In the days leading up to the 85th Academy Awards, FilmBuffOnline will be offering profiles on all the nominees in the major categories. Some may be well know, others might be new to you, but if you need a refresher on these talented nominees, here it is.
Amour
Producers: Margaret Ménégoz, Stefan Arndt, Viet Heiduschka, Michael Katz
Release date: December 19, 2012
Box office gross as of February 15, 2013; $16,119,111 (Domestic: $3,019,111, Foreign: $13,000,000)
IMDB Synopsis: Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple’s bond of love is severely tested.
Number of Oscar Nominations: 5 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Foreign Language Film of the Year; Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)
Other honors for this film:
2nd Place, Best Film, Boston Society of Film Critics.
Won, Best Film, Europe Film Awards.
Nominated, Film of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.
Won, Best Picture, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.
Won, Best Film, National Society of Film Critics Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 93% (150 Positive Reviews, 12 Negative)
Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: With towering performances and an unflinching script from Michael Haneke, Amour represents an honest, heartwrenching depiction of deep love and responsibility.
Dissenting Opinion: “Two of the world’s best actors, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, play Amour‘s octogenarian couple, so it’s surprising that the characters aren’t very interesting.”–Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix.
Official Site: http://sonyclassics.com/amour/
Argo
Producers: Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
Release date: October 12, 2012
Box office gross as of February 15, 2013: $200,422,013 (Domestic: $124,322,013, Foreign: $76,100,000)
IMDB Synopsis: A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran.
Number of Oscar Nominations: 7 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score; Best Achievement in Sound Editing; Best Achievement in Sound Mixing; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published)
Other honors for this film:
Won, AFI Movie of the Year.
Nominated, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Film, Australian Film Institute.
Won, Best Film, 2013 BAFTA Awards.
Won, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
2nd Place, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Picture, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.
Won, Best Picture, 2013 Critic’s Choice Awards.
2nd Place, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.
Won, Best Picture, Florida Film Critics Circle Award.
Won, Best Picture-Drama, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
3rd Place, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Film of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.
2nd Place, Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award.
Nominated, Best Picture, Online Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
Won, Best Picture, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.
Won, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Film, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 96% (243 Positive Reviews, 11 Negative)
Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Tense, exciting, and often darkly comic, Argo recreates a historical event with vivid attention to detail and finely wrought characters.
Dissenting Opinion: “There is an intelligent, funny film waiting to come out of this story; it will have to keep waiting.”–Nigel Andrews, Financial Times.
Official Site: http://argothemovie.warnerbros.com/
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Producer: Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Michael Gottwald
Release date: June 27, 2012.
Box office gross as of February 15, 2013: $12,062,576 (Domestic only)
IMDB Synopsis: Faced with both her hot-tempered father’s fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.
Number of Oscar Nominations: 4 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published)
Other honors for this film:
Nominated, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Film, Black Reel Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, 2013 Critic’s Choice Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.
Won, Best Film, Deauville Film Festival.
Won, Best Film (Youth Jury Award), Ghent International Film Festival.
Nominated, Outstanding Motion Picture, Image Awards.
Nominated, Best Feature, Independent Spirit Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Film of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
Won, Best Film, Reykjavik International Film Festival.
Nominated, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 86% (155 Positive Reviews, 25 Negative)
Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Beasts of the Southern Wild is a fantastical, emotionally powerful journey and a strong case of filmmaking that values imagination over money.
Dissenting Opinion: “The movie comes across as a collection of competing themes and ideas that collide more often than complement one another and never fully gel.”–James Berardelli, ReelViews.
Official Site: http://www.welcometothebathtub.com/
Django Unchained
Producers: Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone.
Release date: December 25, 2012
Box office gross as of February 15, 2013: $342,266,000 (Domestic: $155,166,000, Foreign: $187,100,00)
IMDB Synopsis: With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
Number of Oscar Nominations: 5 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Sound Editing; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)
Other honors for this film:
Won, AFI Movie of the Year.
Nominated, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Film, Black Reel Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
3rd Place, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Picture, 2013 Critic’s Choice Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture-Drama, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
Nominated, Outstanding Motion Picture, Image Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 89% (201 Positive Reviews, 26 Negative)
Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Bold, bloody, and stylistically daring, Django Unchained is another incendiary masterpiece from Quentin Tarantino.
Dissenting Opinion: “”’Django Unchained” is Tarantino at his most puerile and least inventive, the premise offering little more than cold, nasty revenge and barrels of squishing, squirting blood.”–David Germain, Associated Press
Official Site: http://unchainedmovie.com/
Les Misérables
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Heyward, Cameron Mackintosh.
Release date: December 25, 2012
Box office gross as of February 15, 2013: $359,454,000 (Domestic: $144,454,000, Foreign: $215,000,000)
IMDB Synopsis: In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever.
Number of Oscar Nominations: 8 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Costume Design; Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song; Best Achievement in Production Design; Best Achievement in Sound Mixing; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role)
Other honors for this film:
Won, AFI Movie of the Year.
Nominated, Best Film, Australian Film Institute.
Nominated, Best Film, 2013 BAFTA Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Picture, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, 2013 Critic’s Choice Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.
Won, Best Picture-Musical or Comedy, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Film, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 70% (151 Positive Reviews, 65 Negative)
Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Impeccably mounted but occasionally bombastic, Les Misérables largely succeeds thanks to bravura performances from its distinguished cast.
Dissenting Opinion: “It lives in that kinda-sorta, okay-not-great, this-worked-that-didn’t in-between for which words like “better” and “worse” fall woefully short.”–Anne Hornaday, Washington Post.
Official Site: http://www.lesmiserablesfilm.com/
Life of Pi
Producers: Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark.
Release date: November 21, 2012.
Box office gross as of February 15, 2013: $564,516,901 (Domestic: $109,301,901, Foreign: $455,215,000)
IMDB Synopsis: A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Number of Oscar Nominations: 11 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Achievement in Editing; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song; Best Achievement in Production Design; Best Achievement in Sound Editing; Best Achievement in Sound Mixing; Best Achievement in Visual Effects; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published)
Other honors for this film:
Won, AFI Movie of the Year.
Nominated, Best Film, Australian Film Institute.
Nominated, Best Film, 2013 BAFTA Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, 2013 Critic’s Choice Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture-Drama, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
Won, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Film of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 88% (190 Positive Reviews, 25 Negative)
Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: A 3D adaptation of a supposedly “unfilmable” book, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi achieves the near impossible — it’s an astonishing technical achievement that’s also emotionally rewarding.
Dissenting Opinion: “I felt like I’d been invited to a seven-course dinner, and all seven turned out to be cake – and then the host insisted on delivering a lecture about how cake would bring me closer to God.”–Andrew O’Hehir-Salon.com.
Official Site: http://www.lifeofpimovie.com/
Lincoln
Producers: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy.
Release date: November 16, 2012.
Box office gross as of February 15, 2013: $221,943,927 (Domestic: $174,587,927, Foreign: $47,356,000)
IMDB Synopsis: As the Civil War continues to rage, America’s president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.
Number of Oscar Nominations: 12 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Costume Design; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score; Best Achievement in Production Design; Best Achievement in Sound Mixing; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published;Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; )
Other honors for this film:
Won, AFI Movie of the Year.
Nominated, Best Film, Australian Film Institute.
Nominated, Best Film, 2013 BAFTA Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
2nd Place, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Picture, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, 2013 Critic’s Choice Awards.
Won, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture-Drama, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Vancouver Film Critics Circle.
Nominated, Best Film, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 90% (209 Positive Reviews, 24 Negative)
Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Daniel Day-Lewis characteristically delivers in this witty, dignified portrait that immerses the audience in its world and entertains even as it informs.
Dissenting Opinion: “Long, cheesy political monologues and crucifies the Lincoln legacy. What a torture! Director Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner turn the hallowed figure of Abraham Lincoln into a dreary sop.”–Victoria Alexander, Film Festival Today.
Official Site: http://www.thelincolnmovie.com/
Silver Linings Playbook
Producers: Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen, Jonathan Gordon.
Release date: December 25, 2012
Box office gross as of February 15, 2013: $132,743,205 (Domestic: $92,347,472 , Foreign: $40,368,733)
IMDB Synopsis: After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
Number of Oscar Nominations: 8 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Achievement in Editing; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published)
Other honors for this film:
Won, AFI Movie of the Year.
Nominated, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Film, Australian Film Institute.
Nominated, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
Won, Capri Movie of the Year Award, Capri, Hollywood.
Nominated, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Picture, 2013 Critic’s Choice Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture-Musical or Comedy, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
Nominated, Best Feature, Independent Spirit Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.
Won, Best Motion Picture, Satellite Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Film, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 92% (198 Positive Reviews, 17 Negative)
Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Silver Linings Playbook walks a tricky thematic tightrope, but David O. Russell’s sensitive direction and some sharp work from a talented cast gives it true balance.
Dissenting Opinion: “There’s nothing wrong with the overrated Jennifer Lawrence that some serious acting lessons couldn’t improve. The rest of the actors are pretty much on their own.”–Rex Reed, New York Observer.
Official Site: http://silverliningsplaybookmovie.com/
Zero Dark Thirty
Producers: Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison.
Release date: December 19,2012
Box office gross as of February 15, 2013: $97,928,668 (Domestic: $84,928,668 , Foreign: $13,000,000)
IMDB Synopsis: A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.
Number of Oscar Nominations: 5 (Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Achievement in Editing; Best Achievement in Sound Editing; Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen).
Other honors for this film:
Won, AFI Movie of the Year.
Won, Best Picture, Austin Film Critics Association.
Nominated, Best Film, 2013 BAFTA Awards.
Won, Best Film, Boston Society of Film Critics.
Nominated, Best Picture, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Central Ohio Film Critics Association.
Won, Best Picture, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, 2013 Critic’s Choice Awards.
3rd Place, Best Picture, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture-Drama, The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards.
Won, Best Picture, National Board of Review, USA.
3rd Place, Best Film, National Society of Film Critics Awards.
Won, Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award.
Nominated, Best Picture, Online Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.
Won, Best Picture, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.
Nominated, Best Picture, Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.
Nominated, Best Picture, Vancouver Film Critics Circle.
Won, Best Film, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 93% (215 Positive Reviews, 15 Negative)
Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus: Gripping, suspenseful, and brilliantly crafted, Zero Dark Thirty dramatizes the hunt for Osama bin Laden with intelligence and an eye for detail.
Dissenting Opinion: “There’s an emotional detachment to the film that undercuts its potency. Zero Dark Thirty is more technically proficient than emotionally involving.”–Claudia Puig, USA Today.
Official Site: http://www.zerodarkthirty-movie.com/site/
