Tonight marks the 82nd Annual Academy Awards and will be the biggest night in film all year. It’s been a long time coming and who will land on top of this ridiculous year of film? With record breakers, e-mail controversies, and amazingly original stories, this night is going to be very interesting to see the outcome. I’m pretty excited, are you?! Well here are my predictions as I see them, I’m probably right, just saying you know………But seriously, hopefully I’m right because I’ll get some pretty cool prizes with my predictions with all the contests I entered. With out further ado……

And the Oscar goes to……

You can check my ballot at Oscar.com if you click on the link and it will go directly to my ballot! I got a good 18/24 right!!! Go me!

BEST PICTURE:

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker (Winner)
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Why? The Hurt Locker is an outstanding film, although I had to watch it twice to fully understand it, it is a very solid piece. Every aspect of this film was top notch with its thrilling story, riveting characters, great acting and all other filming factors included. Despite the e-mail controversy, it needs to be put aside and the film needs to be looked at as is. There were other greats nominated alongside this film, but this one really stood out and should win. I also think some of these films are kind of askew in this category and others should have been nominated instead.

DIRECTOR:
James Cameron – Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker (Winner)
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels – Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Jason Reitman – Up in the Air

Why? It’s pretty much a done deal, although some could debate could argue that James Cameron could be the one on top. Bigelow demonstrates real gusto in The Hurt Locker as she takes this film to great heights. She really showed that she understood what the story was going for and made sure that every aspect was fully covered.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart (Winner)
George Clooney – Up in the Air
Colin Firth – A Single Man
Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

Why? I can’t really explain why, I hadn’t seen his performance unfortunately, but all reasons point to yes.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side (Winner)
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

Why? I don’t really want to see her win, although she did show an interesting character, I don’t feel as though she was the most compelling character out of all the actresses. I believe Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe, or Meryl Streep should probably win this, but I think the academy will definitely swing their power to give this one to Bullock. I really would like to see Carey Mulligan win and Streep does just what Streep does. Bullock did give us a motherly figure who makes her presence known on screen, but there seemed to be just only so much of the character that was told and wished there was something more.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Matt Damon – Invictus
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds (Winner)

Why? This Oscar is pretty much obvious. Christoph Waltz displayed one of the greatest characters in film history. Although being very unknown to the US, Waltz was definitely known after his performance in Inglorious Basterds. Waltz’s character portrayal had amazing depth and a true display of Oscar winning acting.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Penélope Cruz – Nine
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
Mo’Nique – Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (Winner)

Why? Just as Waltz demonstrated a great villain of depth, this character given to us by Mo’Nique was outstanding. You feel every ounce of emotion poured into this role. Mo’Nique definitely deserves this award for her heartfelt performance.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker (Winner)
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman – The Messenger
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – A Serious Man
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter – Up

Why? I don’t believe this is the most original, but I will give this one to the Academy for its pick. I believe Inglorious Basterds should win this one for Tarantin’s amazing writing, but I think The Hurt Locker will take this one.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell – District 9
Nick Hornby – An Education
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche – In the Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher – Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner – Up in the Air

Why? Reitman just knows how to write real characters. This is a great story told by some great writers. From the characters to the tone, this film has great sincere writing that can take you on a whirlwind of a ride of emotions.

ANIMATED FEATURE:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up (Winner)

Why? This one is pretty obvious. This was a real adventure brought in vibrant colors, amazing animation and a great story. This animated feature really shows how far Pixar has gone from Toy Story to the present. This film really shows how story telling should be done with animation.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Ajami (Israel)
El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
Un Prophète (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany) (Winner)

ART DIRECTION:
Avatar (Winner)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

Why? Does this one really need to have a reason explained?

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Mauro Fiore – Avatar
Bruno Delbonnel – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Barry Ackroyd – The Hurt Locker (Winner)
Robert Richardson – Inglourious Basterds
Christian Berger – The White Ribbon

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Burma VJ
The Cove (Winner)
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

Why? The Cove makes you just want to jump out of your seat and start being an activist now. This documentary was incredibly embracive with a story that must be heard throughout the world. The story told of these activists will stun you and the cove cannot be hidden from the public any more. This is one that you must see and deserves this Oscar.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (Winner)
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin

ANIMATED SHORT:
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama (Winner)
A Matter of Loaf and Death

Why? Refreshingly original. This little fun animated short is really great in its ideas and exciting story. I can’t explain how they got through all the legal stuff to get all those logos in their short, but it was done exceptionally well.

LIVE-ACTION SHORT:
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi (Winner)
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Avatar (Winner)
District 9
Star Trek

Why? This is another no brainer.

COSTUME DESIGN:
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria (Winner)

MAKEUP:
Il Divo
Star Trek (Winner)
The Young Victoria

FILM EDITING:
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker (Winner)
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

SOUND MIXING:
Avatar (Winner)
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

SOUND EDITING:
Avatar
The Hurt Locker (Winner)
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

ORIGINAL SCORE:
James Horner – Avatar
Alexandre Desplat – Fantastic Mr. Fox
Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders – The Hurt Locker
Hans Zimmer – Sherlock Holmes
Michael Giacchino – Up (Winner)

ORIGINAL SONG:
“Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog
“Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog
“Loin de Paname” from Paris 36
“Take It All” from Nine
“The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart (Winner)