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MARCH 8, 2010: I missed eight categories out of 24, so that's not too bad. Better than some years for me.
I was very pleased, however, that my bad guesses were in favor of The Hurt Locker.
This was the first time in Oscar history that more awards went to the great, small film rather
than the big, stupid, audience-pleaser. Not to mention that Kathryn Bigelow made history last night, and
it couldn't have happened to a nicer lady. Unfortunately, the awfulness of the foreign film
category continues as they ignored Michael Haneke's best film and awarded an Argentinian film I have
not yet seen. But it was directed by Juan Jose Campanella, who was previously nominated for Son
of the Bride; Argentina has so many great filmmakers, and this guy is arguably the most boing.
(Nevertheless, I'll need to see the film before I pass judgment.) Overall, I was happier with this lot of Oscars than I have
been in years.
Here's the breakdown of the winners: 6 Oscars: The Hurt Locker 3 Oscars: Avatar 2 Oscars: Crazy Heart, Precious, Up 1 Oscar: The Blind Side, The Cove, Inglourious Basterds, The Secret in Their Eyes, Star Trek, The Young Victoria The shorts: Logorama, Music by Prudence, The New Tenants
FEBRUARY 2, 2010: Not too many surprises here this year. The Academy made good on
their new list of ten best picture nominees, and they managed to use the space for four excellent
films, five mediocre ones and one bad one. I was happy to see some of my favorites, like The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
and Bright Star in there with a couple of token nominations, and for the most
part only Avatar came away with too many. Editing? James Horner's awful score? Oh well.
As for the actors, Colin Firth, Jeremy Renner, Sandra Bullock, Carey
Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe, Stanley Tucci, Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga,
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick, Mo'Nique and -- believe it or not --
Christopher Plummer -- have their first nominations this year. Jeff Bridges has his fifth nomination, and Woody Harrelson has his second nomination. Neither have ever won. Of the previous Oscar winners,
George Clooney has his third acting nomination (plus two more for writing and directing)
Morgan Freeman has his fifth nomination,
Helen Mirren has her fourth nomination,
Meryl Streep has her sixteenth nomination,
Matt Damon has his second acting nomination (plus one win for writing) and
Penelope Cruz has her third nomination.
Here's the breakdown of nominations: 9 nominations: The Hurt Locker, Avatar 8 nominations: Inglourious Basterds 6 nominations: Precious, Up in the Air 5 nominations: Up 4 nominations: District 9, Nine, Star Trek 3 nominations: An Education, Crazy Heart, The Young Victoria, The Princess and the Frog 2 nominations: The Blind Side, A Serious Man, Invictus, The Last Station, The Messenger, The White Ribbon,
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Sherlock Holmes, Fantastic Mr. Fox 1 nomination: A Single Man, Julie & Julia, The Lovely Bones, In the Loop, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,
Bright Star, Coco Before Chanel, Il Divo, Paris 36, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Coraline, The Secret of Kells, A Prophet,
Burma VJ, The Cove; Food, Inc.; The Most Dangerous Man in America
Watch this space for upcoming predictions, personal choices, and lists of overlooked films.
The Winner: Jeff Bridges My Prediction: Jeff Bridges My Vote: Jeremy Renner Unfairly Overlooked: Nicolas Cage, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans;
Matt Damon, The Informant!
The Winner: Kathryn Bigelow My Prediction: Kathryn Bigelow My Vote: Kathryn Bigelow Unfairly Overlooked: Jane Campion, Bright Star; John Woo, Red Cliff; Sam Raimi, Drag Me to Hell
The Winner:Precious My Prediction:Up in the Air My Vote:In the Loop Unfairly Overlooked: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach, Fantastic Mr. Fox; Henry Selick, Coraline
The Winner:Avatar My Prediction:Avatar My Vote:The White Ribbon Unfairly Overlooked: Christopher Doyle, The Limits of Control; Lance Acord, Where the Wild Things Are; Roger Deakins, A Serious Man
The Winner: The Weary Kind" My Prediction: "The Weary Kind" My Vote: none Unfairly Overlooked: "All Is Love" from Where the Wild Things Are, Karen O. and the Kids
The Winner:The Secret in Their Eyes My Prediction:The White Ribbon My Vote:The White Ribbon Unfairly Overlooked:35 Shots of Rum, Police, Adjective, Summer Hours, The Beaches of Agnes
