The Oscars

The Academy Awards are Sunday. I’m a bit torn about the Oscars, and I have been for some time. Lacey and I watch them every year, and we enjoy them. It’s fun seeing that many big stars in the same place. We always have chicken wings, and make it kind of a big deal. On the other hand, I’m willing to admit that they are pretty much irrelevant. Rarely do the most deserving films win anything, and it is driven by money, and the pathetic palette of the average American. And now that they’ve expanded the Best Picture category to 10 movies, it’s more of a joke than ever. However, we will certainly be tuning in, supporting this hoax, so really we are to blame, and that’s ok.

I’ve already posted my top 10 movies of the year, and I’m actually going to be updating that soon. My thoughts are known. But I wanted to predict who I thought would win on Sunday (just the categories that interest me), as well as who I think SHOULD win. The caveat has to be – I haven’t seen all of the movies on these lists. So take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Here goes:

Best Picture (if this had been a normal 5-movie category, it would have been excellent):
Avatar (will win)
The Blind Side (haven’t seen, not that interested)
District 9
An Education (haven’t seen)
The Hurt Locker (honorable mention)
Inglourious Basterds
Precious (haven’t seen, not interested at all)
A Serious Man
Up
Up In The Air (should win)

Best Actor (a little weak this year):
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart (Will win- haven’t seen)
George Clooney – Up in the Air (Should Win)
Colin Firth – A Single Man (haven’t seen, no desire to see it)
Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

Supporting Actor (Decent List):
Matt Damon – Invictus
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger (haven’t seen)
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station (haven’t seen)
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones (haven’t seen)
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds (should win/will win)

Best Actress (eh):
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side (haven’t seen)
Helen Mirren – The Last Station (haven’t seen)
Carey Mulligan – An Education (haven’t seen)
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious (haven’t seen, no desire to see)
Meryl Streep – Julie and Julia (haven’t seen)
**This is the one category that escapes me. I’m guessing the Precious chick will win. But probably shouldn’t.

Supporting Actress (pretty ok):
Penelope Cruz – Nine (haven’t seen)
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air (should win)
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart (haven’t seen)
Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
Mo’Nique – Precious (haven’t seen, no desire, will probably win, sheesh)

Animated Film (very good this year):
Coraline (haven’t seen)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (haven’t seen)
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells (haven’t seen)
Up (will win/should win)

Cinematography (superb):
Avatar (should win/will win)
Harry Potter
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon (haven’t seen)

Director (superb):
Avatar – James Cameron
The Hurt Locker – Kathryn Bigelow (Will win)
Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino (Should Win)
Precious – Lee Daniels
Up In The Air – Jason Reitman

Editing (Superb):
Avatar (will win)
District 9
The Hurt Locker (should win)
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

Music – Score:
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox (haven’t seen)
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Up (Should win/will win)

Sound Editing/Mixing:
2 categories, both should and will go to The Hurt Locker…loved the way this sounded, it really added to the film.

Visual Effects:
Avatar (should/will win. as much of a landslide category as there is, perhaps in the history of the Oscars)
District 9
Star Trek

Writing – Adapted Screenplay:
District 9 (should win)
An Education (haven’t seen)
In The Loop (haven’t seen)
Precious (haven’t seen, no desire)
Up In The Air (will win)

Writing – Original Screenplay:
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds (should win/will win)
The Messenger (haven’t seen)
A Serious Man (haven’t seen)
Up

So, we’ll see how it turns out! I’ll probably do a follow-up after the show, and re-post my top 10 movies of the year.