Best Picture:
-The Hurt Locker
-Up in the Air
-Avatar
-Inglorious Bastards
-Precious
-The Blind Side
-Up
-An Education
-District 9
-A Serious Man
Thoughts- 7 of my top 10 movies made the cut and the only one I am upset about missing is (500) Days of Summer, and the only one I haven't seen is A Serious Man. The decision to move to 10 nominees showed itself in a big way with the inclusion of popular fan favorite The Blind Side, which was widely criticized by critics. District 9 and Up also greatly benefited from the change. The inclusion of a big box office/ fan favorite, a sci-fi action movie and a family friendly animated film all show the Academies desire to try to appeal to a wider audience and hopefully increase the viewership come awards night. While I was a fan of these films, especially Blind Side and Up, I still feel that in a normal year I would not even consider them when talking about a "Best Picture" for the Oscars and feel that in a way the Academy has sold out its prestige and elite status to simply increase public appeal and viewership... but after all everything is about money in today's world isn't it.
Best Director:
-Katheryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
-James Cameron (Avatar)
-Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Bastards)
-Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
-Lee Daniels (Precious)
Thoughts: Perfect 5 for 5 here. Let the battle of ex-spouses (Bigelow and Cameron) begin.
Best Actor:
-Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
-George Clooney (Up in the Air)
-Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
-Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
-Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Thoughts: I was 4 out of 5 in this category with the only difference being Colin Firth instead of Viggo Mortensen. Firth was very good in A Single Man but I disliked the movie so much I think I held that against him. However, Firth is a veteran actor who has had multiple accomplished performances without ever being nominated so it is fitting that he gets some recognition.
Best Actress:
-Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)
-Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
-Carey Mulligan (An Education)
-Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
-Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Thoughts: Once again I was 4 out of 5 with the difference being Helen Mirren instead of Zooey Deschanel. I have not seen The Last Station yet so I will withhold any commentary about Mirren, but I am sad that one of the most under-appreciated movies of the year (500 Days of Summer) didn't get any recognition.
Best Supporting Actor:
-Christopher Waltz (Inglorious Bastards)
-Matt Damon (Invictus)
-Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
-Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
-Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Thoughts: This was by far my worst category as I only got 1 right (but he will be the winner). The biggest reason is I have not seen 3 of the movies (The Last Station, The Messenger, The Lovely Bones). The only one I am upset about here is the snub of Anthony Mackie from the Hurt Locker whose performance and chemistry with Renner's character was vital to the overall success of the movie. I kind of figured Damon would show up here but I really felt his performance in Invictus was basic and unmemorable as I can think of multiple movies where I thought he was much better.
Best Supporting Actress:
-Mo'Nique (Precious)
-Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
-Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
-Penelope Cruz (Nine)
-Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Thoughts: I got 3 out of 5 here and I have no real complaints. I would have preferred to see Cotillard instead of Cruz from Nine as I thought she had the more difficult role and was my favorite character in the movie, but Cruz was very good as well. I am glad Gyllenhaal was nominated here as she was very good in Crazy Heart opposite Jeff Bridges. My last choice that didn't make it (Laurent from Inglorious Bastards) was probably most hurt by category confusion as some people considered her a lead and not supporting.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
-Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)
-Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious)
-Nick Hornby (An Education)
-Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (District 9)
-Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche (In the Loop)
Thoughts: 3 out of 5 here. Another big disappointment for me here is the exclusion of Where the Wild Things Are which I thought was an awesome adaptation. Jonze took a 12 page children's book and developed a story that was both beautiful in its simplicity and breathtaking in its creativity. District 9 is an ok choice and I didn't see In the Loop.
Best Original Screenplay:
-Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker)
-Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Bastards)
-Bob Peterson and Pete Docter (Up)
-Joel and Ethan Coen (A Serious Man)
-Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman (The Messenger)
Thoughts: 3 out of 5 here. Hurt Locker, Inglorious Bastards and Up were all locks, and I haven't seen A Serious Man or The Messenger. I am actually pretty glad that Avatar didn't make the cut here because the screenplay was the obvious weak link in that movie (How many memorable lines do you remember from it?... Yeah that's what I thought). It also is bad news to all the Avatar fans for its chances of winning Best Picture. Once again I am disappointed that 500 Days of Summer didn't make the cut here because this was its best shot and most deserved.
Best Editing:
-The Hurt Locker
-Avatar
-Inglorious Bastards
-Precious
-Star Trek
Thoughts: 4 out of 5. Missed Up in the Air for Star Trek which is a very interesting upset considering that a film has not won Best Picture without a Best Editing nomination since 1980, which paints a pretty bleak picture for Up in the Air's chances of winning the big one.
Best Cinematography:
-The Hurt Locker
-Avatar
-Inglorious Bastards
-Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince
-The White Ribbon
Thoughts: 3 out of 5. Harry Potter is a joke in this category as far as I am concerned, especially over Where the Wild Things Are and The Road which were both beautifully shot. I need to see The White Ribbon which is nominated in the Best Foreign Picture Category and looks very interestingly shot in black and white.
Best Art Direction:
-Nine
-The Young Victoria
-Avatar
-Sherlock Holmes
-The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Thoughts: 3 out of 5 here with another snub for Where the Wild Things Are. Sherlock Holmes is a good pick and I haven't seen The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
Best Costume Design:
-The Young Victoria
-Nine
-The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
-Bright Star
-Coco Avant Chanel
Thoughts: The Young Victoria and Nine were no-brainers. I have not seen the other 3 but they all seem to make sense... A surreal adventure, a period piece, and a movie about a fashion icon.
Best Makeup:
-Star Trek
-The Young Victoria
-Il Divo
Thoughts: Star Trek was obvious, but I can not believe that after all the love District 9 got that it did not get this nomination. The Young Victoria doesn't make much sense to me here because makeup did not appear to play that great of a role in shaping that movie, and I have no idea what Il Divo even is.
Best Sound Editing:
-Avatar
-The Hurt Locker
-Star Trek
-Up
-Inglorious Bastards
Thoughts: Avatar wins in a landslide is pretty much all you need to know about these next 3 categories.
Best Sound Mixing:
-Avatar
-The Hurt Locker
-Star Trek
-Inglorious Bastards
-Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Thoughts: Avatar wins again... As much as I liked the first Transformers, this sequel was horrible.
Best Visual Effects:
-Avatar
-District 9
-Star Trek
Thoughts: The obvious 3 choices, but once again Avatar wins hands down.
Best Score:
-Up
-Avatar
-Fantastic Mr. Fox
-The Hurt Locker
-Sherlock Holmes
Thoughts: This category is not my strong suite. Very happy to see The Hurt Locker in this category (A suggestion as to its Best Picture chances). Up should win this category.
Best Song:
-The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart)
-Take It All (Nine)
-Almost There (The Princess and the Frog)
-Down in New Orleans (The Princess and the Frog)
-Paris 36 (Loin de Paname)
Thoughts: Absolutely loved The Weary Kind. Beautiful heartfelt song that should run away with this category. Disney back in the mix with 2 nominations. Can't believe that Take it All made it over Cinema Italiano from Nine (Thought both of them would make it). No idea what Paris 36 or the movie Loin de Paname is.
Best Animated:
-Up
-The Fantastic Mr. Fox
-Coraline
-The Princess and The Frog
-The Secret of Kells
Thoughts: Only saw Up, but pretty confident that will be the winner, even with the popularity of The Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Best Foreign:
-The White Ribbon (Germany)
-A Prophet (France)
-Ajami (Israel)
-The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
-The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina)
Thoughts: Have not had the chance to see any of these yet, but I have heard great things about A Prophet and especially about The White Ribbon.
Best Documentary:
-The Cove
-Food Inc.
-Which Way Home
-Burma VJ
-The Most Dangerous Man in America
Thoughts: I thought The Cove was very good and considering what the filmmakers went through to shoot that movie they will probably win.
Best Shorts (Live Action, Animated, Documentary)
-Nobody knows or cares.
Movies on my list to see before Oscar night:
-A Serious Man
-The Messengers
-The Last Station
-The Lovely Bones
-In The Loop
-The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
-The White Ribbon
-A Prophet
