THE LISTS: Best Female Characters of Pixar

It's another blessed Pixar week, even if the buzz regarding their latest film, "Brave", isn't all sunshine and daisies. It doesn't discount the widely lauded milestone of Pixar's first female protagonist, and quite optimistically not the last. Last year I posted a semi-serious list of the Best Pixar Characters, so why focus in further because of a specific gender? Because that list was majorly taken up by the men of the show, as Collette would lament were she working in this business. So I decided to look deeper into the catalog of Pixar's characters to pick out ten female characters outside of "Brave" that truly state the potential Pixar has had for significant feminine emotion.

It is worth mentioning those who could not make the list, such as Merida and Queen Elinor of this weekend's "Brave", simply because I have yet to see it. From the "Toy Story" trilogy, the presence and loss of Bo Peep is absolutely nothing to neglect, and delivers resonance in a single line of dialogue in the third film. Boo was especially close to making the mark for "Monsters Inc.", but the fact of the matter is that she's a kid, however sweet. And nobody really enters the frame from "A Bugs Life" or either of the "Cars" films. They all just feel so simple in construction. But with no further ado, here's our list of the top ten ladies of Pixar!

Quick Takes: "Singin' in the Rain", "The Fountain", "Black Swan", "Toy Story 3"

"Singin' in the Rain"

Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen

The first ten minutes of "Singin' in the Rain" are absolutely atrocious, and set a pretty foul taste for the ninety minutes to follow. I was actually rather uncertain whether or not I wanted to continue on with it. Then the film dials up the Donald O'Connor with some one-liners that were slaying enough to latch me on for whatever hijinks ensued later on. Once they dispose of the obnoxious setup, they really let go of serious inclinations and go haphazard with absolutely everything. All the musical numbers that have been so hyped up over history are absolutely winning in spite of the flood of dilution. Gene Kelly is an exceptional exuberance, and that pervades the screen in both performance and direction. It balloons into a powerful inadvertent drug-trip, like "The Artist" meets "Mad Men" meets "Inception".

"The Fountain"

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Can you believe that I've gone this far without having officially seen the film that split Darren Aronofsky right down the middle in terms of how people viewed him? I always worried that I'd fall into that negative category, but as it turns out this film is absolutely deserving of infinite praise. If you don't raise the stakes of your own ambition, you can't truly achieve the same heights as films such as "2001: A Space Odyssey". I'm hardly saying that this journey across time, fiction, and mortality is just as good as Kubrick's singular masterpiece, but it is at the very least comparable. Darren strives six years to get this film on the screen, and it prevails to stun several years after. Cruelty is a powerful tool at Darren's disposal, as are the gorgeously brittle and fascinatingly layered performances by Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman, respectively. "The Fountain" moves swiftly and strangely along its journey to a place of awe, and I can't help but wonder how one could feel negatively about having been brought there.

"Toy Story 3"

Directed by Lee Unkrich

Is it all just overheated fanaticism surrounding Pixar's closing to their first series of "Toy Story" that makes it seem so great? Is it the fact that it came out at a junction of when the people who grew up with it are also going to college? Is it any of those obvious reasons that could so easily serve as excuses? As it turns out, and I am quite happy to realize this, "Toy Story 3" is absolutely thriving as a piece of singular and self-sustaining cinema. I'm happy because I could have come back to it and find that it was just exaggeration of circumstances, but as it turns out the film is massively thorough in its study of a wide variety of characters.

"Black Swan"

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

It gives me rather great joy to revisit Aronofsky's shaking character-study "Black Swan" and find it not overrated, but given new and greater life through a different pair of lens'. The film I remember was one that was personal and quite shattering, but something that I never quite realized before was how hilariously cruel the film is. Though this may prove to incite rage amongst people I know who adore the film, the dancing of a ballet company is admittedly quite trashy. Vincent Cassel's director Leroy is trying to take "Swan Lake" and make it "visceral and real", which however honest a pursuit is still rather ridiculous and full of hubris.

I was really able to remove myself from the film this time around, and give it a sort of piercing look from a bent point of view. Quite often you think you've reached the heart of a film and you stop searching for meaning. "Black Swan" absolutely obliterates that and influences you to keep searching for meaning, which seems so elusive given a mindfully messy approach to it. It is quite a contemporary fairy tale, and as such rather dark and cruel to its characters. Each of these characters seems so exaggerated and positively nutso, the bi-product of an unreliable protagonist showing us her experience through her not-exactly-healthy point of view. It's still absolutely devastating, but more because of the film's cruelty in how these characters are represented and not what is done to them.

THE LISTS: Best Pixar Characters

It feels overdone to the regular ranking of Pixar's many films, because I feel there's often only a few films that stand at the head of the pack. The Toy Story trilogy seems to be in their own individual class, more outstanding as a whole than in their separate pieces. Cars and A Bugs Life instantly land at the back of the pack, and Cars 2 looks to set a new standard as the worst of Pixar's catalog. For me, WALL-E, Ratatouile, and Finding Nemo are the biggest true winners. However, as Cars 2 seems to be the Pixar film most lacking in well rounded characters, I feel it's worth looking over the best of those.

Pixar is less known for outstanding films than they are for outstanding characters, and it's the cling to those characters that make the films so effective. Quite obviously enough, no characters from A Bug's Life and Cars make it in. On the other hand, neither did The Incredibles, but that's ensemble a piece with Pixar as you can get. True, they could've rounded those characters a little better than just the simple family dynamic. However, as I started to give certain characters passes on to the top ten, I couldn't help but notice some rather big ones being left out.

First of all, Buzz from the Toy Story franchise was left out of the pot, despite having such a compelling arc in the first film. There were also a few smaller characters that didn't make it in because they didn't have enough screentime. I love Ken in Toy Story 3, but he barely missed the cut, and for the sake of specificity, Ellie of Up is more of a driving force than a character. Remy from Ratatouille was the closest to a number 11 pick as I could find, but he would have never been so wonderful without Patton Oswalt's surprisingly strong performance. So now I give you my picks for the top ten Pixar characters, after the jump!

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: 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

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Picture

The votes have been tallied, and there's nothing I can say now that can change any heads about where they're going. So going into this evening, there's a great chance that the inevitable winner of this prize is going to be The King's Speech. Even after everything, I can still say I at least like the film, because it is inspirational and funny, but a feat of immense filmmaking, it is not. All the same, if by some miracle The King's Speech doesn't win, I don't think we'll be able to predict which feature will win. Sure, The Social Network is runner-up in the books, but things have changed so immensely that I can't tell what will happen.

What I truly hope happens, and this is if only the wildest of dreams come true, is that Black Swan takes home Best Picture, matching it up with its Indie Spirit Award last night. The film is an undeniable feat of advanced filmmaking that shakes you to your core, which is what a film should do. Although, the Academy may still be too apprehensive to let such an off-the-wall trinket as this walk away with the top prize. To be honest, I feel like the odds for an upset would be in The Fighter's favor, and I think that I'd be fine with that. Sure, I'm not a huge fan of Mark Wahlberg, but everyone else in the cast gives tops performances, it's nicely directed, and aggressively edited. My mindset is in the mood for a change.

Of course, The Social Network isn't totally out of the cards. They amassed a ridiculous amount of critics awards, and that heft should be able to push them over the threshold. There are probably a few Academy members who are out rooting for Fincher's film to win. It's a little strange how I'm not one of them. True Grit is another potent possibility, given the authentic nature of it, it seems like exactly the sort of carefully drawn out film that the Academy would honor. I'm sure it's not going to happen, but I think it'd definitely be nice. Toy Story 3 has been gaining some steam that hasn't really gone anywhere. If tonight were the night that the first animated feature took home Best Picture, I think there'd be more rapturous applause. And I quite honestly don't see a reason why it shouldn't be in the cards. It's one of the best features of 2010. That's undeniable. What's with the apprehension?

The rest of the field is filled out by films that don't really stand a chance. 127 Hours was perhaps as great as any film this year, but it's all packed into a smaller package, and I think the Academy would go for something bigger. I'm sure that the Academy isn't exactly a bunch of Inception fans, seeing as they didn't see fit to nominate Nolan for Best Director. I don't see much success for the film beyond the technical categories, sad as it is to say. The Kids Are All Right would be a sweet winner, but does anybody really believe this could happen? Same answer for Winter's Bone, as unfortunate as that is. It's a shame how sometimes the best aren't recognized as such through strange technicalities.

1. Black Swan
2. The Kids Are All Right
3. Winter's Bone
4. The Social Network
5. Toy Story 3
6. True Grit
7. The Fighter
8. Inception
9. 127 Hours
10. The King's Speech

Will Win: The King's Speech
Should Win (My Pick): Black Swan
Potential Upset: The Social Network
Should Have Been Nominated: The Illusionist

The Top 10: Best Animated Feature Nominees

With all the bustle of awards season, it's easy to forget that this is the tenth year of the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars, and the nominees have been diverse and mostly rewarding. So here is my compilation of the ten best nominees in this category to date, stretching all the way back to 2001. And I can promise you that it's not all Pixar.

10. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Directed by Wes Anderson

I'm not really a great fan of Wes Anderson, because most of his work is far more miss than hit. He does have an enthusiasm about him and that energy shows in his work. So what better medium for his to try his hand at than animation, or more specifically stop-motion. After Henry Selick left the project for bigger and quite honestly better things (see #4), Anderson became the unlikely director, and brought so much to it. Authenticity is something that always impresses me, and this is undeniably the most authentic animated feature of the past decade. Everything feels so real and untarnished, from the aesthetic of the dolls that make up the characters, to witty script that rivals The Hangover in terms of screwball antics. It definitely feels like the sort of film that would be passed down through the years.

9. Persepolis (2007)
Directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

A French animated adaptation of an autobiographical graphic novel about the Iranian revolution. That's a description that will only ever be suited to this film, and you can overlook how unique this film is at first glance. From the basic and simple animation style, this film is more than just a look into the way the government of Iran changed, but also a spry and emotional tale of the way a little girl changes as she grows up. It has an ironic comic timing to it, and that's very much amplified by the constantly changing atmosphere of Marjane Satrapi's mindset. The film moves at such a clip that you can feel that change of mind that zigzags around so frantically. It's like catching lightning in a bottle, and how it bounces around from there.

8. Finding Nemo (2003)
Directed by Andrew Stanton

When thinking of Pixar's achievements over the past decade, the mind always seems to shift to the film that truly put them on the map. Toy Story, A Bugs Life, and Monster's Inc. could all be seen as Pixar's precursor work, very much like Memento, Insomnia, and The Prestige could be seen as Christopher Nolan's precursor work to The Dark Knight. Both didn't truly hit worldwide renown until their greatest hits yet premiered. Finding Nemo is very much the film most responsible for Pixar's impeccable track record. It didn't stray too far away from the harshness of life, nor the cruelty of the sea. It has plenty humorous anecdotes along the way, and to this day there ceases to be a voice performance that reaches the same heights as Ellen Degeneres as Dori. The men and women over at Pixar still had plenty greater works to unveil, but this was the perfect beginning.

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Adapted Screenplay

This is the most set in stone race of this year's Oscar ceremony, because by now there isn't anything that could possibly stand in the way of Aaron Sorkin winning for The Social Network, as he deserves. The dialogue moves at such a clip that you almost look over how articulate, precise, and witty it is, not to mention the emotional journey it carries the characters on so wonderfully. If Sorkin can bring this level of success to everything he does from here on out, we're looking at a full and prosperous late career. However, for my part, I skew towards something a bit more off the beaten path. There was just so much that I loved about the screenplay for Winter's Bone, and though the performances were top notch, they'd have crumbled if not allied by such a strong script. I may be the only one who believes that, but that's my position.

The rest might as well be manure, but they're worth mentioning anyway. Toy Story 3, despite a few predictable jokes here and there, managed to maintain the quality of the previous two, as well as push the emotional potential of the story to new heights. True Grit succeeded in being the funniest film of the year with some of Joel & Ethan Coen's wittiest monologues and conversations to date. 127 Hours, in my opinion, isn't all that deserving of this spot, but it still did its part to bring us into Aron Ralston's crisis.

1. Winter's Bone
2. The Social Network
3. Toy Story 3
4. True Grit
5. 127 Hours

Will Win: The Social Network
Should Win: Winter's Bone
Potential Upset: NONE
Should Have Been Nominated: Rabbit Hole

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

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: Original Song

Perhaps the most obvious category to judge, and sometimes the easiest to get wrong, is Best Original Song. The rules have changed so extensively since the beginning of the category that it rarely lets in what is truly deserving. Take Tangled for example. There were several songs in the film that recurred in my mind days after seeing the film, such as "I've Got A Dream" and "Mother Knows Best". I did not spare a thought to the romantic ballad "I See The Light", because it comes at a point in the film where it just seems forced. In a better film, it would've been pretty high up there. As it is, it's settling for what's eligible.

Burlesque was thankfully shut out of competition, despite the empty fifth slot. Country Strong is surging with several country tunes, much like Crazy Heart. However, it lacks the same heart that was found in the Jeff Bridges film, and the music shows that well. 127 Hours' main theme has the right soul, and I love the simple feel of it, but the lyrics are repetitive and lacking a bit more meat. "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3 is the only song that really has even a remote chance at the gold. It's the backbone for the most refreshing epilogue you could've asked for in a film, and it's got that same Newman charm. '

1. "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3
2. "If I Rise" from 127 Hours
3. "Coming Home" from Country Strong
4. "I See The Light" from Tangled

Will/Should Win: "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3
Potential Upset: "I See The Light" from Tangled
Should Have Been Nominated: "Shine" from Waiting for Superman

Oscar 2010: The World vs. "King's Speech" vs. "Social Network"

Now that it's not been nominated for any Academy Awards and was completely ignored in the box office, I'm going to say that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is the outcast gem of 2010. However, I'm clearly not here to discuss the several awards that Edgar Wright's action-comedy deserved by didn't get. This Tuesday morning's Oscar nominations drew quite a lot of debate and distractions, mostly from Christopher Nolan's disheartening snub from the Best Director field. It's the category Inception most deserved to snag a nomination in, and yet it didn't. It all serves to draw attention away from the real matter at hand, and that is the completely changed Best Picture race.

First off, I'd like to take the time to comment on something that I did not comment on when the nominations were announced on Tuesday, and that is my predictions from a year ago. There more than a few that I obviously got wrong, because some films just failed to deliver on their promise. I thought that The American would add another nomination to George Clooney's resume, How Do You Know would be a return to form for James L. Brooks, and Hereafter would be Clint Eastwood's most widely adored film since Million Dollar Baby. I don't have to say it for everyone to know I was wrong, because I even expected Iron Man 2 to be nominated. The first one was so surprising in a great way, but the second proved to be surprising in a negative fashion. I'm not going to blame myself for supporting Harry Potter and Blue Valentine, because in an ideal world they would've been nominated this year. However, I was right about Inception, True Grit, Toy Story 3, and The Social Network, so four out of ten isn't anything to wine about.

Back to the present, or rather the more recent past, months ago we thought that there was no excitement left in this year's Oscar race. It seems we were wrong, and painfully so. The King's Speech came out with 12 Oscar nominations this Tuesday, a rather astounding total for a British period drama. I'm not going to start pretending that it deserved all those nominations, because it didn't. The cinematography for the film, well done as it may have been, wasn't as good as other contenders like Let Me In and Deathly Hallows: Part 1. I don't even know what to say about Sound Mixing, but even though Tom Hooper did an honest job of directing, he lacked the unique creative vision of some of the other contenders. This is coming from somebody who absolutely adored the film, so don't lose sight of that.

Oscar 2010: Nomination Reactions, Surprises, and Snubs

The dust hasn't really settled, and I'll say it'll be up in the air for a few days since these nominations were announced. We knew there were going to be a few surprises, but we hadn't the foggiest idea what they were. Now we do, so lets start at the bottom with my reactions and work our way up. The short film categories don't grab much attention, and they never have. We'll have to seek them out in order know more, but I'm glad Day and Night snagged a nod. I never saw what people didn't like about that one. TRON Legacy was snubbed for Visual Effects, most likely due to that distracting Jeff Bridges doppelganger, so that left a place open for a film to sneak in. Unfortunately, it wasn't Scott Pilgrim vs. the World as I predicted, but Hereafter for that one tsunami scene. I'm alright, if alright means despondent.

I hadn't an idea at all of what would be nominated for Best Sound Editing and Mixing, so I all the surprises are a bit negated by that. Salt and Unstoppable making it in was mildly surprising, but even more shocking was that Black Swan was snubbed for both. I thought it had some heat going in those categories, but it seems I was wrong. A few of my friends will be disappointed that Burlesque went home with absolutely no nominations, specifically in the Original Song category. I'm glad Toy Story 3 and Tangled made it in for "We Belong Together" and "I See The Light", respectively. Only four nominations is also a bit surprising, without a doubt.

No doubles for Desplat for Original Score, but he did get in for The King's Speech, so count that for what it is. Only real surprise in that race is that A.R. Rahman made it in for 127 Hours, a score which I wasn't really too taken with. My first big victory lap is in the Makeup category where, even though The Wolfman was horribly nominated, Alice in Wonderland was snubbed and The Way Back and Barney's Version made it in! You cannot believe how happy that makes me. I would be so much happier if it weren't for the next news, which is the first blow against Christopher Nolan's most recent success. Inception was snubbed for Film Editing! This was the first sign that this wasn't going to be Nolan's year. Perhaps they're pushing him to do better with The Dark Knight Rises. I can't know for sure.

Oscar 2010: 83rd Annual Academy Award Nominations

Here we are, right up in the morning for the hectic awesomeness of the Academy Award nominations, and they didn't skimp on more than a few surprises. I'll comment on those later on this morning, but for now, here are the nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards!

BEST PICTURE
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"Inception"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"The King's Speech"
"127 Hours"
"The Social Network"
"Toy Story 3"
"True Grit"
"Winter's Bone"

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan")
David O. Russell ("The Fighter")
Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech")
David Fincher ("The Social Network")
Joel & Ethan Coen ("True Grit")

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem ("Biutiful")
Jeff Bridges ("True Grit")
Jesse Eisenberg ("The Social Network)
Colin Firth ("The King's Speech")
James Franco ("127 Hours")

Oscar 2010: Final Oscar Predictions (Part 3: Films, Writers, and Directors)

The nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards are announced early tomorrow morning, and seeing as I don't have to be up early tomorrow morning, expect me to report on those around noon. There's bound to be more than a few surprises, omissions, and upsets, but I can't say I'm really planning for those. I'm predicting what I think has the greatest chance at being nominated, so it's probably easiest to start at the top, because the nominations are pretty much locked in for Best Picture. Black Swan, Inception, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, and True Grit are all sturdy bets in terms of nominations. It's that tenth spot you have to worry about, and anything other than The Town or Winter's Bone would be a surprise. I'm betting on the latter, leaving Ben Affleck out in the cold.

The easiest category to predict is animated feature, seeing as there will only be three nominees. Toy Story 3 will make it in without a doubt, and How to Train Your Dragon still has some heat going towards a nomination. That leaves the final slot up to The Illusionist and Tangled, and I'd expect Sylvain Chomet's silent traditionally animated film to make the cut. Tangled seems just a bit too modern and new age for the Academy, and I expect them to go for something a bit more authentic. I'd really like for Megamind to be nominated, but the horrible choice of songs in the film kind of alienates those chances. As for Foreign Language Film, do you honestly expect me to make an informed decision on this one? I haven't seen any of these films, so that's truly impossible. Therefore, I'm just going to make a wild guess and say that Incendies, In A Better World, Dogtooth, Biutiful and Life, Above All will be nominated. It's going to be really funny if those all end up being nominated.

The documentary race is especially competitive this year, and yet I still haven't seen most of the films that have been shortlisted. It's pretty straightforward that Waiting for "Superman" and Inside Job will make it in, although I realize that any prediction I make in this case will be slightly off. I'm going to take a guess that the Academy reacted to Exit Through the Gift Shop the same way I did. I hardly believe it to be close to the best film of the year, despite how true it may be, so I'm going to say that Gasland, Restrepo, and The Tillman Story fill out my list. I'm keeping Waste Land in the back of my mind as an alternate, but I'm not counting on it.

The race for Best Director is a little more clear cut, because it was obvious this year which films had a powerful vision. Technically speaking, Tom Hooper shouldn't even be nominated for this, because he barely had any presence in The King's Speech. The ones that should be locks are David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Danny Boyle, and Christopher Nolan. David O' Russell could be an alternate, but everything in The Fighter lacks that uniqueness that is required to make it in this category. I'm pulling for Aronofsky to come out on top with the win for Black Swan, but there's quite some unlikelihood of that actually happening. The last two races are for the screenplay categories, and though that seems like a less climactic end than Best Picture, this year's nominations for that category aren't all that climactic.

In the Original Screenplay race, the two films fighting for the win are Inception and The King's Speech, so they are both reasonable locks. Black Swan may have less to go with in terms of dialogue, but the ideas presented in the screenplay are spectacular enough to merit a nod. The Kids Are All Right should make it in for the authentic and fun dialogue, as well as the sprightly and unconventional narrative. I'd like to say that Another Year should fill out this category, but that film has been disappearing at an alarming rate. The next film after that would be The Fighter, so I'm sticking to my guns in hope that Mike Leigh's British drama makes the cut. As for Adapted Screenplay, it's pretty impossible for any other film to beat out Aaron Sorkin's flawless screenplay for The Social Network, but those slots nonetheless need to be filled. Toy Story 3, True Grit, and Winter's Bone are all practically locks for the category, which leaves that much maligned fifth slot. Even though most expect 127 Hours to come through with that nomination, I expect Rabbit Hole to surprisingly end up making the cut, or at least I'm hoping it does. We'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see if I'm right.

Awards 2010: Producer's Guild of America Winners

The PGA announced their winners this morning, much to our surprise and delight. The winner of the top prize, However, did not go to the obvious candidate of The Social Network. It was instead opted to go to The King's Speech, and that makes the Best Picture race a bit more of a wild card now than it was before. The PGA have awarded the film that's gone on to win Best Picture for the past three years. Either this is going to be the breaking of that tally, or they're onto something we haven't caught up to yet. I'm still pulling for a come-from-behind victory for Black Swan, but that's just dreams. The rest of the winners are rather procedural, and nothing really too surprising. I'm still happy that Mad Men took the Drama Series prize, especially since it was robbed at the Golden Globes.

Best Picture: The King's Speech
Best Documentary: Waiting for "Superman"
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Drama Series: Mad Men
Best Comedy Series: Modern Family
Best TV Move/Miniseries: The Pacific
Best Talk-Show/Reality: The Colbert Report

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

Oscar 2010: As It Should Be

The Oscar season has really calmed down in terms of tension and excitement, and I at the moment it would be pretty easy to take a solid guess at who would win. As for the nominees, I think we've gotten pretty well settled on who will make the cut. The Social Network, The King's Speech, True Grit, Inception, and Toy Story 3 are all locks based on critical acceptance and their success with the precursors. As a matter of fact, in a field of five nominations, those would be the films most would predict. Inception and Toy Story 3 are closest to the edge of that range, and there would be some serious doubt on whether or not they'd make it in if we were still operating on a five nomination basis.

The Fighter is also a pretty safe bet on being nominated, but it would have a much tougher time being one of five nominees. If I have an enemy in this race, that would probably be it, as I find it too familiar, even if the performances are spectacular. Black Swan's chances are slightly better, and I would be surprised if the nominations were announced and Darren Aronofsky's film was not in the pot. 127 Hours and The Kids Are All Right are pretty unanimous nominations, though neither of them have gotten much awards buzz recently so that's slightly up in the air.

Another Year isn't really much of a contender anymore, so the two films in a dog fight for the final slot are The Town and Winter's Bone. My guess and favoritism lies with latter, but they both have shown strong presence in the precursors. However, by now we're far past the argument of who will be nominated, and we're in the heat of who should ultimately win. A lot of people are hoping for a backlash against The Social Network, and after seeing it a few more times, I think that would be horrible. The film is fully deserving of the honor, and I certainly wouldn't be in opposition. I'm not sure if I'd say that it's my horse in this race, but I definitely have a massive fondness for it. The King's Speech seemed like it was the main competitor in the Best Picture race, but it has only secured a few precursors and it'll take something huge to change the tides.

True Grit doesn't have much chance outside the Supporting Actress and Cinematography races, and it deserves to do well in those races. I wouldn't count it as a horrible thing if it went home with only two. It would be a tragedy if it went home with nothing at all, like Up in the Air did last year. It's not fitting of such an authentic and textured western to earn nothing in return. I can't say I'm one of the people who thinks that Toy Story 3 should be considered more of a frontrunner in the top race, because I just don't think we've reached that point of acceptance for it to have a chance. As for Inception, I don't think Christopher Nolan will get his major win with this piece. He'll probably do much better in 2012 with The Dark Knight Rises.

If I have a horse in this race, it would be the unlikely contender of Black Swan. I've warmed up to the film so immensely since I first saw it. I guess I cherished the opportunity to pay complete attention to the film more than I did when my brother was chattering off for the entire duration. It would be something beautiful if this film ended up winning the main race, and I think that's the film I will be most promoting in the coming weeks. The odds are placed against it, but it was an uphill battle from the moment it premiered at Venice Film Festival. It's practically secured a nomination at this point, and I don't believe it's about to deflate, so there's nowhere else to go but up. So, while I adjust my Oscar predictions page to include winner predictions, please let me know what you think. Who is your horse in this race, and who is your chosen enemy?