Usually around this time, the Academy announces it's selections for Best Picture, Best Actors and Actresses, and then 80 other awards that no one (maybe not even those nominated) actually cares about. And more often than not, the selections are full of pretentious drivel and self-importance. This year, however, the nominations didn't make me release a sigh of disappointment. So let's review them:
Best Supporting Actor: The obvious winner of this one is Cristoph Waltz from Inglorious Basterds. His portrayl of Hans Landa has given him my top spot in the Best Villains Ever list. Ridiculously brilliant in a ridiculously brilliant film.
Best Supporting Actress: I'll be honest here, I only saw Up in the Air, which has two noms here, and Nine, and neither of them stood out as spectacular here, and these women are no exception. Penelope Cruz was hilarious and, for lack of a better word, hot in Nine, but I wasn't blown away by her acting prowess. And Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick from Up in the Air didn't strike me as Oscar-winning either. Of the ones I saw, I liked Kendrick the best, but I think Mo'Nique will snag her second award for Precious (she's already got the SAG award under her very large belt).
Best Actor: Who I want to win: Jeremy Renner from the Hurt Locker. Who I think will win: Toss-up between Jeff Bridges of Crazy Heart and George Clooney of Up in the Air. So between those two, I'd rather Bridges. I may seem like I'm hating on Up in the Air, but I just didn't find it Oscar-worthy, despite it's relevance to our economy. But hopefully Renner can pull it off as the dark horse, because his performance was flawless in the most suspenseful movie of the year.
Best Actress: Have to be honest here again, didn't see a single one of these movies, so I'm not even going to pretend like an expert here.. I think Sandra Bullock will take this one, and I really hope she does. She's had a long career with no real break like this, other than Crash (though Miss Congeniality still cracks me up, and I'm man enough to say it).
Best Animated Film: Up. It's Pixar. Need I say more?
Best Film: Now they went from 5 nominations to 10 this year, and my original thought when I heard this was why bother? Well now my opinion has changed. I love that they did it. There are so many good ones in this category that I really don't know who to pick. Inglorious Basterds has a real shot, and it's one of my most favorite Tarantino flicks. Again, I thought the Hurt Locker was incredible, it's suspense, character depth, and social relevance gives it a realistic chance of winning, and it's my personal favorite of the year. But I'd love to see Up take it here as well, since everything Pixar does is amazing, and it'll make up for Wall E being snubbed a few years ago. Though it has zero chance of winning, I love how the little SciFi flick District 9 got the nod, and it's absolutely deserving of it. As for Avatar, it'll win everything visually, and while I think it is deserving of the highest grossing film awards, it was not the best movie of the year. The story was told in ground-breaking and incredible ways, but the story itself and its characters weren't as revolutionary.
There you have it folks, those are my picks, we'll find out how far off I am March 7th. If you want the full list, go to http://oscar.go.com/nominations/nominees
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