The 82nd Academy Awards - Sunday, March 7, 2010

[CrossingGuard]

Here's a thread to discuss which movies, actors, directors, and others are creating buzz to get ready for the big ceremony on March 7, 2010.

One question: Has 2009 been a disappointing year for movies altogether? That's what I've been reading over the web, but IMO, I don't think this year has been so bad.

In the latest EW issue (January 8, 2010), they listed The 25 Movies You Need to See Before Oscar Night. Here's the list:

Up in the Air
Avatar
The Hurt Locker (DVD: January 12) (I want to see this so, so, so, so badly )
Precious
Inglourious Basterds (DVD: out today)
Invictus
An Education
Up (DVD: out today)
A Serious Man
The Messenger
Julie & Julia (DVD: out today)
A Single Man
Crazy Heart
The Blind Side
The Last Station
Nine
Star Trek (DVD: out today)
District 9
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Lovely Bones
(500) Days of Summer
It's Complicated
The Young Victoria
Bright Star (DVD: January 26)
The Informant! (DVD: February 23)

Anything else you think should be added to the list? I would add the movie Moon. I haven't seen it, nor have I heard much about it, but I've heard that it's one of the best movies this year. But not much buzz has been surrounded it, so I doubt it will get nominated. I would also add Coraline and The Princess and the Frog, as they'll probably round out the Best Animated Feature category.

Out of the list, I've seen Avatar, Precious, Up, The Blind Side, and Star Trek. I still have a lot to go! I doubt that I'll be able to get to everything, but so far, I think this is the most progress I've made out of every year. I think I'm going to go see Invictus before my break ends.

Front Runners
Best Actor - Colin Firth (A Single Man), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)

Best Actress - Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
(On a side note, I think this has been a really strong year for the actresses out there, as opposed to the actors. There are a number of contenders out there.)

Best Supporting Actor - Matt Damon (Invictus), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)

Best Supporting Actress - Mo'Nique (Precious), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
(If I had to bet money on any nominee out of every category, it would be Mo'Nique. Honestly, I never would have thought she would have ever even been nominated, but she was stellar in her role as Mary in Precious. There has also been a lot of buzz surrounding her. Another thing: I can't believe a Twilight alum has shown she has acting chops! Not to be judgmental or anything, I just never would have thought it. I really want to see Up in the Air and see how Anna does.

Best Director - Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), James Cameron (Avatar), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
(If Kathryn pulls this out, she'll become only the 4th female director to be nominated and the first woman to ever win. Now that's a feat. And I've read that she and James Cameron are ex-husband and ex-wife. Now there's a little jab if she does win.

I just listed 3 for each, so there are many more contenders out there. Anything else you think has a shot?

[Ionan]

I agree that this is a strong year for actresses. I'm definitely more interested in who gets Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress (I'm hoping for Mo'Nique and Gabourey, however the others would still make me happy either way)

I'm also hoping that the expansion of Best Picture slots is put to good use and includes movies that people actually WANT to see and/or HAVE seen. I'm fine with all the obscure drama films getting nominations because they ARE good, but there have been hugely successful mainstream films with comparable(and many times MUCH BETTER) critical reviews out there that get shoved to the side which I think is unfair(i.e. WALL-E was the best reviewed movie last year, at least when compared to the five that were nominated.)

ETA-

For Best Director, from what I have seen, Pete Docter (UP), is an unlikely dark horse to be nominated. Apparently he beat out Bigelow for Best Director at the Detroit Film Critics Society Awards (Up also took Best Picture). So i think it'll be interesting and cool if it happens (he would be the first director of an animated feature to be nominated in the category, correct?).

[CrossingGuard]

Mo'Nique is pretty much a sure bet. Part of me would like to see Julianne Moore get it, even though I've read she isn't that great. I haven't seen A Single Man (and I doubt I ever will since admittedly, I don't really want to see it), so I'm just basing it off on what I've read. Plus, if she did win, it would just be one of those "You Deserved It In the Past, But for Some Reason You Didn't Win, So We're Going to Give You the Oscar Now for a Not As Stellar Performance" wins. I really like Julianne, which is why part of me wants to see her win. But I wouldn't want her to win like that.

Anyway, with that said, Mo'Nique was great in her role, so she probably does deserve it.

With Gabourey, she's in a 3-horse race with Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep. I've read that Meryl is the probable frontrunner, since they think that she has been robbed of a third win. Like I said, it's a little sad when an actor or actress wins just because they haven't won yet, especially when there are other great performances out there. I've yet to see An Education (I really want to though), but I've read that Carey is amazing. And Gabourey did really well in Precious, especially since it was her very first role in a movie, ever.

With the Best Picture category expanding to 10 slots, I do agree with you Ionan when you say that you hope that a popular movie gets nominated. I don't want to see the ratings slip down any lower than they have already (like how all of the pageant shows have fallen drastically), and I think this plan can be put to good use if a very popular movie gets nominated.

It's funny though, because I don't think that it was all that necessary this year. I think Avatar would have been nominated if it was just 5 movies up for nomination, and that would have probably reeled in a handful of viewers. They could have used this 10 nominees thing last year, since the BP nominees weren't all that popular.

[Tigerusty]

Best Supporting Actress - Mo'Nique (Precious), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
(If I had to bet money on any nominee out of every category, it would be Mo'Nique. Honestly, I never would have thought she would have ever even been nominated, but she was stellar in her role as Mary in Precious. There has also been a lot of buzz surrounding her. Another thing: I can't believe a Twilight alum has shown she has acting chops! Not to be judgmental or anything, I just never would have thought it. I really want to see Up in the Air and see how Anna does.

Anna Kendrick is a terrific actress. The first movie I saw her in was called "Camp", she was fantastic in that.

[CrossingGuard]

Anna Kendrick is a terrific actress. The first movie I saw her in was called "Camp", she was fantastic in that.

And I don't doubt that. But the only movies I've seen her in are the Twilights movies. She wasn't horrible in them, but her role was pretty minor. Also, as a whole, I don't really associate the Twilight movies with great acting (sorry to all of the Twilight fans!).

I think I'm going to see Up in the Air on my birthday (Jan. 17), since that's when I turn 17. Is it lame to see a movie alone? No one wants to see it with me, so yeah.

And I just got back from seeing Invictus. I actually kind of loved it. Coming into it, I wasn't really expecting much. I've read reviews that say that it was boring and all. But while I could see where they're coming from, I really enjoyed it. It helps that I'm actually in a class in my high school that ends with a trip to South Africa, so it was cool seeing parts of the country in the movie. Morgan Freeman shoud definitely be nominated for his role as Nelson Mandela. Matt Damon too. Morgan has a lot of competition, so I don't think he'll win. Matt might have a chance though.

[Tigerusty]

And I don't doubt that. But the only movies I've seen her in are the Twilights movies. She wasn't horrible in them, but her role was pretty minor. Also, as a whole, I don't really associate the Twilight movies with great acting (sorry to all of the Twilight fans!).

I think I'm going to see Up in the Air on my birthday (Jan. 17), since that's when I turn 17. Is it lame to see a movie alone? No one wants to see it with me, so yeah.

And I just got back from seeing Invictus. I actually kind of loved it. Coming into it, I wasn't really expecting much. I've read reviews that say that it was boring and all. But while I could see where they're coming from, I really enjoyed it. It helps that I'm actually in a class in my high school that ends with a trip to South Africa, so it was cool seeing parts of the country in the movie. Morgan Freeman shoud definitely be nominated for his role as Nelson Mandela. Matt Damon too. Morgan has a lot of competition, so I don't think he'll win. Matt might have a chance though.

Holy smoke CrossingGuard, I forgot how young you are. You must have started posting on this board when you were an infant.

I used to love going to the movies alone when I was a teen. I would spend half a day in the theater, although back in those days they had something called double features.

[CrossingGuard]

I was 13.

I was pretty much always obsessed with reality TV though, so this site was perfect for me. I actually remember the very first reality show I watched. It was the first season of the Mole. I was in second grade, and I sat on the couch, alone, every Tuesday watching that show. I had no clue what was going on though.

Well that was way off-topic. Let's get this thread back to Oscar discussion, shall we?

[Ionan]

Okay, now with the Critic's Choice Awards and Golden Globes out of the way, we can now have a clearer idea of who may walk away with the statues!

I do think that three categories are definitely locks as of now:

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges

And Best Actress appears to totally be up in the air now.
Meryl Streep, I was already expecting to be a frontrunner(Critic's choice award and Golden Globe for Actress in Comedy), but Sandra Bullock appears to be catching up to her(tying for the Critic's Choice Award, and winning the Golden Globe for Actress in Drama). Gabourey Sidibe I think is still the underdog that people like so she may sneak in, but Carey Mulligan may possibly be the dark horse like Marion Cotillard was a few years ago and take the top prize. I definitely think Best Actress is the award the watch this time, because really any one of them can win which makes it super exciting to me.

Now, for Best Director: I really hope Kathryn Bigelow wins. She is definitely earned it and deserves it. I feel she is the best of the potential nominees this year. However, I feel the Oscar's may pull a fast one, and give one to Quentin Tarantino since he's an audience favorite, or James Cameron for the same reason. Jason Reitman and Lee Daniels I feel are darkhorses, but at least more worthy than Cameron. I think this is also another awards battle to look out for!

[CrossingGuard]

Agree, agree, agree with everything you said, Ionan, except one thing:

I'm really liking Jeff Bridges after listening to his speeches after each award. His love for his wife is ever-lasting, and I find it very sweet. Plus, it's great to see that someone who has been in the business a long time can still get some recognition. But I still don't think he's a lock. George Clooney or Colin Firth might just sneak up to take the win.

But Mo'Nique and Christoph Waltz are sure bets for the supporting categories. I don't know why I didn't recognize earlier that Christoph would be sweeping up these awards. Out of all the actors up for the supporting category, he has been getting the most buzz.

I would hate for the Golden Globes to be the main precursor to the Oscars, because I felt that they just awarded Globes to the most mainstream of the nominees. I mean, Sandra Bullock? I loved her so much in the past, but lately I'm getting tired of her. I hate when things get too overrated (hello, Avatar!), and that's what's happening to her. I thought Gabourey Sidibe was much better as Precious. I still can't get past that it was her first role ever. While she was pretty good, Sandra's role wasn't all that groundbreaking. Meryl Streep still has a chance, but now I'm think Gabbie is almost out of the running. She is the underdog at this point, with Carey Mulligan as the definite dark horse.

And the Golden Globes also had James Cameron and Avatar win Best Director and Best Picture, Drama, respectively. Avatar's popularity is taking it far, and its win at the GGs shows that. I'm thinking the competition for Best Director and Best Picture is now among Avatar, The Hurt Locker, and Up in the Air. I want to see The Hurt Locker win both. I would be fine with Up in the Air. So yeah, I wouldn't want to see Avatar winning.

Lastly, while on the topic of the GGs, The Hangover as the Best Picture, Comedy or Musical? Now that movie is the most overrated thing on the planet!

[Ionan]

Lastly, while on the topic of the GGs, The Hangover as the Best Picture, Comedy or Musical? Now that movie is the most overrated thing on the planet!

I really liked The Hangover and thought it was hilarious, however I agree that it is overrated by most everyone. I actually thought 500 Days of Summer was going to win because of it's high critical reviews but alas it didn't. I think this years Golden Globes definitely went the populist route with their choices of Best Picture.
It will be interesting to see if the Oscars follow suit and do the same because they tend to be more conservative in their choices as of late, especially since apart from a few popular films with Best Picture potential(Up, Star Trek, District 9), most of the other popular films (Avatar) don't hold up well against the smaller indie/artsy films(The Hurt Locker, Precious) in terms of plot and acting.

ETA--

My ideal Best Picture result this year at the Oscars would be a TIE between Up and The Hurt Locker. They both represent the best critically reviewed films of the year in Wide Release and Limited Release, respectively. But that's never going to happen, unless some miracle occurs.