And the Oscar goes to....

Sunday night, Hollywood and all its glamour is on display for the 84th annual Academy Awards with Billy Crystal returning as host.
This might be the first year in a long time I have caught most of the work nominated for best picture. One I didn’t see, “The Artist,” has picked up a lot of hardware from other awards in the industry including three Golden Globes and extensive recognition from critics and film festivals. The black and white, silent film is one of the frontrunners this year.
Also in the hunt are “The Descendants,” “Hugo” and “The Help.” All three  are well made, but I enjoyed “The Help” more than the others.
“Hugo,” while beautiful and a directing triumph for Martin Scorsese, isn’t as entertaining as some of the other entries.
“The Descendants” also gives George Clooney a chance to come home with a best actor Oscar. Other nominees include Jean Dujardin, who has picked up a few pre-Oscar awards for his work in “The Artist,” and Brad Pitt. While Pitt’s performance in “Moneyball” has met extensive praise, I found it kind of flat and unworthy of a best actor nomination. He’s had better performances than this one. Many also think Leonardo DiCarpio was slighted by not being nominated for his role in “J. Edgar.”
For best actress, Meryl Streep earned plenty of buzz for her role as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady” but reviewers also have raved about Glenn Close’s performance in “Albert Nobbs” and Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in “My Week with Marilyn.”
Viola Davis’ work in “The Help” is outstanding and also could bring home the award.
For best supporting actress, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain in “The Help” are worthy of nominations and many in critics’ circles are scratching their heads about why Melissa McCarthy was nominated for her performance in “Bridesmaids.”
With the exception of Jonah Hill, the best supporting actor nominations contain many in Hollywood’s old guard. Kenneth Branagh, Nick Nolte, Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow appear.
For musical score, John Williams earned a double nod for two Steven Spielberg films, “The Adventures of Tintin” and “War Horse.” Other nominees include veteran Howard Shore, nominated for “Hugo,” Ludovic Bource for “The Artist” and Alberto Iglesias for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”
Only two original songs were nominated this year, “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” and “Real in Rio” from “Rio.”
While I only caught six of the nine films nominated for best picture, I did see all five earning nods for best visual effects. “Hugo” has an artistically beautiful style and other movies such as “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” load up special effects arsenals with numerous tricks.
But the visual style that really impressed me belongs to “Real Steel.” The effects are seamless and the audience is able to forget they aren’t real. That is what makes a great special effect. Viewers don’t leave the theater saying, “Wow, great special effects.” They leave the theater saying, “Wow, were those real robots?” If the quality of visuals can convince an audience there is no trickery the graphics team has done its job right. “Real Steel” does that and is worthy of an Oscar.
For writing, the adapted screenplay nominations all are pretty strong. I didn’t like “Moneyball,” but the writing was good and worthy of a nod from the academy. Think “The Social Network” except with baseball.
For original screenplay, I haven’t seen “Margin Call” but from the previews I thought it could be a well written film. I’m not a fan of Woody Allen, but I felt “Midnight in Paris” was a creatively crafted story.
“War Horse” should win for cinematography. The film was beautifully shot and the camera delves deep into the essence of the main star, the horse. With a nonhuman star, it’s often the shooting of the film that helps convey the story.
If you missed some of the films nominated this year, several didn’t make it to local theaters. Never fear, I’m sure they will be on their way to Redbox soon, especially with a nod from the Oscars.
Becca Owsley can be reached at (270) 505-1741. For movie reviews visit her reporter page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Becca-Owsley/96924584861.

"The Help," DreamWorks Pictures

George Clooney in "The Descendants."

"Hugo"

"Real Steel"

"Moneyball"

"War Horse"

"The Muppets"