And the Oscar Goes To...

This Sunday marks the biggest night in Hollywood, the Academy Awards, and it is one of the few events that I make sure to watch every year. And since I love movies, I like to have a solid knowledge of all the contenders and like to see as many of the nominated movies as possible. So I will break down the major categories (Best picture, actor/actress, supporting actor/actress, director) and give you my prediction for the categories.

Best Picture
This year the field has been expanded from 5 nominees to 10, something I think is a bad idea. I understand why they're doing, they want to increase viewership and by adding a few fan favorite flicks (textbook use of alliteration) . But I think it takes away from the honor of being nominated. A lot of the times the Academy doesn't make the right choice for best movie of the year, and so being nominated is a significant achievement. Now with more movies nominated it seems to take away from the recognition of being nominated. Anywayyyyys. I've seen 5 of these movies, and they are probably the top 5 movies in Avatar, Hurt Locker, Basterds, Up In The Air, and Up.

The Nominees: Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, The Blind Side, An Education, District 9, Precious, A Serious Man, Up In The Air, Up

What Should Win: Avatar is the clear cut favorite, and I have to agree. It's an amazing achievement in film, but let's not forget that the Academy loves artsy, human interest movies. That's why The Hurt Locker has a great chance for the upset, which I recently saw.  It's very good, but I didn't think it was the better than Avatar.

Darkhorse: My darkhorse pick is Inglourious Basterds. It's a great story and was very well done by Tarantino. It's very unique and original and uses subtitles, a known weak spot for the Academy (see Slumdog Millionaire, Life is Beautiful)

What Will Win: It's got to be Avatar. Anything else will be a major upset and disappointment. Along the lines of Cash Warren landing Jessica Alba.

Best Director

Nominees: James Cameron (Avatar), Katheryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Lee Daniels (Precious), Jason Reitman (Up In The Air)

Who Should Win: I think Tarantino gave his best directing performance and this movie will be recognized at the awards (most likely winning best original screenplay), but the winner has to Cameron. He gave us a movie that took years to make and he totally changed how a director can make a movie.

Darkhorse: Kathryn Bigelow. She made a very tense, very real war movie that wasn't over the top and didn't glorify the violence or the war (like a lot of war movies tend to do).

Who Will Win: It's got to be Cameron. And this award is usually a lead in for best picture, so whoever wins this award, look for the respective movie to take the top award.

Best Actor
There are some serious heavyweights this year and some serious longshots.

Nominees: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up In The Air), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Jeremey Renner (The Hurt Locker) Colin Firth (A Serious Man)

Who Should Win: Although I haven't seen 3 of these movies, my vote goes to Clooney. I said it before, he's the only actor that could play this role and he absolutely makes the movie. Without it, its a mediocre movie.

Darkhorse: Jeremy Renner. He gives a very strong performance as the lead bomb defuser and really epitimizes the theme of the movie very well in that war is a drug.

Who Will Win: Based on what I've heard and the tendency to give a "lifetime achievement" to actors, I think Jeff Bridges will win. Everyone is a sucker for a good musician movie, especially when he's a hard-drinking, raspy voiced free spirit.

Best Actress 

Nominees: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education) Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

Who Should Win: Unfortunetly (or maybe fortunetly) I haven't seen any of these movies, So this whole section is pure speculation. But from what I've heard I think Bullock should win. It was the most talked about role of any of the nominees and it's a far cry from the standard "rom-com" roles that she is famous for. "I watched a provactive film last night called The Net with that girl from The Bus"

Darkhorse: Gabourey Sidibe. She exploded on the scene in a much hyped movie and it wouldn't shock me if she took this award.

Who Will Win: I hate to say it but it's probably going to be Streep, that phony baloney. Despite being nominated almost every year, she hasn't won the award in 25 years and this seems like a perfect opportunity to finally get her another statue.

Supporting Actor

Nominees: Matt Damon (Invictus), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Christopher Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Who Will Win: Christopher Waltz delivered a legendary performance as Colonel Hans Landa aka the Jew Hunter. Waltz had to be able to speak 4 languages fluently and still be chilling and yet comically engaging/charming at the same time. It is a haunting and memorable performance.

Darkhorse: Stanley Tucci. He's been around the block as they say in the industry, and usually plays a nice guy but he's a serial killer in this movie.

Who Will Win: Waltz is a lock. There's almost no chance anyone else will win. I haven't seen any other movie in the category but I'm very confident in this pick. If you're going to gamble, bet the farm on this one.

Supporting Actress

Nominees: Penelope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air), Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air), Maggie Gyllenhall (Crazy Heart), Mo'Nique (Precious)

Who Should Win: I really like Anna Kendrick. She was terrific as a young business woman trying to learn the ropes of corporate downsizing. But she will probably split the votes from that movie with Vera Farmiga, because they both were very good.

Darkhorse: Penelope Cruz. I mean just look at her. I would give her the "Time Man of the Year" award if she wanted it. This is a completely superficial prediction on my part because I have ZERO intentions of seeing that movie.

Who Will Win: I find it hard to comprehend, but I think Mo'Nique is going to win. Let's not forget that it was only a few years ago that Mo'Nique played a German spy who drowned Farva in a vat of beer in the movie Beerfest. She doesn't shave her legs, she let's her husband have sex with other people and someone she is going to win the award. And if there are any prop bets out there, she is a LOCK to histerically cry. To quote Wedding Crashers "I think we got a crier".


So to recap, I'm going with Avatar for Best Picture, James Cameron for Best Director, Jeff Bridges for Best Actor, Meryl Streep for Best Actress, Christopher Waltz for Supporting Actor and Mo'Nique for Supporting Actress. If I were to place bets I would go big on Avatar and Cameron and HEAVY on Waltz for supporting Actor. If you wanted to play some odds and longshots, I recommend Sandra Bullock for best actress, Kathryn Bigelow for Director and Quentin Tarantino to win best Original Screenplay.

We've got some good debate pieces from Steamin' Willie Beamen, and it's been a while since we've heard from him so we will post it next week. I started to read them today and they are good ones. So keep an eye out for that and until next time as always....STAY SWEET!