My 2010 Oscar picks (just in time)!

It's Oscar predicting time again. I am very fortunate to have seen all ten films nominated for Best Picture this year, and most other films that aren't in a short and/or foreign language category. I have to say, it's an odd year, but most of these films are quite deserving, except for The Blind Side. How the hell did that get in there? My favorite film of the year, 500 Days of Summer, got snubbed, but I don't control the universe so I can't complain.

So here's how this is going to work. I'm going to pick my favorites for each category. If I feel the need to spout off about a category, I will. These are my picks for what films/actors should win. These aren't necessarily what films/actors I think will win. The Oscars air tonight at 9 p.m. Okay, here we go.

Best Actor

Nominees

• Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart" (Fox Searchlight)
• George Clooney in "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
• Colin Firth in "A Single Man" (The Weinstein Company)
• Morgan Freeman in "Invictus" (Warner Bros.)
• Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)

My pick: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart 

While Colin Firth gave an astounding performance in A Single Man, Jeff Bridges has earned this one. I could smell the alcohol on his breath from the 10th row. If you haven't seen Crazy Heart yet, you should.

Best Supporting Actor

• Matt Damon in "Invictus" (Warner Bros.)
• Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger" (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
• Christopher Plummer in "The Last Station" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Stanley Tucci in "The Lovely Bones" (DreamWorks in association with Film4, Distributed by Paramount)
• Christoph Waltz in "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company)

My pick: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

There's little doubt that Christoph Waltz will walk with this one. I haven't seen The Messenger yet, so I can't comment on Woody Harrelson's performance. Christopher Plummer and Stanley Tucci put on great performances, but Waltz redefined evil. His character, nicknamed "The Jew Hunter," goes beyond mere hatred of the Jews. He is an equal opportunity killer and sees the Holocaust as a game. Unlike Hitler and many of the Nazis, however, he has no convictions; he believes in nothing. When the situation benefits him to betray them, he does. I can't say enough about Waltz's performance.

Best Actress

• Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side" (Warner Bros.)
• Helen Mirren in "The Last Station" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Carey Mulligan in "An Education" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)
• Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia" (Sony Pictures Releasing)

My pick: Helen Mirren, The Last Station

Sandra Bullock has a lot of mojo building for her performance, as does Gabourey Sidibe, but Mirren is my favorite. Her portrayal Sofya Tolstaya, wife of author Leo Tolstoy, is wonderful and complex. Sofya is jealous of her husband's devout group of followers. Throughout the film we wonder how self serving her interests are. Mirren, in her sixties, is still gorgeous.

Best Supporting Actress

• Penélope Cruz in "Nine" (The Weinstein Company)
• Vera Farmiga in "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart" (Fox Searchlight)
• Anna Kendrick in "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
• Mo'Nique in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)

My pick: Mo'Nique, Precious

Mo'Nique has never been on my list of serious actors, but as Precious's mother, she blew me away. Her horrible treatment of her own daughter is intense and difficult to watch. Her big scene at the end of the film really makes the whole journey worthwhile.

Best Animated Film

• "Coraline" (Focus Features)
• "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (20th Century Fox)
• "The Princess and the Frog" (Walt Disney)
• "The Secret of Kells" (GKIDS)
• "Up" (Walt Disney)

My pick: Up

Up is the only one of these nominees to be nominated for Best Picture as well. I have no doubt that it will win the best animated film. Fantastic Mr. Fox was great as well, but Pixar can't be beat. It is the most consistently amazing movie studio out there. 

Best Art Direction

• "Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
• "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• "Nine" (The Weinstein Company)
• "Sherlock Holmes" (Warner Bros.)
• "The Young Victoria" (Apparition)

My pick: Avatar

No explanation needed. Beautiful film.

Best Cinematography

• "Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
• "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (Warner Bros.)
• "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
• "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company)
• "The White Ribbon" (Sony Pictures Classics)

My pick: Avatar

See above.

Best Costume Design

• "Bright Star" (Apparition)
• "Coco before Chanel" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• "Nine" (The Weinstein Company)
• "The Young Victoria" (Apparition)

My pick: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Academy will likely pick The Young Victoria or Nine, since they prefer period pieces and over-the-top musicals, but Doctor Parnassus has some amazing outfits. I hope it wins.

Best Director

• James Cameron, "Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
• Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
• Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company)
• Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)
• Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)

My pick: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

I am picking Bigelow, but Lee Daniels would be a close second. Some of his shots in Precious are simply astounding, as is the way he used out of focus close-ups to help us break into Precious's world.

Best Documentary

•  "Burma VJ" (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
• "The Cove" (Roadside Attractions)
• "Food, Inc." (Magnolia Pictures)
• "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers"
• "Which Way Home"

My pick: Food, Inc. 

It's the only one I've had the opportunity to see. I highly recommend it.

Best Documentary Short Subject

•  "China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province"
• "The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner"
• "The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant"
• "Music by Prudence"
• "Rabbit à la Berlin" (Deckert Distribution)

My pick: China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

I have no good reason for this pick. I haven't seen it. I do like to watch things about China, however, so I'm giving it my pick.

Best Film Editing

• "Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
• "District 9" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
• "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
• "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company)
• "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)

My pick: The Hurt Locker

From the very moment we see the first bomb go off, the level of tension in The Hurt Locker is frightening. 

Best Foreign Language Film

•  "Ajami"(Kino International), Israel
• "El Secreto de Sus Ojos" (Sony Pictures Classics), Argentina
• "The Milk of Sorrow", Peru
• "Un Prophète" (Sony Pictures Classics), France
• "The White Ribbon" (Sony Pictures Classics), Germany

My pick: The White Ribbon

A guess. Haven't had the opportunity to see any of these nominees.

Best Makeup

•  "Il Divo" (MPI Media Group through Music Box), Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
• "Star Trek" (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment), Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
• "The Young Victoria" (Apparition) Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

My pick: Star Trek

Star Trek had pretty good makeup, I think...

Best Original Music Score

•  James Horner, "Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
• Alexandre Desplat, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (20th Century Fox)
• Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
• Hans Zimmer, "Sherlock Holmes" (Warner Bros.)
• Michael Giacchino, "Up" (Walt Disney)

My pick: Hanz Zimmer, Sherlock Holmes

Up and Fantastic Mr. Fox are also amazing. Check out my Movies and Melodies podcast to hear tracks from all five Best Score nominees.

Best Original Song

•  "Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog" (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• "Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog" (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• "Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36" (Sony Pictures Classics), Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
• "Take It All" from "Nine" (The Weinstein Company), Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
• "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart" (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

My pick: "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart

I expect this will win. Lovely song.

Best Animated Short Film

•  "French Roast"
• "Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty" (Brown Bag Films)
• "The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)"
• "Logorama" (Autour de Minuit)
• "A Matter of Loaf and Death" (Aardman Animations)

My pick: Logorama

You can watch all five of these nominees at Getthebigpicture.net. I recommend checking them out. Logo-rama is awesome. It's a world completely filled with corporate logos. Watch it.

Best Live Action Short Film

•  "The Door" (Network Ireland Television)
• "Instead of Abracadabra" (The Swedish Film Institute)
• "Kavi"
• "Miracle Fish" (Premium Films)
• "The New Tenants"

My pick: Kavi

Because it sounds like Na'vi?

Best Sound Editing

•  "Avatar" (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
• "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson
• "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company) Wylie Stateman
• "Star Trek" (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
• "Up" (Walt Disney) Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

My pick: Avatar

I never get these right.

Best Sound Mixing

•  "Avatar" (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
• "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
• "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company) Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
• "Star Trek" (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
• "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount) Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

My picks: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I am not a fan of the film, but it had good mixing...to me.

Best Visual Effects

•  "Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
• "District 9" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
• "Star Trek" (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment)

My pick: Avatar

Best Adapted Screenplay

• "District 9" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
• "An Education" (Sony Pictures Classics) Screenplay by Nick Hornby
• "In the Loop" (IFC Films) Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
• "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate) Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
• "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

My pick: Up in the Air

Precious may win this, but Up in the Air deserves some credit for its creative dialogue. 

Best Original Screenplay

•  "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment) Written by Mark Boal
• "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company) Written by Quentin Tarantino
• "The Messenger" (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
• "A Serious Man" (Focus Features) Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• "Up" (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

My pick: Inglourious Basterds

Tarantino had the balls to rewrite history. For that, I bestow him an Oscar.

Best Picture

•  "Avatar" (20th Century Fox) 
• "The Blind Side" (Warner Bros.)
• "District 9" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
• "An Education" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• "The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
• "Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company)
• "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)
• "A Serious Man" (Focus Features)
• "Up" (Walt Disney)
• "Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)

My pick: The Hurt Locker

If Inglourious Basterds, Precious, or Up win, I'd be very happy as well. They are all deserving, especially Pixar. The Hurt Locker has stuck with me more than any of the other films here. By saying this, I'm actually contradicting my own list of favorite films of 2009, where I listed The Hurt Locker as an honorable mention only, but oh well. I'm new to this list thing. Avatar will probably win anyway, which also wouldn't be a terrible thing.

The Oscars start at 8p.m. EST Sunday.