Simon's Oscar Preview 2013: Personal Favorites

We're only a couple weeks away from the Academy Awards! Starting next Monday, I'll be doing my usual breakdown for each category. However, to tide any potential readers over until that point, here's my personal list of favorites from 2012's films. I've seen nearly 80 films released in the last year, giving me a sizable pool to choose from. I would have liked to have seen The Loneliest Planet before posting this list, but we're still working on that one. Anyway, without further ado, Simon's Movie Awards for 2012:

BEST PICTURE

Zero Dark Thirty

• Django Unchained
• Holy Motors
• The Master
• Moonrise Kingdom

DIRECTOR

Leos Carax – Holy Motors

• Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master
• Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
• Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
• Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

ACTOR

Denis Levant – “Mr. Oscar” in Holy Motors

• Daniel Day-Lewis – “Abraham Lincoln” in Lincoln
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Joe Simmons” in Looper
• Joaquin Phoenix – “Freddie Quell” in The Master
• Jean-Louis Trintignant – “Georges Laurent” in Amour

ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain – “Maya” in Zero Dark Thirty

• Jennifer Lawrence – “Tiffany Maxwell” in Silver Linings Playbook
• Emmanuelle Riva – “Anne Laurent” in Amour
• Quvenzhané Wallis – “Hushpuppy” in Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Rachel Weisz – “Hester Collyer” in The Deep Blue Sea

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Javier Bardem – “Raoul Silva” in Skyfall

• Leonardo DiCaprio – “Calvin Candie” in Django Unchained
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – “Lancaster Dodd” in The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones – “Thaddeus Stevens” in Lincoln
• Christoph Waltz – “Dr. King Schultz” in Django Unchained

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams – “Peggy Dodd” in The Master

• Judi Dench – “M” in Skyfall
• Ann Dowd – “Sandra” in Compliance
• Anne Hathaway – “Fantine” in Les Misérables
• Brit Marling – “Maggie” in Sound of My Voice

SCREENPLAY

Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty

• Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master
• Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
• Drew Goddard & Joss Whedon – The Cabin in the Woods
• Rian Johnson – Looper