What the Nominations Should Have Been (Updated)

Now that we have predicted and reviewed the 2013 Oscar Nominations, its time to talk about what the nominees should have been. Post your own thoughts or disagreements in the comments section.

*Update 2/2-I finally saw Looper and loved it, it changed some of my categories. Also, I put the person I would like to have seen win in bold. 
*Update 2/8-Updated since I saw Flight.
*Update 2/9-I saw Beasts of the Southern Wild.
*Update 2/23-I saw Life of Pi, Skyfall, and Moonrise Kingdom.

Best Supporting Actress

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Emily Blunt, Looper
Charlize Theron, Snow White and the Huntsman
Kerry Washington, Django Unchained
Marion Cotillard, Dark Knight Rises

Only one actual nominee for me in Hathaway. I felt Sally Field was a lesson in overacting, and there was just not enough for me with Helen Hunt and Jacki Weaver.

Best Supporting Actor

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Bryan Cranston, Argo
Frank Grillo, The Grey
Pierce Gagnon, Looper

Such a tough category. Actual nominees Tommy Lee Jones and Robert De Niro were very hard to leave out. In addition Logan Marshall Green in Prometheus, Michael Caine in Dark Knight Rises, and any of the other men in Lincoln and Argo were deserving. The update knocked out Alan Arkin in favor of the young Gagnon from Looper. In addition, Jeff Daniels was also worthy in Looper. Jason Clarke from Zero Dark Thirty was also worthy of consideration. Javier Bardem was fantastic in Skyfall, but needed more screen time.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Argo
Lincoln
The Dark Knight Rises
Life of Pi
Skyfall

I love these five screenplays. Silver Linings Playbook had no focus, and lets be honest, when your script includes the line "if we win this game we get into the division" it should never win anything, as even my mother knows that doesn't make any sense in the NFL.

Best Original Screenplay

Zero Dark Thirty
Django Unchained
Prometheus
Looper
The Grey

Tough call between Django and Looper here. Both amazingly well written, both insanely original. Flip a coin.

Best Actress

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Noomi Rapace, Prometheus
Anne Hathaway, Dark Knight Rises
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Gets thing after Lawrence and Chastain. I didn't quite agree with some of the fringe Oscar nominees. Can the girl from Brave be nominated?

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper
Denzel Washington, Flight

Not much to say here other than these were my five favorite male lead performances. I had Ben Affleck here until I saw Flight and felt Denzel showed amazing restraint in what could have been an over acted performance.

Best Director

Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Tom Hooper and Rian Johnson would also be deserving, but don't make the cut. I also felt Sam Mendes did a fantastic job with Skyfall.

Best Picture

Argo
Zero Dark Thirty
Django Unchained
Lincoln
Les Miserables
The Dark Knight Rises
Prometheus
Looper
Flight
Life of Pi

The full ten nominees for me. I felt Silver Linings Playbook was elevated only by its actors, it felt to me like a film with no script or direction, Amour was another film that appears to have been an exercise in acting only. Looper became one of my favorite films of the year once I saw it, however Argo is still the film that I think is most deserving of the year's top honor. Skyfall narrowly missed.

*Editors note: Check back for updates as more films are seen.

-Maximus