Saturday, March 6, 2010
Special Saturday Post: Oscar Predictions
Anyway, to get ready for the big day, I just wanted to take a minute to post my predictions for the winners in all the categories. Instead of listing all nominees in each category, I'm just going to say who probably WILL win and who SHOULD win.
(Yes. Whether they were nominated or not.)
I'm leaving the Best Picture nominees to the end because I've also written up a quick little review of each of the Best Pic nominees I've seen. Sadly, I didn't see them all this year. I feel like such a failure.
So, without further ado:
- Will win: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
- Should win: I haven't seen Crazy Heart. I'm sure Jeff Bridges is great. But I'm still trying to figure out why Brad Pitt wasn't nominated for Inglorious Basterds...
- Will win: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
- Should win: Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia. Sandra was great and all, but I really felt like Meryl became Julia Child.
- Will win: Christophe Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
- Should win: Christophe Waltz, Inglorious Basterds. I don't know what's up with these incredible villains in the supporting category the last few years, but Waltz was every bit as good as Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh.
- Will win: Mo'Nique, Precious
- Should win: Melanie Laurent, Inglorious Basterds. I'm sure Mo'Nique is amazing, but it's been frustrating to see Laurent so completely overlooked.
- Will/Should win: Up.
- If there's an upset in this category (due to vote-splitting with the Best Picture category), I say the surprise winner is Coraline, but that's really, REALLY unlikely.
- Will win: Avatar
- Should win: Sherlock Holmes
- Will win: Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker
- Should win: Mauro Fiore, Avatar
- Will win: Sandy Powell, The Young Victoria
- Should win: Monique Prudhomme, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
- Will/Should win: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker. It's a tough call, but I do think she'll be the first woman to be recognized as Best Director.
- Will win: The Cove
- Should win: Food, Inc.
- Will win: The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
- Should win: Like I know...
- Will win: The Hurt Locker
- Should win: District 9. The use of stock news footage and integration of surveillance cameras blended well for a very authentic looking film.
- Will win: Un Prophète
- Should win: I don't know...I didn't see any of this year's foreign films.
- Will win: Star Trek
- Should win: District 9
- Will/Should win: Michael Giacchino, Up
- Will win: "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)"--Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
- Should win: Yeah...I got nothin'.
- Will win: Nick Park, A Matter of Loaf and Death
- Will win: Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström, Instead of Abracadabra
- Will win: The Hurt Locker
- Should win: Star Trek
- Will win: The Hurt Locker
- Should win: Star Trek
- Will win: Avatar
- Should win: Probably Avatar, although Star Trek managed some amazing and overlooked effects, too.
- Will win: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
- Should win: Wes Anderson, Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Will win: Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
- Should win: I don't know. I'm just glad Avatar wasn't nominated since we didn't love it for its script...
A Serious Man: Now, I'm a big fan of the Coen Brothers, but for some reason I just haven't been all that interested in this one. It's one of the four I haven't gotten around to, and I probably won't end up watching it unless it wins.
An Education: Another one I haven't seen, although this one is on my Netflix list, so I'll be seeing it as soon as it's out on DVD.
Avatar: In strictly visual terms, I'd say this is probably one of the most beautiful films ever made. In fact, a lot of people have said that. Does that make it the best film of 2009? I really don't believe it is, but it is hard to argue with the box office numbers and it sort of makes sense for the Oscar to go to the film that finally beat Titanic for the Number 1 spot.
The Blind Side: I absolutely loved this for the feel-goodness that it is. This is a movie about beating the odds; about not just surviving, but thriving. It's the story of how love and compassion can change someone's life. Is it the best movie of the year? Not by a long shot.
District 9: Avatar killed this Peter Jackson-produced alien flick. It really makes me sad that no one's been talking about District 9 because it was a GREAT movie that was topical and timely without being overly preachy.
The Hurt Locker: I am finally seeing this today. I still think Avatar's going to win, but this one has gotten so much attention that I wouldn't be surprised if it got the upset.
Inglourious Basterds: While there were aspects of this that I thought were really great, I was generally disappointed and think this one is a little overrated. Maybe people just like the way Brad Pitt says he's "killing Nat-zees." Maybe it's the way Tarrantino rewrote the ending to World War II. Dunno. But I just felt like there were all these looooooong scenes of talking with too little action. I got kind of bored. Still dug the performances, though, and think it's a shame the amazing Christophe Waltz was the only one nominated.
Precious: I can't watch this. I'm sure the performances are great, but I just can't do it.
Up: In another year with different competition, I could see this winning. Yes, the first 10 minutes or so are REALLY sad, especially for a kid's movie, but what I loved was the way it took the audience through the entire range of emotions as it told the story of a lonely and grouchy widowed old man, a lonely and neglected young boy, and a mistreated talking dog as they come to realize just how much they all need each other. Plus, it was AWESOME in 3D.
Up in the Air: I was left feeling unsatisfied when this one ended. But then I started talking to other people who've seen it and I thought more and more about it and decided afterward that I really liked it. I relate to George Clooney's character in more ways than I'd like to admit. I can see why it was nominated for Best Picture, but, again, with this competition, it's really not the BEST of the year.
All right. So. That's about it for now.
On Monday, I'll be posting a play-by-play of Oscar Night. I did it last year for the Michael Jackson funeral and had a lot fun (is that inappropriate?) so I figured, what the heck? Let's try it again!
Who are your picks for Oscar Night??
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I only saw Up and Julie and Julia, so I vote for them :)
ReplyDeleteReally great post! I'm linking to it tomorrow! Just posted for today. I'll be watching too...Wish I had seen more of them.
ReplyDeleteYou are all over it girl! :) Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteTossing my two cents into the pot... I'd actually take it a step further and say that Waltz' performance was even better than Bardem's from No Country. This isn't to slam Javier at all, though. His performance was fantastic. I just think Waltz took it to another level.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that Avatar killed District 9, but that's just because I didn't enjoy Avatar.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think I'm going to watch "No Country for Old Men" now. But I agree with j.m.neeb that Waltz beat out Bardem. He was just amazing.
And I loooveeed Bardem's Chigurh, so that's saying something.
ReplyDeletetoo funny, when I watch the Oscars, I always announce who should have won in my expert opinion :-)
ReplyDeleteDistrict 9 was not what I expected at all....I still don't know what to think about it!
I was really disappointed by Inglorious Basterds....I don't know if Quenten is just losing his touch or what, but his last few movies have sucked in my opinion.
You know, I saw District 9 several weeks ago, mainly because you had said you loved it.
ReplyDeleteNow, I admit I was watching it really late at night, and was really tired, but I was bored! I thought it was way, way too long.
I didn't hate it, but didn't love it.
I can't wait to see the results!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about Precious. I'm sure it's really really good, but I just can't bring myself to watch it.
ReplyDeleteOf all these movies, I've only seen a few (Star Trek, Up, Avatar, and District 9) so I can't make any good guesses except that I do think Avatar will win Best Picture, and Up better win something!
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I don't understand all the hate everyone seems to have towards Avatar. I know that it not a overly new story line. In fact, it's one that we've seen over and over and over. But I felt that was the point. Maybe human nature doesn't change. Maybe we never learn. And the movie is breathtakingly beautiful. So I, for one, loved Avatar.
And I'm excited to see Sherlock Holmes. Just waiting for the DVD release!
I hope that Sandra Bullock doesn't win. Meryl Streep is do deserving of the Oscar, not Sandra.
ReplyDeleteNow, I really want to watch the Oscars and see how you do...I wish I got into award shows....and had television
ReplyDeleteI haven't read your post from last night but you did a pretty good job of predicting the winners.
ReplyDelete