if you expect awards given to the best of the best chances are you will be badly disappointed. 09:13 PM on 02/25/2012 I'm very selective about even going to a movie theater today. there's so much crap e.g., shoot'em ups and explosions and Sci-Fi crap like those Transformer films. I usually watchat home on DVD and mostly foreign films and those films few films we make that are good. As for the Oscars; it's a guilty pleasure. 09:49 AM on 02/25/2012 I gave up when Brokeback lost to Crash. Ernest Borgnine didn't even see it and voted against it.HUFFPOST SUPER USER Steamboater Forget hope. Agitate. Permalink | Share it TOats99377 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Nancy Lorieau Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER robert horwitz Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Steamboater Forget hope. Agitate. Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER dbrockskk Permalink | Share it3112 Fans 74 Fans 10 Fans 277 Fans 3112 Fans 46 Fans01:13 PM on 02/28/2012 That was a very depressing year. indeed. 06:04 AM on 02/25/2012 Jean Dujardin needs to win Best Actor! 04:02 AM on 02/25/2012 Most egregious ommission. Albert Brooks in Drive deserved at least a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was simply brilliant. How they could nominate Jonah Hill (who I like) instead ofBrooks is beyond me. 10:16 PM on 02/24/2012 I do not go to movies. I used to , but got tired of being disappointed. Ms. Daryl Hannah was beinginterviewed by a talk show host , many years ago. Her reply pretty much says it for me: "I'd ratherwatch any of the old movies then the best of the new ones". I'll be watching on Sunday night , but , I'll be channel surfing between Billy Crystal spots. 11:29 PM on 02/24/2012 I hear you. TCM and AMC capture my attention more often than not. "The Young Philadelphians" recently aired on TCM and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not a movie snob, but many films today seem to lack the storytelling of past films, but then, I don't watch every film that is released. Just like "Midnight in Paris," we sometimes think that things past are much better than things of today...some things. Many in society wouldn't want to return to the past. 09:05 AM on 02/25/2012 " we sometimes think that things past are much better than things of today...somethings. Many in society wouldn't want to return to the past." Yes. Too bad we can't live in the past with the wisdom of the future. If we could, I certainly would not have wasted all that money on 8 track music cassettes and VHS video tapes. And, the thought of running to the outhouse in themiddle of a dark and snowy night , just puts my brain in shudder shock!HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz freelance writer Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Jay Robert Harris Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER GeorgeGee Permalink | Share it Skyseeker1 Permalink | Share it iteachulearn Permalink | Share it Skyseeker1 Permalink | Share it DennyCrane127 Fans 27 Fans 90 Fans 42 Fans 56 Fans 42 Fans 638 Fans09:55 PM on 02/24/2012 Clooney didn't even deserve a nomination. Plenty of actors could've played that role. The only time where I saw him do any real acting was when he was running to his friends house. 01:02 AM on 02/25/2012 Boy, opinions differ. I thought Clooney was great. 06:48 PM on 02/24/2012 The film from overseas that should have been Best Picture several years ago was "Lives of Others"from Germany.One 2011 movie that too many people missed was "Higher Ground," directed by and starring VeraFarmiga. I only went to it because a friend was involved with making it, but I was extremely pleasantly surprised at what an original and powerful movie it was. 06:08 AM on 02/25/2012 Actually, "La Grande Illusion" should have won Best Picture in '38. It was actually nominated, but lost to "You Can't Take It With You". Having seen both, I just cannot believethat YCTIWY won over Grand Illusion, it is pure insanity! 'Das Leben der Anderen' was good though, I'll agree with you on that. Advertise | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | About Our Ads | Contact Us Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights reserved. Part of AOL-HuffPost EntertainmentPermalink | Share it Sons Permalink | Share it ptrgamb Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Jay Robert Harris Permalink | Share it Page: 1 2 Next › Last » (2 total)427 Fans 782 Fans 27 Fans

Movies Oscar Preview Your Winning Ballot Plus the Best Movies Of 2011

📄 Movies Oscar Preview Your Winning Ballot Plus the Best Movies Of 2011

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