Oscar Picks 2010

Since the Oscars are tonight I will be brief with my picks. There may be 10 nominees for best picture but I don’t think that it was a bountiful year for fine films. Plus several of my top ten aren’t there on the nominations list. But here are my picks from the films that did get nominated.

Best Picture

Avatar – I didn’t love it but there are certainly enough people willing to overlook the plot and give this award based on how much work it took to make the film. Plus since Cameron won’t win for Best Director this is sort of a 2-in-1 award. I think Inglourious Basterds deserves to win, but it is doubtful that it will get past Avatar and The Hurt Locker.

Best Director

This will be an interesting year as I am picking to split Best Picture and Best Director which seems to be happening more and more frequently. Faced with the serious prospect of being able to give the first Best Director Oscar awarded to a woman I can’t see the Academy voters denying the gesture. Kathryn Bigelow will win for directing The Hurt Locker.

Acting Awards

There aren’t going to be any major upsets here so I thought I would group them all together. Jeff Bridges will get his award after four unsuccessful tries. Christoph Waltz has walked away with every major award this season and this should be no different as his role in Inglourious Basterds will win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Best Actress could go to the serious actress in the comedy or the comedic actress in the serious film. I am going with Sandra Bullock though Carey Mulligan might be a dark horse favorite since they Academy seems to favor young actresses. Best Supporting Actress should go to Mo’Nique in a walk for her devastating role in Precious.

Technical Awards

Avatar should clean up in the technical awards picking up awards for Cinematography, Visual Effects, Art Direction, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing. I am picking District 9 to win for film editing, but that one will probably go to Avatar as well.

Screenplay

I expect that original screenplay will go to Quentin Tarantino for his strange parallel finale to the Second World War Inglourious Basterds. As an Adapted Screenplay Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner are my choice to win the award but the category is much closer.

Other Awards
This is the area I always do so badly in. I just don’t have the opportunity to see most of the foreign films and live action shorts.

Foreign Language Film – Ajami
Makeup – Star Trek
Costume Design – The Young Victoria
Live Action Short – Miracle Fish
Animated Short Film – A Matter of Loaf and Death
Documentary Short – The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Original Song – The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart
Animated Feature – Up
Documentary Feature – Which Way Home

Related posts:

1. Oscar Review 2006
2. Golden Globe Picks 2005
3. Golden Globe Picks 2006
4. Oscar Nominations 2004