And the Oscar goes to...

Well, we don't know yet. But seeing as I've taken the time to watch all 1o of the best picture nominees, I'm going to offer up my guesses. Now, granted, I have not seen some of the candidates for best actor/actress and some of those, but I have seen a majority. So here is what we are looking at.

Best Picture Nominees-

Avatar

The Blind Side

District 9

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious

A Serious Man

Up

Up in the Air

Favorite to win: Inglourious Basterds

I had trouble deciding this category, partly because of the amount of good flims up this year, and even more so deciding between this, Avatar or Up in the Air. Each film is so vastly different. However, I feel the screenplay for Inglourious Basterds takes the cake and the acting is on par with the others. Had Avatar had a bit more of an original plot, I think it would take the cake hands down.

Best Directing Nominees-

Avatar (James Cameron)

The Hurt Locker (Kathyrn Bigelow)

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)

Precious (Lee Daniels)

Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)

Favorite to win: Avatar (James Cameron)

This was tough. In my opinion it came down to Tarantino and Cameron, and the only weak spot in Avatar was its unoriginal plot- something that doesn't affect the direction. Cameron should take home another.

Actor in a Leading Role Nominees-

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)

George Clooney (Up in the Air)

Colin Firth (A Single Man)

Morgan Freeman (Invictus)

Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Favorite to win: George Clooney (Up in the Air)

I have only seen 3 of the films in this category, and unfortunately I missed Crazy Heart, and I've heard Bridges was outstanding. However, I have to go off of what I've seen, and Clooney delivered a great performance for Up in the Air.

Actor in a Supporting Role Nominees-

Matt Damon (Invictus)

Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)

Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)

Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)

Christop Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Favorite to win: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

This was the category in which I had the least trouble choosing. From the moment I finished watching Inglourious Basterds last year, I said he should win an Oscar. And I still think he will.

Actress in a Leading Role Nominees-

Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

Helen Mirren (The Last Station)

Carey Mulligan (An Education)

Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)

Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

Favorite to win: Carey Mulligan (An Education)

While anyone who knows me knows my love for Sandra Bullock, unfortunately I think she will be edged out by the young Winchester native. Mulligan delivered an outstanding performance in An Education and I hope she doesn't get the shaft in favor of her elderly peers.

Actress in a Supporting Role Nominees-

Penelope Cruz (Nine)

Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)

Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)

Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)

Mo'Nique (Precious)

Favorite to win: Mo'Nique (Precious)

While each of the ladies from Up in the Air delivered memorable performances, the portrayal of an evil mother in 1980s Harlem by Mo'Nique was unforgettably wicked. She should take home the statue on this one.

Animated Feature Film Nominees-

Caroline

Fantastic Mr. Fox

The Princess and the Frog

The Secret of Kells

Up

Favorite to win: Up

It's the only animated film up for Best Picture. Enough said?

Best Art Direction-

Avatar

The Imaginarim of Doctor Parnassus

Nine

Sherlock Holmes

The Young Victoria

Favorite to win: Avatar

It is unfortunate for other art directors that this movie came out the same year as theirs. I don't see much competition here.

Best Original Screenplay Nominees-

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Bastereds

The Messenger

A Serious Man

Up

Favorite to win: Inglourious Basterds

I simply think this was the most well-written movie in the fields this year. Tarantino should take home the little gold man for this one.

Cinemetography Nominees-

Avatar

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

The White Ribbon

Favorite to win: Avatar

While I missed out on the White Ribbon, it is hard to see anything putting up a fight with Avatar. I'm not sure if it will be punished by the fact that the movie was almost all CGI, but it shouldn't be. (For those curious as to how the visuals for Avatar were done, check out my January 3rd post on the film)

Other Notables:

Best Visual Effects- Predicted winner: Avatar

Adapted Screenplay- Predicted winner: Up in the Air (Very close second: An Education)

You're on Pandora

I've purposefully waited to post my thoughts on James Cameron's Avatar. I saw the movie on its opening night, and again 3 days later, both times in IMAX 3D. I'm going to avoid any subtlety. The film was absolutely fantastic. It is one of the best if not the best film of the year (only competition coming from Inglourious Basterds). The reason I waited to post my thoughts on the film was simply to wait and see if things progressed in the manner that I thought they would- the film did not start out with immense popularity, mostly due to what I would speculate to be the skeptical feelings towards the "blue people". However, I went to see Sherlock Holmes weeks later and sure there was a good amount of poeple there, but the line for Avatar was out the door, despite a release 3 weeks earlier. Word is spreading, and it should be.

Lets clear some things up. This film is not animated. The CGI is captured and the entire film was acted out. Instead censors and motion capture were applied to the actors using more advanced technology than had ever been used before, and went so far as to develop a system in which Cameron could use a camera that would show him a rough image of what the scenes would look out while they were being acted out. It is tough to explain in detail but you can click here to watch the behind the scenes, which is extremely intriguing. I would've attached a video but the embedding was disabled.

Cameron creates an entire world, unlike anything I have seen before. The color palette is exquisite. The visual affects are stunning and "creative" is a gross understatement to describe the world of Pandora created by Cameron.

When it comes to the films story, it isn't entirely unique. However, the fresh twists, anti-imperialistic undertones, and the loves story all lace together to form one of the best movies of the decade.

I don't want to sit here and give away the story or over-hype the film, but I highly recommend you see it while it is still in theaters, and if you can in 3D. The 3D is by no means necessary but it is something that should be experienced once. I can garuntee that even if the plot lines aren't quite down your alley, you've never seen anything like Pandora. Don't miss out on that, just because you think the cast look like blue cat-people. I can assure you by the end, you won't notice or care.

For those who want to watch the new extended trailer that actually paints an accurate picture of the films plot, the video below does so rather well.