The Oscars: Rights And Wrongs

Subtitle: The Big Five

Best Supporting Actor
Who Won: Christian Bale. His performance by far was the most moving of the year. Of course I'm biased as I've stated before because I'm such a huge Bale fan. But you can't argue with how powerful and deep his performance ran. When Bale commits you really believe on some level he's actually experiencing what the character is. Bale has said he's a method actor only because he never went to acting school.
Who Should Have Won: Christian Bale
Close Second: John Hawkes. For whatever reason Hawkes got no love this year for his dynamic performance. He beat the pants off Geoffery Rush playing Geoffery Rush. Not that I didn't like Geoffery Rush but I've seen it. No stretch, no risk. Hawkes as Teardrop was all risk, pedal to the metal, danger, unpredictability.

Best Supporting Actress

Who Won: Melissa Leo. Woof. How boring and predictable. Leo's performance was unaffected and boarder line unwatchable. Whenever she was on the screen I wanted her off. She went through no transformation. She did not change. She did not learn. She was merely a self absorbed, self deluded mother. Doing the same thing over the course of two hours doesn't deserve an award.

Who Should Have Won: Amy Adams. Her performance was layered and tough and powerful. She had palpable chemistry with all of the other characters in the movie. Most importantly she was effected by the action of the movie. She grew, changed, developed.

Close second: Hailee Steinfeld. But seriously she was the lead anyway.

Best Actress

Who Won: Natalie Portman. Her performance was a flat line. I honestly don't understand why people thought she was so good. Natalie Portman always plays Natalie Portman and in this she didn't even change. There was no switch. She was just anxious, anxious, anxious. If they gave it to Annette Benning at least I could understand, but Portman. Woof.

Who Should Have Won: Jennifer Lawrence. Hands down the most dynamic performance of the year. Multi-layered, driven, powerful, vulnerable. I can't say enough about Lawrence's performance other than it was woefully overlooked.

Best Actor

Who Won: Colin Firth. Good not great. This just seemed like an obvious choice for the Academy. Firth has been around, he deserves it, lets give it to him. Sure I liked the end. But it didn't strike me as a particularly hard part to play. This award felt very much like "Oh it's Colin Firth's 'time' to win."

Who Should Have Won: James Franco. How could he not get best actor. He carried an entire movie by himself and he couldn't move! Funny and heartbreaking, we lived this harrowing experience with Franco. So much more effecting than a period piece.

Best Picture

Who Won: The King's Speech. Obvious and safe. Good but not great. Lets reward and recognize a movie that could have been made at any point during the last thirty years.

Who Should Have Won: Winter's Bone. Interesting and fresh. Engaging and mysterious. All around the only movie of the year I could watch many, many times.

Overall Oscars, You Suck.