The Oscar Nominations are finally here!
Best Motion Picture of the Year
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)
I still think having ten movies in this list is dumb. But hey - for the first time ever I've already seen all ten of them! So, counting them down, here's how I would rank them:
10. Precious
09. The Blind Side
08. Avatar
07. Up in the Air
06. District 9
05. An Education
04. Inglorious Basterds
03. Up
02. A Serious Man
01. The Hurt Locker
Precious is actually the only movie on this list I didn't like.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
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)
Jeremy Renner all the way, but it seems to be Jeff Bridges' year. Fine by me. I had hoped for a surprise nomination for the District 9-guy, though.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
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)
Sandra Bullock will win which is okay, I guess, cause I actually like Sandra Bullock, but Carey, Gabourey and Meryl were all better.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
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)
Christoph Waltz should and will win. It's like Heath Ledger last year and Javier Bardem the year before.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
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)
No surprise here either - Mo'Nique will and should win. I also liked Anna Kendrick a lot, though. Also, Melanie Laurent should have gotten a nomination.
Best Achievement in Directing
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)
If Kathryn Bigelow loses to James Cameron, it will be the biggest upset of the night. Not happy with Lee Daniels on this list.
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
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
Sad about (500) Days of Summer being forgotten. Tarantino will probably win. They all deserve it so I'm fine either way.
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
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
Up in the Air will win. My pick would be An Education though.
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Avatar (2009): Mauro Fiore
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009): Christian Berger
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker (2008): Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Robert Richardson
Harry Potter and Das weiße Band throw me, really surprised about them (though Harry Potter looked definitely great). Still, Hurt Locker all the way.
Best Achievement in Editing
Avatar (2009): Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
District 9 (2009): Julian Clarke
The Hurt Locker (2008): Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Sally Menke
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Joe Klotz
I'm fine with any win here. Precious would be the least deserving though.
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Avatar (2009): Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): Anastasia Masaro
Nine (2009): John Myhre
Sherlock Holmes (2009): Sarah Greenwood
The Young Victoria (2009): Patrice Vermette
Damn, only seen Avatar and Sherlock Holmes so far. I have no clue.
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Bright Star (2009): Janet Patterson
Coco avant Chanel (2009): Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): Monique Prudhomme
Nine (2009): Colleen Atwood
The Young Victoria (2009): Sandy Powell
And again, only watched Bright Star so far. No idea.
Best Achievement in Makeup
Il divo (2008)
Star Trek (2009)
The Young Victoria (2009)
I think Star Trek will make it. The Academy usually favors old-people-make-up, but maybe they use this category to honor Star Trek as a whole.
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Avatar (2009): James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker (2008): Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes (2009): Hans Zimmer
Up (2009): Michael Giacchino
Really happy about Fantastic Mr. Fox snatching a second nomination. Up is great and will win. Avatar shouldn't.
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")
Faubourg 36 (2008): Reinhardt Wagner, Frank Thomas("Loin de Paname")
Nine (2009): Maury Yeston("Take It All")
The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman("Down in New Orleans")
The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman("Almost There")
I love Almost There to pieces. The Weary Kind will win though.
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Avatar (2009)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Star Trek (2009)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Avatar (2009)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Star Trek (2009)
Up (2009)
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Avatar (2009)
District 9 (2009)
Star Trek (2009)
Sound and Visual Effects will be the three Oscars for Avatar that night.
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Coraline (2009)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
The Secret of Kells (2009)
Up (2009)
Secret of Kells is the biggest surprise of all categories for me. I liked it visually, but the story didn't do that much for me. My fave was Caroline, but of course Up will win. And that's perfectly fine, it's great and I loved it. Also loved the Frog one and the Fox one, so this category is pretty much full of win.
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Ajami (2009): Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani(Israel)
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009): Michael Haneke(Germany)
El secreto de sus ojos (2009): Juan José Campanella(Argentina)
Un prophète (2009): Jacques Audiard(France)
La teta asustada (2009): Claudia Llosa(Peru)
All signs point towards Das Weiße Band, but after last year, I refuse to predict this one.
Best Documentary, Features
Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land (2008): Anders Østergaard
The Cove (2009): Louie Psihoyos
Food, Inc. (2008): Robert Kenner
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009): Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home (2009): Rebecca Cammisa
Team Cove. I'm glad Michael Moore didn't make the cut.
Best Documentary, Short Subjects
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (2009) (TV)
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (2009)
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009) (TV)
Królik po berlinsku (2009)
Music by Prudence (2010)
Best Short Film, Animated
French Roast (2008)
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (2008)
La dama y la muerte (2009)
Logorama (2009)
Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' (2008) (TV)
Best Short Film, Live Action
The Door (2008)
Istället för abrakadabra (2008)
Kavi (2009)
Miracle Fish (2009)
The New Tenants (2009)
Only short I've seen was the Wallace & Gromit one which was just as great as every other Wallace & Gromit-movie. I'm sure they'll win their fourth Oscar with it.