The 2010 Oscar nominations have been announced, and with just a little more than a month to go until the ceremony, I’m already bored. I’m not overly excited about any of the movies I have seen, and the nominations haven’t really lit a fire within me to check out anything new (the movies I haven’t seen haven’t been seen for a reason). Was this a particularly “blah” year for the movies? Or am I just getting too cynical in my old age? And most importantly, how does a movie (Avatar) that isn’t even nominated for screenplay or any acting manage to be front runner for “best” picture overall?
Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Will Win: They may as well pain the Oscar statue blue it’s so obvious Avatar will win.
My Choice: How awesome would it have been if The Hangover had been nominated? It wouldn’t have won in a million years, but with the new 10 movie format, I would have loved it if it had landed one of the slots. I didn’t particularly *love* any of these movies (and only saw five of them), but I would pick Up in the Air for managing to be funny, heartbreaking, and timely, without be melodramatic or pandering.
Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker
Will Win: Barring a huge upset, Jeff Bridges has this pretty much locked.
My Choice: I do love me some (or a lot) Colin Firth, so I’d probably just give it to him just to hear him give an acceptance speech.
Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Helen Mirren in The Last Station
Carey Mulligan in An Education
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Will Win: Even though heavy-hitters like Mirren and Streep are nominated (oh yeah, and Bullock *snort*), I think Gabourey Sidibe will be the winner.
My Choice: While I had mixed feelings about Precious as a whole, Sidibe was unbelievable in it and deserves to win. And judging by her talk show appearances, her acceptance speech should be awesome.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in Invictus
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Will Win: Christoph Waltz. He spoke four languages fluently, was an absolutely terrifying Nazi, yet was almost charming at times, and gives one of the best jubilant cries of “Bingo!” I’ve ever heard.
My Choice: Christoph Waltz. Again, He spoke four languages fluently, was an absolutely terrifying Nazi, yet was almost charming at times, and gives one of the best jubilant cries of “Bingo!” I’ve ever heard.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in Nine
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
Mo’Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Will Win: Mo’Nique has this in the bag. And every other lady in this category knows it.
My Choice: I loved Anna Kendrick back when she was in Camp, but I’m not going to deny that Mo’Nique deserves to win.
Animated Feature Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up
Will Win: Up. They should really just rename this category, “And the Oscar goes to Pixar.”
My Choice: Up. The reason Pixar always wins, is simply because their movies are just superior to the other choices.
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
District 9 Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
An Education Screenplay by Nick Hornby
In the
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Will Win: This one is tricky to predict. It’ll probably be either Precious or Up in the Air, with my guess being Up in the Air.
My Choice: Making a detached character like Ryan Bingham sympathetic and relatable had to have been a daunting task, so I’d choose Up in the Air.
Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Hurt Locker Written by Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds Written by Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
A Serious Man Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Up Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy
Will Win: Other than in the technical categories, this is probably the one shot The Hurt Locker has at winning. Inglourious Basterds might have a shot, but I think the number of plot holes and unanswered questions might hurt its chances, making The Hurt Locker the winner.
My Choice: Despite its flaws, Inglourious Basterds was a more verbose movie than The Hurt Locker, so I would think it more deserving of a writing award.
Directing
James Cameron Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Jason Reitman Up in the Air
Will Win: As much as everyone seems to want to pit amicable exes Cameron and Bigelow against each other (despite the fact neither seems even remotely interested in competing and they have only good things to say about each other’s movies), Cameron will no doubt win for Avatar.
My Choice: I’m in the major minority here in that I don’t give a crap about Avatar. I’d either give it to Reitman because I have a bit of a crush on him, or Tarantino because he’s so wonderfully weird, or Bigelow because she proves that women can be interested in movies that aren’t about weddings or makeovers.
So there they are, my predictions for the 2010 Oscars. Will I score 100% like last year? Do you even care? We’ll find out on March 7!
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