- — The 84th Academy Awards coverage debuts on ABC at 7 p.m. today, Feb. 26. The following are my picks for the movies that dazzled in 2011.

 

BEST LEADING ACTRESS

Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”

Viola Davis, “The Help”

Rooney Mara, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”

Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”



This year, this category has some of the better performances. This was the year of powerful women’s roles. The roles for women were more interesting than those for men in the Best Actor category. Mara played a feminine role in a manner typically attributed to masculine characters. She is the heroine who saves the day, even saving the man in distress, an antithesis of the classic, clichéd damsel in distress concepts.

Close plays a man, a role not typically portrayed as much as men playing women. Close is at her best in a transformational manner. Williams was an attention-getter as Marilyn Monroe, and the brilliant Viola Davis was moving in “The Help.” Davis was especially moving; it was easy to care for character.

Despite the talented field of exceptional performances, the incomparable Streep is absolutely superb. She is the reason to see “Iron Lady.” Streep’s greatest attribute is her ability to make audiences believe she is indeed someone else without making her portrayals caricatures. She more than ably makes all appear too easy. This Academy Award nomination is her deserving seventeenth, which should result in being her third Oscar.   

Selection: Meryl Streep

 

BEST LEADING ACTOR

Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”

George Clooney, “The Descendants”

Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”

Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”



Bichir is the least known leading actor. Like the others, he is more than adequate, but “A Better Life” was not a movie many audiences had a chance to see. Oldman was great, as always. He always provides well-played performances.

Pitt is handsome, and this has carried him in movies, adding to his talents. Pitt is good in “Moneyball,” but he is the least sensational performance-wise of these talented nominees. His popularity helps with Academy voters, but his performance, again, is not on caliber with the others here.

Dujardin and Clooney are the two top picks. While Dujardin is perfect as a star in a silent film, moviedom loves Clooney. He seems like a nice guy, and he is talented, offering brilliant performances. Clooney is memorable in “The Descendants.” Like Pitt, Clooney’s popularity may win this award for him, when Dujardin is superb and slightly more deserving.  

Selection: Jean Dujardin

 

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”

Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”

Nick Nolte, “Warrior”

Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”

Max Von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”



The two most seasoned actors are the best. Plummer and Von Sydow are spectacular in their perspective movies. Nolte follows them closely. While Branagh and Hill are nice, they do not compare with Nolte, Plummer and Von Sydow. It would be nice if the talented actors Plummer or Von Sydow won. However, Von Sydow played the role of a man who cannot speak. He must emote via appearance and gestures only. Von Sydow did this brilliantly. He takes first place in this category.

Selection: Max Von Sydow

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”

Jessica Chastain, “The Help”

Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”

Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”

Octavia Spencer, “The Help”



This could be the year a comical role wins for an actress. McCarthy’s chances are slim, although she made “Bridesmaids” a genuine treat. She was a laugh-a-minute character. Chastain was exceptional in “The Help,” but co-star Spencer was the highlight of the highlight, stealing scenes like heat evaporating water. Spencer is easily the lead.

Bejo and McTeer were great in their roles, even though they are known less than the other women, as their movies were not as widespread. Even more, McTeer was in a more dramatic movie compared to the other roles that are comical in nature. Spencer has won a number of other awards for her role as steadfast maid in “The Help.” No need exists to stop her now. She needs no “help.”

Selection: Octavia Spencer

 

BEST DIRECTOR

Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”

Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”

Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”

Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”



Three directors stand out more than others, Hazanavicius, Scorsese and Allen. Hazanavicius directs a silent — not easy when people expect and want voices. A taxing task, he must direct a cast that is silent. Hazanavicius does his charge with ease.

Allen helmed a team that made “Midnight in Paris,” a work of art about artists, writers, musicians, etc., a work of sheer art. He became as artful as the characters showcased in the film. He uses his canvas well, using his players as an elegant puppet master.

The choice is Scorsese, who directs a film about a young boy in Paris and his discovery of a famous director. This film is a visual feat nicely helmed by an always-solid Scorsese. He perfectly makes use of each concept as needed to produce an artful photoplay that inspires.        

Selection: Martin Scorsese

 

BEST PICTURE

“The Artist”

“The Descendants”

“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

“The Help”

“Hugo”

“Midnight in Paris”

“Moneyball”

“The Tree of Life”

“War Horse”



If Academy voters went with a feel-good movie, they could easily choose “War Horse” or “The Help.” Both were enjoyable and inspiring. “Hugo” is a visual delight and artful. “Midnight in Paris” is a clever film with great visuals of Paris; it is like being in a candy store. “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is a solid film, but it deals with Sept. 11, 2001, which may persuade voters who are too emotional to not see this film as brilliance. “Moneyball” gave audiences a unique inside look at a favorite pastime, baseball. “The Tree of Life” boasted a talented cast in a drama about an innocence lost in the 1950s.

However, the films at the top of this category are “The Artist” and “The Descendants.” Call this match of a silent film versus a film about living through rough moments. Each is a solid film and distinctively different. “The Artist” has been winning awards. Why stop now? It is the most distinctive of this group of very fine films.

Selection: “The Artist”

 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“Bullhead”, Belgium

“Footnote”, Israel

“In Darkness”, Poland

“Monsier Lazhar”, Canada

“A Separation”, Iran

 

If American sentiments about Iran do not interfere, this Iranian film should carry this category.

Selection: “A Separation”

 

Other Selections:

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

“A Cat In Paris”

“Chico & Rita”

“Kung Fu Panda 2”

“Puss in Boots”

“Rango”

Selection: “Puss in Boots”

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)

“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”

“God Is the Bigger Elvis”

“Incident in New Baghdad”

“Saving Face”

“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”

Selection: “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”

 

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

“Dimanche/Sunday”

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”

“La Luna”

“A Morning Stroll”

“Wild Life”

Selection: “Dimanche/Sunday”

 

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

“Pentecost”

“Raju”

“The Shore”

“Time Freak”

“Tuba Atlantic”

Selection: “Time Freak”

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“Midnight in Paris”

“Margin Call”

“A Separation”

“The Artist”

“Bridesmaids”

Selection: “Midnight in Paris”

 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“The Descendants”

“Hugo”

“The Ides of March”

“Moneyball”

“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Selection: “The Descendants”

 

BEST ART DIRECTION

“The Artist”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

“Hugo”

“Midnight in Paris”

“War Horse”

Selection: “Hugo”

 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

“Anonymous”

“The Artist”

“Hugo”

“Jane Eyre”

“W.E.”

Selection: “The Artist”

 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets”

“Real in Rio” from “Rio”

Selection: “Man or Muppet,” “The Muppets”

 

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

“The Adventures of Tintin”

“The Artist”

“Hugo”

“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

“War Horse”

Selection: “War Horse”

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY

“Hell and Back Again”

“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”

“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”

“Pina”

“Undefeated”

Selection: “Undefeated”

 

BEST FILM EDITING

“The Artist”

“The Descendants”

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

“Hugo”

“Moneyball”

Selection: “The Artist”

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

“The Artist”

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

“Hugo”

“The Tree of Life”

“War Horse”

Selection: “Hugo”

 

BEST MAKEUP

“Albert Nobbs”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

“The Iron Lady”

Selection: “The Iron Lady”

 

BEST SOUND EDITING

“Drive”

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

“Hugo”

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

“War Horse”

Selection: “War Horse”

 

BEST SOUND MIXING

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

“Hugo”

“Moneyball”

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

“War Horse”

Selection: “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

“Hugo”

“Real Steel”

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

Selection: “Hugo”