Module 11: Western Europe

Less than 24 hours until the Oscar nominations are announced, which means that a new set of nominees for the Best Animated Short category will be unveiled. That's actually far more interesting to me than the question of Best Picture nominees, although I've been much more active in watching the hopefuls this year than in years past. As far as Best Picture contenders go, I've already seen Argo, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Life of Pi, Zero Dark Thirty, and Les Miserables. If all of them make it then that's seven I've seen already. Nobody knows how many Best Picture nominees there will be, but there's an outside shot that I'll have seen all of the Best Picture nominees before the nominees are even announced, a first for me.*

*Unless of course they choose to include Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amour, and Skyfall. I have yet to see those. 

Best Animated Short is where it's at anyways. Unfortunately I had seen five of the shortlisted films back in November when the shortlist was announced, and I am still at five. I originally predicted Adam and Dog, Combustible, The Eagleman Stag, Paperman, and Tram, but I'm kind of doubting my pick of Combustible. I had picked it because Katsuhiro Otomo is quite a big name in animation after making Akira, and Combustible was one film where there is not even a trailer, and the Academy seems to like to nominate those films that are virtually impossible to watch. However, it is Japanese and with the exception of Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, Mt. Head, Howl's Moving Castle, and La Maison en Petits Cubes, the Academy hasn't embraced much in Japanese animation. Plus somebody I talked to that has a vote said he was less than impressed. I know that's only one voter, but Dripped might be a safer vote. It is well designed and pays tribute to a great artist in Jackson Pollack. And that would help because I had seen Dripped, meaning there would be only two of my predictions I'm missing.

Of course the Academy could screw with us and nominate Combustible, The Fall of the House of Usher, Fresh Guacamole, Head Over Heels (I still really want to see that even without a nomination),  and The Longest Daycare. We won't know until tomorrow.
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