In the days leading up to the 84th Academy Awards, FilmBuffOnline will be offering profiles on all the nominees in the major categories. Some may be well know, others might be new to you, but if you need a refresher on these talented nominees, here it is.

Demián Bichir

Nominated for: playing Carlos Galindo, an immigrant gardener who is trying to give his son A Better Life.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role , 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Nominated, Best Male Lead, 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards..

Where you might know him from:

Bichir played Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh’s Che and Ernesto Reyes in the TV Show Weeds.

History with Oscar:

This is Demián Bichir’s first Oscar nomination.

George Clooney

Nominated for: playing Matt King, a man who must reconnect with his estranged children after his wife suffers a life-threatening accident in The Descendants.

Other honors for this role:

Won, Best Actor, Washington DC Film Critics Association.

Won, Best Actor, National Board of Review.

Won, Best Actor, 2012 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama , The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role , 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 BAFTA Awards.

Where you might know him from:

Do I really have to write anything here? Everytime he changes girlfriends, it’s front page news.

After a career doing a number of small roles in unsuccessful films and TV show, Clooney got his big break playing Dr. Doug Ross on the TV series ER. He made the jump to films, and has starred in a number successful ones, and has directed quite a number of them as well. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow nominee Brad Pitt, having shared the screen with him in Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen, Burn After Reading and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which Clooney also directed.

History with Oscar:

George Clooney has been nominated for an Oscar five times in the past, winning once, and is nominated for another award this year–with Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, The Ides of March.

2006: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Syriana (Won).

2006: Best Achievement in Directing, Good Night, and Good Luck (lost to Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain).

2006: Best Writing, Original Screenplay, Good Night, and Good Luck (with Grant Heslov) (lost to Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco, Crash).

2008: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Michael Clayton (lost to Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood).

2010: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Up in the Air (lost to Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart).

Jean Dujardin

Nominated for: playing George Valentin, a silent movie superstar whose career goes into decline with the advent of sound recording in The Artist.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Actor, Washington DC Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy , The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Won, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role , 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Won, Best Actor, 2012 BAFTA Awards.

Nominated, Best Male Lead, 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Where you might know him from:

Unless you’ve lived in Europe, you might not know him. But he has starred in the OSS 117 and Lucky Luke franchises, which savvy fans in the U.S. might have seen.

History with Oscar:

This is Jean Dujardin’s first Oscar nomination.

Gary Oldman

Nominated for: playing George Smiley, a retired British spy who is brought back in the fold to weed out a traitor in the highest levels of British intelligence in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Other honors for this role:

Won, Best Actor, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 BAFTA Awards.

Where you might know him from:

Some of his most famous roles were Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy, Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK, Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise, and Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Batman films.

History with Oscar:

Surprisingly, this is Gary Oldman’s first Oscar nomination.

Brad Pitt

Nominated for: playing Billy Beane, who revolutionizes Major League Baseball by using computer statistical analysis to hire players in Moneyball.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Actor, Washington DC Film Critics Association.

Won, Best Actor, New York Film Critics Circle (honored for Moneyball and The Tree of Life).

Won, Best Actor, Boston Society of Film Critics.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama , The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role , 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 BAFTA Awards.

Where you might know him from:

Again, do I really have to write anything here? Everytime he goes out for coffee with his family, it’s front page news.

If you need reminding as to who Brad Pitt is, he was the star of Se7en, Fight Club and Troy. In addition to all the films he co-starred in with George Clooney, Pitt also co-starred in True Romance with Gary Oldman.

History with Oscar:

Brad Pitt has been nominated for an Oscar two times in the past,  and, like Clooney, is nominated for another award this year– for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Moneyball, which Pitt co-produced with Michael De Luca and Rachel Horovitz.

1996: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Twelve Monkeys (Lost to Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects).

2009: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (lost to Sean Penn, Milk).

It’s that time of year again. Tomorrow, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the nominees for the 84st Annual Academy Awards.

Every year there are snubs and surprises, thrills and controversies. There is no way of knowing who will be nominated, especially in a year when the Best Picture nominees could be 5 films, or ten films, or any number in between.  We here at FilmBuffOnLine, who believe the day nominations are announced should be a National holiday, are going to try and handicap the process for you.

We will try to tell you, in the most non-committal way possible, who we think are Almost Certain to get a nomination, who Definite May Be nominated, and whose nomination is a Outside Shot in the major categories (the four acting categories, Best Director, and Best Picture). We are trying to cover all bases, but don’t come to us if you lose money on your Oscar Nomination pool.

Best Actor:

Almost Certain:

George Clooney, The Descendants; Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Definite Maybe:

Michael Fassbender, Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method or Shame; Leonardo DiCaprio, J Edgar; Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Outside Shot:

Demián Bichir, A Better Life; Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid Love, Drive, or The Ides of March; Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Clooney and Dujardin have won the most hardware this year, which not only make them a lock to be nominated, but also likely one of them will be taking home the award.

Fassbender has been great in a lot of films (listing X-Men: First Class was a bit of a joke, he’ll most likely get the nod for Shame, but I think he gave an Oscar worthy performance in that film) so he is practically a lock for a nomination. The next two are about 50/50 of getting in. The Academy seems to have something against DiCaprio, and his performance as J. Edgar Hoover while not horrible (he got a lot of nods for other awards for it), was not amazing enough to overcome that film’s lackluster performance critically or financially. Brad Pitt eked out a couple of wins along the way (most notably, the New York and Boston critics), and while Moneyball was well received, I don’t see it as 100% Oscar material.

If DiCaprio and Pitt don’t get nominated, there are worthy choices waiting to take a spot. Bichir was great in a small film with a limited release that opened over the summer. These all work against him, but he is deserving of a nod. Gosling, like Fassbender, was great in a lot of films this year, and has been nominated before, but none of the films he was in seem to pass Oscar muster. Oldman was flat out amazing in Tinker Tailor, but his subtle performance might be lost on Oscar voters.

Best Actress

Almost Certain:

Viola Davis, The Help;  Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady; Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin; Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Definite Maybe:

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Outside Shot:

Bérénice Bejo, The Artist; Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene; Charlize Theron, Young Adult

On paper, this seems to be the category that seems to have the least wiggle room. Davis, Streep, Close, Swinton and Williams are all in the type of roles that Oscar voters seem to trip over giving nominations to. But in every round of nominations, there are bound to be surprises, and this category is ripe for one.

Bejo and Olsen have the best chance of breaking in, in my opinion. But Bejo is getting pushed for Best Supporting Actress instead of Lead, even though she essentially had a lead role. Olsen got good notices in her role, but suffers from the same “too early/too small handicap” that Bichir has. Theron has received nods for Best Actress in the Golden Globes (where there are nominations for comedy and drama) and the Critic’ Choice Awards (where there are six nominees). She has an Oscar pedigree, but Young Adult could very well be seen as less than Oscar worthy.

Best Supporting Actor:

Almost Certain:

Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn; Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Definite Maybe:

Albert Brooks, Drive; Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Outside Shot:

Nick Nolte, Warrior; Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method; Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes or The Adventures of Tintin; Armie Hammer, J Edgar; Tom Hardy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Plummer has won the Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice award Supporting Actor, making him a lock for an  Oscar nomination, if not the actual award. Branagh has been consistently nominated for his apt portrayal of Laurence Olivier, so he could get the nod as well. Slightly less certain but highly possible are nomination of two actors best known for comedy, Brooks and Hill, for playing against type. After that, place your bets. Will Nolte’s “sports mentor” role make the grade? Will Mortensen’s change of pace role as Sigmund Freud catch the Academy’s attention? Will the Academy make a statement and move towards the future by giving Serkis the nod for his superior motion-capture work? Does the Academy like J Edgar more than the critics and the general public do, thereby swing the nod to Hammer? Will Hardy represent Tinker Tailor‘s stellar cast with a nomination? Will it be another cast member? Or will the film be ignored?

Best Supporting Actress

Almost Certain:

Octavia Spencer, The Help; Bérénice Bejo, The Artist

Definite Maybe:

Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Outside Shot:

Jessica Chastain, The Help or Take Shelter; Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs; Carey Mulligan, Shame; Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

What I said for Christopher Plummer above also applies to Spencer. The only chance Bejo doesn’t get nominated here is if she gets nominated for Best Actress. But that race is crowded so I think she’ll land here. She is deserving.

The only thing keeping me from making McCarthy almost certain is the Academy’s apparent hatred of the comedy. They do not like to give nominations from comedies, no matter how good the role or film is. This time, though, I think they’ll make an exception.

After that, pick two. Chastain and Woodley might have a slight advantage, but McTeer has a good chance and Mulligan could sneak in.

Best Director:

Almost Certain:

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist; Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Definite Maybe:

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris;  Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Outside Shot:

David Fincher, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life; Bennett Miller, Moneyball; Steven Spielberg, War Horse or The Adventures of Tintin; Tate Taylor, The Help

Hazanavicius is definitely most deserving and Scorsese won the Golden Globe, so they should both be nominated. After that, Payne is almost a lock, as is Allen, due to the number of nominations they received. After that, well, ot depends. Fincher got a Directors Guild nomination, Malick has been on a lot of west coast critics awards list, which might be a barometer of how the Academy will go. Miller might ride the surprising accolades Moneyball is getting this award season with a nomination. And months ago, it looked like it wouldn’t be a question if Spielberg would be nominated, but for which film. Now, here he is, a long shot for any nomination at all. Weird. And Taylor has to be consider taking into account the number of great performance that came from that film.

Best Picture:

Almost Certain:

The Artist; The Descendants

Definite Maybe:

Hugo; The Help ; Midnight in Paris

Outside Chance:

The Tree of Life; War Horse; Moneyball; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; The Adventures of Tintin; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or just about any other film out there that has a miniscule amount of buzz.

Not having a definite number of nominees beforehand really plays havoc with the prognosticating business. I tried to pick out the five most likely films to get nominated, but with the possibility of five more, well, it could be any film of a certain stature.

So, what do you think? Am I on to something, or totally wrong? I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

When you think of the spy thriller, you think of handsome men driving fancy cars, bedding beautiful women, and having shoot outs in exotic foreign locales. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy shows that the real world of espionage is filled with frumpy, middle-aged men in cheap suits, to whom romance is awkward and often heartbreaking, whose work is most often done in windowless offices and when there is shooting to be done, it typically is done at a distance or through subordinates.

This is the more realistic portrait of the spy life that John le Carré wrote about in the 1974 novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy, based on his experiences in the British intelligent services during the 1950s and 1960s. And in this adaptation of that novel, we see that real life can be just as exciting, if not more exciting, than the fantasy.

It’s the early 1970s and there is a Russian mole in the upper echelons of the British intelligence office known as the “Circus.” A covert operation in Hungary to discover the name of the mole ends in disaster, forcing the leader of the Circus and his right hand man, George Smiley, out on the street. However, the Ministry of Defense still believes that the mole is one of the remaining men in the Circus hierarchy, and, with a information exchange agreement with American intelligence in the works, calls on Smiley to root out the mole from the outside.

The movie lives or dies on the role of George Smiley, and this film has an excellent one in Gary Oldman. Oldman is arguably the best actor of his generation and definitely the most unappreciated.  His Smiley has at most eight lines in the first hour, yet, every time Oldman appears on screen, you are captivated. His performance is not a showy one, but a nuanced one. He plays Smiley with a trademark British reserve with a spy’s way of masking their true feelings. It is an awesome performance, the kind where more is said by a particular facial expression than could ever be said by a hundred words of dialogue. Since it is not the flashy type of performance that the Academy notices most, Oldman runs risk of being ignored when nominations come around. This will be a grievous error if it happens because Oldman definitely gives one of the best performances of the year.

With a solid center in Oldman, director Tomas Alfredson fills out the rest of the cast with a strong group of international actors. Great performances abound, as is expected with a cast that includes Colin Firth, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and Toby Jones. There is not a bad performance in all of the cast and it all goes to creating an immersed reality for the viewer to sink into.

Alfredson also does well in setting the mood. The film develops at a languid pace. This might seem like a criticism, but it’s not. This technique works with le Carré’s plot to give us a glimpse of what the life of a real life spy must be like. It is periods of mundane routine with occasional explosions of chaotic excitement. There is still danger and lives are on the line, but our spies have to battle bureaucracy as well as the Russians and and some of their most important work is done on a telephone or teletype machines, speaking to agents in the field. It is an eye-opener to anyone who grew up with Hollywood’s version of the spy game.

While this description my lead you to believe that the film would be boring, it’s anything but. Credit should go to Alfredson and screenwriters Peter Straughan and the late Bridget O’Connor for building tension throughout the whole movie and paying keen attention to the mystery behind the mole’s identity.  You may guess the identity of the mole before the end of the film, but you’ll still be on the edge of your seat during the climax when the trap has finally been sprung.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was a novel that revolutionized the spy thriller for years to come. It’s film adaptation does it justice and then some. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a great film on many levels. It is well worth your time and movie-going dollar.

Gary Oldman has been cast as retired British spy master George Smiley in a new adaptation of John Le Carre’s classic Cold War thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Oldman will be stepping in to the shoes of Sir Alec Guiness who played the role in 1979 for the seven-part BBC adaptation of the book. It aired as part of PBS’s Great Performances series. He reprised the role in 1982 for the BBC’s adaptation of the sequel novel Smiley’s People.

In Le Carre’s novel, George Smiley is a retired intelligence officer who is reactivated in order to ferret out a Soviet mole in the highest levels of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. Le Carre based the novel on the Cambridge Five, a group of Soviet spies operating in England from World War Two up into the 1950s.

The new film version of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy will be helmed by Let The Right One In director Tomas Alfredson from a script by Frost/Nixon and The Queen scribe Peter Morgan.

Via Cinematical.