The 82nd Oscars are Here!

I'm no fan of the Academy's decision to expand to 10 Best Picture nominees. It doesn't really add much excitement other than hearing a lesser known film with zero chance of winning get a mention or two.  The upside is that it might entice a few people to check these great films out. The downside is that we'll still know who the true favorites are to win.  As expected, Avatar led all films with 9 nominations. The surprise, though, is that Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker tied it. James Cameron and Bigelow were formerly husband and wife. I wonder if they'll have any drunken hook ups at the Oscar night party they're sure to attend.

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:
Avatar (2009)
The Blind Side (2009)
District 9 (2009)
An Education (2009)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
A Serious Man (2009)
Up (2009)
Up in the Air (2009/I)

Let's be honest, there are only a few of these that are real contenders. Avatar, Inglorious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, Up, and Up in the Air are the real deal. It's good to see An Education getting the recognition it so rightly deserves, but it's main attraction is the script and Carey Mulligan's wonderful performance. I think this is truly a three horse race, and in the end I think that The Hurt Locker is going to win out over the big budget, special effects laden Avatar. This will be the Academy's chance to show that smaller, well crafted filmmaking still dominates over technical wizardry. On CNN this morning, the two clueless anchors(who admitted they had seen 2 of the 10 films) thought that Precious was the clear favorite. I take it they don't do drug testing at the most trusted news network, eh?

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)
George Clooney for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Colin Firth for A Single Man (2009)
Morgan Freeman for Invictus (2009)
Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (2008)

This might be the most competitive Best Actor race in years. Every one of these 5 could legitimately win out. I think Morgan Freeman has the least chance, thanks mostly to the fact that Invictus flopped huge with both audiences and critics. Clooney and Renner have been the go-to picks for months now, putting on performances that nobody expected from the two of them. I think this one boils down to Colin Firth as the closeted gay man looking to end his own life in A Single Man, and the ever reliable Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart. I think Bridges has the momentum here, based mostly on his body of work over the years and general lack of recognition for it.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009)
Helen Mirren for The Last Station (2009)
Carey Mulligan for An Education (2009)
Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (2009)

If you'd asked me a month ago I would've told you Streep had this one in the bag, but thanks to The Blind Side's dominance at the box office, not to mention it being nominated for Best Picture, I think she's turned the corner and is now the frontrunner. Gaby Sidibe was good in precious, but unspectactular in my opinion. She shouldn't be here, really, and her nomination is the Academy's acknowledgement of a newcomer(who we won't see again in anything meaningful, if you ask me). If it were up to me, my pick would be Carey Mulligan, who far and away had the best performance of the year in An Education. Comparisions to her resembling a young Hepburn don't begin to get across how good she is, and considering her follow-up projects(she had a small part in Brothers as well), I expect we'll be seeing her for a long time to come. I hope she takes it.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Matt Damon for Invictus (2009)
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (2009/I)
Christopher Plummer for The Last Station (2009)
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones (2009)
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

This one's a no-brainer. Waltz is going to take this one, far and away. He's been the top choice all year, and even though Woody Harrelson is making a strong bid at the end for his amazing turn as a casualty notification officer in The Messenger, that film was too little seen to make much of an impact.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Penélope Cruz for Nine (2009)
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart (2009)
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

My girl did it! I knew Anna Kendrick would be big time, but I did not expect this. She has no chance of winning, mind you, but it's good to see somebody from the movie Camp hitting the A-list. Much like the supporting male category, this one's a shoe in. Mo'nique is going to take it. It's hard to argue that her fiery performance in Precious is the film's best quality, although for me it was more that we were shocked to see her playing somebody other than a sassy clown. If awards were given out for being hot, Penelope Cruz would've won this thing six months ago. She is absolutely gorgeous in Nine, even if her musical number falls flat. Gyllenhall is on this list because she's such a stalwart, even though her actual role was pretty flimsy. My pick would be Vera Farmiga, who's back and forth with George Clooney was charged with so much sexual energy that it was almost palpable.

Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)
James Cameron for Avatar (2009)
Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air (2009/I)
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Why is Lee Daniels here? Oh, that's right. Precious is the Academy's pet project this year. That film could've been directed by anybody, and sometimes it looked like it was! Reitman suffered some of that same criticism for Juno a couple of years ago, although I think Up in the Air shows his own unique style more than that film did. This is a three horse race between Bigelow, Cameron, and Tarantino. My heart says Bigelow wins it in an upset, but I refuse to believe they won't recognize Cameron's film in some way. I think Hurt Locker wins best film, but Cameron wins best director.

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:
The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger (2009/I): Oren Moverman, Alessandro Camon
A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up (2009): Bob Peterson, Pete Docter

Those wondering if QT is going to get any kind of recognition this year might want to focus on this category. His amazing ear for dialgoue was at full display with Basterds, in particular the tension filled opening sequence. I'm surprised to see The Messenger even nominated here, considering the script was arguably the film's weakest point.

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:
District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
An Education (2009): Nick Hornby
In the Loop (2009): Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

It's good to see In the Loop getting a nomination for something. It's arguably the funniest film of 2009, and definitely the one with the most machine gun rapid fire quips. I'd like to see An Education take the title, but my mind tells me this is where Up in the Air gets it's due. Timely pictures like this are always recognized by the Academy in some small way. As long as Precious doesn't win, I'm happy.