Oscar Predictions

It's finally time for the Oscars to come around, and since I've actually seen a couple of nominated movies, I'm fairly pumped. You all know what that means, though?

PREDICTION TIME.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Supporting Actor: Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Best Actress: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious (Though I'd be perfectly fine with Sandra Bullock, too, since she won a Razzie for Worst Actress last night. It'd be one interesting acceptance speech)

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious

Best Animated Film: Up by Pixar Animation

Best Art Director: Avatar (I'll be up front and admit that Avatar will win some awards, and I'd be totally fine with it winning something like Art Direction. I'd be totally fine if The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus won, though)

Best Cinematography: Not Harry Potter: Half Blood Prince (I personally think The Lovely Bones had some AMAZING cinematography, but it's not nominated. Honestly, I'd be fine with any of the ones nominated besides Potter winning)

Costume Design: The Young Victoria (Nine or Coco Before Chanel also seem to be very good contenders. It always just seems that if you make some really good royal garb, you've got the award.)

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Best Documentary Feature: Food, Inc. (This movie turned be into a flexitarian-almost-vegetarian overnight)

Best Documentary Short: No preference. Anything is fair game!

Best Film Editing: District 9

Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon, Germany

Best Makeup: Star Trek

Best Original Score: Up

Best Original Song: "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart

Best Animated Short: Wallace and Grommit: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Live Action Short: No preference

Best Sound Editing and Mixing: No preference

Best Visual Effects: District

Best Adapted Screenplay: Precious

Best Original Screenplay: The Messenger

Best Film: Precious

If I can get more than 7 (My record last year), then I'll be incredibly happy. In the end, if none of these win, but someone besides Avatar wins the category, I'll be satisfied. Avatar is a joke of a movie.

In the end, just don't let Avatar win Best Picture. Yeah, I don't think The Blind Side deserves it, but just ANYTHING. If Avatar wins, then my analysis post will be markedly nasty.

Screen Actors Guild Awards: Predictions

I officially believe more in the Screen Actors Guild more than the Golden Globes. Avatar wasn't nominated for anything, and HALLELUJAH, neither was The Hangover. How either of those were noticed for what they were is beyond me. Anyway, I'm predicting:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Georgoe Clooney, Up in the Air

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Mo'Nique, Precious

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Nine with Daniel-Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, Fergie, Kate Hudson, and Nicole Kidman (Though I'd be perfectly happy if it went to Precious. I just figure anything with Daniel-Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, and Sophia Loren in the same movie is bound for great thing.)

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Star Trek

I could care less about Primetime TV. The only one I'm going to wait for is Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy, for either Glee or Modern Family. Hopefully Glee, though.

A three-day-weekend

Is the only thing I love more than a regular weekend.

The only thing I love more than a three-day-weekend is the four day week that comes after that. Thanks to the calendar, we have FIVE of those left this quarter. Out of eight. And that makes me very, very happy.

A: What have I just about lost faith in?

Q: The film industry of today.

I paid little attention to the TV part of the Golden Globes (Except Best Comedy Series---yay Glee!) and instead waited for the film categories. At the beginning, I was doing fairly well...then it went downhill.

Best Supporting Actress was pretty much given. Mo'Nique was incredible in Precious, and that paid off. Her speech was a wonderful way to start the evening, with a check mark for "WON" on my predictions sheet.

Several more accurate wins went my way---Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia, Up for original score and animated feature, and The White Ribbon for best foreign language film. All was well. A couple losses ("Winter" by U2 for Original Song, "Inglorious Basterds" for screenplay) and I'm going down.

Suddenly, EVERYONE is losing. Best Director, Jason Reitman? Goes to James Cameron and Avatar. Stanley Tucci for supporting actor? Carey Mulligan in drama actress? Morgan Freeman for drama actor? DANIEL DAY-LEWIS for comedy/musical actor? All lost.

The Best Picture awards really made me believe they pick the winners out of a hat. Out of Nine, 500 Days of Summer, The Hangover, It's Complicated, and Julie & Julia, guess who won Best Movie Comedy/Musical?

The Hangover. Yes. Really. No joke. That just about made me cry at how low our standard have sunk that THAT prevails over something like Nine or 500 Days of Summer. I don't even know how it was nominated.

I don't want to beat around the bush, so out with it: Avatar won Best Picture: Drama. Box office success? Yes. Nominated? Oh, certainly. Better than Precious and Up in the Air?

Not so much. It's Pocahontas in blue wash. The story is paper-thin. It's not original. Nobody accomplishes anything (except someone gets his legs or something). It's just James Cameron trying to prove what he can to. It'd be really impressive for a talent-dump, actually. That's pretty much what it is: a mixture of good stuff without much purpose and without much drive.

If the Oscars go like this, I'm going to be writing some very angry letters.

Golden Globe Predictions

Tomorrow will be the first time when I can watch the Golden Globes without worrying about how late I'll be getting to bed. It's a three-day weekend, and with Monday off, I don't care HOW late they run. Therefore, I'll definitely be watching them.

Much like I did with last year's Oscars, I have my predictions set for who's going to win what. Of course, considering my limited viewing of a lot of movies and TV shows, I could be totally wrong on all of these, and some are simply who I WANT to win, which I'll indicate.

Anyway, for movies, I'm thinking that:

Best Drama: Precious
Best Comedy or Musical: Anything except The Hangover. I'd love it if it went to Nine but anything will do. Just not The Hangover.
Best Actor in a Drama: Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Best Actress in a Drama: Carey Mulligan, An Education
Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy: Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy: Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia
Best Supporting Actor: Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious
Best Director: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Best Screenplay: Inglorious Basterds
Best Original Score: Up
Best Animated Film: Up
Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon (Germany)
Best Original Song: "Winter" by U2 from Brothers

There's very few that I'm sure of, but the two that I'd be terribly surprised if it didn't turn out would be Mo'Nique and Stanley Tucci. I saw both Precious (Early December) and The Lovely Bones (last night), and their performances were the standout points in both films. Mo'Nique was extraordinary, and Tucci was perfect in every way. There was an ominous feeling throughout the entire theater whenever even his eyes appeared on screen for just the briefest moment.

As for TV...these are even less accurate, if that's possible. Just hope that Glee wins all four it was nomminated---Best Comedy, Best Musical/Comedy Actor (Matthew Morrison), Best Musical/Comedy Actress (Lea Michele), and Best Supporting Actress (Jane Lynch). Oh, and please, please, PLEASE don't have True Blood win Best Drama. Seriously. Please let it be Dexter.

Golden Globes begin on NBC at 8 PM EST on January 17th. Can't wait!!