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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!