Given the Oscar nominees, below are my opinions on who should win the various 2011 Oscars (for 2010′s movies) in certain categories and who I think will.
Best Actor
Nominees: Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth, and James Franco
My pick: Colin Firth for “The King’s Speech”
Prediction: Same
Why? Because his performance was head and shoulders above the rest of the group. (sidenote: did Jeff Bridges really have enough screen time to have a chance here?) Firth made stuttering look natural. I’ll let the oddness of that statement sink in.
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees: Christian Bale, John Hawkes, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Geoffrey Rush
My pick: Geoffrey Rush
Prediction: Christian Bale
Why? Geoffrey Rush played the part so skillfully that I hardly noticed he was a movie character. For me, the only issue is why Andrew Garfield isn’t in this list. That guy was awesome in The Social Network. As for the prediction going to Bale, I think Hollywood has a tendency to give awards to people with crazy characters. It’s a bias they can’t seem to get over. I hope they prove me wrong.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Amy Adams, Helena Bonham Carter, Melissa Leo, Hailee Steinfeld, Jacki Weaver
My pick: Hailee Steinfeld
Prediction: Hailee Steinfeld
Why? I think the Academy is dying to hand an award out for True Grit and one of the few ways it actually has a chance to happen is if Steinfeld brings it home. She did a thorough job and had enough of the screen during the movie for this to be a possibility. I give it to her simply because she was the only reason I liked True Grit at all from a story standpoint (cinematography was good – which I’ll get to soon).
Animated Featu
Toy Story 3…. enough said, moving along now.
Visual Effec
Inception.. keep going..
Original Score
Nominations: How to Train Your Dragon, Inception, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network
My Pick: Tron: Legacy
Prediction: The Social Network
Why? How on earth did Daft Punk not get some credit at least for Tron? I mean, really? That movie was a giant music video. Anyway, my next choice is also my prediction. Well done Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, you had me at the title sequence.
Art Direction
Nominees: Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Inception, The King’s Speech, True Grit
My Pick: Harry Potter
Prediction: Alice in Wonderland
Why? Here’s an award that is too much of a wild card for me. Every year it’s something I don’t necessarily expect. I think Harry Potter deserves it, but it’s too much of a blockbuster… Plus Sweeney Todd won in 2007…
Cinematography
Nominees: Black Swan, Inception, The King’s Speech, The Social Network, True Grit
My pick: The Social Network
Prediction: The King’s Speech
Why? Probably the single, most difficult decision in this entire list. I went back and forth between The Social Network and The King’s Speech.. and then from time to time would want to throw True Grit into the mix.. However, The Social Network gets my vote and here’s why: I’ve watched it three times now, and it wasn’t until the third time that I even realized some of the cinematography aspects existed – they blended seamlessly into the movie despite my constant look at movies through a “how did they do this?” perspective. The King’s Speech was good, don’t get me wrong – but the rowing scene with In the Hall of the Mountain King playing… dang.
Best Director
Nominees: Darren Aronofsky, David O. Russel, Tom Hooper, David Fincher, Joel and Ethan Coen
My pick: Tom Hooper
Prediction: David Fincher
Why? The King’s Speech had the best acting, hands down. I know he was working with the best overall actor group of the bunch, but if your movie has the best acting across the board then I give you the Oscar…. But I think Fincher wins for The Social Network because he didn’t win for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Seriously. Also – Christopher Nolan deserved at least a nomination… come on now.
Film Editing
Nominees: Andrew Weisblum (Black Swan), Pamela Martin, (The Fighter), Tariq Anwar (The King’s Speech), Jon Harris (127 Hours), Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter (The Social Network)
My pick: Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Prediction: Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Why? I could probably write a while here, but let’s just put it this way: yes.
Original Screenplay
Nominations: Another Year, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech
My pick: The King’s Speech
Prediction: Inception
Why? The King’s Speech’s script was near flawless. I can’t imagine the difficulty in writing for a stuttering man. However, I think enough people will get on the Inception bandwagon to bring it home (this is a gut feeling, the smart money is probably on The King’s Speech).
Adapted Screenplay
Nominations: 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter’s Bone
My Pick: The Social Network
Prediction: The Social Network
Why? I want to be Aaron Sorkin, that’s why. The man is a genius. If the two categories were combined, Sorkin still wins.
Best Picture
Nominations: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter’s Bone
My Pick: The King’s Speech
Prediction: The Social Network
I’ll begin by listing off my top five favorite movies of the year:
5) Inception
4) Shutter Island
3) Toy Story 3
2) The King’s Speech
1) The Social Network
Why? I’ve decided that just because something is my favorite, doesn’t necessarily make it the best. The King’s Speech was a darn near perfect film from a technical standpoint. It was also a fantastic story. That’s why it was this year’s best film in my opinion. However, my favorite was The Social Network because of why it will end up winning the actual award: It perfectly combined an important, relevant and culture-changing event with a fantastic script, good acting and superb cinematography. Plus, I’m a web/film junkie so it was like the perfect mesh.
As for the rest of the nominees and other movies I mentioned, I could blog for days about it probably. But you wouldn’t want to hear it now would you?
What do you think?
- Ted
*EDIT: No Best Actress Pick from me because I didn’t know what call to make yet.. I’ll add it later*
