Plummer as Hal Fields

a.k.a. The Old Dead Gay Guy Memorial award. The one giant yawn of this year’s ceremony (not counting Best Documentary – Short Subject; I mean, honestly!) is easily Best Supporting Actor, a category that looked like a nail-biter only a couple months ago. Back then, it looked like a horse race – Luck-style, with snapped knees and the like – between Christopher Plummer (Beginners), the storied dignitary who started out in the theater in the fucking 1940s, and Albert Einstein Brooks, who is Albert Einstein Brooks. Plummer and Brooks were so well-matched that they required a tiebreaker in the Florida Film Critics Circle awards. Other appetizing possibilities dotted the landscape, as well: Patton Oswalt for Young Adult could’ve been a way to draw in younger viewers, as could Seth Rogen for 50/50 or Alan Rickman for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. (The culmination of Rickman’s crestfallen, is-he-evil-or-not plotline was, for me, certainly worthy, as was Rogen’s comic relief. Oswalt, for the record, got my FFCC nom.) But of these actors, only Plummer got the nod, and he will also get the trophy. Let’s see who the Academy sent in to lose to him.

Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier

Kenneth Branagh: My Week With Marilyn One of the great Shakespearean actors of our day playing the great Shakespearean actor of yesterday (Sir Laurence Olivier) has had Oscar written all over it since it was cast, but I had the same issue with the performance as I did with the broad, one-note historical personifications in Midnight in Paris: lack of complexity. Branagh can deliver a monologue, no doubt, but he seemed to know he was stuck in a stinker.

Hill as Peter Brand

Jonah Hill: Moneyball A great part, a restrained performance and chemistry for miles. His win is the recognition.

Nolte as Paddy Conlon

Nick Nolte: Warrior A genuine surprise nomination, considering too few people saw Warrior (which I loved to death), but Nolte’s monstrous father/coach struggling with sobriety was the weak spot for me, ironically. He did his job, but the part itself was a bundle of clichés.

von Sydow as The Renter

Max von Sydow: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close I’m mentally incapable of uttering a negative word about Antonius Block, but I will say that this is a downright shitty movie. No flowery prose needed; it’s straight-up shitty. The winner: Christopher Plummer

Wednesday, Feb. 22 – Danny Tenaglia

with Carlos Mendoza, Elias R.
9 p.m.
the Beacham
46 N. Orange Ave.
407-246-1419
$20-$30

Known for his legendary marathon DJ sets that frequently shatter the 10-hour mark, as well as for some of the best-titled mixes ever, Grammy-nominated producer Danny Tenaglia, creator of Mix This Pussy, Gag Me With a Tune and Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?, will lug his record bag to the Beacham for a quick and painless three-hour gig. Unless you’re the type to drive to a Miami hotel party, or you caught him in the Carl Cox tent at the Ultra Music Festival, area locals haven’t had the chance to catch Tenaglia live in more than a decade. One of the most respected pioneers of house music, Tenaglia plays to sold-out crowds around the globe. – Ed Chapkowski

There is very little chance for a surprise when the envelope is opened up for this award on Sunday. Octavia Spencer has been the frontrunner basically since The Help opened up in the summer.

I remember seeing the trailer for it before Bridesmaids and not expecting to hear much about it after its run, and that’s why my career as amateur groundhog never went pro. We heard and heard and heard and heard about The Help ever since. Pros, cons, parody, complaints, plaudits.

It’s already won Golden Globes and SAG awards, and so, if you have too much money and want to give some of it away you could bet on one of the other four nominees here I suppose. I’ll happily take your bet.

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist

I actually found Bejo to be more charming in the film than I did Jean Dujardin or Uggie, to be honest. She has such a great face, especially for this part, but the film failed to capture me in the same way it seems to have captured a lot of Hollywood hearts.

Jessica Chastain for The Help

Of all of the 534 roles Jessica Chastain had this year, they went ahead and nominated the least interesting one. In The Help, she was almost in a different picture, so separated from everyone but Minny as she was. The bitterest part of it to swallow is that she was completely amazing, lovely and wonderful in The Tree of Life. Damn youse guys.

Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t bust my gut laughing at this, though I thought McCarthy’s character was in a bit of a wider comedy orbit than anyone else in the film. For me, though, it was the other characters who could have gone further, to join McCarthy out there. (Clip slightly NWS.)

Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs

Albert Nobbs was a bit of a tough film to swallow, both because we know who is who and because, Jaysus, how fookin’ depressing. McTeer was great in it, and you can’t take that away, but the film was really all about Glenn Close and her transformation into Albert, which hurts McTeer’s candidacy, probably fatally.

Octavia Spencer for The Help

The Help was a lot better than I was expecting it to be, but I didn’t think it was all that great, certainly not worthy of the attention its getting in awards. However, Octavia Spencer — and her terrible, no good, bad deed — was the most enjoyable part of the whole thing. I’m not sure if its down to the acting or the absurdity layered over the role, but I liked it either way.

The Descision: Octavia Spencer. The award already engraved with her name, and I can’t argue with it.

Photo by Jon Hill

Wednesday-Thursday, Feb. 22-23 – Kevin Hart

various times
through Thursday, Feb. 23
Hard Rock Live
6050 Universal Blvd.
407-351-5483
$48-$73

For someone who mines so much material out of his short stature, comedian Kevin Hart had a larger-than-life year in 2011. When he released his stand-up special, Laugh at My Pain, as a feature film rather than, say, a Comedy Central special, his prospects looked grim. It’s been more than a decade since the last stand-up-based film, The Original Kings of Comedy, made even a dent in the box office, and only a few years since Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show flop seemingly put the final nail in the stand-up feature coffin. Yet Laugh at My Pain grossed $2 million in its limited opening weekend, grossing $20,000 per screen – about three times as much as that weekend’s No. 1 movie, Contagion. Made for only $750,000, Hart’s film went on to gross nearly $8 million through word-of-mouth alone, propelling him straight onto the comedy A-list. If you’ve ever wished you could’ve caught Chris Rock in his Bring the Pain-era top form, here’s your second chance. – Justin Strout

Chico & Rita

Hey, Oscar watchers, welcome back! If you listen to the chatter, 2011 was a depressing year for animation films. Pixar screwed the pooch, as expected, with Cars 2, Rio was a thing (I’ve seen it and I can barely remember it) and Happy Feet 2 … well, I kinda liked that one. Actually, to this traditionally animation-harrumphing critic, 2011 was just fine, thank you very much. The Adventures of Tintin did its job efficiently, a couple of the nominees below tickled me and if it didn’t clock in at only a fucking HOUR, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh would’ve been the frontrunner, in my opinion. What a delightful, respectful, sing-along throwback that one was! And say what you will about her, but Zooey Deschanel was straight born to provide a Pooh soundtrack.

But alas, critics don’t vote for these things. They really don’t! The people that make them do. Here’s what they liked:

A Cat in Paris: Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol (directors)

Right off the bat, I haven’t seen it, and neither have most critics. Sigh. Let’s go to one of the lucky few, Leba Hertz at the San Francisco Chronicle! “A charming little French animation (not suitable for very young children,) directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli … [with] animation that sort of combines folksy and expressionist art.” (psst – I don’t think she’s seen it, either) Will it win? Nope.

Chico & Rita: Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba (directors)

Again, I haven’t seen it. Let’s go to Andrew O’Hehir at Salon! “Balancing the tropical primary colors of pre-revolutionary Cuba with a wintry, neon-flavored vision of bebop-era Manhattan, Chico & Rita is an ecstatic musical and visual celebration, taking its cues from Gauguin and Picasso in one direction, from Dizzy Gillespie and Tito Puente in another.” Sounds awesome. But no.

Kung Fu Panda 2: Jennifer Yuh (director)

Technically the aesthetic pick of the litter, Panda 2 was a marvel to take in, all fluid, forward motion and, despite being years into an overstayed welcome, career-wise, Jack Black’s comedic verve. So why wasn’t that enough for me? I think it boils down to the DreamWorks animation scripting process, which seems designed specifically to beat any surprise out of the plot and replace that with stale pop-culture references. It just leaves me cold, even with the best kind of window dressing. No.

Puss in Boots: Chris Miller (director)

If I’m being totally honest, I giggled throughout. Something about Antonio Banderas voicing a kitty cat (as opposed to a bee) tickles my inner (and, frankly, outer) Pillsbury. The action flows nicely, the characters mostly work and Banderas is a vocal force to be reckoned with. But the actual story lacked in cohesion and momentum and Zach Galifianakis as Humpty Dumpty provided about as much zest as a Perkins server picking up his last paycheck before hopping on a bus to military school. Still, hee hee, kitty. But no.

Rango: Gore Verbinski (director)

Verbinski is the biggest name in the category and will likely be rewarded for returning to kid-friendly fare (one of his first outings was the surprisingly decent Mousehunt), but while the picture looked amazing – such detail! – Johnny Depp’s voice work did little for me, as did the cowboy-Chinatown arc. Plus, let’s be honest: We’re all just waiting for The Lone Ranger, right? Right? Anyone?

The Decision: Rango

Pick up tomorrow’s Orlando Weekly to read the full story, or read it online after 5 p.m.

You’ll never cross the road the same way again.

It’s that special time of year once again: the magic of movies, the nose-to-nose horse race, the time of year where at least one person in your Twitter feed will feel personally slighted by Albert Brooks not being nominated — yes, yes. It’s Oscar time.

Here at OW Labs, we greet this time of year with as much tongue in cheek as we do seriousness. And with 33% bitterness that we haven’t been nominated for anything.

So, just like last year, we will run through some of our favorite categories over the next six days and see who we think should come out on top.

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Best Cinematography is a bit of an open category this year. It has no real front runner since the films expected to win big, The Artist and The Help, are not exactly what you’d call “outstanding achievements in cinematography”. Emmanuel Luzbeki and The Tree of Life is the closest thing you could call a front runner, but The Tree of Life has been widely dismissed awards-wise since winning the Palme d’Or last year.

The Artist (2011): Guillaume Schiffman

Despite looking old-timey, The Artist was shot digitally, grayscaled and then cropped to full screen in post production. I say that like a complaint, but they did achieve the look they were going for with a minimal “digital” feel, which most films that try for something similar cannot achieve.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Jeff Cronenweth

There is a lot to like about Cronenweth’s work on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s a dark, cold film, and Cronenweth brings that frozen crispness to every frame of the film, but one can’t help but feel that it’s too similar to the Swedish adaptation of the same book to really get the deliberation it deserves.

Hugo (2011/II): Robert Richardson

Hugo is a bit of a tough one to swallow in this category because there is so much manipulation going on in the frame that it’s hard to figure out what is Bob Richardson and what is animated, composite or otherwise manipulated on screen.

The Tree of Life (2011): Emmanuel Lubezki

The big thing that Luzezki and The Tree of Life have going for it is that even people who absolutely hated the film said it at least looked pretty. It’s mind-blowingly beautiful, but there is a problem too: the shots the film is most known for now, the “big bang” sequence, was done by special effects guys under the direction of Douglas Trumbull.

War Horse (2011): Janusz Kaminski

Like The Tree of Life, the one thing that no one can deny War Horse is that it’s a beautiful film. That’s always the case with Kaminski, who has been shooting Spielberg’s films for the last 20 or so years and even managed to make The Terminal look pretty. I’m trying very very hard to avoid using the term dark horse, but I’ve just failed. Dammit.

The Descision: It’s got to be The Tree of Life, even barring the big bang sequence. Nothing else comes close to capturing the spirit of its film as well as Lubezki and his team have done here. As well, it is the only major category the film is nominated in and will probably get a vote overload since it is the only place to laud the film.

NEW DATE: Thursday, Feb. 23 – Beer Dinner With Tony Mantuano

6:30 p.m.
Portobello
1560 Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista
407-828-8996
$59.95

On last week’s Top Chef Texas, apprentice Sarah Grueneberg was gleefully tearful when chef Tony Mantuano made a surprise appearance and further solidified his fine Italian culinary prowess. Aside from Grueneberg being this writer’s personal top chef’testant, Mantuano’s mentorship of Grueneberg within Chicago’s Spiaggia kitchen undeniably played a role in her well-earned spot in the show’s finals. Orlando gets a taste tonight as the chef-pair heads to Downtown Disney’s Portobello restaurant to team up with executive chef Steven Richard for a four-course rustic Italian feast. Menu standouts – antipasti, drunken gnocchi, braised short ribs – will be served with suggested beer pairings, ending with a sweet finish in Portobello’s signature biramisu (tiramisu infused with Orlando Brewing’s Black Water Porter). With any luck, Grueneberg’s Top Chef victory will be just as sweet. – Aimee Vitek

Photo by Rob Jones

Tuesday, Feb. 21 – Mock Trial: The Trial of Friar Laurence

5:30 p.m.
Orlando Shakespeare Center
812 E. Rollins St.
407-447-1700
$25

There’s blood on the streets in Verona, where the teenagers have gotten out of hand; instead of iPhones, these young and not-so-innocent ruffians were palming swords and vials of poison. (After that kind of mayhem, texting at the dinner table doesn’t seem quite so bad.) But the case isn’t closed, and somewhere, some adult is going to shoulder some of the blame. In the upcoming mock trial at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater – their fourth annual – Friar Laurence is in the dock, as real lawyers from local firms (Kimberly Ashby of Akerman Senterfitt and John Hamilton of Foley & Lardner) prepare to read him the riot act. Will the good father take the heat as an accessory before, during or after the fact? You’ll have to witness the event yourself to find out. We wonder, if he’s found guilty, how they plan to incarcerate a literary character? – Al Krulick

VICTORY! Or so it seems. Today, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs held a meeting with the Orlando Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Committee to discuss what her position on the big gay issue, a Domestic Partnership Registry, really is. We’ve covered this here and here and here, but we’ve also been spending a lot of time sitting outside of the Orange County Administration building wondering why this isn’t easier. Why, as they say, are we here? Well, as David Damron of the Orlando Sentinel pointed out in this morning’s paper of record, this story is constantly evolving. We’ve watched pots of water boil before. This ain’t our first kitchen. Boil, dammit!

Jacobs apparently invited the TeeVee media into her office for comments after the meeting – not us, mind – and, unless we’re completely deluded and/or drunk, it would seem that she’s finally dropped her anti-gay frown in favor of a milder, blurrier future. As Damron pointed out, Jacobs is still working out some pertinent issues, namely the next-of-kin notification required by state government, education issues and, cough, whether cremation is something a domestic partner can decide. Fine. She has a few months to work out the kinks, thanks to her own personally established timeline.

So here are the other outstanding issues: Jacobs is basically dumping the registry on the City of Orlando, something that wasn’t supposed to happen. Originally, it was floated that the city would use the county’s larger database for the registry – and it is, presently – because that would be cheaper. The county now says that its residents will likely have to show up at Orlando City Hall to register, rather than utilizing any of the county’s numerous offices. We spoke with City Clerk Alana Brenner this morning, and she said that though there had been “some talks” with the city about keeping up the registry, the matter hadn’t been finalized. (It’s all County Comptroller Martha Haynie’s doing, because she is awesome and has been fighting the good fight since day one).

More importantly, according to OADO member Lisa Tillmann, whom we spoke to after today’s meeting, the county actually has greater power to enforce a registry; the city has a limit of a $500 fine in cases where the registry is not properly observed. The county will enforce a “private course of action” against violators, which could be substantially more significant via the county’s Human Rights Ordinance. Jacobs is still stalling a bit on the issue, saying she’ll have an ordinance – one that will include a separate option for non-cohabiting residents that allows them to be off the public record – in a few months, but all signs are good right now. She reportedly admitted in the meeting that the plan had the support of all but one of the county commissioners (we’ll let you guess which one).

“The part we’re still hopeful about is the continued consultation,” said Tillmann. “We’re hoping to have a seat at the table when they draft the ordinance.”

Tomorrow morning, Jacobs will introduce the measure via PowerPoint at the Board of County Commissioners meeting, and gay advocates are encouraging anyone and everyone to show up wearing red in support.

“She knows the commissioners support it,” says OADO member Mary Meeks. “Now she just needs to know we support her.”