Who ISN’T looking forward to the 85th Academy Awards?
The 85th Academy Awards (see nominees here) are set to air on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at which time the best films of 2012 will be honored. This is a pretty big deal in the world of Hollywood, as well as in The World 4 Realz. It’s an excuse to see a bunch of movies at a break-neck pace so that I can (theoretically) better guess ahead of time which nominations will take home an Oscar.
I’m already behind. And I hate that.
The nominations for this esteemed award were announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday, January 10, 2013. So really I’ve already missed a week of good movie-watching. Don’t think I’m not beating myself up over this catastrophe; I am! I need all the time I can get! In years past, my sister and I have done weekend-long extravaganzas wherein we barely come up for air between movies.
How to watch as many noms as possible before the 85th Academy Awards air:
There’s a system, you see.
1. First, we look to see which movies have already been released onto DVD, and of those, which are available via instant streaming on either Netflix or Amazon. Those are the ones we concentrate on in our spare time at home, since they are the easiest to squeeze in (and the services are already paid for, so it feels free-ish).
2. Of the films not available via instant streaming, we take a look at how many discs we can have sent to us from Netflix, and request the rest from the library. Because this shit is serious, people. We’re not playing around here. If you don’t have a backlog of nominated films piled up next to your TV, then you are not doing this correctly.
3. The third portion of films (and yes, we make charts) includes movies on a “Watch” list. These are the films which have already left theaters and are not yet released to DVD. Sometimes we get lucky and they hit disc / instant streaming just in the nick of time. It can happen. And when it does… that’s a little piece of movie magic right there.
4. This is the most exciting portion of film viewing, in my opinion. This list includes all films still available at the dollar theaters. Yes, I still refer to them as “dollar theaters” even though they now cost more than a dollar. Our local Dollar Saver is the Danbarry, where movies only cost $3 — except on Tuesdays, when they only cost $1.75 — and you can bet your bottom dollar we try to take advantage of this sweet deal as often as possible!
5. The most difficult portion of movies to view are those which are still newly released to theaters. We don’t have lots of money to throw out on theater visits, but we try to hit as many as our wallets will allow, without pissing off our spouses, who are often bent far beyond the point of enthusiastic support and understanding during this time of year. Our sad cries of, “But it’s the 85th Academy Awards!” often go unrewarded. A budget will only stretch so far before it snaps. Lucky for us, movies are only $5 on Tuesdays at THIS Rave Cinemas and on Wednesdays at THIS Rave Cinemas.
The Normal price for movie tickets is (*le gasp*) $10.50! Let me tell you something, people. I am looking forward to seeing the 85th Academy Awards, and to being able to guess all the wins. But not if it means paying full price for every movie. No offense to all the movie buffs out there, but fuck that.
Some nominations matter more than others.
OMG. I should have written this portion first. Remember when I said that there’s a system? The first step is actually KNOWING WHICH FILMS HAVE BEEN NOMINATED. Duh. I’m such a dunce. I’m sorry, you guys. It’s just all so exciting, I’m a bit flustered about it.
There are, like, a krillion categories, but only a few of which concern me — and these aren’t even necessarily the same categories which concern my sister. It’s up to you to come up with your own personalized list. You will know what matters most to you.
Most important categories of the 85th Academy Awards:
If we see no other movies during this time period, we hope to see the films in these categories.
- Best Picture
- Directing
- Actor in a Leading Role
- Actress in a Leading Role
- Actor in a Supporting Role
- Actress in a Supporting Role
- Animated Film Feature
We both like these an awful lot.
Movies in these categories are still top o’ our list, but are easier to axe than the previous categories.
- Cinematography
- Film Editing
- Production Design
- Visual Effects
- Sound Editing
- Sound Mixing
My sister’s personal favorite categories:
- Costume Design
- Makeup and Hairstyling
My personal favorite categories:
- Writing – Adapted
- Writing – Original
These are the first to get axed if we are short on money and time.
- Music – Score
- Music – Song
- Documentary Feature
- Foreign Language
We don’t even try to see these. They are next to impossible, anyway.
- Documentary Short
- Animated Short
- Live Action Short
Sometimes I go too far.
It’s true. In my quest to narrow down the list of movies I must see in the next all-too-short weeks, I make charts for my charts, assigning point values for (a) the importance (or weight) of each category, and (b) how many times a particular film has been nominated. So a movie which isn’t actually in any of the “top” categories may still be a “must see” if its score is high enough. Likewise, a movie whose only nomination is for Best Picture may have an overall lower score, and thus move further down the list of “must see” films.
It just depends on my mood. Or how badly I want to see a movie that didn’t make it into the top categories. Or how badly I want to avoid a movie that DID make it into the top categories. See? Personalization matters.
Here are the films nominated for the 85th Academy Awards:
Amour [NOMINATED 5 TIMES]
Anna Karenina [NOMINATED 4 TIMES] (DVD February 19)
Argo [NOMINATED 7 TIMES] (Danbarry Dollar Saver + DVD February 19)
Beasts of the Southern Wild [NOMINATED 4 TIMES] (DVD on request from my local library)
Brave (DVD – I own this but still haven’t seen it.)
Chasing Ice
Django Unchained [NOMINATED 5 TIMES] (Rave Cinemas)
5 Broken Cameras (DVD + Netflix instant streaming)
Flight [NOMINATED 2 TIMES] (Danbarry Dollar Saver + DVD February 5)
Frankenweenie (DVD)
The Gatekeepers
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [NOMINATED 3 TIMES] (Rave Cinemas)
How to Survive a Plague (DVD + Netflix instant streaming)
The Impossible (Rave Cinemas)
The Invisible War (DVD + Netflix instant streaming)
Kon-Tiki
Les Misérables [NOMINATED 8 TIMES] (Rave Cinemas)
Life of Pi [NOMINATED 11 TIMES] (Rave Cinemas)
Lincoln [NOMINATED 12 TIMES] (Rave Cinemas)
Marvel’s the Avengers (DVD – I own this and it is great!)
The Master [NOMINATED 3 TIMES]
Mirror Mirror (My daughter and I LOVE this — it’s really cute!)
Moonrise Kingdom: The Invisible War (DVD on request from my local library)
No
Paranorman (DVD on request from my local library)
The pirates! Band of Misfits (DVD on request from my local library)
Prometheus (DVD on request from my local library)
A Royal Affair
Searching for Sugar Man (DVD on request from my local library)
The Sessions (DVD February 12)
Silver Linings Playbook [NOMINATED 8 TIMES] (Rave Cinemas)
Skyfall [NOMINATED 5 TIMES]
Snow White and the Huntsman [NOMINATED 2 TIMES] (DVD on request from my local library)
Ted (DVD on request from my local library)
War Witch
Wreck-It Ralph (Danbarry Dollar Saver)
Zero Dark Thirty [NOMINATED 5 TIMES] (Rave Cinemas)
{NOTE: No short films appear on this list.}
{If you’re impatient, below are all of the films available on demand (either for rent or free with Prime) through Amazon Instant Streaming}
What’s available NOW?
Well, obviously I have some movies to watch between now and when the 85th Academy Awards airs next month. Shit. Hope I can handle all that! Here’s where I plan to start:
Movies I can watch from home with zero effort between now and next week:
1. Brave (DVD – I own this but still haven’t seen it.)
2. 5 Broken Cameras (Netflix instant streaming)
3. How to Survive a Plague (Netflix instant streaming)
4. The Invisible War (Netflix instant streaming)
Movies I plan to watch in theater between now and next week:
5. Argo (Danbarry Dollar Saver on Tuesday)
6. Life of Pi (Rave Cinemas on Wednesday)
Movies I plan to rent from Red Box because the library is kind of slow even though they are awesome so I’m not complaining I’m just impatient and I have some coupons to use — and I’m listing more than one because sometimes Red Box doesn’t have what I need:
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild
8. Moonrise Kingdom: The Invisible War
9. Prometheus
10. Snow White and the Huntsman
Join me next week as I update my list to reflect what’s been released into theaters and/or onto DVD and/or instant streaming. I will also let you know what all I’ve seen in the next seven days. This is going to be so fun, you guys!
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