2012 Oscar Nominations

Once again, the Oscar nominations are back and a whole bunch of movies that no one has ever heard from got nominated such as Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Silver Linings Playbook.  Of course, now that they have been nominated, they are going to get some attention.  So, I checked Netflix to see if any of these movies were available and sure enough Beasts of the Southern Wild was available as well as some of the titles from the documentary categories and most of the animated films nominees.

View the list of 2012 Oscar nominees which include links to their trailers.


I will highlight in red my predictions and when the winners are announced, I will highlight them in green.  Once again, the only films to consider in the Best Picture category are those where the Best Director are also nominated. So, those films will be highlighted in purple.




And the nominees are....

Best Picture

I've seen most of these movies and I can see why they were all nominated.  Interestingly, none of these are blockbusters so to speak (which is the reason the Academy extended this category from five to ten nominees.  They wanted to give the blockbusters a chance to win an Oscar).  The ones in purple are the ones where the Director is also nominated.  Though Argo has won the Golden Globe, Director's Guild, Screen Actors Guild and seems to be the front runner, I believe, however, that Spielberg will win the Oscar for best director which means that Lincoln will win for best picture.  It would be a major upset if Argo won since its director, Ben Affleck, was snubbed by the Academy in the Directing category.

So, the winner is....Lincoln

• Amour
• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Miserables
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty
• Life of Pi

Best Actor

Once again Ben Affleck gets snubbed in this category for Argo.  But, there is no doubt that Daniel Day-Lewis will win this Oscar.  His performance in Lincoln is outstanding and he's won both the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild awards for his role.

So, the winner is....Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln

• Bradley Cooper -- Silver Linings Playbook
• Daniel Day-Lewis -- Lincoln
• Hugh Jackman -- Les Miserables
• Joaquin Phoenix -- The Master
• Denzel Washington -- Flight

Best Actress

This category is split.  Chastain won the Golden Globe and Lawrence won the Screen Actors Guild award.  Could 9 year old Wallis become the spoiler and become the youngest winner of the statuette?  She already made history by becoming the youngest nominee ever.  The heavy favorite is Lawrence but I will go with the underdog.

So, the winner is...Quvenzhane Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild

• Jessica Chastain -- Zero Dark Thirty
• Jennifer Lawrence -- Silver Linings Playbook
• Emmanuelle Riva -- Amour
• Quvenzhane Wallis -- Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Naomi Watts -- The Impossible 

Best Supporting Actor

Incredible to believe but all of these actors have either been nominated or won an Oscar in the past. either in this category or in the best actor category.  Arkin has been nominated three times (but won in this category for Little Miss Sunshine in 2006); DeNiro has been nominated six times for the Oscar (once for best supporting actor for the Godfather Part II for which he won his very first Oscar and then for best actor for Raging Bull); Hoffman has been nominated three times for an Oscar (twice in this category for Charlie Wilson's War and Doubt and once for best actor for which he won the statuette for Capote); Jones has been nominated three times for an Oscar (twice in this category for JFK and his Oscar winning performance in The Fugitive and once in the best actor category for In the Valley of Elah in 2007); and Waltz whose most recent and only Oscar nomination and win was in 2009 for Inglorious Basterds.  So, it is basically anyone's guess who could possibly win this Oscar.  This is a tough one for sure.  Arkin, Jones, and Waltz all had very strong performances.  This category is also split.  Waltz won the Golden Globe while Jones won the Screen Actors Guild award.  Waltz deserves to win but Jones will get it.  It will be a good day for Lincoln.

So, the winner is...Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln.

• Alan Arkin -- Argo
• Robert De Niro -- Silver Linings Playbook
• Philip Seymour Hoffman -- The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones -- Lincoln
• Christoph Waltz -- Django Unchained 

Best Supporting Actress

Looks like the Supporting categories are the strongest this year.  All of these nominees have been Oscar nominated before either in this category or in the Best Actress category.  However, the heavy favorite here is Hathaway with both Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild wins.  This would be a major upset for her if someone else wins.  If someone else does, it will likely be Sally Field.

So, the winner is...Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables.

• Amy Adams -- The Master
• Sally Field -- Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway -- Les Miserables
• Helen Hunt -- The Sessions
• Jacki Weaver -- Silver Lining Playbook 

Best Animated Feature Film

The animated films this were okay.  ParaNorman was much better than Brave but Brave will get it due to its female heroine (btw, the movie is not about what the trailer led you to believe).  Brave won the Golden Globe so they are the strongest contender for the statuette.  Though ParaNorman deserves it, politics will give Brave the win.

So, the winner is...Brave.

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Wreck-It Ralph

Best Cinematography

This one is a toughie.  Any one of these nominees could win the award and deserve it.  But, I am leaning more towards Life of Pi.  The cinematography in this movie was excellent and fairytale like...very beautiful indeed.

So, the winner is...Life of Pi.

• Anna Karenina
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Best Costume Design

This category usually goes to the historical drama which means the first three movies are the heavy contenders.  Hmmm, however, the statuette might be between Les Miserables and Lincoln.

So, the winner is...Les Miserables

• Anna Karenina
• Les Miserables
• Lincoln
• Mirror Mirror
• Snow White and the Huntsman 

Best Director

All of these movies are very distinctive in some way especially Beasts of the Southern Wild and Life of Pi, but taking home the Oscar will be Lincoln.

So, the winner is...Steven Spielberg for Lincoln

• Amour -- Michael Haneke
• Beasts of the Southern Wild -- Benh Zeitlin
• Life of Pi -- Ang Lee
• Lincoln -- Steven Spielberg
• Silver Linings Playbook -- David O. Russell  

Best Documentary Feature

Sugar Man got a Director's Guild Award in its category but it will be The Invisible War that will win it due to its topic on rape in the military.  Then again, the Palestinian entry 5 Broken Cameras (first nomination from this country) could just as well get it.

So, the winner is...The Invisible War.

• 5 Broken Cameras
• The Gatekeepers
• How to Survive a Plague
• The Invisible War
• Searching for Sugar Man

Best Documentary Short

Haven't seen any of these, so your guess is as good as mine.

• Inocente
• Kings Point
• Mondays at Racine
• Open Heart
• Redemption

Best Film Editing

This is also a toughie, but I will go with Argo.

So, the winner is...Argo.

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best Foreign Language Film

Since Amour was nominated in the Best Picture category and will not likely get that Oscar, they are the top contender for Best Foreign Language Film.

So, the winner is...Amour from Austria

• Amour -- Austria
• Kon-Tiki -- Norway
• No -- Chile
• A Royal Affair -- Denmark
• War Witch -- Canada  

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Hmmm, all of these have their makeup and hairstyling challenges but the most difficult one would be The Hobbit.  If this movie had a chance to win any of its three nominations, it would be this category though Les Miserables might win this one.

So, the winner is...The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

• Hitchcock
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Miserables

Best Music (Original Score)

Well, Life of Pi is the leading contender since they won the Golden Globe.  The score for all these movies are great.

So, the winner is...Life of Pi.

• Anna Karenina -- Dario Marianelli
• Argo -- Alexandre Desplat
• Life of Pi -- Mychael Danna
• Lincoln -- John Williams
• Skyfall -- Thomas Newman

Best Music (Original Song)

Though everybody would like to see Seth MacFarlane win this category for Ted,
Skyfall has been winning this category handily.  The song is good and a best seller.  Charted 20th in 2012. 

So, the winner is...Skyfall.

• "Before My Time" from Chasing Ice -- Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
• "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from Ted -- Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
• "Pi's Lullaby" from Life of Pi -- Music by Mycahel Danna ; Lyric by: Bombay Jayashri
• "Skyfall" from Skyfall -- Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
• "Suddenly" from Les Miserables -- Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Best Production Design

All good choices no doubt, but I think Life of Pi did it best.

So, the winner is...Life of Pi.

• Anna Karenina
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln 

Best Short Film (Animated)

Haven't seen any of these movies.  Didn't even know they existed.  So, no predictions here.

• Adam and Dog
• Fresh Guacamole
• Head Over Heels
• Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" 
• Paperman

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Haven't seen any of these movies.  Didn't even know they existed.  So, no predictions here.

• Asad
• Buzkashi Boys
• Curfew
• Death of a Shadow
• Henry

Best Sound Editing

It would have to be between Life of Pi and Skyfall.  Hmmm, tough one.

So, the winner is...Skyfall.

• Argo
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best Sound Mixing

Again, another tough category.

So, the winner is...Argo.

• Argo 
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Best Visual Effects

All of these movies are deserving of this nomination, but Life of Pi wouldn't be the movie that it is without its visual effects.

So, the winner is...Life of Pi.

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Marvel's The Avengers
• Prometheus
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

A definite challenge here.  Certainly the most creative are Beasts of the Southern Wild and Life of Pi.  However, Argo won the Writers Guild Award for this category.  Tough choice indeed.

So, the winner is...Beasts of the Southern Wild.

• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Life of Pi
• LIncoln
• Silver Linings Playbook

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

Django Unchained won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay so they are the leading contender in this category.  However, the Writers Guild Awards gave it to Zero Dark Thirty.

So, the winner is...Zero Dark Thirty.

• Amour
• Django Unchained
• Flight
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Zero Dark Thirty

2011 Oscar Nominations

It is that time of the year again. The Oscars are back and will be televised this coming Sunday. It is interesting to note that the nominees with the most nominations were not on the top 10 grossing movies for 2011. Hugo which got the most nominations with 11 ranked 53rd in gross for 2011. The Artist got 10 nominations and ranked 101st in gross for 2011. A couple of years ago, the Academy decided to augment the nominees in the Best Picture category in order to allow blockbusters the opportunity to garner the golden statuette. Yet, in 2011, none of those blockbuster movies except for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (ranked 1st in gross, 3 nominations in technical awards which might not win one category) got any nominations.

See the list of 2011 gross rankings via BoxOfficeMojo.

It is incredible to believe that a black and white silent movie (The Artist) got the second most nominations at the Oscars. Yet, most people forget that Mel Brooks' comedy Silent Movie (1976) did just that. Never got nominated for an Oscar but did get nominated for four Golden Globes in the Best Motion Picture -- Comedy/Musical categories (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress) for Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, and Bernadette Peters respectively. Of course, slapstick comedies never get nominated by the Academy.
I will highlight in red my predictions and when the winners are announced, I will highlight them in green.

Once again, the small independent movies beat out the blockbusters in nominations. Expanding the Best Picture category to up to 10 films in an effort to let the blockbusters the opportunity to garner a statuette has not worked. They just opened up the opportunity for more independents to get into the category. Thank you Academy for doing that.

Once again, the only films to consider in the Best Picture category are those where the Best Director are also nominated. So, those films will be highlighted in purple. I think the strongest contenders for Best Picture will be The Artist and Hugo. The former for its uniqueness and the latter because it was directed by Martin Scorsese. He never does films like these. His youngest daughter was the one who told him to make the book into a movie...and he did.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Best Picture

• "The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
• "The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
• "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
• "The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
• "Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
• "Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
• "Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
• "The Tree of Life" Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
• "War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

All good directors and good films. This is definitely a tough choice.
Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Martin Scorsese for Hugo

Directing

• "The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
• "The Descendants" Alexander Payne
• "Hugo" Martin Scorsese
• "Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
• "The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick

George Clooney and Brad Pitt have been both nominated in this category in previous years while the other three nominees have not. Of the remaining three, Gary Oldman is the most recognizable due to the Harry Potter movies. However, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy hasn't gotten that much attention in the U.S. The movie ranked 112th in gross for 2011, yet the movie garnered three nominations.
Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....George Clooney

Actor in a Leading Role

• Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
• George Clooney in "The Descendants"
• Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
• Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
• Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Wow, this is going to be a tough category. Everyone except for Jonah Hill has been Oscar nominated before. Branagh has been nominated four times before for Leading Actor, Director, Short Film and Writing; Nick Nolte for Leading Actor for Prince of Tides and Affliction; Christopher Plummer was just nominated for the first time two years ago in this category for The Last Station; and Max Von Sydow for Pelle the Conqueror in the Leading Actor category. Jonah Hill is the only actor who has never been nominated before and he is likely to be a long shot yet, it is not unusual for a newcomer to get an award in a category with more experienced actors. Hill is better known for his comedies but it was a dramatic part that got him into this category. I will take the long shot route.
Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Jonah Hill

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
• Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
• Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
• Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
• Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Everyone except for Mara has been nominated before. This is Streep's 17th nomination in the category. The most of any actor and believe it or not, she has only won it twice for Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice. She won the latter in 1982. It has been 30 years since she won an Oscar. So, it might be long overdue. However, the Academy does like cross-dressers like Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria and Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, though neither of them won the statuette. Though Close has been nominated five times before this one and never won a statuette, this could be her turn. Cross-dressing is a politically correct topic these days. Hmmm, this is a tough one.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Glenn Close

Actress in a Leading Role

• Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
• Viola Davis in "The Help"
• Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
• Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
• Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

All but McTeer have never been nominated. It is unlikely that McCarthy will get it because slapstick comedies never win acting categories. That leaves Chastain and Spencer for The Help and McTeer for Albert Nobbs. Both of these films are the kind of politically correct films Hollywood likes.
Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Janet McTeer

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
• Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
• Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
• Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
• Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

I don't recognize the first two films but do recognize the last three. I am surprised that The Adventures of Tin Tin was not included in this category. Hard to tell which of these actually deserves the statuette. Not a good year for animation. So, I am just going to guess.
Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Rango

Animated Feature Film

• "A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
• "Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
• "Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
• "Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
• "Rango" Gore Verbinski

Wow, the art direction in all these movies are amazing. Though Harry Potter has been nominated in this category three times before, they have never gotten an Oscar in any category. So, they are not likely to get this time either though it ranked 1st in gross in 2011. I think the two films in strong contention for this Oscar are The Artist and Hugo.
Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Art Direction

• "The Artist"
  Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
  Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• "Hugo"
  Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
• "Midnight in Paris"
  Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
• "War Horse"
  Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Again, a hard choice.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....The Artist

Cinematography

• "The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
• "Hugo" Robert Richardson
• "The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
• "War Horse" Janusz Kaminski

Usually, historical dramas get this category but again I think the two top contenders will be The Artist and Hugo.
Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Costume Design

• "Anonymous" Lisy Christl
• "The Artist" Mark Bridges
• "Hugo" Sandy Powell
• "Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
• "W.E." Arianne Phillips

I have no idea. Haven't seen any of these so I won't try to guess.

Documentary (Feature)

• "Hell and Back Again"
  Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
• "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
  Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
• "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
  Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
• "Pina"
  Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
• "Undefeated"
  TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas

Again, I am unfamiliar with any of these. So, I won't try to guess.

Documentary (Short Subject)

• "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement"
  Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
• "God Is the Bigger Elvis"
  Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
• "Incident in New Baghdad"
  James Spione
• "Saving Face"
  Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
• "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"
  Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....The Artist

Film Editing

• "The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
• "The Descendants" Kevin Tent
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
• "Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
• "Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen

I have no idea.

Foreign Language Film

• "Bullhead" Belgium
• "Footnote" Israel
• "In Darkness" Poland
• "Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
• "A Separation" Iran

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Albert Nobbs

Makeup

• "Albert Nobbs"
  Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
  Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
• "The Iron Lady"
  Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Wow, John Williams nominated twice in the same category. He has been an Oscar nominee for more than 44 times since 1967. You may remember his scores from Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire of the Sun, and many, many, many more. The last time he won an Oscar was in 1993 for Schindler's List. So, he might be long overdue.
Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....John Williams for War Horse

Music (Original Score)

• "The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
• "The Artist" Ludovic Bource
• "Hugo" Howard Shore
• "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
• "War Horse" John Williams

Wow, only two songs were worthy to be nominated from last year's movies. That's pretty bad. The Muppet Movie (1979) was nominated in this category for The Rainbow Connection which is still a fairly popular song.
Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Man on Muppet from The Muppets

Music (Original Song)

• "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets"
  Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
• "Real in Rio" from "Rio"
  Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; Lyric by Siedah Garrett

I have no idea.

Short Film (Animated)

• "Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
• "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
• "La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
• "A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
• "Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

I have no idea.

Short Film (Live Action)

• "Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
• "Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
• "The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
• "Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
• "Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Sound Editing

• "Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
• "Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
• "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
• "War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Sound Mixing

• "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
  David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
• "Hugo"
  Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
• "Moneyball"
  Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco and Ed Novick
• "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
  Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
• "War Horse"
  Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Visual Effects

• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
  Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
• "Hugo"
  Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning
• "Real Steel"
  Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
• "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
  Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
• "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
  Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Hugo

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• "The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
• "Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
• "The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
• "Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
• "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....Midnight in Paris

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• "The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
• "Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
• "Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
• "Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
• "A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi

2010 Oscar Nominations Predictions

The Oscar show will be this coming Sunday...so time to see who will get the golden statuette.

I've seen quite a few of the movies but not all and in some cases, I might have to make an educated guess.

I will highlight in red my predictions and when the winners are announced, I will highlight in green the winners.

So how well did I do?

--Predictions Come True: 12 which included the major categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Animated Film

--Made No Predictions: 4

--Predictions Gone Wrong: 8


Best Picture: Of the ten nominations, the only ones to take seriously are the ones where the Best Director nominations are mentioned (in purple). Up is also nominated in the Best Animated Film category. Up should win Best Animated Film and therefore will not win Best Picture. It is a hard choice to make. Seems like the two top contenders are Avatar and The Hurt Locker. I've seen Avatar, though it was interesting and a blockbuster, I don't think it deserves the Oscar for Best Picture. The Hurt Locker is about war and it is politically correct and Hollywood likes causes and correctness, but then again so does Avatar. The Hurt Locker however does have a female director at the helm (Cameron's ex-wife) and women have only been nominated in the Director's category only three times during the life the award.

Carlos the Critic Says:
So, the winner is.....The Hurt Locker


Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air


Best Actor: Seems like the top contender for this category is Jeff Bridges. It is likely that he will get the statuette as a reward for his long career. He was nominated four times before (The Last Picture Show, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Starman, and The Contender) and has never taken the prize home.

So, the winner is...Jeff Bridges

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker


Best Actress: This could be a tricky one since Sandra Bullock seems to be the top contender. She's never won an Oscar before and so this could be a chance to do so. Of course, there is the perennial Meryl Streep who (counting this one) has been nominated for 16 Oscars and has only won it twice (Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie's Choice). Some could feel that she is long overdue for another statuette.

So, the winner is...Sandra Bullock


Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia


Best Supporting Actor: This could be up for grabs. Both Damon and Harrelson have been nominated for Oscars before for Good Will Hunting and The People vs. Larry Flynt. Damon is the only one from here that has won an Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting. Christopher Plummer who most will remember as Capt. Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, has never been nominated for an Oscar. This is his first time. He's also had an amazing and long career in movies usually playing bad guys. Stanley Tucci has had a good year. He played Julia Child's husband, Paul Child, in Julie/Julia. Some may vote for him to reward him both movies.

So, the winner is...Stanley Tucci

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds


Best Supporting Actress: Though there are many very good performances here, the outright winner of this category will be Mo'Nique. Its not unusual for first-timers to win the golden statuette. She won both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for the role of Precious.

So, the winner is...Mo'Nique


Best Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Director: The likely favorite in this category is James Cameron. His movie was a big hit and surpassed Titanic's (also directed by Cameron) box office records. However, the category also includes up and coming young director Jason Reitman, African-American director Lee Daniels, quirky Quentin Tarantino, and Kathryn Bigelow (Cameron's ex-spouse). Bigelow is only the third woman to ever be nominated in this category and it is just as rare for an African-American to be nominated as best director. Tarantino, however, has never won an Oscar in this category (his only Oscar was for writing for Pulp Fiction). Tough choice indeed. Traditionally, the winner of this category wins Best Picture.

So, the winner is...Kathryn Bigelow


Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds


Best Original Screenplay: Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of these movies except Up. It is nice to find an animated feature in this category.

So, the winner is...Up


Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson & Tom McCarthy, Up
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds


Best Adapted Screenplay: The only film in this category that I saw was District 9 which I found very interesting and which I found quite surprising that it was nominated in the Best Picture category. However, I think Precious will take this award due to its strong contention in the Best Director and Best Picture categories.

So, the winner is...Precious


Best Adapted Screenplay
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche, In the Loop
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air


Best Animated Film: due to its showing as a Best Picture nominee, there is no doubt that Up will win this category.

So, the winner is...Up

Best Animated Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up


Best Foreign Language Film: haven't seen any of these films so I won't even guess.

Best Foreign Language Film
El Secreto do Sus Ojos (Argentina)
Un Prophete (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
Ajami (Israel)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)


Best Ar Direction: All these films look very good, there is no doubt there is very beautiful artwork. In this category, however, Avatar will win it hands down. The artwork is quite distinctive and impressive.

Best Art Direction
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria


Best Cinematography: I only two of the films in this category and it is highly unlikely that Harry Potter will win it. However, Avatar is likely to get this category.

So, the winner is...Avatar


Best Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon


Best Costume Design: usually it is won by one of those sweeping historical movies.

So, the winner is...The Young Victoria


Best Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria


Best Documentary: I haven't seen any of these movies...when in doubt, go historical.

So, the winner is..The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers


Best Documentary
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

Best Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious


Best Makeup: I'm a big Star Trek fan and this one of the few categories it was nominated for.

So, the winner is...Star Trek


Best Makeup
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria


Best Score: Only saw two movies from this category (Avatar and Up) and both have very good music to go with the action. Tough call.

So, the winner is...Up

Best Score
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Up


Best Song: This is a category that has been dominated by Disney...so much so that it has been nominated twice.

So, the winner is... (either song...does it really matter?) The Princess and the Frog

Best Song
“Almost There,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname,” Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner & Frank Thomas
“Take It All,” Nine, Maury Weston
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart, T-Bone Burnett & Ryan Bingham


Best Sound Editing: I will be biased and go for the scifi flick.

So, the winner is...Star Trek

Best Sound Editing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up


Best Sound Mixing: I will be biased and go for the scifi flick.

So, the winner is...Star Trek

Best Sound Mixing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen


Best Visual Effects: I will be biased and go for the scifi flick.

So, the winner is...Star Trek

Best Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek


Best Documentary Short: Haven't seen any of these movies but will go for the home team since Booth Gardner is a former governor of Washington State and I live in Olympia, WA.

So, the winner is...The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner


Best Documentary Short
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin

Best Animated Short
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Live-Action Short
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants