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: 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: 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!

Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 of 2010

The man certainly has his own opinion, I'll give him that. Yesterday, I made it known what my top 10 favorite films of last year were, and of five of those films made Quentin Tarantino's top 20 list of films in 2010. Topping the list was the universally adored Toy Story 3, an honest choice given the events of the past year. After all, Tarantino did have to say good friend of his in the loss of Sally Menke. Second on the list is The Social Network, also universally agreed upon, but he does throw in a few interesting cogs. Tangled makes its way into the top five, just above True Grit. Knight and Day, a critically mixed thriller starring Tom Cruise, ended up coming in at #12, far ahead of The Kids Are All Right. Then again, who are we to judge a man on his opinions?

1. Toy Story 3
2. The Social Network
3. Animal Kingdom
4. I Am Love
5. Tangled