OSCAR PICKS


As usual I have waited until the last moment to post my annual Oscar picks, and the field for Best Picture, now with ten nominees instead of the previous five, makes it more difficult this year.

The one film that really stuck with me was Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, which was screened last year at the Seattle International Film Festival. In a field of great films, including UP (which should take the award for Best Animated Feature), Up in the Air (a great movie and serious contender), Avatar (a real ride of a movie but not Titanic), A Serious Man (a remarkable film I enjoyed very much, but was little-seen), and An Education (another great, but little-seen movie), I predict The Hurt Locker will take home top prize.

Here is what I wrote about this film:

The Hurt Locker follows a crew of American Army bomb experts through their tour in Iraq in 2004. Sergeant James is young, cocky, and takes unnecessary risks, so much so that he puts the lives of his crew in danger. But he is good at what he does, the best, and this window into present-day combat is intense and sobering. This nail-biter is one of the year’s best films.

Other categories:
  • Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
  • Best Supporting Actor: Cristoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
  • Best Actress: Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia (Streep inhabited the role of Julia Child)
  • Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious
  • Best Score: The Hurt Locker
  • Best Song: "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart
  • Best Visual Effects: Avatar (I'll be surprised if I am wrong on this one)
  • Best Cinematography: Inglorious Basterds
  • Best Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
  • Best Original Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
  • Best Animated Feature: UP
  • Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker (over ex-husband James Cameron)

Comments

DUTA said…
Very interesting and informative blog!
1:13 PM
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