Oscar! Oscar!

This morning at 8:37 the Academy Awards announced its nominees, with the help of former nominee Anne Hathaway. It was mostly very straightforward and had basically the exact same names that have been announced all season long for other awards and Top Ten lists. The AMPAS is trying to reach out and attract more viewers, so there are TEN nominees for Best Picture. It is mostly a joke because only five films really have a chance, and most are assuming it is a two film race between Avatar and The Hurt Locker.

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 have seen all of these, except for District 9 (which I really have no desire to see). I think that The Blind Side is a total joke and voters must be dying to give Sandra Bullock an Oscar because the film does not deserve to be included. I really think that A Serious Man should have received more attention because it is a great film. But does it really matter if it is only going to be Avatar versus The Hurt Locker? Is the general public going to tune into the Oscars just because a few extra films were nominated?!

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up in the Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Not a bad selection. I wish Jeff Bridges, George Clooney and Colin Firth could all win. Morgan Freeman is a joke and only nominated because he is in a Clint Eastwood film. Jeremy Renner's nominated just seems to stem from all the love for The Hurt Locker. It seems like Jeff Bridges is going to win anyway, and I think he is a terrific actor and I am eager to hear his acceptance speech!

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

I would really like to see Meryl Streep win in my lifetime! She is brilliant as Julia Child, and the only reason to see an otherwise disappointing film. I would also love it if Carey Mulligan won, she is wonderful in An Education. I do like Sandra Bullock as an actress, and even though she seems destined to win this year I wish it could be for a role that deserved the award. And I will see The Last Station before the Oscars, I swear!

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon (Invictus)
Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

There is something terribly wrong in Hollywood if Christoph Waltz does not win. Matt Damon was awful in Invictus and Stanley Tucci should have been nominated for Julie & Julia instead.

Best Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz (Nine)
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
Mo'Nique (Precious)

This was probably the hardest category to predict with only three women guaranteed nominations. Mo'Nique is brilliant in Precious, but I would love to see Anna Kendrick win! I love Penélope Cruz, but she does not deserve this nomination. The same goes for Maggie Gyllenhaal. I think that Juliane Moore (A Single Man) and Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) should have been nominated instead.

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
James Cameron (Avatar)
Lee Daniels (Precious)
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

This race once seemed more wide open, but it now looks as if it is a duel between Kathryn Bigelow and her former husband James Cameron. Cameron won the Golden Globe, but Bigelow recently won the Directors Guild of America award, and the momentum seems to be on the side of The Hurt Locker.

Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up
Inglourious Basterds

I would love to see Quentin Tarantino win for Inglourious Basterds, he is a gifted screenwriter.

Best Adapted Screenplay
In the Loop
District 9
Precious
An Education
Up in the Air

I think Jason Reitman deserves to win for Up in the Air, but I am very biased because I am a huge fan of the film and the source material.

Best Animated Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

I disliked Up. I loved Fantastic Mr. Fox. Enough said.

Best Foreign Language Film
El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
Un Prophète (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
Ajami (Israel)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)

I am still upset that Los Abrazos Rotos was not even selected by Spain as its entry for the Oscars!