Oscar Thoughts

Alright, here’s my  irrelevant take on the Oscar races.

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”

This was kind of a bad year for the Oscars to go to 10 nominees, as there weren’t many great films, but a lot of really good ones.  Good to see a Pixar movie finally nominated for the BP.  I think Hurt Locker takes this, as it seems to be building momentum and the previous front-runner, Up in the Air has lost a lot of steam.

If Avatar wins this (and the have a shit load of money to buy campaign for the Oscar) it has to be at the top of the most overrated films right? It’s a very visually stunning movie, but it has to be seen under specific conditions (3D IMAX) to get the best effect and the story is pretty lame.

Best Direction

“Avatar” — James Cameron

“The Hurt Locker” — Kathryn Bigelow

“Inglourious Basterds” — Quentin Tarantino

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” — Lee Daniels

“Up in the Air” — Jason Reitman

This is between Bigelow and Cameron.  I’d really hate to see Cameron win just because there are plenty of directors out there that could have done an equal or better job if they had 10 years and an unlimited amount of resources to work on a film.

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”

The Dude finally gets an Oscar win.

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”

Academy Award Winner Sandra Bullock doesn’t feel right, but I’m afraid that’s what’s going to happen.  Gabourey Sidibe deserves to win.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Matt Damon in “Invictus”

Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”

Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”

Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”

Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Waltz will probably win this, but I’d like to see Plummer finally win an Oscar.

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”

Academy Award Winner Mo’Nique also sounds weird, but she deserves it

Animated Feature Film

“Coraline”

“Fantastic Mr. Fox”

“The Princess and the Frog”

“The Secret of Kells”

“Up”

On the one hand, I’m happy that neither “Monsters vs. Aliens” nor “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” were nominated.  On the other hand, I’m upset that “Ponyo” didn’t get the recognition it deserves.  ”Secret of Kells” better be a good fucking movie.

This year was a rare year for animation, as usually it’s just the Pixar film that deserves to win the Oscar.  This year, outside of Kells and “The Princess and the Frog” (which I haven’t seen) I can say that these films are all Oscar-worthy.  They have my seal of approval.