Oscar News + Movie Reviews, All Year Round

Feb. 28, 2010: My final predictions for next Sunday are now below. If you get a
chance to catch the touring Live Action/Animated Shorts package, it's well worth
seeing -- especially for the animated Logorama, more inventive than most of the
feature-length films released in 2009. The major categories carry little suspense
this year, with only Avatar or Inglourious Basterds able to possibly dislodge The Hurt
Locker due to the new preferential voting system...

Feb. 21, 2010: And now I have completed my personal picks for the best individual
performances of last year (the hardest part: picking 5 Best Supporting Actors from a
comparatively thin field). Next thing up: Who I think will actually win on March 7th.

Feb. 6, 2010: I have replaced my nominee guesses with the actual nominees, as
well as completed my Top 10 of 2009 list (as well as a spur-of-the-monent best of
the decade list). Coming eventually: My favorite performances of the year, and
eventual winner predictions.

Jan. 30, 2010: It's been another long absence, but for those of you still out there,
here are my picks for who I think will be nominated on Tuesday. (Check out the
wrapups for 2007 here and 2008 here.) Hopefully coming soon will be my personal
bests for 2009. Questions? Email me here.

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
(I had predicted Invictus and Star
Trek, not Blind Side and District 9.)

Best Director
James Cameron, Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
(I guessed these 5 for 5.)

Best Original Screenplay
Inglourious Basterds
Up
A Serious Man
The Messenger
The Hurt Locker
(I guessed Summer, not Messenger.)

Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9
Up in the Air
Precious
An Education
In the Loop
(I guessed Fox, not District 9.)

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
(I guessed these 5 for 5.)

Best Actress
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Gabby Sidibe, Precious
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
(I guesses these 5 for 5.)

Best Supporting Actor
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Matt Damon, Invictus
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
(I guessed McKay, not Damon.)

Best Supporting Actress
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Ann Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Mo'nique, Precious
Penelope Cruz, Nine
(I guessed Moore, not Gyllenhaal.)

Best Animated Film
Up
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Coraline
The Secret of Kells
The Princess and the Frog
(I guessed Meatballs, not Kells.)

Top 10 Films of the 2000s
1. Mulholland Drive (2001)
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
3. Kill Bill 1 & 2 (2003 & 2004)
4. Adaptation (2002)
5. Dogville (2003)
6. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
7. A History of Violence (2005)
8. Memento (2001)
9. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
10. There Will Be Blood (2007)

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker *
Inglourious Basterds
Fantastic Mr. Fox
A Serious Man
The White Ribbon

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker *
Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon
Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
James Cameron, Avatar

Best Original Screenplay
Inglourious Basterds *
The Hurt Locker
A Serious Man
(500) Days of Summer
The White Ribbon

Best Adapted Screenplay
Fantastic Mr. Fox *
The Road
Bright Star
An Education
The Informant!

Best Actor
Colin Firth, A Single Man *
Sam Rockwell, Moon
Viggo Mortensen, The Road
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Best Actress
Tilda Swinton, Julia *
Gabby Sidibe, Precious
Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
Charlotte Gainsbourg, Antichrist
Carey Mulligan, An Education

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds *
Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
Matthew Goode, A Single Man
Alec Baldwin, It's Complicated
Michael Fassbender, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds *
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Mo'nique, Precious
Catherine Keener, Where the Wild Things Are

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Original Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Animated Film
Best Foreign Film
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup
Best Score
Best Song
Best Visual Effects
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Feature Documentary
Best Documentary Short
Best Live-Action Short
Best Animated Short

The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Mo'nique, Precious
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
Up
The White Ribbon (Germany)
The White Ribbon
Avatar
Avatar
The Young Victoria
Star Trek
Up
"The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart
Avatar
Avatar
Avatar
The Cove
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Kavi
Logorama