Oscar 2010: Final Words

"At the end, he called me to his deathbed. He could barely speak, but he took the trouble to tell me one last thing. He pulled me close, and I could only make out one word. 'Disappointed'." - Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) from Inception

We can now leave 2010 to the past, and stop dwelling in it with anger and desperation. The awards season is over, and much like Maurice Fischer in Inception, I am too am disappointed. If there's one thing that last night's Oscar telecast showed us, it's how pathetic 2010 in film was compared to 2009. I was part of the most delusional Oscar party in America, with people who honestly felt that 2010 was a modest improvement, both in respects to the films and the ceremony. I wasn't a fan of 2009's mixed up and frantic show, last night's show was all over the place. It was as corny and frantically emotional as the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, the second worst Oscar winning film of this year. But thinking back to the films released, there is a noticeable rift in quality.

The King's Speech and Inception both walked away with four nominations, the latter in all technical categories and the former only in the big eight categories. The Social Network only walked away with three, all of which were well deserved awards. Some of the most disappointing awards decisions were based solely on the politics of the show. Banksy definitely deserved to win for Exit Through the Gift Shop, but the Academy was without a doubt fearful that he would ruin their precious little show, as if they needed any help with that. I'm a moderately understanding person, but I just don't stand for giving awards out to anything less than the best in each category. It didn't help that there just weren't many interesting films out this year. Probably the most disappointing upset was Roger Deakins being snubbed from Best Cinematography once again. The man just can't seem to catch a break, even after all these years.

I guess that's the way things are meant to go. The best films of the year go by under-appreciated, and the obvious crowd-pleasers are the victors. It wasn't always like this, as the Academy decided in the past two honor the best, not compromising for the sake of flash. 2007 may have been the best Oscar year in the past ten years, with films like Juno, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood pushing audiences once again to widen their horizons. If this year were more like that year, the five nominees for Best Picture would be Winter's Bone, Black Swan, The Social Network, True Grit, and The Fighter, not even mentioning The King's Speech. Those great days are past us, but I sill manage to hope that changes this year.

If things seem somewhat sparse here for the next week, it's because I'm quite honestly busy catching up with my real life. I need a break from this mania, and what better way to do it than immerse myself completely in this year. The next month offers some exciting features, and even if they turn out to be merely unintelligent diversions, that will be a welcome break from the over-intellectualized ramblings we Oscar prognosticators have been partaking in over the past few months. It all boils down to one night, and that night has to deliver. This year, it just didn't. I leave you with my guiltiest pleasure from last night's show.

Oscar 2010: The Glitz. The Glamour. The Horror.

This is as mixed an Oscar ceremony as there's ever been, in some ways better, and in some ways far worse than last year's messy ceremony. The evening started out promising with a fantastic opening montage of the ten Best Picture nominees. Then Anne Hathaway and James Franco came on, and the MTV Movie Awards style film tribute began. It was distracting, and an omen of terrible things to come. The monologue wasn't that great either, with most of the jokes landing flat on the ground. To her credit, Anne Hathaway did a great job whenever she was on the stage alone, which was sadly most of the time. I can't tell why James Franco decided to sit out most of the ceremony. He made such a big deal about it for the past month. Did anyone else think he was getting high backstage?

The winners started out optimistically, with Alice in Wonderland taking Best Art Direction and Inception taking Best Cinematography. It was enough to suggest that perhaps a major upset was in store for The King's Speech. Instead, as we reached the end, it sunk in that this was just a major misfire. Most of the deserving films and filmmakers in each category weren't rewarded, such as Roger Deakins for True Grit, or Banksy for Exit Through the Gift Shop. True, there were some rewarding winners, such as Natalie Portman for Black Swan, Melissa Leo and Christian Bale for The Fighter, and Wally Pfister for Inception, but none of those could stop The King's Speech from walking away with an undeserved Best Picture win. Much worse, Tom Hooper won Best Director, stealing it away from five more deserving nominated directors, and countless others who weren't nominated. Will Gluck was more deserving for his work on Easy A. That's where I am?

So what did I enjoy about the show? Well, there's the aforementioned opening montage, as well as the montage for Best Picture. Those were effective, but the latter wreaked of The King's Speech. Even the producers of the show knew it was going to win. I'm probably the only one who loved the auto-tune segment, which was hilarious and off-kilter in the best way possible. I just loved it. What was the absolute best part of the show? Kirk Douglas' extended segment, obviously. The man is well past his prime, and that's the best thing about him. He just went on so hilariously, and it was hard not to burst into hysterical laughter at times. However, most times during the show, including those chanting children at the end, were overkill to the nth degree. For that, this is one of the worst shows in recent memory. Perhaps ever. It's something you didn't notice until all the proceedings were done with. Please comment below on your thoughts from the ceremony. Good? Atrociously and irreparably awful? Have at it!

D-

Oscar 2010: And The Winners Are...

Best Picture: The King's Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Best Director: Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
Best Original Song: "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3

Best Editing: The Social Network
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Documentary Feature: Inside Job
Best Live-Action Short: God of Love
Best Documentary Short Subject: Strangers No More
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Best Makeup: The Wolfman
Best Sound Editing: Inception
Best Sound Mixing: Inception
Best Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network)
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Best Foreign Language Film: In A Better World
Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler (The King's Speech)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Animated Short: The Lost Thing
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Cinematography: Wally Pfister (Inception)
Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland

Awards 2010: American Cinema Editors (ACE) Winners

I feel glad that now that we're past the craziness of The King's Speech dragging in an inappropriate amount of guild awards, we can finally get back to awarding what actually deserves reward, kinda. I say "kinda" because Alice in Wonderland took the award for Best Comedy Editing, and aside from the fact that it's still not a comedy, there were other more deserving films. The Kids Are All Right may be better than the whole lot, but try not to pummel me to death when I say that the editing wasn't its strong suit. I think many would agree that Scott Pilgrim vs. the World would have been far more deserving in this field, but I thought that the editing in Easy A was quite recommendable.

Inception didn't take away the Best Drama Editing award, as you could've suspected from the Oscar omission from the category. Instead they gave it to the ultimately deserving The Social Network. The rest falls cleanly into place with no surprises in the slightest. Toy Story 3 and Exit Through the Gift Shop won what they were fated to win, because there wasn't any real opposition. If anything, I now feel moderately safe with my prediction for Best Film Editing, and no longer vexed by fear of The King's Speech stealing it.

Best Drama Editing: The Social Network
Best Comedy Editing: Alice in Wonderland
Best Animated Editing: Toy Story 3
Best Documentary Editing: Exit Through the Gift Shop

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Makeup

I'm not going to deny that Alice in Wonderland's absence from the makeup nominations didn't shock me a bit. I'm not going to say that I appreciated it on an artistic level, but with all the buzz that's been going for it in the precursors, I totally expected it to make an appearance here. I'm not upset that the film now stands little to no chances of winning anything on Oscar night, but it complicates the race a bit. It makes me wonder exactly what film will win, based on the Academy state of mind. What would seem like the initial winner, and is indeed what most people are pegging for the win, is The Wolfman, but I'm not so sure.

The lack of Alice in Wonderland in this category clearly shows the Academy's adherence to quality, and not obvious appeal. The only makeup job that comes to mind in terms of The Wolfman is the titular creature, and I don't think I'm alone when I talk about how cheesy and stupid it looks. I wouldn't vote for that, and certainly not against some of the other clear choices. The Way Back has its only nomination here, so the Academy may indeed point their attention there, giving the overlooked treasure some recognition. The film I'd like to see win, and is fully deserving of it, is Barney's Version. It surprised us with its inclusion on the shortlist, and later when it actually made it into the nominations. I think that it could go all the way to the win. It's the film I'm predicting to win, because I want the bragging rights. I'm predicting a surprising Oscar night, which may or may not happen.

1. Barney's Version
2. The Way Back
3. The Wolfman

Will/Should Win: Barney's Version
Potential Upset: The Wolfman
Should Have Been Nominated: True Grit

Awards 2010: BAFTA Winners

The BAFTA awards took place today, and I just knew that The King's Speech was going to be the main player. They're biased when it comes to that film, so I can't say this is a totally reliable ceremony when it comes to what's actually going to win on Oscar night. Early on, it felt like perhaps the British period piece wouldn't be the strongest winner of the ceremony. No such luck, as the film later picked up acting wins for Rush, Carter, and Firth in their respective categories. I was surprised Alice in Wonderland won as much as it did, seeing as it's been on the decline for some time now. Natalie Portman won Best Actress, effectively snuffing out any hopes Annette Bening had of winning. Perhaps the most telling win of this ceremony was David Fincher for Best Director. It offers just enough to say that Tom Hooper is not the frontrunner has most have pegged him.

Best Picture: The King's Speech
Best British Film: The King's Speech
Best Director: David Fincher (The Social Network)
Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)
Best Supporting Actress: Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
Best Original Screenplay: The King's Speech
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Cinematography: True Grit
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Production Design: Inception
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Best Foreign Language Film: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Best Makeup: Alice in Wonderland
Best Editing: The Social Network
Best Sound: Inception
Best Original Score: The King's Speech

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Costume Design

I can't say I'm a reliable source when it comes to placing bets on this specific battle. I was actually hoping for Inception to make it amongst the nominations, with all the crazy rumblings going on in my head. I was just fascinated by the specificity of the several different costumes for each character. Cobb, Saito, and Arthur have such subtle differences in their seemingly uniform suits. There's a uniqueness about Eames' different outfits, and Ariadne had some lovely little outfits. Mal steals the show, and she's pretty much the entire backing of my love in this particular category.

This is one of the only categories that The King's Speech actually deserves to win. Of all the aspects of the film, I especially appreciated the costumes. I haven't actually seen I Am Love, but from the bits and clips I've seen, the costumes are pretty damn stunning, so if this comes in for a surprise win, all the better. The Tempest was also intriguing when it came to what the characters wore, but everything else fails to match up. I'm not about to jab Alice in Wonderland for the costumes in it, because that was one of the few things I truly enjoyed about the film. True Grit, while perhaps the strongest film of the bunch, is the weakest link in this category. It doesn't do much that I haven't seen before or that truly stuck out to me. This category is quite clear cut if you ask me.

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Art Direction

If it seems like I'm pegging The King's Speech as the potential upset in most categories it's nominated for, that's because I am. When it comes down to it, there are only two categories that Tom Hooper's film deserves to win for, and the rest are undeserving. I'd be a little lighter on it in terms of this category if there wasn't such vivid competition. The visuals in the film are only occasionally inspiring, but definitely not more than the other nominees. Alice in Wonderland, while rendered hideously revolting by the visual effects, has some of the most stunning and colorful art direction of 2010. That being said, it's chances are squashed by the end product.

As far as period films go, Joel & Ethan Coen's True Grit has the upper hand in terms of visualization, although much of that is due to Roger Deakins' cinematography. I don't expect much in terms of art direction. The film I think is most deserving of the win is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. The sets they built for Malfoy Manor, the Weasley Wedding, and the Ministry of Magic, along with the unprecedented scope of the set design really should put this at the head of the pack. Somehow it doesn't, so I'm going to say the film that most likely will win is Christopher Nolan's Inception. In a film entirely dependent on elaborate architecture, the prowess is brought much closer to the surface by Ariadne's character. You look around at the surroundings because it's part of her creation. The King's Speech might take that away, but I dearly hope not.

Awards 2010: Art Director's Guild (ADG) Winners

After the fantastically rewarding events of the Writer's Guild Awards, we're thrown slightly back into the fray. The ADG winners weren't altogether surprising, mostly because there weren't any contemporary films nominated for the Oscar. So the fact that Black Swan won the contemporary field really makes sparse difference. It's a two horse race between Inception and The King's Speech, both of which took their respective honors last night. Alice in Wonderland failed to achieve a win from the Fantasy category, so the film may indeed walk away empty handed on Oscar night. Against all predictability, dreams really do come true, kinda.

Period Art Direction: The King's Speech
Contemporary Art Direction: Black Swan
Fantasy Art Direction: Inception

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Visual Effects

It's about time I start laying out my predictions for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, but I really don't see the point. I don't remember the last time I just didn't care about the outcome of the Oscars. It's probably because The King's Speech is the frontrunner to win Best Picture, and it's pretty unlikely for any other outcome to become truth. Fortunately, this is one of the categories that Tom Hooper's film wasn't nominated for, so it will be a bit of a refresher. On the other hand, it's not that difficult to predict the winner of this one, because there's only one way that the Academy can go. One could have wished for them to start on five nominations in a year when there were more films worth nominating.

There's not a chance in hell that Inception is not going to go away with this award, because it's the only film that constantly pushed the visuals beyond the necessary quota. If I were to say any other film that managed equal ocular wonder, it would actually be Hereafter. I know that many are chastising it for stealing a nomination from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World or TRON Legacy, but in terms of the quality of the visuals, the tsunami sequence was one of the best. I never saw the entire film, but that sequence was such a visual feast, and it makes me want Clint Eastwood to do more visual effects driven films. I was more captivated by the effects of that one scene than I was by any of the flourishes of Avatar.

If this was a three nominee race, which I really think it should've been, I'd give the third slot to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Along with the contributions from Nolan and Eastwood, it was the only one that didn't have me gagging over the clunky visuals. The way the wonderful art direction was presented by the visual effects in Alice in Wonderland made it look simply hideous. As for Iron Man 2, it just felt cold and clunky in the execution of the visuals, which reminds me of why I didn't appreciate the visuals of Transformers 2 last year. Either of those two could've been left off the list, and I'd have been glad. So here is how I rank the nominees.

1. Inception
2. Hereafter
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
4. Iron Man 2
5. Alice in Wonderland

Should/Will Win: Inception
Could Upset: Hereafter
Should Have Been Nominated: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Oscar 2010: Final Nomination Predictions (Part 1: Technical Categories)

We're less than a week away from the announcement of the nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, so it's a good idea to go over our predictions for what will and won't be nominated. If you want to skip this explanation, you can just skip over to the Oscar Prediction page as we update it over the weekend, although I obviously recommend that you read our drawn out explanation. Today we'll be covering the technical categories. Tomorrow we'll be going through the acting nominations. Monday, we'll go over the top race of Best Picture, Director, Animated Feature, Documentary, Foreign Language Film, and the Screenplay races. So lets get started, shall we?

It's been a pretty slow week, and that's probably a good thing since I had a lot of settling in to do. It gave me some time to take a closer look at the technical categories, and as set in stone as they may seem, I feel like we're going to get some surprises. The obvious frontrunner in the technicals is Inception, which has some pretty solid locks in Score, Cinematography, Art Direction, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing. There's no qualms or quibbles about the film making its due. It was snubbed out of the Makeup category, which it had a minor chance at because of old Saito. I hoped for Costume Design to be surprise nomination for this one, but it's probably not going to happen.

Alice in Wonderland is a film nobody wants to honor, yet it somehow deserves those honors. It had a fantastic team on Makeup, Art Direction, and Costume Design, so it'll take some kind of miracle for it not to take home anything. The Wolfman will be securing a nomination in Makeup, but nothing else. Rounding out the makeup category is a rather difficult choice between The Way Back and Barney's Version, though I'm rooting for the latter. God forbid Jonah Hex walk away with an undeserved nomination. The only categories I can't really do any advising on are Sound Editing and Mixing. TRON Legacy is probably going to get some nods, but I've not a clue beyond that.

Only slightly more insightful am I at Costume Design, which I keep placing I Am Love in because I can't see why it should be nominated. The King's Speech is a lock, not to mention the frontrunner against Alice in Wonderland for the win. Burlesque could make it in for obvious reasons, but I don't really see why it should. Heading into the categories I'm more well associated with, Original Score is a bit of an obsession of mine. The ultimate battle will be between Inception and The Social Network, but as far as filling out the other nominees, it's a bit harder. John Powell will probably get a nod for How to Train Your Dragon, and as for the rest, I'm hoping that Alexandre Desplat doubles for two of his films. The King's Speech will obviously make it in, but I hold onto my belief that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 will make the cut.

Speaking of Deathly Hallows: Part 1, I still think that this will be a great year for the fantasy franchise. It'll definitely snag a Visual Effects nomination, but it's more of a struggle to get nods in Cinematography, Art Direction, and Original Score. It probably won't happen, but I hold out hope that it will. Black Swan is another one to watch for, properly becoming a presence in Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Cinematography. Perhaps the most extreme prediction I have is that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World will make the Visual Effects race over Alice in Wonderland. Probably won't happen, but I hope it will.

Rounding out the technical categories is Film Editing, which is the most straight forward in terms of predictions. The Social Network, Inception, Black Swan, and 127 Hours are all practical locks, but my guess to fill out that final slot is The Fighter. Of all the aspects of that film, the aggressive way it was edited was the thing I loved the most. That just about covers the technical achievements, albeit in a jumble and non-routine way. For the simple rundown of my guesses, check out our Oscar Predictions page as it is updated over the weekend. In the meantime, please comment on which films you think will or should be nominated come Tuesday morning!

Awards 2010: BFCA Critics Choice Winners

It's so easy to minimalize the importance of these critics awards when you don't see the actual ceremony. The sense of occasion is one of the core defining aspects that makes going to the movies so important in the first place. Without it, it just doesn't seem necessary. I was really impressed by the brisk moving Critics Choice Awards on VH1 last night, because they kept things entertaining. The winners weren't so dull and sedated as people believe, as Jack McGee made clear while accepting the Best Ensemble award on behalf of the cast of The Fighter ("This is just Bitchin'!). Hailee Steinfeld was so darling and beautiful accepting the Best Young Actor/Actress award for True Grit. Every time I see Natalie Portman win an award for Black Swan, it makes me need to see the film again.

The opening montage of the year's films was pretty great, and Bruno Mars has never been so iconic and elegant before, nor will he be so ever again. The Jackass crew got some pretty nice laughs in their parodies of films like Inception, Black Swan, and The Social Network ("Thousand. Twenty-two hundred views in 1000 hours."). Quentin Tarantino and Matt Damon accepted the honorary awards of the evening, and they made their time count. My favorite presenter of the evening was undeniably Kevin Spacey. He's got so much charisma and comedic timing, and I miss seeing him in films. He needs to take another major role now, or else I'll take him and lock him up in my cellar for him to entertain me whenever I want.

There were a few small surprises along the way, and that certainly eases the stress of the awards season being too content as it is. We knew who was going to take home the big award in the end, but that didn't keep us from getting a slight pit in our gut as the nominees were announced. I feel like Alice in Wonderland and Inception went away with probably too many awards, and Black Swan should have secured more statues over the course of the evening. I'm pretty damn happy that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won best Original Score for The Social Network. I think they're a pretty good bet on getting an Oscar nomination now, and whenever I have some heavy blogging work to do, I play their soundtrack in the background. I'm also glad I stuck to my guns in predicting Easy A would win Best Comedy. Sometimes things turn out exactly as they should. The evening was a healthy reminder that the season is far less safe and predictable as it seems, and that Melissa Leo is a lot more attractive in real life than she looks in The Fighter.

Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Best Director: David Fincher (The Social Network)
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay: The King's Speech
Best Cinematography: Inception
Best Art Direction: Inception
Best Film Editing: Inception
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
Best Makeup: Alice in Wonderland
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Sound: Inception
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Action Movie: Inception
Best Comedy: Easy A
Best Picture Made for Television: The Pacific
Best Foreign Language Film: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Best Documentary: Waiting for "Superman"
Best Song: "If I Rise" from 127 Hours
Best Score: The Social Network

Awards 2010: BFCA Critics Choice Predictions

Tonight offers us the 16th Annual Critics Choice Awards, and fittingly the climax of the critics awards season, so it would be surprising if tonight's winners were in any way surprising. The awards have mostly gone the same way, with The Social Network leading the pack with several wins in the top category. It'd be a shame if it went through all that work only not to win here, and I doubt that's going to happen. We'll save the shocks for the Golden Globe telecast on Sunday, because tonight should be rather easy to guess at. There are plenty of opportunities for the best films of last year to get some sort of recognition, so it shouldn't be that difficult to predict who will win. Until then, take a look at this fantastic poster for Black Swan, the film that took in the most nominations.

Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Actor: Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Best Young Actor/Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Best Acting Ensemble: The Fighter
Best Director: David Fincher (The Social Network)
Best Original Screenplay: Inception
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network
Best Cinematography: Black Swan
Best Art Direction: Black Swan
Best Editing: Inception
Best Costume Design: The King's Speech
Best Makeup: Alice in Wonderland
Best Visual Effects: Inception
Best Sound: Black Swan
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Action Movie: Inception
Best Comedy: Easy A
Best Picture Made for Television: Temple Grandin
Best Foreign Language Film: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Best Documentary Feature: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Best Song: "Shine" from Waiting for "Superman"
Best Score: Inception

Awards 2010: American Cinema Editors (ACE) Nominees

More guild award nominations, and this time it's a little more interesting than usual. The ACE have announced their nominations, and I'm pretty impressed for the most part. The Social Network and Inception made it in, as should be pretty obvious, and the rest of the dramatic field was filled by The King's Speech, Black Swan, and The Fighter, who definitely deserves the nomination. One of my favorite things about the film was the aggressive way it was cut together, adding on to the brutality of it. As for the Comedy or Musical department, there is the obvious exception of Alice in Wonderland, but I was still really impressed. Easy A and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World made the cut, which is a nice victory to me. The Animated and Documentary editing categories are pretty straightforward, but no less deserving.

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
“Black Swan"
“The Fighter”
“Inception”
“The King’s Speech"
“The Social Network”

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
“Alice in Wonderland”
“Easy A”
“The Kids Are All Right”
“Made in Dagenham"
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”

Best Edited Animated Film
“Despicable Me”
“How to Train Your Dragon"
“Toy Story 3″

Best Edited Documentary
“Exit Through the Gift Shop”
“Inside Job”
“Waiting for Superman”

Oscar 2010: Seven Makeup Finalists

One of our final glimpses into the look of this year's Oscars before the nominations are announced, we now have the finalists for the makeup race, and it certainly is a bit surprising. For one thing, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was strangely snubbed from the category. I suspect that won't be the case next year with Part 2, but it's still a bit surprising. Jonah Hex has no real chance of being nominated, so I don't think anybody is putting that forward to be nominated. Alice in Wonderland is a pretty sure bet at this point, and we now have confirmation that Barney's Version and The Way Back are indeed eligible contenders in this year's race. I just hope the taste of the Academy rolls above The Wolfman, but it probably won't.

"Alice in Wonderland"
"Barney's Version"
"The Fighter"
"Jonah Hex"
"True Grit"
"The Way Back"
"The Wolfman"

Oscar 2010: Seven Finalists for Visual Effects

The finalists for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects have been narrowed down from the 15 that were announced last month, which leaves only two left to be eliminated. If I were to place an honest guess at what would be left out, it would be Hereafter and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but a part of me wants the latter to make it in. I'd rather Alice in Wonderland be left out, but that's probably not going to happen. Still, a surprise nomination is not completely out of the books. Here are the finalists.

"Alice in Wonderland"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1"
"Hereafter"
"Inception"
"Iron Man 2"
"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"
"TRON Legacy"

Awards 2010: Art Director's Guild (ADG) Nominations

Amongst my favorite factors of film production, as well as the most vital, is art direction, so the technical categories are often as fascinating as the main races for me. The ADG doesn't give so much of an idea of what to expect from the Oscar nominations. It's more of a reminder of all the films in the race, and what to choose. My current predictions remain mostly in the Fantasy Film category with films like Inception and Alice in Wonderland, but I'll probably change that up a bit before the nominations are announced. Until then, take a look at these nominations.

Period Film
"Get Low"
"The King's Speech"
"Robin Hood"
"Shutter Island"
"True Grit"

Fantasy Film
"Alice in Wonderland"
"The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1"
"Inception"
"TRON Legacy"

Contemporary Film
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"127 Hours"
"The Social Network"
"The Town"

Awards 2010: Phoenix Film Critics Society

It certainly looks like the critics from Phoenix had no problem whatsoever in spreading the wealth around. Just when it seemed Oscar buzz was dead with The King's Speech, it pulls off a win in a few categories here. Likewise, Inception also got a few recognitions, further aiding it in its fight against the odds. I'm still not fine with all the love for Melissa Leo's performance in The Fighter, which was more than fine, but I find it to have been highly overrated. Also not getting the love for Alice in Wonderland and Never Let Me Go, but I'm sure it'll pass. See the winners after the jump!

Awards 2010: Golden Globe Nominations

Once again, as per usual, the Golden Globes prove that they have absolutely no idea what they're doing. It's impossible to ever predict what will be let in and left out, so lets start with those major surprises. The Motion Picture Comedy category let in plenty of undeserving films, but not Easy A, which probably deserved it more. Instead, what do they nominate? Obviously the newly released The Tourist. The film recently opened to mediocre reviews, so I don't understand what the Hollywood Foreign Press saw in it. For that matter, I don't get why they nominated Alice in Wonderland at all. I understand Burlesque, but only because it's a musical, and sometimes they just can't resist.

I don't think that Red really belonged in that category, but it's better than most of the films nominated. The Kids Are All Right got quite a few nominations, but Mark Ruffalo was shut out of Best Supporting Actor for some nonsensical reason. The Original Song category isn't even worthy of note, so go ahead and find it on your own. You're not getting any help from me in that case. One last thing to notice, True Grit was shut out completely. None of this really means anything in the grand scheme of things, because nobody should really care about the Golden Globes. Take a look at the nominations, and weigh in on your opinion in the comments section!

BEST MOTION PICTURE DRAMA
-Black Swan
-The Fighter
-Inception
-The King's Speech
-The Social Network

BEST MOTION PICTURE COMEDY
-Alice in Wonderland
-Burlesque
-The Kids Are All Right
-Red
-The Tourist

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
-Hally Berry (Frankie and Alice)
-Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
-Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
-Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
-Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
-Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
-Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs)
-Angelina Jolie (The Tourist)
-Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right)
-Emma Stone (Easy A)

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
-Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
-Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
-James Franco (127 Hours)
-Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
-Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
-Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland)
-Johnny Depp (The Tourist)
-Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version)
-Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs)
-Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
-Despicable Me
-How to Train Your Dragon
-The Illusionist
-Tangled
-Toy Story 3

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE
-Biutiful
-The Concert
-The Edge
-I Am Love
-In a Better World

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
-Amy Adams (The Fighter)
-Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
-Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
-Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
-Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
-Christian Bale (The Fighter)
-Michael Douglass (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps)
-Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
-Jeremy Renner (The Town)
-Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

BEST DIRECTOR
- Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
- David Fincher (The Social Network)
- Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
- Christopher Nolan (Inception)
- David O. Russell (The Fighter)

BEST SCREENPLAY
- Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours)
- Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right)
- Christopher Nolan (Inception)
- David Seidler (The King's Speech)
- Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- The King's Speech
- Alice in Wonderland
- 127 Hours
- The Social Network
- Inception