The Year That Comedy Dies And Drama Thrives

It’s been too long, my dear friends. Firstly, let me briefly apologise for my lack of content over the last year. As important as my writing is to me, I just haven’t been able to find the time to keep my blog going with the consistency that it had this time last year. Saying that, it’s awards season.

Following the first few critics’ associations pitching in with their end-of-year awards, today brings the first real signs of spring. The Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning and let me tell you, there were some truly shocking inclusions as well as some pleasantly surprising (but half-expected) ones. Sitting comfortably? The Road To The Oscars begins now…

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

BLACK SWAN
THE FIGHTER
INCEPTION
THE KING’S SPEECH
THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Four out of these five were no-brainers. ‘The Social Network’ has been cleaning up at the critics’ awards so far so will be regarded as the front runner by a whisker, but only because ‘The King’s Speech’ is yet to receive it’s general release. Early reviewers have been nothing short of astounded with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush’s performances being hailed as ‘magnificent’, so expect a heavily contested race come January.

At the same time, both ‘Inception’ and ‘Black Swan’ would be worthy winners, thus proving just how strong a year it has been for dramas on both major and independent fronts. My only concern is with the inclusion of David O. Russell’s highly anticipated ‘The Fighter’. No doubt, it will feature career performances from both Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, but whether or not it should be there over ‘True Grit’ is surely debatable. From the look of things, The Coens have really pulled one out of the bag with their reimagining of the adventures of Rooster Cogburn. With a surplus of talent, an undoubtedly masterful screenplay and cinematography of epic proportions, how it was overlooked in favour of a Boston-based family drama is at this point questionable. I have every confidence in this film, don’t get me wrong, but Wahlberg (though I like him) is an extremely one dimensional actor who only really shines when he’s portraying a hometown hardass. Additionally, ‘The Fighter’ was penned by a combination of writers whose credits include ’8 Mile’, ‘The Mod Squad’ and (wait for it) ‘Air Bud’. Oh you know, that basketball playing golden retriever? How that beats out a Coen Brothers masterclass is beyond me but hey, I haven’t personally seen either of these films yet so who am I to judge?

WINNER: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
ALT: THE KING’S SPEECH
MY PICK: THE SOCIAL NETWORK

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

ALICE IN WONDERLAND
BURLESQUE
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
RED
THE TOURIST

Where to start? The fact that ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘The Tourist’ have been nominated for anything is truly astounding. The only explanation I can find is that journalists just cannot get enough of Johnny Depp, but we’ll get to that later. Let’s be straight though, neither of these travesties have got even the most remote shot at picking up this particular prize. Neither does ‘Red’, charming as it was. Unfortunately, these nominations highlight just how scarce quality comedy is these days. Like the Drama category before it, this is a two horse race. ‘The Kids Are Alright’ and ‘Burlesque’ will be locking horns in January for sure.

WINNER: THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
ALT: BURLESQUE
MY PICK: THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE – DRAMA

JESSE EISENBERG – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
COLIN FIRTH – THE KING’S SPEECH
JAMES FRANCO – 127 HOURS
RYAN GOSLING – BLUE VALENTINE
MARK WAHLBERG – THE FIGHTER

Showtime! Could this race possibly be tighter than last years? In the end, Jeff Bridges had the whole academy behind him, but at this point in the year it was anyone’s statuette. I could literally see any one of these five astonishing performances walking away a winner. While I’d love for Ryan Gosling to be in with a shot, I think there has been a bit too much controversy and not enough buzz surrounding ‘Blue Valentine’ for him to be a serious contender. I think you can probably also count out Jesse Eisenberg who was predictably superb as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The Social Network’. Why disregard the leading man in the year’s best film spitting lines from the year’s best screenplay you ask? Well, it’s simple. Colin Firth (by some divine miracle) has somehow managed to top his performance in ‘A Single Man’ with the turn of his career in ‘The King’s Speech’. Despite the strength of all five nominated performances, if there is a front runner it’s Firth. By the time the Oscars roll around, we may see a late surge from James Franco who is always a threat or even (god forbid) Mark Wahlberg if the Academy deems him this year’s ‘Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side’. I’m fairly certain though that our Colin’s time has finally come.

WINNER: COLIN FIRTH – THE KING’S SPEECH
ALT: JAMES FRANCO – 127 HOURS
MY PICK: COLIN FIRTH – THE KING’S SPEECH

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS – DRAMA

HALLE BERRY – FRANKIE AND ALICE
NICOLE KIDMAN – RABBIT HOLE
JENNIFER LAWRENCE – WINTER’S BONE
NATALIE PORTMAN – BLACK SWAN
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – BLUE VALENTINE

Lovely to see Michelle Williams getting some recognition. She is a beautiful, elegant actress who deserves acclaim from all angles. I’m even going to go as far as suggesting that she may be a strong outsider in this category. The competition here isn’t quite as fierce as in the men’s, but there sure are some incredible performances.

Firstly, I think we can safely remove Halle Berry from the picture. She’s already an award winner for one, and from the early reviews of ‘Frankie and Alice’, it is a poor film that serves simply as a statue-vehicle for Berry. A great performance is no good if the film is guff, and you can take that to the bank. Similarly, I won’t discount Nicole Kidman just yet, but ‘Rabbit Hole’ may end up being just a little too depressing to win over voters.

Now that it’s narrowed to three, things start to get interesting. If we’re talking numbers then Natalie Portman is your odds on favourite, but she could easily be upset by Williams or (especially) Jennifer Lawrence. Sure, she is young and a total newcomer, but the buzz around ‘Winter’s Bone’ and more specifically Lawrence’s performance hasn’t subsided since it’s release in September. Don’t be surprised if this 19 year-old unknown ends up snatching away Portman’s proverbial golden carrot.

WINNER: NATALIE PORTMAN – BLACK SWAN
ALT: JENNIFER LAWRENCE – WINTER’S BONE
MY PICK: MICHELLE WILLIAMS – BLUE VALENTINE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

JOHNNY DEPP – ALICE IN WONDERLAND
JOHNNY DEPP – THE TOURIST
PAUL GIAMATTI – BARNEY’S VERSION
JAKE GYLLENHAAL – LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
KEVIN SPACEY – CASINO JACK

This category is entirely absurd. Johnny Depp shouldn’t even be nominated once, let alone twice. The only person who should ever be nominated twice is Aunt Meryl because she’s special. So, for Johnny ‘Officially the Greatest Actor on the Planet’ Depp to swoop in, do a deuce and leave empty handed seems a little pointless and a waste of two prestigious slots. But then, that begs the question, who else would you nominate? Jim Broadbent in ‘Another Year’? Mark Ruffalo in ‘The Kids Are Alright’? ‘Fraid not. They would probably fall into supporting role territory. Maybe at a push the HFPA could have thrown Robert Downey Jr a bone for ‘Due Date’. Even that ridiculous scenario would mean ONE nomination for Depp.

Alas, we are stuck with three serious contenders. And do you want to know why? It’s because over the last 12 months or so there has been an unexplainable lack of decent comedies. What did this year offer? Due Date? Cop Out? Gulliver’s Travels? Little Fockers? Without a strong couple of Apatow offerings every year, the genre is bound to suffer (saying that, even the mighty Judd has fallen off the pace). It’s almost as if mainstream comedy peaked with ‘The Hangover’ and all of a sudden the funniest movies are entirely animated. Then before you know it, you’re filling leading actor categories with two substandard performances by the same person just to make the numbers up!

Back to the race, and it’s anyone’s game. At first I thought Giamatti would be a lock, but I think Gyllenhaal may just pip him to the post this time. Or maybe Kevin Spacey will make a surprise return to the podium? What do I know? All anyone cares about are the nominees for Drama anyway, as they will be the five nominated for the big O.

WINNER: PAUL GIAMATTI – BARNEY’S VERSION
ALT: JAKE GYLLENHAAL – LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
MY PICK: JAKE GYLLENHAAL – LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

ANNETTE BENNING – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
ANNE HATHAWAY – LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
ANGELINA JOLIE – THE TOURIST
JULIANNE MOORE – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
EMMA STONE – EASY A

This race is a tad more open (and interesting). Instantly, we can disregard Angelina Jolie. Not a hope in hell considering how atrocious a film ‘The Tourist’ turned out to be. Any of the other four could be taking home this prize though. I doubt it will be Anne Hathaway based purely on what I’ve seen of her in ‘Love and Other Drugs’ clips, but she is a media darling so don’t be shocked if her name gets called. A more likely scenario is a friendly battle between the stars of ‘The Kids Are Alright’ (who even shared a naughty scene) that is thwarted at the last minute by Emma Stone in a shock upset that earns her her first Oscar nomination. I like the sound of that.

WINNER: ANNETTE BENNING – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
ALT: EMMA STONE – EASY A
MY PICK: ANNETTE BENNING – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

CHRISTIAN BALE – THE FIGHTER
MICHAEL DOUGLAS – WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
ANDREW GARFIELD – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
JEREMY RENNER – THE TOWN
GEOFFREY RUSH – THE KING’S SPEECH

This is more like it! Yet another scorching race in the supporting actor category that poses many, many questions. There is certainly no Christoph Waltz or Heath Ledger type shenanigans this year. Some may say it’s between Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush, but I’m not so sure. Bale has been due some sort of critical recognition since ‘American Psycho’, and Geoffey Rush, well, it’s Geoffrey Rush. Personally though, I think both Andrew Garfield and Jeremy Renner will end up attracting a lot of votes which will make this category one to watch. Both were exceptional in their respective films, and Hollywood loves to acknowledge the men of the moment. The HFPA could end up holding Bale’s infamous rant against him, and likewise feel that Geoffrey Rush has already had his moment of glory. The chances of that happening are slim, but I wouldn’t put it past them. My money is on Bale, but my heart is with Garfield.

WINNER: CHRISTIAN BALE – THE FIGHTER
ALT: GEOFFREY RUSH – THE KING’S SPEECH
MY PICK: ANDREW GARFIELD – THE SOCIAL NETWORK

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

AMY ADAMS – THE FIGHTER
HELENA BONHAM CARTER – THE KING’S SPEECH
MILA KUNIS – BLACK SWAN
MELISSA LEO – THE FIGHTER
JACKI WEAVER – ANIMAL KINGDOM

Another interesting battle here with some first time nominees and overdue heavyweights thrown into the mix. ‘The Fighter’ has been a relative latecomer to awards season, so we will probably be seeing either Amy Adams or Melissa Leo wearing this particular crown. Adams has been entirely consistent for years now, and Leo could have won Oscars for ‘Frozen River’ and/or ’21 Grams’, so this prediction couples those facts with the insane amount of buzz their film has drummed up over the last month or so. Bonham Carter’s performance will end up being trumped by those of Firth and Rush, while Mila Kunis was always going to be playing second best to the majestic Natalie Portman. That just leaves Jacki Weaver who will pose the only real threat as an ‘out of nowhere’ dark horse whose film ‘Animal Kingdom’ was a Sundance favourite earlier this year.

WINNER: MELISSA LEO – THE FIGHTER
ALT: AMY ADAMS – THE FIGHTER
MY PICK: AMY ADAMS – THE FIGHTER

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

The award for direction has always been my favourite alongside the screenplay gongs. It always tends to be the most competitive, year after year. This year is no exception. The likelihood is that David Fincher will finally scoop some gold this year as his efforts with ‘The Social Network’ were nothing short of flawless. Either that or he’ll be overlooked again but for good reason. The good reason that Christopher Nolan deserves to win this award. Not necessarily because ‘Inception’ was a better film than ‘The Social Network’, but because the direction simply had more scope. Overall, it was even more impressive that Fincher’s dialogue laden masterclass. Having had the chance to see how Nolan created the ‘world of the dream’, I can only side with Nolan throughout awards season. The man is a total visionary. After missing out on even being nominated for ‘The Dark Knight’, he took a few years off from his glorious Batman franchise and created an entirely original film the likes of which may never be seen again, and that needs to be recognised.

That’s not to say though that the leading pair won’t face a hefty challenge from their competitors. Tom Hooper gets better with every film he makes, and with the reviews ‘The King’s Speech’ has been getting he could end up surprising us all. The same could be said for Darren Aronofsky who is the original arthouse heavyweight. However, his trademark bleakness may just about write him off. As for Russell, what can I say? I like the guy’s films through and through, but even with the buzz of the moment on his side I don’t think he or his film will be strong enough to overthrow Fincher or Nolan. In fact, I will go as far as saying I don’t feel like he should have been nominated. Really, the fifth slot probably should have gone to Danny Boyle for ’127 Hours’.

WINNER: DAVID FINCHER – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
ALT: CHRISTOPHER NOLAN – INCEPTION
MY PICK: CHRISTOPHER NOLAN – INCEPTION

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

127 HOURS – DANNY BOYLE, SIMON BEAUFOY
INCEPTION – CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT – STUART BLUMBERG, LISA CHOLODENKO
THE KING’S SPEECH – DAVID SEIDLER
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – AARON SORKIN

What makes the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay so intriguing is the fact that there are only five nominees to cover the dramatic, the comedic or musical, the adapted and the original. What that definitely means is that whoever wins this category will win an Oscar in the spring. Aaron Sorkin is a complete lock in my opinion, for the adapted screenplay Oscar anyway. In retrospect, we all thought the same about Jason Reitman and ‘Up In The Air’ last year and look what happened. Whether or not he will beat Christopher Nolan on this occasion though is hard to call simply because the two screenplays don’t really belong in the same category. Elsewhere, Sorkin is sweeping the adapted awards while Nolan is picking them up left, right and centre in the original bracket. It’s only the Globes that slams them all together making this category the most tightly contested race of the whole ceremony.

WINNER: AARON SORKIN – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
ALT: CHRISTOPHER NOLAN – INCEPTION
MY PICK: AARON SORKIN – THE SOCIAL NETWORK

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

Nothing to report.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

127 HOURS – A.R. RAHMAN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND – DANNY ELFMAN
INCEPTION – HANS ZIMMER
THE KING’S SPEECH – ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS

Another hotly contested showdown between ‘Inception’ and ‘The Social Network’ here. I am in love with both of these scores and honestly cannot choose between the two. Hans Zimmer created a true character in the form of music when he wrote the ‘Inception’ score. It defines intensity, hope and imagination for all 148 minutes of the film and leaves you feeling breathless afterwards. His use of volume is what’s most striking, varying it throughout whilst maintaining intensity levels even in the smallest of moments. It was also refreshing to hear Zimmer coupling his traditional style with electronic sampling as well as the guitar tones of The Smiths’ Johnny Marr. It gave the score individuality the likes of which have never been experienced by Zimmer making this particular piece of work his best and most likely to scoop awards for the legendary veteran.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, you have Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ new age score for ‘The Social Network’. Like with ‘Inception’, I bought the score as soon as I had heard it in full for the first time simply because it is so listenable. If you haven’t heard it, it is like no score you have ever heard before. Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails influence is more than evident, and he sounds more darkly cinematic than ever. In places, the sound is deeply raw and organic. In the blink of an eye though, you can be thrust into the heaviest end of electronic madness and industrial psychosis. Forget that it’s intellectually brilliant, it works! Like a rug and a room, it really ties the movie together. Using powerful crescendos and diminuendos (in almost the exact same way that Zimmer did), the score surges the film forward from the opening scene creating an edge of your seat vibe that you wouldn’t normally think possible for what is essentially a courtroom thriller. Breathtaking, really.

I wish I was able to pick one, but I honestly can’t. Two (well, three) men enter, one man leaves. Either one is fine by me.

WINNER: HANS ZIMMER – INCEPTION
ALT: TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
MY PICK: either or

BEST ANIMATED FILM

DESPICABLE ME
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
THE ILLUSIONIST
TANGLED
TOY STORY 3

If there was ever a solid bet, this is it. And that goes for Oscar night too. ‘Toy Story 3′ was the best reviewed film of 2010. It really is that simple. The competition is classy, but no one will come close. Pixar rule once again. It’s almost a shame considering that any other year, you would be looking at a tight fight between ‘Despicable Me’, ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ and ‘The Illusionist’. All three are absolutely fantastic films, they just chose the wrong year to release.

WINNER: TOY STORY 3
ALT: n/a
MY PICK: TOY STORY 3

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

BIUTIFUL – MEXICO/SPAIN
THE CONCERT – FRANCE
THE EDGE – RUSSIA
I AM LOVE – ITALY
IN A BETTER WORLD – DENMARK

Finally, a lovely little category that I have been becoming more and more intrigued by over the last few years. It’s great to see foreign language films at the forefront of film making and not cast aside because of the language barrier. It’s true that subtitles put a lot of people off, but if they don’t bother you then you will find the world’s finest storytelling in foreign cinema. This year may not be as strong as 2009, but there are certainly a couple of gems here. ‘Biutiful’ has to be the favourite though. It was received well at Cannes with Javier Bardem collecting the award for best actor, and with the director of ‘Amores Perros’, ’21 Grams’ and ‘Babel’ at the helm, it’s going to be hard to beat. ‘I Am Love’ is attracting a lot of late attention if only for an astounding lead performance from Tilda Swinton, so we may end up with a sort of ‘Une Prophete’/'The White Ribbon’ situation on our hands. Realistically though, ‘Biutiful’ has been top trumps since it’s Cannes premiere so I would fully expect it to walk away a winner both at the Globes and at the Academy Awards.

WINNER: BIUTIFUL
ALT: I AM LOVE
MY PICK: BIUTIFUL

In closing, 2009 was always going to be a hard year to top, but a few powerhouse directors and even more legendary performances have just about managed it. With no ‘Avatar’ to moan about, it’s a far more positive and open race all around. We can expect to see some shocks and surprises as well as some dues being paid. Names will be made for themselves and unjustices will be had. But hey, that’s awards season for you.

OMG, Ewan McGregor is SO gay in real life.

Jim Carrey is so versatile it's unreal. Although hugely successful, he's always been a bit under appreciated when it comes to his talent. Of course by under appreciated, I mean he's never been nominated for a 'big one'. After two Golden Globes ('Man on the Moon' and 'The Truman Show'), Carrey started to undertake challenging roles on a more regular basis. His performance in 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' was a wonderful shock to the system for every Carrey fan, but alas there was still no Oscar nomination. In fact, I'd be interested to know if any actor has been nominated for more Globes without receiving an Academy Award nomination. Astonishing for a performer of his caliber. History aside, if they snub him this year after allowing Sandra Bullock to beat Meryl Streep then my faith in that particular voting body will be well and truly shaken.

'I Love You, Phillip Morris' is apparently a true story. If that is so, then middle-America is even more Bush-ed than I thought. I actually lost count of the amount of times that Carrey's Steven Russell managed to con the legal system into letting him walk out the front door of a penitentiary. Politics or no though, 'Phillip Morris' is a wonderfully original (really) gay comedy about the pursuit of true love and the verging-on-unbelievable lengths a person will go to for their soul mate. The only difference with this story though, is that our smitten lead has a complete disregard for the law.

From credit card fraud to identity theft to embezzlement to forgery, Steven Russell does it all. He experiences the luxurious highs of being a successful conman and the existential lows of life in prison, all while falling further and further in love with the far more openly gay Philip Morris played the incredible Ewan McGregor. As his besottedness grows, so does his superfluousness and before you know it, Governor Dubya has sentenced him to life. The first thing most prison escapees would do upon reaching freedom is head straight for the border with the intention of getting as far away from incarceration as possible. Not Steven Russell. The first thing he does (on more than one occasion) is put on a nice suit and march straight back to that there prison to fetch Philip, the love of his life. In a weird, confusing and super gay way, this is intensely touching to watch thanks in part to the spectacular performances from both Carrey and (especially) McGregor, who is sure to secure a supporting actor nomination, but also to the strength and originality of the story which is both insanely comedic and beautifully dramatic.

The journey from scene setting to climax is nothing short of downright ridiculous. Believe it or not, the movie begins in Georgia where Steven is a policeman married to a woman. I know, right? It's not long though before he is pounding away at a random partner before moving to Miami and buying over-sized sunglasses and under-sized dogs. His life of crime begins there and continues to escalate, escalate and escalate some more all in an effort to satisfy the ones he loves. The difference with Philip is that he is Steven's true love, and never asked for all the wealths Steven constantly goes out of his way to provide. Wanted or not, Steven loves Philip so much that he never wants him to have to work another day in his life even if it means risking life in prison, which to be fair is kind of sweet.

This movie can be graphic, it can be light on it's feet, and it can be heart wrenchingly deep. Not many films can be a lot of things at the same time, but 'Philip Morris' really pulls it off (literally, in some scenes) admirably. Carrey's trademark physical comedy is evident, but not overpowering. It leaves enough space for a memorable dramatic performance from himself, and a potentially statue-winning performance from McGregor. It leaves enough space for a plot buried in emotion and originality, enough space for the best gay comedy since 'The Birdcage' (unless you count 'Brokeback Mountain'. Oh, how I laughed when Heath spit in his hand).

For more views on 'I Love You, Philip Morris', check out Thisfilmison from NME film critic Owen Nicholls.

"Big-e-Low for Cameron" - The Sun (probably)

'The Hurt Locker' brutalized 'Avatar' Sunday night. In fact, I don't remember the camera cutting to Cameron at all during the second half of the broadcast apart from when they announced his ex-wife's name. Crushingly for him, she was sitting but one row in front of him for the duration of this one-sided takedown. As he gazed at the back of her pretty, talented head, 'The Hurt Locker' proceeded to scoop six Academy Awards. Best Picture and Best Director yes, but that was (in my opinion) a foregone conclusion. It also picked up Best Original Screenplay which went to a controversial Mark Boal who (angry military man aside) wrote a script that matched the intensity of the action piece by piece. Personally, I think that Quentin should have been considered for this one. Shows how much I know about how screenplay voting. I thought 'Up in the Air' was going to walk the adapted category. Silly me, right? But, we'll get to that later.

So, not only did 'The Hurt Locker' win Original Screenplay (which 'Avatar' was not ever remotely considered for), it managed to royally tax some of the technical awards which most people would have assumed 'Avatar' to walk away with. Alas, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing both went to the Bigelow pic within seconds of each other. It also picked up the Best Editing award which I figured was a landslide as the entire 'Hurt Locker' experience was based around the precision cuts that kept the film on its toes for an hour and a half. 'District 9' would've been a close second as I'm sure you'll agree. Lowly 'Avatar' (the most successful film of all-time) was reduced to Cinematography (which it shouldn't have won), Art Direction and Visual Effects. Both of those latter two it was totally entitled to thanks to truly stunning stuff from Cameron and his team of movie scientists. It was double trumps though for Bigelow and co. The first female directing award was presented with no stop for the Best Picture statue as Tom Hanks rounded off a long, impressive evening hosted unbelievably well by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

The Supporting Role categories went as planned. The first award of the night was the easiest to call as Christoph Waltz elegantly accepted his final award of the season for his perfect performance in 'Inglourious Basterds'. Once again, he took to the stage with intellectual grace and poeticly bromanced Quentin Tarantino. Kindly spoken too was Mo'Nique who collected for her role in 'Precious' in which she silenced all her critics within seconds of appearing on screen. Considerably shorter than her Globes speech, she eased up on the Hallmark but still led us to believe that she and her husband are terribly in love. It was nice.

An overlooked big winner on the night was most definitely 'Up' which rightly was awarded Oscar gold for both Animated Feature and Original Score. Michael Giacchino could easily have been nominated twice for his musical contributions to cinema this year, so it was good to see him up there making a meaningful speech. And it's always a good year when Pixar makes the best animated movie. Dreamworks tend to be a tad Fox Network-y if that makes any sense? Solid movie, solid wins.

If the Oscars were about one movie this year, they were about one man. One man who has proved to be one of Hollywood's most consistent talents over the years, but amazingly had never won the big one until last night. That man of course is The Dude. And boy, did he abide.

After a beautiful performance in Scott Cooper's 'Crazy Heart' as the over-the-hill, whiskey-dependent Bad Blake, Jeff was finally able to take a load off (maybe smoke a J) and let the praise roll in. That's not to say that his competition wasn't stiff though. In fact, the Leading Actor category was this year the strongest its been in the last five which makes Bridges' win all the sweeter. Any one of the leading men nominated was a worthy winner, except maybe Morgan Freeman who was outshone in his own movie by Matt Damon. Colin Firth was the main threat for what I understand to be a truly emotive performance in Tom Ford's 'A Single Man', but this prize could just as easily have gone to George Clooney for what Empire described as 'a gift of a performance' in 'Up in the Air'. Renner was an outsider in 'The Hurt Locker', but it's not as if he was there to make up the numbers.

Following a heartfelt tribute from Michelle Pfieffer then, it was finally The Dude's turn. With his first Academy Award nomination coming almost 40 years ago, it was always going to be an emotional moment for everyone involved. I'm actually suprised that Jeff didn't just run on stage and shout 'It's about f*cking time!'. Reserved and humbled, he saved that kind of colourful language for Radio 5 Live and proceeded to make a lovely little speech in which he held high his wife and his parents.

Emotional too was Sandra Bullock who won for her leading role in the wasteful Ameridrama 'The Blind Side'. Having seen the film, I can confidently ensure you that this win was a complete joke. Don't get me wrong, Bullock was good in it. As good as you can be portraying a Southern, conservative mother-of-the-year type. Yeah, it was a career performance for Bullock, but the film really was terrible. On top of that, I didn't ever really picture SaBu as the Oscar-winning type so for her to come out on top for a above-average performance in a mediocre movie was hard to swallow. Carey Mulligan was absolutely stunning in 'An Education', as was Auntie Meryl as Julia Child in 'Julie and Julia'. Apparently Bullock was the frontrunner the whole time, but that certainly wasn't the case in my circles. Is there something we're missing, America? I'll never understand it, I guess. Nor will the millions of film-lovers around the world who know for a scientific fact that Mulligan or Streep should've won. Hell, I'd put first-timer Gabby Sidibe above Bullock having seen both 'The Blind Side' and 'Precious'. No brainer.

Finally, we come to Adapted Screenplay. This was the only real unexpected upset of the night for me. Having won the Globe, the BAFTA and countless other awards for its exceptional writing, this award should have gone to 'Up in the Air'. Hands down. Not only was it Jason Reitman's finest work and the best screenplay of any movie last year, it was one of the best written films I've ever watched. That's a personal opinion of course, but I'm not exaggerating. I loved it from start to finish. So for Geoffrey Fletcher to sneak in and nick it for 'Precious' was heartbreaking. He wrote a brilliant film, no doubt. But, as high as I hold 'Precious', if anything it was the writing that held it back from being truly great. 'Up in the Air' on the other hand offered nothing short of masterful dialogue. The characters were more true and more defined that any character in 'Precious', and it brought a poetic, quirky and involving feel to often overlooked and depressing subject matter. When Fletcher's name was called, my heart sank. The only film that I would have been okay losing to was 'An Education', but the Academy would have never gone for a Brit-flick.

2009 was an astounding year for film, but strangely enough the Oscars were particularly easy to predict. Maybe that's because I saw all ten Best Picture nominees before the awards took place this year. Maybe it's because there was so much quality separating the best from the rest (not so fast, 'The Blind Side'). From the looks of things, 2010 is going to be equally as impressive. Right now though, my money's on 'Inception'. Just you wait.

for more movie news and opinionating, go to Thisfilmison.

FINAL Oscar Predictions (seriously, this is it)

So, just after the nominations were announced I wrote (at length) about who I thought would reign supreme in each catagory. Not much has changed over the last month, apart from I’ve now seen ‘Crazy Heart’ twice and am fully in love with its soundtrack. I have also re-watched ‘Precious’, arthoused it for ‘Un Prophete’ and treated my parents to some great performances in ‘Invictus’. During this period, there have also been many an award ceremony and many a controversy (ie. naughty ‘Hurt Locker’ producers). Needless to say, ‘The Hurt Locker’ has picked up pace winning big at the BAFTAs and (impressively) at the DGAs. ‘Basterds’ winning at the SAGs may have shaken things up a big, but only slightly. At best, it will mean a screenplay win for Tarantino.

Before I get too carried away chatting Oscar, I thought I would pitch in with my final predictions. Alongside my actual prediction you will find an alternate winner as well as who I would personally prefer to take home gold.

I hope you all are able to enjoy the ceremony tonight, and if anyone is online I will be Twittering the whole shabang alongside thisfilmison.com's Owen Nicholls from 0100GMT at www.twitter.com/htimsttam

Without further ado:

Actor in a Leading Role

Winner: Jeff Bridges in ‘Crazy Heart’

Alt: Colin Firth in ‘A Single Man’

My Pick: Jeff Bridges in ‘Crazy Heart’

Actor in a Supporting Role

Winner: Christoph Waltz in ‘Inglourious Basterds’

Alt: None

My Pick: Christoph Waltz in ‘Inglourious Basterds’

Actress in a Leading Role

Winner: Sandra Bullock in ‘The Blind Side’

Alt: Gabby Sidibe in ‘Precious’

My Pick: Carey Mulligan in ‘An Education’

Actress in a Supporting Role

Winner: Mo’Nique in ‘Precious’

Alt: None

My Pick: Mo’Nique in ‘Precious’

Animated Feature Film

Winner: ‘Up’

Alt: ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’

My Pick: ‘Up’

Art Direction

Winner: ‘Avatar’

Alt: ‘Sherlock Holmes’

My Pick: ‘Avatar’

Cinematography

Winner: ‘Avatar’

Alt: ‘The Hurt Locker’

My Pick: ‘The White Ribbon’

Costume Design

Winner: ‘The Young Victoria’

Alt: ‘Coco Avant Chanel’

My Pick: ‘Bright Star’

Directing

Winner: Kathryn Bigelow for ‘The Hurt Locker’

Alt: James Cameron for ‘Avatar’

My Pick: Kathryn Bigelow for ‘The Hurt Locker’

Documentary Feature

Winner: ‘The Cove’

Alt: ‘Food Inc.’

My Pick: ‘Food Inc.’

Editing

Winner: ‘The Hurt Locker’

Alt: ‘District 9′

My Pick: ‘The Hurt Locker’

Foreign Language Film

Winner: ‘Un Prophete’

Alt: ‘The White Ribbon’

My Pick: ‘The White Ribbon’

Make-Up

Winner: ‘The Young Victoria’

Alt: ‘Star Trek’

My Pick: ‘The Young Victoria’

Original Score

Winner: Michael Giacchino for ‘Up’

Alt: Hans Zimmer for ‘Sherlock Holmes’

My Pick: Michael Giacchino for ‘Up’

Original Song

Winner: ‘The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)’ from ‘Crazy Heart’ by T-Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham

Alt: ‘Almost There’ from ‘The Princess and the Frog’ by Randy Newman

My Pick: ‘The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)’ from ‘Crazy Heart’ by T-Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham

Best Picture

Winner: ‘The Hurt Locker’

Alt: ‘Inglourious Basterds’

My Pick: ‘The Hurt Locker’

Short Film (Animated)

Winner: ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’

Alt: ‘Logorama’

My Pick: ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’

Sound Editing

Winner: ‘Avatar’

Alt: ‘Star Trek’

My Pick: ‘Avatar’

Sound Mixing

Winner: ‘The Hurt Locker’

Alt: ‘Inglourious Basterds’

My Pick: ‘Inglourious Basterds’

Visual Effects

Winner: ‘Avatar’

Alt: ‘District 9′

My Pick: ‘Avatar’

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Winner: ‘Inglourious Basterds’ by Quentin Tarantino

Alt: ‘The Hurt Locker’ by Mark Boal

My Pick: ‘Inglourious Basterds’ by Quentin Tarantino

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Winner: ‘Up in the Air’ by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Alt: ‘In The Loop’ by Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Tony Roche and Simon Blackwell

My Pick: ‘Up in the Air’ by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Well, there you have it folks. That is EXACTLY what is going to happen. Feel free to post your thoughts and predictions in the replies! If there are upsets to be had, for the life of me I can’t figure out where. Unless Jeremy Renner wins Best Actor and Christoph Waltz walks away empty handed (haha, like that would ever happen), I’d say it’s going to be a fairly straight forward affair! COME ON HURT LOCKER!!

IB artwork

Check out this awesome as balls Inglourious Basterds artwork.



This is the best one BY FAR. You can check them all out HERE

How lovely is too lovely?

I haven't read Alice Sebold's 'The Lovely Bones'. I was going to read it before I saw Peter Jackson's adaptation of the best-selling novel, but then I thought that for the purposes of my blog it would be easier to analyze the film if I wasn't affected by the books alleged power. I was hoping that as a stand alone piece, the core material would transfer faithfully enough to move me all the same. The last time that Peter Jackson adapted from literature, he created the Lord of the Rings trilogy (and we all know how that turned out).

It was an eyebrow raising announcement to begin with. I don't think anyone thought he would follow 'King Kong' with a controversial family drama. Then Ryan Gosling pulled out last minute because of 'creative differences'. I for one would have preferred Gosling to Mark 'Max Payne' Wahlberg as Jack Salmon, the determined father of a murdered 14 year-old. He brings a more obvious depth to any character he plays, where Wahlberg tends to be pretty one-dimensional. To his credit, this is probably one of his finer performances next to his role in 'The Departed'. He was commendable during the ongoing investigation scenes, but that's not suprising considering his resume. It was when the scenes required honest emotion that he came up short, a problem Ryan Gosling would most certainly have not faced. Considering the type of actor Gosling is, when you hear 'creative differences' you start to consider the quality of the material.

For the first hour-plus, 'The Lovely Bones' is incredibly powerful. You cannot help but fall in love with Susie, our narrator from beyond the grave. Then, just when you definitely have, when she has fallen in love herself, it all goes horrifically wrong. What's unsettling is that you know it's coming, but you will her to live anyway. In that respect, the film succeeds with its aim. If 'The Lovely Bones' is anything, it is unsettling.

Saoirse Ronan is unfathomably magnificant as Susie. It's her eyes. Her eyes radiate with honesty and innocence like two burning suns at the centre of her harrowing universe. It's an absolutely gorgeous thing to see in a performance, and I've no doubt that the already Oscar-nominated actress is headed for truly great things. Her sporadic narrations were beautifully voiced over to complete an overall offering that I think is better than the lead performance that will probably seal Oscar gold next month. Bold? I think not. Alas, no nomination was to be had. I don't think anyone has ever been recognised by the academy twice before the age of 16. Still, her potential is frightening.

One person who did get recognition for their efforts is Stanley Tucci who is equally as affecting as the serial murderer George Harvey. Like last years winner (the late Heath Ledger), he is almost unrecognizable in his role and delivers something that really makes you squirm in your seat. He and Ronan only share one scene, but it is easily one of the most suspenseful and disturbing scenes you'll see in any film this year. Jackson has built the characters up in a way that seems profound once the story hits its tragic turning point. Unfortunately, it is an emotional climax reached far too early.

Once Susie is dead, the movie splits into two halves. One half being a lengthy murder investigation/family drama, the other being a spiritual and visual feast which is totally pretentious and seemingly Weta-fied for the sake of a bit of Weta-fying. The only thing this really provides is a few pretty images to echo the events and emotions of the half of the story that actually takes place on earth, not on some sort of secluded purgatory planet that offers no sort of religious or spiritual tie-in. It's all completely fantastical. Saying that, there are constant references to Heaven throughout which makes the whole 'in between' concept all the more questionable. The 'earth story' on the other hand is delivered with intensity and diligence, but in contrast to Susie's effects laden scenes, the cinematography is sometimes unexplicably amateur by way of handheld cuts that don't really make any sense at all. All of the classic, suspenseful, thriller elements are already there thanks to some fine performances, clever dialogue and a wonderful Brian Eno soundtrack, so why compromise it all with handheld closeups that are reminiscent of 'Cloverfield'?

I hate to say it, but I feel that this was a rather poorly directed film overall. There are moments of brilliance for sure. The production design was particularly interesting, and it was easy to connect with the lead characters on a personal level. All the elements are there, but in the end it is all slightly too fantastical and far fetched to be able to really pluck at your heartstrings. Additionally, there was no need to spend ten minutes on a murderous montage highlighting every life Harvey has taken. I don't need to see dead children in ditches. Nor do I need to see all their smiling faces as they show up like Ray Liotta from the corn to welcome Susie into 'Heaven' once Harvey is outed. It was almost farcical, and I have a hard time believing that it was part of a direct adaptation from the source material. But then, I haven't read the source material so for all I know I could be criticizing Jackson for something that isn't wholly his fault. Nevertheless, I found the majority of the visual storytelling to be over the top and unnecessary, eye-popping as it was.

Finally, there's the demise of the villain. The comeuppance of George Harvey always needed to be violent. After his relentless evildoings, there was no way he was ever going to go to prison (or even worse, get away with it). You've heard of a sticky ending? This movie begs for one for 130 minutes. So much so that after the film's earliest test screenings, Jackson was sent back to the set to shoot a 'stickier' end to Harvey's reign of terror. In this act of unexpected redrafts, Jackson looks to have hurried things along a bit, and in the end we are left with what can only be described as a lazy and obvious wrapup. It comes across as an afterthought that was tossed in when the producers thought, 'Shit, we haven't killed our child rapist off yet. Quick, have him trip over the edge of the most randomly placed cliff anyone's ever seen'. Considering how much we are taught to hate George Harvey over the course of the film, his decline (though gruesome) was still massively underwhelming.

Apart from the acting and select scenes so tense you can hear a pin drop, underwhelming is relatively what 'The Lovely Bones' is as a whole. From my understanding, the 'lovely bones' represent the strengthened connection between the family members following Susie's death. Perhaps if the overall connectivity of the narrative mirrored it's namesake more closely, we would have been left with a memorable period piece. Contrarily, the only real message this film sends is that we should all be excited by the talents of Saoirse Ronan.

An American Werewolf In Tatters.

How many times did 'The Wolfman' get pushed back? Like, a million? When any movie gets delayed more than once, you start to worry. You start to think that what probably happened was that it was screened to people in its earliest potentially finished forms, and that everyone thought it was shit. The woeful director of the even worse than 'The Lost World' sequel 'Jurassic Park 3' was forced (and I stress) on more than one occasion to return to the cutting room floor (and more than likely, the set) in the hope than he could somehow rectify the situation and do justice to the proposed modern adaptation of a Lon Chaney classic. At least, that's what I think based on the final product.

The cast reaks of impressive. Benicio Del Toro seemed like a great choice from the start. How his Amerixican accent would be written in was a concern, but they gave him a Latin mother to Anthony Hopkins' father along with a globetrotting American theatre company. Even still, there was no way he was ever English (or Welsh, if we're talking about the 1941 original). Never the less, Del Toro is decent even when plagued with a horrific script. Hardly a standout performer in this particular picture though. It's tough competing against a real heavyweight.

Sir Anthony Hopkins was always the main draw leading up to this film's (eventual) release. Anthony Hopkins can make any movie 'good'. You only have to watch 'Fracture' or 'Bad Company' once to realise that. He is what they call a classically trained actor, which basically means he can do anything asked of him without having to try too hard. Before 'The Wolfman' had surfaced, there were stories of Hopkins requesting a harmonica on the set so that rather than walking ominously down an asylum hallway to a Danny Elfman soundtrack, he's heard mouthing a whacky, wolfy tune (you know, for a laugh). This scene actually ended up being the single highlight of the film. Credit to you, Sir Anthony Hopkins. I guess by this point in filming you had figured out that the whole shoot was a bit of a joke said, 'Hey guys! Let's jazz things up a bit with a harmonica solo. You can't say no to me Joe Johnston, 'Hidalgo' sucked and I'm a freaking knight!' That's exactly how it happened? I thought so.

Emily Blunt is always nice to see in something that's not about royalty, but her accent slipped in a very Sam Worthington type way more often than not in most scenes. So much so that it's kind of hard to believe that she was the subject of early Oscar whispers upon the release of 'The Young Victoria'. I like Blunt though, she brings real emotion to a character. 'Sunshine Cleaning' was also good, so she's had a decent year.

The real treat in 'The Wolfman' though is Hugo Weaving. He's just got a presence on screen that I always find it hard to explain. Be it Agent Smith, Elrond or the faceless 'V', he has a general haunting about his voice when he needs it. If any movie needs an influx of unsettling, Weaving will provide. As the snooty Detective Abberline, he plays confident cop as well as he plays terrified citizen, but again it's the script that severely undercuts any chance this movie has of being remembered past the opening weekend of 'Alice in Wonderland'. Did I just say script? I meant visual effects.

You remember when David Naughton turned into a werewolf...in London? Awesome, right? Yeah, in 1981! You'd have thought that almost 30 years later, after all the Avatars and Lord of the Ringses, they would be able to turn Benicio Del Toro (and more comically, Sir Anthony Hopkins) into a genuinely horrible-looking manbeast with a hint of conviction. I guess in a way it was quite horrible, but to be honest, Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' will keep me up more nights. I don't know if the stop-motion transformations were meant to be some sort of homage to John Landis' Oscar-winning creature feature (which combined with Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' keeps me up most nights), but they sure looked dated. They were also blended with some rad 1995 CGI to give the film the real post-gothic look it was going for. That last part is sarcasm.

Couple all this with the expected plotholes and obvious 'twists' and you've got the latest in what is sure to be a long underwhelming line of remakes, updates and prequels of a genre that needn't be touched. You mean to tell me that 70 years on, horror film-writers can't come up with something scarier than a 'wolfman'? Quit recycling and put something on screen that makes me want to never go to bed again. Maybe a Peter Andre biopic starring Channing Tatum?

Oscar nominations make me crazy.

Oh, this Oscar business really does rev my engine. Can't get enough. I was literally on the edge of my seat as the announcements were made, but that's partly due to the fact that I was watching it on my laptop and the speakers are fairly muted. So, ready for some heated debate? Some nice and not so nice suprises? I hope so, because 'The Blind Side' is the worst film I've seen to be nominated for Best Picture. But, we'll get to that later. Without further ado, the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards...

Actor in a Leading Role

• Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
• George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
• Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
• Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about Jeremy Renner being nominated for 'The Hurt Locker'! After being snubbed at the Globes, this was a fist-pumping moment for me. This was one of the few categories where I correctly predicted every nominee, and rightly so. Although The Dude will surely abide come March, the competition for Actor in a Leading Role is the strongest I've seen in years. My man George was incredibly good in 'Up in the Air', and along with Renner I'd say are the only two potential upsets. No doubt, Freeman and Firth put in top notch performances, career-defining performances, I just can't see them upsetting any of the other three.

PREDICTION: Jeff Bridges in 'Crazy Heart'

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Matt Damon in “Invictus”
• Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
• Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
• Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
• Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

This category was again, self explanatory. No trouble predicting these five prior to today's announcement. And no trouble predicting the winner either. While all of the performances are strong (I've yet to see 'Invictus' or 'The Last Station'), one man reinvented man's approach to acting last year, and that man is Christoph Waltz. Anyone who bets against him is a damn fool. He's won awards across the board from Cannes to the critics associations to the Golden Globes. No one else stands a chance. Now, that truly is a bingo.

PREDICTION: Christoph Waltz in 'Inglourious Basterds'

Actress in a Leading Role

• Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
• Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
• Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
• Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
• Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

This is a catagory I feel quite strongly about this year. Again, I had all the nominees pinned before the announcement, although I only added SaBu last week. Having seen 'The Blind Side', I can tell you that Bullock's outing is over-average at best. Through all the pithy dialogue and white-America cliches, there is no doubt a strong performance by Bullock's standards. Having seen 'An Education', 'Julie and Julia' and 'Precious' though, I can also tell you that her performance is on par with Sidibe's Precious, but doesn't even come close to what Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep accomplished in their respective roles. Never the less, my prediction is as follows...

PREDICTION: Sandra Bullock in 'The Blind Side'

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
• Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
• Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
• Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
• Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Okay, so NOBODY saw Maggie G getting nominated for 'Crazy Heart'. That was a nice suprise. I have every expectation that 'Crazy Heart' is going to be a great movie, and Maggie's nomination excites me even more so. As much as I love Penelope, her nomination was a bit of a suprise. Personally, I thought she was incredible in 'Nine' but with all the bad press her film has been getting, I kind of figured that Diane Kruger or maybe Julianne Moore would have occupied the spot that she now does. Good to see both of the 'Up in the Air' girls in there, deservedly so. Kendrick especially, she really was a treat. However, much like the Supporting Actor shortlist, there is only one performer who is going to be walking away with Oscar gold. Mo'Nique exceeded all expectations and delivered something breathtaking in 'Precious', and although I preferred 'Up in the Air' as a film (story and screenplay), it's gotta be Mo'Nique every time.

PREDICTION: Mo'Nique in 'Precious'

Animated Feature Film

• “Coraline” Henry Selick
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
• “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
• “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
• “Up” Pete Docter

I guess the question on everyone's minds is, what the hells is 'The Secret of Kells'? Well, it's a lovely Irish story from Buena Vista featuring the voice talents of Brendan Gleeson. Yeah, I'd never heard of it until today either. The trailer looks okay I suppose, but I really enjoyed 'Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs' so was disappointed when it didn't feature in this category. A stronger year than most, with a range of different animation styles. Total walkover though.

PREDICTION: 'Up'

Art Direction

• “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
• “Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
• “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
• “The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

I totally fluffed this one. 'Avatar' was my only correct prediction, and I've got to say I'm suprised not to see 'Inglourious Basterds' or 'A Single Man' here. I was even stretching for 'Julie and Julia' but alas, 'Nine' had to get nominated for something. Great to see some love for 'Parnassus', that was completely unexpected. Interesting to see 'Sherlock Holmes' sneaking in with a few nominations as well. Unfortunately though, this is one of those many categories where the other four nominees kind of just make up the numbers.

PREDICTION: 'Avatar'

Cinematography

• “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
• “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
• “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
• “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
• “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

This is more like it! Foreign films getting proper recognition! I've only seen bits and pieces of 'The White Ribbon', but I've certainly seen enough to know that it definitely belongs in this category. And for some reason, I can't help but feel that 'Avatar' doesn't? I mean yeah, we all got to see the fruits of the Cameron 3D Fusion System, and that was really cool, don't get me wrong. In terms of general cinematography though, I disagree. Cinematography is about capturing a magical moment through a performance, through a physical set, through the way something is lit, through the most beautiful angle, and that is where films like 'The White Ribbon' and 'The Hurt Locker' make their impact. Not through 162 minutes of CGI forestry. That's all very pretty, but it's not real! If 'Avatar' picks this up along with all it's other technical awards, I will be fuming.

Oh, and Harry Potter? Pfft.

PREDICTION: 'The Hurt Locker'

Costume Design

• “Bright Star” Janet Patterson
• “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
• “Nine” Colleen Atwood
• “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

More Gilliam love! I like it! HOWEVER, nominating 'Parnassus' means no room for 'Inglourious' and that is something I don't agree with at all. The two period, fashion flicks were a lock, then there's your Royal family movie and the Rob Marshall musical. That's all fine. But with the other 8 nominations 'Basterds' accrued, how it missed out on this one I have no idea. Go figure. Should be an interesting result though. This could go anyone's way, and I'm going to be bold for once.

PREDICTION: 'Bright Star'

Directing

• “Avatar” James Cameron
• “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
• “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
• “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

The category you've all been waiting for! Can Kathryn Bigelow ride the wave and on the back of her triumph at the DGAs topple the (self-proclaimed) King of the World and become the first woman to pick up the award for Best Direction? Yes, she bloody well can. Lest we forget that the Globes are voted for by journalists, and that we should try not to take them too seriously when predicting the Oscars. 999,999 times out of a million, the winner of the DGA wins the Oscar, and I would be thrilled if that were the case this year. I give 'Avatar' shit, but that's because it was so poorly written. The music was equally as cringeworthy, but Cameron did direct the hell out of that thing. That is a fact (Quarritch!). 'The Hurt Locker' was just intense filmmaking at it's finest, organic and raw, and deserves every accolade it gets, including this one...hopefully.

PS. Sorry Quentin, Jason. I feel terrible for betraying you :(

PREDICTION: Kathryn Bigelow for 'The Hurt Locker'

Documentary (Feature)

• “Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
• “The Cove” Nominees to be determined
• “Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
• “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
• “Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

I am familiar with 'Burma VJ', 'Food Inc.' and 'The Cove', and am pretty sure that it's going to be between those three. I'm just upset that there's no love for 'Mugabe and The White African'. That's purely based on bias though as it stars my Godparents' son, Ben Freeth, whose life I have followed intently for the last ten years or so. Never the less, a strong showing of documentaries this year. Could go any way!

PREDICTION: 'Food Inc.'

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
• “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
• “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
• “Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Probably just leave this one for now...

Film Editing

• “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
• “District 9” Julian Clarke
• “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
• “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

This will be particularly interesting this year. Like cinematography, this isn't a technical category that 'Avatar' will landslide. In fact, now that I think about it, there aren't any! Even in Visual Effects, it could very well be upset by 'District 9'. Editing though, is far more integral to the final product of any film. The editor's job is to make the story work in the best possible way, which means that this category is wide open. I'm talking gaping. So much so that I'm struggling to settle on a prediction, so I'll say this now in defense of what I thought was superb editing...if 'District 9' wins this award, I told you so.

PREDICTION: 'The Hurt Locker'

Foreign Language Film

• “Ajami” Israel
• “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
• “The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
• “Un Prophète” France
• “The White Ribbon” Germany

This is such a two horse race it's untrue. Thank you for your interest Israel, Peru, Argentina! Any other year, you may have had a shot but this is a total toss up between Germany's 'The White Ribbon' and France's 'Un Prophete'. Now, I was a silly, silly boy and missed 'The White Ribbon' when it passed through my city in the autumn, but I am seeing 'Un Prophete' tomorrow (excited) and have generally read more to do with the gangster epic that the B/W war story. Other award bodies and critics associations are pretty split over the two though, so rather than hastily predict during my post-screening buzz tomorrow, I am going to go ahead and follow my instinct now while I haven't seen either!

PREDICTION: 'The White Ribbon'

Makeup

• “Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
• “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
• “The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Another nod for 'The Young Victoria' eh? Interesting indeed. 'Star Trek' was a given, but I was sure that 'The Road' would sneak in here. Very suprised to see 'Il Divo'. Perhaps a sign of things to come? Choosing from three is always tough, and I was ready to predict 'The Road' or 'Nine' for the win, so don't expect me to get this one right next month.

PREDICTION: 'Star Trek'

Music (Original Score)

• “Avatar” James Horner
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
• “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
• “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
• “Up” Michael Giacchino

'The Hurt Locker'? Don't think anyone saw that coming as great as the music is. Awesome to see 'Fantastic Mr Fox' getting some proper recognition here, too. For me though, there's only one winner here and that is Michael Giacchino for 'Up'. The music in 'Up' is just about as perfect and as poignant as a score can be (although, anything's better than James Horner's horrific effort). My dark horse is definitely Hans Zimmer for 'Sherlock Holmes'. I included him in my original predictions, and then removed him last week and replaced him with Abel Korzeniowski for 'A Single Man' (seriously, I'm gutted). Since then I've listened to the 'Sherlock Holmes' end credits music on more than a few occasions and can safely say that it's some of the best scoring of the year. Good ol' Hans.

PREDICTION: 'Up'

Music (Original Song)

• “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
• “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
• “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

I'm sure everyone's prasing the film lords for the same thing, right? No Leona Lewis! Thank you, Academy, for not recognising what is a truly awful song that sounds more than a little bit like 'My Heart Will Go On', among other songs. Good on yer! This category is particularly interesting because a) 'Take It All' was nominated rather than 'Cinema Italiano'. This could mean 'Nine' upsetting 'Crazy Heart', but I doubt it will. What it does mean though is that we may get to see the wonderful Marion Cotillard recite what I thought was the second best song in the film, and b) two nominations for 'The Princess and the Frog' and Randy Newman. Newman is no stranger to Oscar glory, so to be nominated twice must increase his chances, but I'm still banking on T-Bone to take it home.

PREDICTION: 'The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)' from 'Crazy Heart'

Best Picture

• “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
• “The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined
• “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
• “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
• “The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
• “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
• “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
• “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
• “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Expanding to ten nominees is a very clever idea. It gives the Academy an opportunity to show just how trendy they can be. If there had been five slots available this year, rest assured they would have gone to 'Avatar', 'The Hurt Locker', 'Inglourious Basterds', 'Up in the Air' and 'Precious'. That covers the big box-office epic, the low-budget war film, the Tarantino return to form, the hip and current Clooney-fest, and the underdog drama. Any other year, that's how it would have gone. But expand to 10 nominees and you get to rake in the ratings by including the Pixar masterpiece, the Coen Brothers annual offering, the other sci-fi epic, the coming of age Brit flick and last but not least, Sandra Bullock's sappy American box-office smash, 'The Blind Side'. Absolutely unbelievable.

I wasted 90 minutes on 'The Blind Side' on New Year's Eve and as a result, I have never been so taken aback by a Best Picture nomination. I can list you 20 films off the top of my head that were better than 'The Blind Side' without including any of the other Best Picture nominees. Its inclusion is proof that the Academy pays attention to box-office numbers, and for me that is slightly unsettling. What's less unsettling is safely knowing that 'The Blind Side' doesn't stand a chance, and that if the voting results were accessible, it would come dead last.

While 'Up in the Air' has been performing well in the run-up to the major awards, taking home best film accolades from many critics associations for being a truly memorable piece of work, more recently this has turned into a battle between the (again, self-proclaimed) King of the World and his ex-wife. One made the most expensive and most successful film of all time, and the other made Jeremy Renner an Academy Award nominee while accruing only $12m at the US box office. Unless 'Inglourious Basterds' makes a late surge on the back of it's success at the SAGs, it will more than likely be between 'Avatar' and 'The Hurt Locker'. And if 'Avatar' wins Best Motion Picture of the Year, I will quit writing about films. No way, no how. It can't happen. It's not even the best sci-fi film of the year! Let him have the record books, but leave the proper awards for intelligent films that have something a bit more interesting to say.*

*For the record, I quite liked 'Avatar' the first few times I saw it. It's hugely entertaining. It's just not in the same league as 'The Hurt Locker', 'Inglourious Basterds', 'Up in the Air' or 'District 9' when it's comes down to brass tax.

PREDICTION: 'The Hurt Locker'

Short Film (Animated)

• “French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
• “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
• “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
• “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
• “A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Nick Park has a tendancy to be brilliant. Let's back our British hope!

PREDICTION: 'A Matter of Loaf and Death'

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
• “Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
• “Kavi” Gregg Helvey
• “Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
• “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

We'll cross this bridge when we come to it.

Sound Editing

• “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
• “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
• “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
• “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound editing revolves around creating synthetic sound and the selection of organic sound to represent something that it's not necessarily. This is the kind of technical award where 'Avatar' should be recognised. Again, 60% of the film was CGI remember, so every sound during those scenes had to be crafted in such a way that the audience would accept it as reality. It's about subtlety, and your movie-watching consciousness not feeling the need to question how genuine something is. Saying that, those Thanators had the voice of a T-Rex. And those Direhorses? I can't help thinking about Velociraptors in kitchens. Anyone? Beuller? This award could just as easily go to 'Star Trek' or 'Up', but alas, we've got to recognise Cameron's vision at some point.

PREDICTION: 'Avatar'

Sound Mixing

• “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
• “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
• “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
• “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Sound mixing is a whole other ballgame. I personally thought that the mix for 'Avatar' was pretty poor. It was way too bass driven and generally a bit too Hollywood to be recognised, in my opinion. The same applies to 'Transformers 2'. The sound of Optimus Prime turning into a lorry is all very cool, but it's hardly an Oscar-worthy accomplishment. 'Star Trek' may well sneak this one, although there would be uproar if any other sci-fi film beat 'Avatar' in any category. I'm going to go with one of our Best Picture nominees though.

PREDICTION: 'Inglourious Basterds'

Visual Effects

• “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
• “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
• “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

A month ago I would have written off any film challenging 'Avatar' for this award. Now, I'm not so sure. The mo-cap was as impressive, if not more so, in 'District 9'. And the fact that it was superimposed over real-life footage rather than a CGI-environment makes it all the more a threat to upset the almighty 'Avatar'. Don't get me wrong, I still think 'Avatar' will win. The film is based around visual effects more than it is around a story for Pandora's sake! All I'm saying is, even when 'Avatar' wins, just think hard about how much better 'District 9' is overall!

PREDICTION: 'Avatar'

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

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

On to my favourite categories. I love the screenplay awards. Good writing is so crucial to a film's caliber and I always enjoy finding out which films are shortlisted for their achievements in screenwriting. This year has been particularly strong in both the original and adapted categories, but even still, there are clear cut frontrunners.

Anyone who knows anything about well-written films would agree with me when I say, 'Hell yeah! In The Loop!' There was an underground buzz for months over whether or not Armando Iannucci would sneak in for his razor-sharp satire, and he's only gone and done it! Of course, he won't win (he's British), but I'll be damned if there's not a tear in my eye when I see Partridge's creator walking down that red carpet.

The way I see it though, there's only one winner here. Although I thoroughly enjoyed what Nick Hornby had to offer in 'An Education', Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner really struck a nerve with the beautifully worked 'Up in the Air'. If it wins, it will be the ultimate consolation for not winning Best Picture (*tear*), as at least its wonderful script will have been recognised. Somehow, Reitman is able to blend comedy and drama with heartfelt emotion and matchless wit in everything he writes. This is no exception. Final answer.

PREDICTION: 'Up in the Air'

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
• “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
• “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
• “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

This screenplay category is far more interesting, especially with the suprise inclusions of 'The Messenger' (in my Top 3 films of 2009 for writing and acting alone) and the deserved but not necessarily expected 'Up'. There are the obvious heavyweights too. Tarantino could very well walk away a winner for his finest screenplay since 'Pulp Fiction', hell, he could win for writing Colonel Landa's character alone. The Coen Brothers make their annual appearance in a Tarantino-esque return to form, 'A Serious Man' being their strongest written work since 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' (cue controversy). Yeah, I loved 'No Country for Old Men' too, it rocked. And yeah, 'Burn After Reading' was seven shades of funny. 'A Serious Man' is a more personal film though. You get to really dive in to the Coen universe in this one, where as I didn't really feel that way about their last two outings, impressive as they were. In spite of all of this, Mark Boal has got to be a front runner too! Again, gaping. I have no clue which way this is going to go! Hopefully I get lucky.

PREDICTION: Quentin Tarantino for 'Inglourious Basterds'

Okay, your turn!

FINAL Oscar Predictions (ahead of Nomination Tuesday)

Blogs aplenty to come. I'm happy to announce that I will be writing for NME columnist Owen Nicholls' website for the forseeable future, as well as this blog. His site goes live this week! For now, here are my final Academy Award predictions ahead of Tuesday's announcement. New insertions are highlighted in BOLD. Feel free to share yours!

Best Picture

The Hurt Locker

Star Trek

Inglourious Basterds

Avatar

Up in the Air

Up

An Education

Invictus

District 9

Precious

OUT: Where The Wild Things Are, The Messenger

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker

James Cameron - Avatar

Jason Reitman - Up in the Air

Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

Lee Daniels - Precious

OUT: Clint Eastwood - Invictus

Best Actress

Carey Mulligan - An Education

Meryl Streep - Julie and Julia

Gabby Sidibe - Precious

Helen Mirren - The Last Station

Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side

OUT: Marion Cotillard - Nine

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart

George Clooney - Up in the Air

Colin Firth - A Single Man

Morgan Freeman - Invictus

Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker

Best Supporting Actress

Mo'Nique - Precious

Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air

Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air

Diane Kruger - Inglourious Basterds

Julianne Moore - A Single Man

OUT: Samantha Morton - The Messenger, Penelope Cruz - Nine

Best Supporting Actor

Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Woody Harrelson - The Messenger

Stanley Tucci -The Lovely Bones

Matt Damon - Invictus

Christopher Plummer - The Last Station

Best Original Screenplay

Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

Joel and Ethan Coen - A Serious Man

Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker

Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber - (500) Days of Summer

Bob Petersen, Pete Docter - Up

Best Adapted Screenplay

Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner - Up in the Air

Nick Hornby - An Education

Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious

Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell - District 9

Armando Iannuci - In The Loop

OUT: Spike Jonze, Dave Eggars - Where The Wild Things Are/Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach - Fantastic Mr Fox

Best Editing

The Hurt Locker

Avatar

Inglourious Basterds

District 9

(500) Days of Summer

OUT: Nine

Best Cinematography

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

The White Ribbon

Nine

Avatar

OUT: The Lovely Bones

Best Art Direction

Avatar

District 9

A Single Man

Inglourious Basterds

Julie and Julia

OUT: The Lovely Bones

Best Sound Mixing

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Star Trek

District 9

Nine

Best Sound Editing

Avatar

Up

Star Trek

District 9

The Hurt Locker

Best Costume Design

Bright Star

Inglourious Basterds

Coco Avant Chanel

Nine

The Young Victoria

OUT: Where The Wild Things Are

Best Original Score

Michael Giacchino - Up

Carter Burwell and Karen O - Where The Wild Things Are

Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant!

James Horner - Avatar

Abel Korzeniowski - A Single Man

OUT: Hans Zimmer - Sherlock Holmes

Best Song

'I See You' - Avatar

'All Is Love' - Where The Wild Things Are

'Cinema Italiano' - Nine

'The Weary Kind' - Crazy Heart

'Almost There' - The Princess and the Frog

Best Animated Feature

Up

Fantastic Mr Fox

The Princess and the Frog

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Coraline

Best Visual Effects

Avatar

2012

Star Trek

District 9

Best Makeup

The Road

Star Trek

Nine

Best Foreign Language Film

A Prophet (France)

The White Ribbon (Germany)

Broken Embraces (Spain)

Winter in Wartime (The Netherlands)

Samson and Delilah (Australia)

OUT: Letters From Father Jacob (Finland), White Wedding (South Africa)



BIG blog tomorrow once the nominations are announced. 'Avatar' and 'Up In The Air' blogs up by the weekend...FINALLY!

Britain can still pack a punch, even if the director is Danish.

If you were to read my first blog, you would read that I rate Peter Sarsgaard very highly. The Kiefer Sutherland lookalike has been one of my favourite character actors since 'Boys Don't Cry', and I even forgave him for 'Orphan' which although there is no official list, was one of the five worst films of 2009. Not just in my opinion, but in most people's. Strange to think that the two leads would go on to receive masses of critical acclaim for further performances in 2009. Vera Farmiga will most likely receive an Oscar nomination for her role in 'Up in the Air', while Sarsgaard achieved rave reviews for his role in a lovely little Nick Hornby-penned picture called 'An Education'.

And it is a lovely little picture, not only of Britain on the cusp of the 'swinging sixties' but of teenage naivety in its very purest form. Lone Scherfig's first film in English in seven years, 'An Education' is the story of Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a sixteen year-old A-level student with her sights set on Oxford (or rather, her father's sights) until she meets mysterious playboy David (Sarsgaard) and discovers a plentiful world outside the exam hall.

What is instantly striking about this film is the almost overwhelming amount of near perfect performances. Carey Mulligan is a beautiful revelation as our lead, but the strong support from Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Olivia Williams, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Cara Seymour and the always enchanting Emma Thompson really make 'An Education' feel like an iconic British film that will stand the test of time. Even more impressively, Mulligan stands her ground against a who's who of British talent and provides the audience with a character that will more than likely earn her a Best Actress nomination come February. On top of that, I think she'll win!

The character of Jenny is as progressive as the film's themes, almost evolutionary. When we meet her she is a few Latin tutorials away from Oxford, head buried in textbooks although it is evident from the get go that hidden behind her well-disciplined, intellectual front is a penchant for the arts, namely French culture. She is practically forbidden this outlet, until a chance meeting with the suave and sophisticated David changes everything. It is only once David is part of her life that we are able to realise that beneath her mature-beyond-her-years, cultured and ambitious exterior, Jenny is as naive and as vulnerable as any sixteen year-old girl. Easily frustrated and quick to rebel, even quicker to consider trading an Oxford future for her first love, Jenny's sparks of maturity are quickly quashed by David's staggering immaturity and reckless abandon. While their feelings for each other are no doubt genuine, his influence was always going to be innocently negative, and I found myself praying at the halfway mark that he didn't hurt her as it became increasingly evident that his relentless charm would have to at some point wear thin. As his charm increases in monetary value, so does her naivety to the point where she overlooks the fact that he is essentially a thief. From that moment on, it is only a matter of time before Jenny reaches into the glovebox for a French cigarette only to find an empty box.

Watching this relationship develop from a modern perspective is difficult, as the more they fall for each other, the more you can't help but feel that whatever he is hiding is going to crush her. Nowadays, the amount of thirty-somethings chasing impressionable students is hardly suprising, with MySpace and Facebook paving the way for textual grooming. To fully understand this particular relationship however, you have to identify with the era. The period in which the film is set makes it all the more feasable. For example, Jack (Jenny's father played by the often overlooked but always endearing Alfred Molina) is quick to accept David into his daughter's life regardless of his age and Jewish background. Why? Because he has something to offer her. Traditional values (apparently) coupled with obvious financial stability. In short, all a father could ever want for his daughter. How quickly his attitude towards her education changes as soon as the prospect of financial relief reveals itself.

Jenny puts it best when she questions why she has been encouraged to push for an Oxford education when she could have been selling herself in nightclubs, if all her father cared about was fiscal stability in later life. Lest we forget that 'An Education' is set in a time where women were not particularly empowered and were often simply passed from father to husband without much concern for personal development. A prime example of this is Rosamund Pike's Helena, a character you can't help but feel Jenny would grow to resemble should she continue along the path that involves borrowing her clothes.

In 2009, there wasn't a better written film (I'm of course referring to Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner's 'Up in the Air' as a 2010 release) in terms of an identification with its time and with its characters. A true coming of age picture though set in the sixties, this should clear up at the BAFTAs and make a strong statement as a Best Picture contender in March. It will lose out on a screenplay gong to 'Up in the Air' for sure, but will launch Nick Hornby's career as an internationally recognised screenwriter. Anyway, awards don't make a film any better when it's already making straight As in a class of its own.

Top 20 of 2009 + 2010 Academy Award Predictions!

1= The Hurt Locker


1= The Messenger


3. Moon


4. Inglourious Basterds


5. (500) Days of Summer


6. Avatar


7. A Serious Man


8. Fantastic Mr Fox


9. Star Trek


10. Where The Wild Things Are


11. District 9


12. Up


13. An Education


14. The Hangover


15. Broken Embraces


16. Synecdoche, New York


17. Observe and Report


18. Sunshine Cleaning


19. Zombieland


(-). Up in the Air

Best Picture

The Hurt Locker

The Messenger

Inglourious Basterds

Avatar

Up in the Air

Up

An Education

Invictus

Where The Wild Things Are

Precious



Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker

James Cameron - Avatar

Jason Reitman - Up in the Air

Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

Clint Eastwood - Invictus



Best Actress

Carey Mulligan - An Education

Meryl Streep - Julie and Julia

Gabby Sidibe - Precious

Helen Mirren - The Last Station

Marion Cotillard - Nine



Best Actor

Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart

George Clooney - Up in the Air

Colin Firth - A Single Man

Morgan Freeman - Invictus

Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker



Best Supporting Actress

Mo'Nique - Precious

Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air

Penelope Cruz - Nine

Samantha Morton - The Messenger

Julianne Moore - A Single Man



Best Supporting Actor

Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Woody Harrelson - The Messenger

Stanley Tucci -The Lovely Bones

Matt Damon - Invictus

Christopher Plummer - The Last Station

OR

Christian McKay - Me and Orson Welles



Best Original Screenplay

Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

Joel and Ethan Coen - A Serious Man

Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker

Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber - (500) Days of Summer

Bob Petersen, Pete Docter - Up



Best Adapted Screenplay

Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner - Up in the Air

Nick Hornby - An Education

Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach - Fantastic Mr Fox

Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell - District 9

Spike Jonze, Dave Eggars - Where The Wild Things Are



Best Editing

The Hurt Locker

Avatar

Inglourious Basterds

Nine

(500) Days of Summer



Best Cinematography

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

The White Ribbon

Nine

The Lovely Bones



Best Art Direction

Avatar

District 9

A Single Man

Inglourious Basterds

The Lovely Bones



Best Sound Mixing

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Star Trek

District 9

Nine



Best Sound Editing

Avatar

Up

Star Trek

District 9



Best Costume Design

Bright Star

Inglourious Basterds

Where The Wild Things Are

Nine

The Young Victoria



Best Original Score

Michael Giacchino - Up

Carter Burwell and Karen O - Where The Wild Things Are

Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant!

James Horner - Avatar

Hans Zimmer - Sherlock Holmes



Best Song

'I See You' - Avatar

'All Is Love' - Where The Wild Things Are

'Cinema Italiano' - Nine

'The Weary Kind' - Crazy Heart

'Almost There' - The Princess and the Frog



Best Animated Feature

Up

Fantastic Mr Fox

The Princess and the Frog

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Coraline



Best Visual Effects

Avatar

2012

Star Trek

District 9



Best Makeup

The Road

Star Trek

Nine

Best Foreign Language Film

A Prophet (France)

The White Ribbon (Germany)

Broken Embraces (Spain)

Letters From Father Jacob (Finland)

White Wedding (South Africa)



So, there you have it! Mark my words, these will be pretty much dead on (hopefully). The only real difference I can foresee is the lack of love for 'Where The Wild Things Are', but we'll have to see.

Apologies for the lack of blog reviews recently. Yes, I have been lazy with Christmas/New Years/The Band/illness getting in the way but there will be blogs this month, I promise. I'm going out on tour from Monday so I will have a lot of downtime to write for you.

Happy New Year to all my loyal readers ;) Blogs to come before Valentine's Day (it is awards season after all):

Avatar
Where The Wild Things Are
An Education
The Messenger
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
The Lovely Bones
It's Complicated

The Road

Daybreakers

Laters haters!

-M