February's Favorite Party Game

Predicting tomorrow night's Oscars.



Best Actor

Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Javier Bardem, Biutiful

Colin Firth is pretty much a given in this catagory, isn't he?

Want to win: Colin Firth
Think will win: Colin Firth

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Fighter
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town

Well, all signs are pointing to a "Fighter" win here, though I haven't seen the movie. I personally loved Geoffrey Rush even more than Colin Firth in "The King's Speech".

Want to win: Geoffrey Rush
Think will win: Christian Bale

Best Actress
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole

I haven't seen any of these movies, but word is it's a lock for Portman. I still think it might be fun to see a Bening upset.

Want to win: Annette Bening
Think will win: Natalie Portman

Best Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom

According to all reports, this catagory has gotten interesting. Melissa Leo was the front-runner, but there is a lot of speculation that Hailee Steinfeld could be the surprise win. Plus Oscar has a history of giving Oscars to very young actresses.

Want to win: Hallee Steinfeld
Think will win: Hallee Steinfeld (though Melissa Leo may well get the last laugh)
Outfit I can't wait to see: Helena Bonham Carter (who rocks)

Best Picture
The Kids Are All Right
Toy Story 3
The Social Network
The King's Speech
Inception
The Fighter
Black Swan
127 Hours
True Grit
Winter's Bone

I've seen four of the Best Picture noms this year (#2-5 on the list above). It comes down to "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network", doesn't it? I liked them both and it's going to completely depend if the Academy wants a fuzzy feel-good period piece or edgy contemporary social commentary. Me, TSN depressed me so I'm going feel-good this year. I think the Academy will, too.

Want to win: The King's Speech
Think will win: The King's Speech

Best Director
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter

But all word suggests that Best Picture and Best Director are splitting between two movies this year. I'd be happy to see both movies take a major award.

Want to win: David Fincher
Think will win: David Fincher

Best Foreign Film
Dogtooth, Greece
Biutiful, Mexico
Incendies, Canada
Hævnen (In a Better World), Denmark
Outside the Law, Algeria

Have to wave the flag here...

Want to win: Incendies, Canada
Think will win: Incendies, Canada (a dark horse, coming up fast, or so all the Canadian papers say :))

Best Animated Film
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3
How To Train Your Dragon

Oh, Toothless. My dear Toothless. I came out of "How To Train Your Dragon" thinking I'd finally seen a movie that might defeat the mighty Pixar come Oscar night. I really loved that movie. Alas, it is not to be. "Toy Story 3's" Best Picture nod pretty much crushes that idea. But, Toothless, you will always be first in my heart.

Want to win: How To Train Your Dragon (in a big way)
Think will win: Toy Story 3

Art Direction
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 1
Inception
The King’s Speech
True Grit

Go, go, go, Tim Burton! I wasn't thrilled with "Alice In Wonderland", but Burton always does glorious art direction.

Want to win: Alice in Wonderland
Think will win: Alice in Wonderland

Cinematography
Black Swan
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

And word has it most other technical awards will deservedly go to "Inception".

Want to win: Inception
Think will win: Inception

Costume Design
Alice in Wonderland
I Am Love
The King’s Speech
The Tempest
True Grit

More Burton whimsy. Remember that first look we all got of Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter a year or so back? It left an impression :).

Want to win: Alice in Wonderland
Think will win: Alice in Wonderland

Film Editing
Black Swan
The Fighter
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

Hmmm...

Want to win: 127 Hours (let's spread around the awards)
Think will win: The Social Network

Makeup
Barney’s Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

Haven't seen any of these so let's go for the monster film.

Want to win: Barney's Version (hey, Canadian content...)
Think will win: The Wolfman

Best Original Score
How to Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

Want to win: 127 Hours
Think will win: The Social Network

Best Original Song
Coming Home from Country Strong
I See the Light from Tangled
If I Rise from 127 Hours
We Belong Together from Toy Story 3

Don't know most of these songs, but Randy Newman is forever cool. A.R. Rahman is cool, too.

Want to win: We Belong Together
Think will win: I have no idea. Let's say "We Belong Together".

Best Animated Short
Day & Night
The Gruffalo
Let’s Pollute
The Lost Thing
Madagascar, carnet de voyage

As Pixar makes it two. To be fair, the Pixar short is the only one I've seen.

Want to win: Day & Night
Think will win: Day & Night

Sound Editing
Inception
Toy Story 3
Tron: Legacy
True Grit
Unstoppable

Want to win: Inception
Think will win: Inception

Sound Mixing
Inception
The King’s Speech
Salt
The Social Network
True Grit

Want to win: Inception
Think will win: Inception

Best Visual Effects
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2

These studios better enjoy Oscar anticipation while they can 'cause the WETA workshop is gearing up to take us back to Middle-earth and will probably take a few more special effect Oscars for their efforts over the next few years.

Want to win: Inception
Think will win: Inception

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Social Network
True Grit
127 Hours
Toy Story 3
Winter’s Bone

Can anyone beat Aaron Sorkin in this catagory? Unlikely.

Want to win: The Social Network
Think will win: The Social Network

Best Original Screenplay
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Kids Are All Right
The Fighter
Another Year

Want to win: The King's Speech (for the dialogue between Firth and Rush alone)
Think will win: The King's Speech