OSCAR in 3 Days - Best Director

Best Director

• Michael Haneke – Amour
• Wonderful performances, but watching this movie was like watching grass grow.  It made Stanley Kubrick look hasty.  Attention to detail is one thing, but obsession is another. Potentially great story, but excruciating.
  
• Ang Lee – Life of Pi
• Just how much directing goes into CGI?
  
• David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
• Loved the movie from beginning to end. A director that can emotionally engage me without making me feel manipulated gets my vote. 
  
• Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
• Beautifully executed but a trite scene with his "negro" fans I thought was just too, too ... Spielberg. I also agree with some friends who think the 2nd inaugural should have been in Chronological context.  I still think it deserved the nod.  Despite my nit-picking it was a great film.  Much better than Abraham Lincoln: Vampire slayer.  One filmed showed the capitol dome under construction the other complete.  More on my new-found dome obsession tomorrow.
  
• Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
• After a wonderful explanation of the intricacies of this film I don't hate it anymore. But not hating a film does not a best director make for me.  It was disturbing for me and not in a challenging way at the time of viewing.  At least Amour led me to examine the film on the drive home.  This film left me angry and empty.
  

Snubbed:  Ben Affleck deserved a nomination over at least two of these nominations.  Glad he won the Globe. If he were in the mix I would have been more torn.  Tom Hooper did a great job with Les Miserables.  His live recording was ground breaking and extremely sucessful.

Should win:  David O. Russell
Will win: Steven Spielberg