Oscar Frenzy

February is Oscar month. That means I frantically try to see all the nominated movies so I can be informed and over-stimulated with media and get all caught up with celebrity-ism and Red Carpet-hype. 
Not really. I just like stories. I like to know who and what "the experts" think is the best. I have my opinions and those don't always agree with "The Academy" and that's expected.

This year, in my preparations, I created a spreadsheet. 
Yes. I went there. It's crazy. 
So, for your information I am allowing you access to my Grand design.
Enjoy...

Movie	Nominations	Synopsis	References/Notes	Kat's Take
Amour	Best Picture, Best Actress (Emmanuelle Riva), Director (Michael Haneke), Screenplay (Michael Haneke), Foreign Language	An older couple taking care of each other.	French	NOT SEEN. Sounds good but not interested
Anna Karenina	Cinematography (Seamus McGarvey), Production Design, Costume Design, Music: Score (Dario Marianelli),	Leo Tolstoy’s depressing story of love, hate, adultery and Russia.	Keira Knightley	NOT SEEN. Eh. Tolstoy. [yawn]
Argo	Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin), Adaptation (Chris Terrio), Editing (William Goldenberg), Music: Score (Alexandre Desplat), Sound Mixing, Sound Editing,	1980 joint CIA/Canadian Secret operation to get 6 Americans out of Iran.	Ben Affleck stars and directs.	NOT SEEN. I'm undecided. The whole Iran thing upsets me. War, violence.
The Avengers	Visual Effects,	Super heroes unite to fight alien and demigod forces.	Robert Downey Jr.	SEEN. Loved it. RDJ? Yes.
Beasts of the Southern Wild	Best Picture, Best Actress (Quvenzhane’ Wallis), Director (Benh Zeitlin), Adaptation (Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin),	A 6-year-old girl (Quvenzhane’ Wallis, youngest to be nominated) in the bayou’s of Louisiana.	Ice caps melting, prehistoric animals emerge and long lost mama to find.  Started as a stage play.	NOT SEEN. I think I need to see this.
Brave	Animation (Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman),	Girl story about Princess Merida and her rebellion and how she fixes her mess-up.	Pixar	SEEN. Cute.
Chasing Ice	Music: Original Song (J. Ralph),	Documentary/biography of changing glaciers.	National Geographic	NOT SEEN. Not interested.
Django Unchained	Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz), Screenplay (Quentin Tarantino), Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Sound Editing,	A freed slave goes back to the Mississippi plantation to get his wife back. Killing and chaos ensue.	Jamie Foxx is Django, Leo DiCaprio was snubbed.	NOT SEEN. Want to see, but don't want to see. Jamie Foxx is an Acting GOD!
Flight	Best Actor (Denzel Washington), Screenplay (John Gatins),	An airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into the malfunctions reveals something troubling.	Drugged & drunken pilot first causes a problem then miraculously saves it, but people die.	NOT SEEN. Don't like the premise.
Frankenweenie	Animation (Tim Burton),	Frankenstein, doggie edition. A Tim Burton picture.	uh. Tim Burton.	NOT SEEN. Not interested.
Hitchcock	Makeup & Hair,	Biopic/romance of Alfred Hitchcock & wife Alma Reville during filming of Psycho.	Anthony Hopkins & Helen Mirren.	NOT SEEN. Might watch for Hopkins/Mirren.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Production Design, Makeup & Hair, Visual Effects,	Prequel to LOTR. Weird creatures on an Epic Journey.	Stretching a short book into three movies. Oy.	NOT SEEN. MUST SEE. Might wait until after Oscars.
The Impossible	Best Actress (Naomi Watts),	Survival story of a British family on vacation in Thailand when the tsunami strikes.	Guaranteed tearjerker. Filmed in Spain and Thailand.	NOT SEEN. Not interested.
Les Miserables	Best Picture, Best Actor (Hugh Jackman), Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway), Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup & Hair, Music: Original Song, Sound Mixing,	Victor Hugo’s depressing tale of French revolution era crap. All singing.	Russell Crowe cannot sing.	SEEN. Loved.
Life of Pi	Best Picture, Director (Ang Lee), Adaptation (David Magee), Cinematography (Claudio Miranda), Editing (Tim Squyres), Production Design, Production Design, Music: Score (Mychael Danna), Music: Original Song (Mychael Danna, Bombay Jayshree), Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects	Yann Martel’s story of a man who survives a shipwreck but ends up with a Bengal tiger as his mate.	Filmed in India and Taiwan.	NOT SEEN. Want to see.
Lincoln	Best Picture, Best Actor (Daniel Day Lewis), Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones), Supporting Actress (Sally Field), Director (Steven Spielberg), Adaptation (Tony Kushner), Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Editing (Michael Kahn), Costume Design, Music: Score (John Williams), Sound Mixing,	A telling of the story of President Lincoln at the time of the Civil War & Emancipation Proclamation.	1. Abe does not die at the end of this movie. 2. Great historical information.	NOT SEEN. MUST SEE. DDL? YES!
The Master	Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Supporting Actress (Amy Adams),	A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future—until he is tantalized by The Cause and its charismatic leader.	Religion gone crazy. Post WWII PTSD.	NOT SEEN. Undecided.
Mirror Mirror	Costume Design,	Retelling of Snow White.	Julia Roberts as the Queen.	NOT SEEN. It's on Netflix.
Moonrise Kingdom	Screenplay (Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola),	A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them. Set in the 1960s, two 12-year-olds decide to run away together.	Bruce Willis is one of the dads.	NOT SEEN. Want to see.
ParaNorman	Animation (Sam Fell, Chris Butler),	A misunderstood boy takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse.	The boy can speak to the dead. Cool.	NOT SEEN. Undecided.
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!	Animation (Peter Lord),	The story of Pirates by the same folks that brought us Chicken Run.	aka Pirates! Band of Misfits	NOT SEEN. Will probably wait.
Prometheus	Visual Effects,	Alien part 56. Kind of how Alien started, before Sigourney Weaver.	Looks exciting, heard it was lame.	NOT SEEN. Not interested.
The Sessions	Supporting Actress (Helen Hunt),	A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest. Based on a true story.	Helen Hunt’s character is married yet she agrees to this arrangement.	NOT SEEN. Probably won't see.
Silver Linings Playbook	Best Picture, Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Actress (Jennifer Lawerence), Supporting Actor (Robert DeNiro), Supporting Actress (Jacki Weaver), Director (David O. Russell), Adaptation (David O. Russell), Editing (Jay Deakins, Crispin Struthers),	The story of Pat Solitano who tries to put his life back together after a stint in a mental hospital. He was diagnosed with “bipolar disorder” after beating up his wife’s lover. He refused medication and plans to survive by looking for the “silver linings” in life.	Love the premise of this movie!	NOT SEEN. MUST SEE.
Skyfall	Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Music: Score(Thomas Newman), Music: Original Song (Adele, Paul Epworth), Sound Mixing, Sound Editing,	James Bond # 598 hahaha	Daniel Craig.	NOT SEEN. Want to see. Might wait.
Snow White and the Huntsman	Costume Design, Visual Effects,	“Bella” as Snow White & “Thor” as the Huntsman to an evil and twisted Charlize Theron as the Queen and her brother, who is sicker than she is!	Chris Hemsworth is worth watching…	SEEN. Eh. Chris Hemsworth is worth watching…
Ted	Music: Original Song (Walter Murphy, Seth MacFarlane),	A boy’s childhood wish to have his Teddy Bear be alive comes true, only now they are grown up.	Mark Wahlberg, & Seth MacFarlane as the voice of Ted.	NOT SEEN. Want to see.
Wreck-It Ralph	Animation (Rich Moore),	A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.	John C. Reilly, Jane Lynch, Sarah Silverman add their voices to this Family comedy.	NOT SEEN. Want to see.
Zero Dark Thirty	Best Picture, Best Actress (Jessica Chastain), Screenplay (Mark Boal), Editing (William Goldenbert, Dylan Tichenor), Sound Editing,	The hunt for Osama bin Laden & his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6. Controversial “true story.”	Violence.	NOT SEEN. Want to see.
Documentary/Other	Nomination	Synopsis	References/Notes
5 Broken Cameras	Feature	Palestinian farmers chronicle of his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army.	Intense. Palestine/Israel conflict.	NOT SEEN.
Adam and Dog	Short Animated	Adam and a dog in the Garden of Eden.	Animated, Adam and Eve in a different way.	NOT SEEN.
Asad	Short, Live Action	A coming of age fable of a Somali boy as he struggles to survive in his war-torn land.	18 min., Adventure, drama	NOT SEEN.
Buzkashi Boys	Short, Live Action	Contemporary Afghanistan and the National sport of Buzkashi	28 min., Sports	NOT SEEN.
Curfew	Short, Live Action	At the lowest point of his life, Richie gets a call from his estranged sister, asking him to look after his nine-year-old niece, Sophia, for a few hours.	19 min., NYC, drama	NOT SEEN.
Dood van een Schadow (Death of a Shadow)	Short, Live Action	Soldier Nathan died during WWI. A strange collector imprisoned his shadow and gave him a new chance: a second life.	20 min., fantasy, drama,	NOT SEEN.
Fresh Guacamole	Short Animated	Transforming familiar objects into fresh guacamole.	Animated. Cooking?	NOT SEEN.
The Gatekeepers	Feature	Interviews with all surviving former heads of Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency whose activities and membership are closely held state secrets.	Israel secret service.	NOT SEEN. Available on Netflix.
Head Over Heels	Short Animated	After many years of marriage, Walter and Madge have grown apart: he lives on the floor and she lives on the ceiling.	Animated. Family, comedy, romance	NOT SEEN.
Henry	Short, Live Action	A concert pianist has his life thrown in turmoil the day the love of his life, Maria, mysteriously disappears.	21 min., drama	NOT SEEN.
How to Survive a Plague	Feature	The story of two coalitions—ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)—whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.	History, news.	NOT SEEN.
Inocente	Short	A personal and vibrant coming of age story about a young artist’s determination never to surrender to the bleakness of her surroundings.	Biography, news.	NOT SEEN.
The Invisible War	Feature	An investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military.	Rape in the military.	NOT SEEN.
Kings Point	Short	Five seniors living in a retirement resort in Florida—men and women who came decades ago with their spouses by their sides and now find themselves grappling with love, loss and universal desire for human connection.	Growing old, comedy	NOT SEEN.
Mondays at Racine	Short	Every third Monday of the month, two bold, brassy sisters open the doors of their Long Island hair salon to women diagnosed with cancer…	Family, cancer, kindness.	NOT SEEN.
Open Heart	Short	Eight Rwandan children leave their families behind to embark on a life-or-death journey seeking high-risk heart surgery in Sudan.	Children, health, heart surgery.	NOT SEEN.
Paperman	Short Animated	An urban office worker finds that paper airplanes are instrumental in meeting a girl in ways he never expected.	Animated, comedy, romance.	NOT SEEN.
Redemption	Short	New York City’s canners-the men and women who survive by redeeming bottles and cans they collect from curbs.	Recycling, can collection	NOT SEEN.
Searching for Sugar Man	Feature	Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock ‘n’ roller, Rodriguez.	South Africa, musician, search	NOT SEEN.
The Simpsons, The Longest Daycare	Short Animated	Maggie Simpson spends the day in the Ayn Rand School for Tots.	Animated. Comedy.	NOT SEEN.