Last week they’ve announced the nominees for this year’s Oscars which airs February 26th on ABC and there’s always a twist with the number of Best Picture nominees which is not 5, it’s not 10, it’s now 9 nominees… Oohhh, whatever, who cares? There’s still 2 or 3 that really deserve the Oscar but I guess they gotta keep the suspense every year. Here are my prediction for this year’s results, let me know what you think:
Best picture
- “War Horse” This is by far my favorite of the Best Picture nominees, I really hope that it wins.
- “The Artist” It’d be interesting if this film actually wins, it’ll be the second time a silent film ever wins Best Picture.
- “Midnight in Paris” I Still haven’t seen it but it’s the movie with the least chance of winning. I like Woody Allen’s film but I haven’t seen a great movie from him since Hannah and her Sisters or The Purple Rose of Cairo.
- “Moneyball” Insteresting… (not)
- “The Descendants” I’m curious to see this film, but as far as winning Best Picture, I really doubt its chances.
- “The Tree of Life” Here’s one of those artsy films that I don’t really wish to see. At least it wasn’t Melancholia…
- “The Help” Here’s the People Choice award for Best Picture of the Year. It’s my second favorite after War Horse so it better be one of these two, if both of these fail to get the Best Picture statuette, there’s also…
- “Hugo” Great film by one of our best directors of our time: Martin Scorsese. ‘Nuff said.
- “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Great cable movie, I’ll wait to see this one on demand.
Best actress
- Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs” I still havent heard great things about the film but Glenn Close is one of my favorite actresses. She’s got really great competitors this year such as:
- Viola Davis, “The Help”. One of the most subtle yet powerful performances of 2011. Too bad she won’t win it this year…
- Rooney Mara, “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” She really channeled Lisbeth Salander so well, it was hard to even notice that Daniel Craig co-starred this remake. Then again the nomination should belong to the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Noomi Rapace for she’s the one that made the role so memorable and so hard to match. Sorry, Rooney, you were great though.
- Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady” And the Oscar goes to…
- Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn” I wish Michelle had won in this category but there’s no competition after seeing Meryl Streep transformed into Margaret Thatcher. Better luck next time…
Best actor
- Demian Bichir, “A Better Life” I’m sure it’s great he washonored with a nomination but I doubt anybody will actually vote for the guy, or see the movie.
- George Clooney, “The Descendants” I don’t know about his performance here but I think this year there’ll be a real twist as you watch the next nominee in the list:
- Jean Dujardin, “The Artist” Yup. You heard right. I really believe that we got our next Roberto Benigni here. I only hope he doesn’t jump from chair to chair to get his award. It’s just a fresh face that we may or may not see again in Hollywood but he seems very likable and, honestly, The Artist has that cute, artsy element that Oscar voters like. Here’s my pick for best actor, mark my words.
- Gary Oldman, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” He is a great actor that will continue making great movies but not my favorite of the bunch.
- Brad Pitt, “Moneyball” I would have never thought that Moneyball would be such a critic’s pick. Kudos to Brad but, honestly, he’s had better roles, don’t you think? His role in Twelve Monkeys is by far my favorite.

Best supporting actress
- Berenice Bejo, “The Artist” Never heard of this woman and I don’t think she’s the strongest of the group.
- Jessica Chastain, “The Help” The award should go to the OTHER nominee from the same movie.
- Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids” This is a tough one but I don’t think that Melissa will win this time. Her role was way to raunchy and over the top which probably made for “most memorable” role but award winning?
- Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
- Octavia Spencer, “The Help” Yes, yes, yes!!! If there’s an actress that brought her heart and soul into her character was definitely Octavia as Minny Jackson,she really brought up her game and deserves it.

Best supporting actor
- Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn” I don’t know if his was a truly strong performance, he was alright but not the greatest. Just hand it over, will you?
- Jonah Hill, “Moneyball” I don’t think so.
- Christopher Plummer, “Beginners” Here it is: ding, ding, ding, ding!!! A role of a lifetime for the 82 year old actor whose past achievements alone make him a winner in my book. It’s the story of a father who recently loses his wife and realizes at this stage in his life that he’s gay and needs to come to terms with his son, played by Ewan McGregor. It sounds like a dream role already.
- Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
- Max von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” The (one and only) Exorcist!! Love the man but I’d rather vote for Christopher.
Best director
- Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
- Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
- Martin Scorsese, “Hugo” I believe Martin should win. His movie was a cinematic experience that I will never forget, great director as well. Who doesn’t remember Taxi Driver or Cape Fear. Great filmaker who’s always pushing the boundaries and, with Hugo, he certainly broke his own mafioso mold. That’s a bold move that I hope pays off.
- Terrence Malick, “Tree of Life” I still haven’t seen this movie (and probably will see just to compare with the praised reviews I’ve read thus far) but it just seems one of those movies that can only be appreciated if you’re in film class. It doesn’t sound like your regular kind of movie which is why he may actually win. I’m betting that Terrence will get the award (even though my heart says Scorsese!)
- Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris” If it was another year he may have had a chance but Woody Allen was best during the 70’s and 80’s, that’s when his films really shone best.

Best original screenplay
- “The Artist” This is certainly a critic’s favorite, this is the surest bet for a win, although I’m keeping my hopes up for:
- “Bridesmaids” I’m rooting for Kristen Wiig here, it’d be a great accomplishment and I certainly look forward to her next script.
- “Margin Call”
- “Midnight in Paris”, which sounds original and witty but better than Bridesmaids?
- “A Separation” I heard this story is awesome, that’s why it’s my bet for Best Foreign Film.
Best adapted screenplay
- “The Descendants” I believe this movie will take the gold. I just like the story and curious to see how the script acts out.
- “Hugo” Great movie but I don’t believe it was a great script. I wouldn’t place my bet on this category in my company’s pool.
- “The Ides of March” Too political for my taste. If I were a Republican I may go for it…
- “Moneyball” then again I don’t really care for baseball either.
- “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” I hear it’s a very complicated and confusing film to understand. It doesn’t sound like a great adaptation if you ask me.

Best foreign language film
- “Bullhead”
- “Footnote”
- “In Darkness”
- “Monsieur Lazhar”
- “A Separation” Here’s the only film I would be certain of gathering the award. How come I haven’t heard or see the other films? I would have like to see all of them instead of wasting my time with Mission Impossible or J. Edgar…

Best animated feature
- “A Cat in Paris”
- “Chico & Rita”
- “Kung Fu Panda 2”
- “Puss in Boots”
- “Rango”
Best animated short film
- “Dimanche/Sunday”
- “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
- “La Luna”
- “A Morning Stroll”
- “Wild Life”
Best live action short film
- “Pentecost”
- “Raju”
- “The Shore”
- “Time Freak”
- “Tuba Atlantic”
Best art direction
- “The Artist” Just cause it’s black and white doesn’t necessarily mean it’s artful but then the voters may think that way.
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” Where was its Best Picture nomination? I’m disapointed why couldn’t we take off Moneyball or Tree of Life and place this film. Oh well, on the upside it’s made way over a billion dollars in the box office so I’m sure they’re still laughing all the way to the bank.
- “Hugo” If there’s one award for this little movie it should be for art direction. I love the way the movie seems so magical and extraordinarily easy on the eyes, a real spectacle. I’d be very disappointed if Hugo doesn’t win here.
- “Midnight in Paris”
- “War Horse” It’s my favorite movie but artsy? My money goes for Hugo here.
Best Cinematography
- “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” Copycat.
- "The Artist"
- “Hugo” I love the sets of the train station and the silent film studio, visually stunning.
- “The Tree of Life” If there’s a category where this movie will win (and probably should win) is this one. I bet you this movie will win just for the first 15 minutes of the movie.
- “War Horse” Really great landscapes and the war scene are pretty intense. Pretty good contenders though.
Best costumes
- “Anonymous”
- “The Artist” Hmmmm, I guess the costumes were great, you never know
- “Hugo”
- “Jane Eyre”
- “W.E.” Oh, C’mon, give Madonna one more award to brag about (although I’m sure she didn’t “design” the costumes but it’d still be a win for her film. One complain though: why wasn’t Andrea Riseborough even nominated for Best Supporting Actress award? How disappointing for she was great in this film, I hope we see more of her in the future. Maybe Swept Away 2?
Best documentary feature
- “Hell and Back Again”
- “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Libration Front”
- “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
- “Pina” I think this is the one, I heard it has great 3D special effects, then again I haven’t seen any for it’s a wild guess there.
- “Undefeated”
Documentary short subject
- “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”
- “God is the Bigger Elvis”
- “Incident in New Baghdad”
- “Saving Face”
- “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
Film editing
- “The Artist”
- “The Descendants”
- “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
- “Hugo”
- “Moneyball”
Make-up
- “Albert Nobbs” I don’t believe Glenn Close had such a great transformation here, it’s much harder to make a man look natural as a woman as in Tootsie but not the other way around.
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” If there’s one award this movie deserves is make up. Here’s my 2 cents.
- “The Iron Lady” Meryl Streep performance is what brought the character to life however the make up really helped a whole lot.
Original score
- “The Adventures of TinTin”
- “The Artist” Here’s an easy win…
- “Hugo”
- “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
- “War Horse”
Original songThat’s it? What about Madonna’s Masterpiece? Why only 2 songs and 9 picture nominees? Booooooo!!! What about NONE!!!!
- “Man or Muppet”
- “Real in Rio”
Sound editing
- “Drive”
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
- “Hugo”
- “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
- “War Horse”
Visual effects
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” the movie looks great and all but it had all been done 6 times before so there’s no element of surprise here. All Harry Potters was visually great.
- “Hugo” I think this film was very unique and original so my vote goes here.
- “Real Steel” I heard this is a very good movie despite what I originally thought.
- “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” This should have been among the best pictures nominees, how disappointing that Andy Serkis wasn’t nominated either but he would have still lost to Christopher Plummer… But it would have been nice…
- “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Really? It’s been done before, what’s so great about this one now? I’m tired of all this Michael Bay excess (which is probably why it may just win here)














