For once I've actually seen all ten films that have been nominated for best picture this year at the 83rd Academy Awards so I just wanted to offer my opinion on how I believe the Oscars should pan out.
1.) Best Picture: Given my recent post about the film it probably comes as no surprise that my choice for Best Picture is The King's Speech. Now to be fair I might be a bit prejudiced on this one, but I still had several nominated films to watch after viewing The King's Speech and if anything I thought True Grit might unseat it but it didn't. 2nd Runner up would have to go to Toy Story 3 which I thought was superbly well done. Of course it'll still be a long time before the Oscar awards committee overcomes some of its prejudices so as to award Best Picture to an animated film (or a sci-fi one for that matter which is why the otherwise excellent Christopher Nolan film Inception won't win this year either).
2.) Best Director: No surprise here; Tom Hooper for The King's Speech. But honorable mention must go to Debra Granik (whom the Oscars did not nominate) for the very unsettling Winter's Bone.
3.) Best Actor: Maybe Javier Bardem did have an excellent performance in Biutiful but I haven't seen it so I'm going to have to pick Colin Firth for his role as King George VI in The King's Speech though Jeff Bridges stellar portrayal as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit made this a difficult choice. But since Bridges won last year I'm going to stick with Colin Firth.
4.) Best Actress: This was probably my hardest one to pick. I vacillated between Natalie Portman for Black Swan and Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone for some time. And though not the most objective way to determine things, I flipped a coin; Natalie Portman won. (Okay, maybe my ever so slight crush on Natalie Portman tipped the balance in her favor.)
5.) Best Supporting Actor: Probably the easiest choice I had to make. Though he may be an asshole to work with and a jerk in his personal life, Christian Bale should win for his role as the real life Dicky Ecklund in The Fighter. Say what you will about Christian Bale; he is a very talented actor whose deserved Oscar is long overdue.
6.) Best Supporting Actress: Another fairly easy choice; Helena-Bonham Carter for The King's Speech. But of course special mention should be made for Hailee Steinfeld as the stubborn but wise beyond her years Mattie Ross in True Grit.
7.) Best Original Screenplay: I was inclined to give this one to The King's Speech yet it cannot be doubted that the most truly original is Christopher Nolan's Inception. So, Inception, it is. Plus, it's time Nolan received an Oscar especially given that he was snubbed at the 81st Academy Awards.
8.) Best Adapted Screenplay: This is the category I felt the least qualified to make an informed judgment about because I hadn't read any of the books these films are based on. However, a good friend of mine (who has his own excellent blog at Exceptional Mediocrity) assured me that Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of the book about the creation of Facebook, The Accidental Billionaires, was a brilliant one and given that I know how excellent Sorkin's film adaptations for other books that I have read have been (e.g., Charlie Wilson's War) I'm going to choose Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network.
Well, there you have it. For what it's worth, which I know is very little, these are my Oscar picks for the 83rd Academy Awards.
I promise that the next post will be a bit more substantial. Things here have still been pretty crazy as the company gets set to leave. This also includes me because apparently my transfer paperwork won't go through in time for me to extend. So it looks like I too will be home soon.
