Eimer's 2016 Academy Awards Picks

This past year, I felt very fortunate. This past year, I’ve been able to hit the movie theater a good bit more. This past year, I've even seen some of those movies with my wife and kids - especially in the fall when the Oscar Bait gets released.

That said, here are my picks for the upcoming Academy Award nominated movies. Hopefully, I'll be able to check out more in the weeks leading up to the Feb. 18 date.

Also, if you're on Twitter, why not give my One Sentence Movie Reviews some love?

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short
Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Eimer Note: I loved Room, Big Short, Mad Max and The Martian. I want the Revenant to win. Haven’t seen the rest … yet. But something just tells me that Spotlight is going to win.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Eimer Note: This is the year of the Leo. He should have won one for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape a looooong time ago. Never too late though, right?

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Eimer Note: I thought Brie Larson’s performance was fantastic. I really felt that she was the character. I dare any mom to watch this movie and not cry.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Eimer Note: I loved Tom Hardy in Mad Max and Revenant. But, I'm going with Sly. It seems like everyone wants him to win this one. So, sure, I'll hop on the Italian Stallion bandwagon. 

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Eimer Note: My gut is going with Jason Leigh in this. No really reason, just a feeling. Plus, I haven't seen any of the other performances.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie

When Marnie Was There

Eimer Note: I’m surprised Pete and Pixar team didn’t get nominated for Best Picture.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Carol
The Hateful Eight

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant
Sicario

Eimer Note: Haven't seen Carol, but the rest of these movies were beautiful. Revenant was just outstandingly beautiful. Revenant cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki has won the past two years for Gravity and Birdman. He's on a roll!

COSTUME DESIGN

Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road The Revenant

Eimer Note: After watching this film in the theater, my wife and I were talking and we had a feeling that the costume design crew had an orgasm when they found out they were going to be working on this movie.

DIRECTING

The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Eimer Note: Only John Ford (40 & 41) and Joseph Mankiewicz (49 & 50) have won back-to-back Directing Oscars in the history of the Academy Awards. I'm pretty sure Inarritu is going to be the third.

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

Eimer Note: I think it’s a toss-up between Amy, Cartel Land and The Look of Silence. I chose Cartel Land just because it won an award from the Director’s Guild. Haven’t seen it, but looking forward to checking it out.

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)

Body Team 12
Chau, beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah A

Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

Last Day of Freedom

Eimer Note: I haven’t seen any of these shorts, but I think I’ll go with Last Day of Freedom.

FILM EDITING

The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Eimer Note: With so many different high-octane scenes, and so much damn action, you have to give the award to Max Max, right? Right?

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Embrace of the Serpent Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb

A War

Eimer Note: Haven’t seen it, but I’m hearing some pretty fantastic things from first-time director Laszlo Nemes.

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Bridge of Spies

Carol
The Hateful Eight

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Eimer Note: Did you know Ennio Morricone's unused score for the John Carpenter's The Thing ended up being the chosen score for The Hateful Eight? Yep! Isn't ironic that Kurt Russell was also in both films?

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

“Earned It,” Fifty Shades of Grey
“Manta Ray,” Racing Extinction
“Simple Song #3,” Youth
“Til It Happens To You,” The Hunting Ground

“Writing’s On The Wall,” Spectre

Eimer Note: I'm convinced that all ‘Bond’ songs win this category. I'm wrong. But, I'm still going to pick it to win this year. 

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road 

The Martian
The Revenant

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live without Cosmos

World of Tomorrow

Eimer Note: You can watch World of Tomorrow on Netflix right now. It’s short (duh) and freaky awesome.

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay

(Alles Wird Gut) Shok
Stutterer

Eimer Note: Again, taking a stab with Ave Maria ... because I love the song?

SOUND EDITING

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Eimer Note: Man, this is a tough category. Maybe the Academy will spread the wealth an give it Star Wars, although Sicario, Mad Max, Revenent and Martian deserve some respect as well. Screw it, going with Star Wars.

SOUND MIXING

Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

VISUAL EFFECTS

Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Eimer Note: Will Ex-Machina get some love? That Revenant bear was pretty damn impressive, though. Eh, let’s do Star Wars … just because.

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

The Big Short

Brooklyn

Carol
The Martian

Room

Eimer Note: The Big Short was smart, witty and so fucking awesome with the dialogue. Going with Charles Randolph and Adam McKay on this one.

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton

Eimer Note: Ex Machina was my favorite movie from last year, but I’m going with Spotlight on this. And, from what I hear, the dialogues was so well written.

That's it! See you on Monday or Tuesday after the Oscars for a post mortem.

Academy Awards Review (Even Steven)

Welp, the Academy Awards have come and gone, and damn were they pretty boring. Nothing really exciting to talk about here. However, among the movies that won, Now I definitely want to see Whiplash and Still Alice (because, sometimes, I feel like I have early onset Alzheimer's). And, you know what? I think it's time that I actually watched the Sound of Music all the way through. Oh sure, I've seen bits and pieces. But I've never sat through the whole thing in one sitting. By the way, at 79 years old, Julie Andrews still looks pretty hot.

So, I finished a weak 12-12 in my annual online Oscar poll. I took some chances on screenplays (because I thought Nightcrawler was deserving and I applaud Anderson for taking on Inherent Vice - although now I'm hearing rumblings that it's pretty sucky).

In any event, here are the categories that I got right:

• BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
• PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
• PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
• PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
• ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
• ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
• BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
• ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
• BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
• ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
• ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
• ORIGINAL SCORE

And here are the categories I got wrong:

• PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
• BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
• ORIGINAL SONG
• ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
• ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
• ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
• ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
• ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
• BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
• BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
• BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
• ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

Later!

My 2010 Academy Award Picks.

Well,it's that time of the year again. Which is exciting because, in addition to March Madness and MLB Opening Day, the upcoming Academy Awards signals the upcoming melting of the snow and (drum roll), Daylight Savings Time, which this year falls on March 14, 2010. Less than 2 weeks!

Every year, since I've started this blog, I thought I'd toss out my winning picks. And, every year, since I've started this blog, I've done terrible. So, when you're filling out your ballots, take my choices with a grain of salt. Or could this be the year, I sweep them all?

Check out the list below to see if you agree:

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”
You know what, I was going to pick Jeff Bridges in ‘Crazy Heart’, but then I got to thinking. I’m going with Jeremy Renner. I thought he was phenomenal in The Hurt Locker. I haven’t seen ‘Crazy Heart’, but 'Fuck It' I’m going with Renner.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”
Seems to me that Damon was nominated for the wrong film (should have been nominated for Best Actor for his role in The Informant). I’m excited that Woody was nominated as well. I haven’t seen The Messenger, but I loved him in Zombieland. However, I was mezmerized by Christoph Waltz in Basterds. Next

Actress in a Leading Role
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
This is a tough one for me. Something’s telling me to pick Sandra Bullock, even though her role seems so milquetoast. However, this could be an ‘achievement’ type thing and the Academy may hand it to her just because she’s Sandra Bullock. However, I love underdogs and I’m going with Carey Mulligan in ‘An Education’. Again, I haven’t seen the flick, but I’m going with my gut on this one.

Actress in a Supporting Role
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
I’ve been following Mo-Nique since Showtime at the Apollo. No, seriously. Me and my buddy Pete would watch it and laugh and laugh and laugh, at all the white dudes trying to sing, dance or tell jokes. The crowd was brutal. In any event, I’m going with the angry, abusive momma, over all the other roles. Seems like a juicy pick to me.

Animated Feature Film
“Up” Pete Docter
I loved Coraline. I thought Henry Selick nailed Neil Gaiman's creepy world. And it proved that he didn’t need Tim Burton to pull off his kick-ass animation. However, I’m going with UP on this one. It was just too good. I can watch this movie over, and over, and over again and never get bored. I love the bird Kevin. What a great character. It’s movies like this that make me very jealous.

Art Direction
“Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
Avatar should win this one. But, if the Academy wants to give more posthumous honors to the late, great Heath Ledger, then so be it. But you would have to be very, very naive not to pick Avatar here. The film was pretty remarkable. And the Art Direction is half the film.

Cinematography
“The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
Animation isn’t cinematography. So I’m going with ‘The Hurt Locker’. I loved the grainy film style. It made the movie for me. However, watch out for The White Ribbon as a sleeper.

Costume Design
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
Okay, I’m going with Monique Prudhomme here for The Imaginarium. It’s much too classy of a costume flick to pass this up. Plus, I think all the Academy fans who are Broadway fans, will like this tip of the hat to a traveling acting show. Next on my list would be Nora Ephron’s ‘Bright Star’ as the sleeper.

Directing
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
Wouldn’t it be great if Quentin won? However, that’s not going to be the case. It’s going to be Bigelow. Hands down. And she deserves it. And actor directs people. Humans. James Cameron directed a half-animated feature.

Documentary (Feature)
“The Cove” Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
100% - Stone Cold Lock - The Cove. Done. Although Food Inc. Is my next favorite. But what happened to The September Issue and More Than A Game for Best Documentary Oscars? Odd indeed.

Documentary (Short Subject)
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
I saw The Last Truck on HBO last year and was moved. Also, I haven't seen any of the other films. An added bonus for me, it takes place in Ohio and is directed by Ohioans from Wright State (which houses one of only two film programs in the state of Ohio).

Film Editing
“Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
Let me just say that ever since I’ve been involved in these Academy picks, I’ve never lost editing. So, after some soul-searching, I’m going with Avatar, with The Hurt Locker a close second. They say, the best edited movies are the ones that you don’t really notice. That’s why I’m picking Avatar. The editing was flawless. However, let’s contemplate District 9 pulling an upset. That would be cool.

Foreign Language Film
“The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)” Germany
It’s going to be The White Ribbon. Michael Haneke will get an Academy Award. After reading his bio in The New Yorker, I tossed all of his movies into my Netflix queue. I’m also curious what he’s going to say.

Makeup
“Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
Only three for best make-up? Odd. However, I’m going with my sci-fi gut and picking Star Trek.

Music (Original Score)
“Up” Michael Giacchino
I’m going with Up. I loved the original score in this animated film. When I hear Giacchino’s score, I think of the movie. Doesn’t that mean the music works?

Music (Original Song)
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Both nominated Princess and The Frog songs will knock them both out of contention. Screw Paris 36 and Nine. I’m going with “The Weary Kind’ from Bingham and T Bone.

Best Picture
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
I loved Avatar, and Basterds but for some reason I enjoyed The Hurt Locker even more. The cool thing is that all of these 10 movies deserve Best Picture, save The Blind Side. But I’m going with Locker.

Short Film (Animated)
“A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park
Has Nick Park ever lost an Oscar? I don’t think so. I’m going with this Wallace and Gromit romp.

Short Film (Live Action)
“The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
I’m not sure on this one. So, I’m going with ‘The Door’ , with ‘Instead of Abracadabra’ next. No clue.

Sound Editing
“Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
Got to give it to Avatar.

Sound Mixing
“Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
Again, Avatar. The machine gun cracks and the dragon howls are still rattling my brain.

Visual Effects
“Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
C’mon. Really? Although I really, really enjoyed District 9’s special effects, this category is another lock.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Reitman is an extremly likable guy and a great director who, in my opinion, hasn’t made a bad film yet (Thanking Your For Smoking, Juno, Up In The Air).

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
I love Quentin’s writing. And, it was that writing that immediately pulled me into the film. From the beginning scene at Pierre LaPadite’s humble cottage, to the barroom Basterds scene to Shosanna Dreyfus second meeting with Col. Hans Landa all the way through to the end, the writing was top notch. It’s pure Quentin, with a touch of Kubrick. It’s dialogue genius.

Well, there you have it. Let’s see if I’m right. And, you’re wrong.

I’ll provide a re-cap next Monday (or Tuesday). Couple other things, what in the world happened to Where The Wild Things Are and The Road, which was a potential shoe-in for a Best Picture nod last year, at least by Mac and myself? I thought both of those flicks would be up for some awards. Weird.

In any event, good luck with your Oscar picks. Should be a fun time Sunday night.

Oscars 2009 Recap.

Well, after I wrote my Friday picks, I loaded up my drinkin’ jacket with three Milwuakee’s Best Lights and went to see Slumdog Millionaire at a local theater on Saturday night.

Let me just say I was thoroughly impressed and finally realized what all the fuss was about. It's a really good film that deserved all the accolades.

That said, having seen it and feeling the momentum and hype spiraling up to the Oscars, I would have changed my picks on a number of categories. But, I’m happy for Danny Boyle winning Best Director and Picture for Slumdog. If you’re not up-to-date on his body of work, here some other personal Boyle favorites that you should definitely check out

• Shallow Grave


• Trainspotting


• 28 Days Later


• Sunshine


• Millions

Speaking of my Oscar picks, I was a terrible 11-13. Not even as good as last year's picks.

I should add that the reason I’ve been so lousy is that I haven’t been to the theater in quite some time. The last movie I saw in theater was Knocked Up way back in 2007, which is pitiful. However, now I remember what it’s like to see a movie in a darkened theater with other movie goers. It truly is a remarkable thing. And it's good to be back.

So, here are a couple highlights of my picks (if you care):

• I was 5-1 in the biggie categories (actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, best picture). I would have been 6-0 had my blinders not been on for David Fincher and Benjamin Button. I thought this was going to be a Crash-type thing. You remember? The year that Ang Lee won best director for Brokeback, but Trash, oops I mean Crash, won best picture.


• I was really shocked WALL-E only won one Oscar. True, it won the biggie – best animated film, but I thought this movie would have been showcased a bit more. Goes to show, you shouldn’t pick with your heart. It’s a good flick. Check it out.


• I was also shocked that Pixar’s Presto did'nt win Best Animated Short. Instead it was won by La Maison en Petits Cubes. Check out the animation here while it’s still up. My thought is the Academy wanted to give other animators the limelight in this category instead of Pixar.


• After Departures won best foreign language film, I opened up my laptop and tossed it into my Netflix queue. Waltz with Bashir was supposed to win, but didn't. Departures sounds and looks like a pretty interesting film, though. It's like a Japanese Six Feet Under. Count me intrigued.

That said, here are the films that I’m looking forward to seeing after viewing last night's Oscars:

• Departures


• Frozen River


• The Wrestler


• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


• Milk


• The Reader


• Doubt


• Rachel Getting Married

Questions? Comments? Up Yourses? Please respond.

My 2009 Oscar Picks

Don't have a lot of time, but I thought I'd send you my list of who I think is going to win this Sunday. Thought? Concerns? Yeas? Nays? Please comment!

Best Picture: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Director: Danny Boyle (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE)

Best Actor: Sean Penn 'Milk'
I hear Sean Penn rocked in this movie. And, due to the Academy's snubbing of Brokeback Mountain, they'll reward this movie somehow. Hell, it may even win best picture.

Best Actress: Kate Winslet 'The Reader'

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger 'The Dark Knight'

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'

Best Animated Feature Film: 'Wall-E'
I'm picking Wall-E to win a number of awards. It simply is one of the best animated movies of all time.

Best Foreign Film: 'Waltz With Bashir'

Best Original Screenplay: 'Wall-E' Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter

Best Adapted Screenplay: 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' Eric Roth, Robin Swicord

Best Documentary Feature: 'Man on Wire'

Best Original Score: 'WALL-E'

Best Original Song: 'Down to Earth' 'WALL-E'

Best Film Editing: 'Slumdog Millionaire' Chris Dickens
Did I mention that I never, ever lose on best film editing?

Best Documentary - Short Subject: 'The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306'

Best Cinematography: 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' Claudio Miranda

Best Costume Design: 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' - Jacqueline West

Best Sound Mixing: 'WALL-E' Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt

Best Sound Editing: 'WALL-E' - Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood

Best Live Action Short Film: 'Spielzeugland (Toyland)'

Best Animated Short Film: 'Presto'

Best Makeup: 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army' Mike Elizalde, Thom Flout
I thought the make-up in Hellboy was out of this world. I'm picking the upset over Dark Knight and Button.

Best Art Direction: 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Best Visual Effects: 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

FINAL NOTE: Yes, I'm picking Benjamin Button to win a number of awards over Slumdog. However, I think Danny Boyle will win a Best Director oscar over Fincher. I'm just not feeling Slumdog. Of course, that means that, more than likely, Slumdog will sweep everything.

The Oscars Kicked My Ass.

So there I was on Saturday afternoon sipping a beer at Holiday Valley Ski Resort minding my own business when this gruff-looking guy pulled up a stool next to me and ordered a draft.

We exchanged pleasantries.

He asked me where I was from. I said Cleveland. Then we talked about the big Cavs trade. The upcoming Browns season. Blah. Blah. Blah. Sports. Blah. Blah. Blah.

The conversation hit a lull. And that's when I piped up with my question of the day.

"Soooo, who do you think will win Best Picture tomorrow?"

He stopped mid-drink and looked over at me.

"Best Picture for what?" he asked.

"You know, the Academy Awards" I responded. "The Oscars? Motion Pictures? Movies?"

He paused for what seemed to be an eternity.

"The Academy Awards?" he asked to no one in particular. "Ain't that, like, the Superbowl for Queers?"

"Hmm," I said to my redneck friend. "I really never thought of it that way."

Well, I'm not really sure if the Oscars are, in fact, the Superbowl for Queers; but this movie-loving straight man had a great time watching it last night.

So what was my final tally from last Thursday's predictions....

12 Correct. 12 Wrong.

Yikes, I've got to get to the theater more often!

A couple 'Oscar shockers' (You know, two in the pink one in the stink?):

- Tilda Swinton for Best Supporting Actress. (Not sure if anyone saw this coming. And if you say you did, you're lying.)

- La Vie En Rose (Two surprise wins for this French movie including Best Make-up and Actress)

- Roger Deakins not winning a Best Cinematography Oscar. (Although I'm sure There Will Be Blood is beautiful, Deakins was nominated twice in this category.)

- Visual Effects (I was convinced they'd give it to Transformers. Now, I've got to join the ranks of the satanic heathens and check out The Golden Compass.)

Well, now that the Oscars are over, it's time to concentrate on shitty movies until the fourth installment of Indiana Jones, the Kentucky Derby, NCAA basketball and March Madness!

Plenty of Awards for Old Men

I can live without the Grammys, the Tonys and the Emmys, but I love to watch the Academy Awards.

That said, even though I haven't seen most of the nominated films, I'm going with my gut and giving you my picks for the 2008 Academy Awards (in no particular order):

Best Actor - Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
(I could see the academy giving it to Johnny Depp, but it seems Lewis' performance is too good. Too nasty.)

Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)
(Perhaps the Academy thought they slighted Holbrook for his awesome work in Creepshow and are giving him the sympathy award for INTO THE WILD. But those who have seen No Country are in awe of Bardem's evil performance)

Best Actress - Julie Christie (Away From Her)

Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)
(A lot of people are picking Amy Ryan, but I hear Blanchett was spot-on as Bob Dylan. This is my upset special)

Animated Feature - Ratatouille
(Had Ratatouille not been made this year, I would have put my money on Persepolis. But, in my opinion, Ratatouille should have been a Best Picture nominee. No kidding)

Art Direction - Sweeney Todd

Cinematography - The Assassination of Jesse James
(Roger Deakins is nominated twice in this category for No Country For Old Men. I'm 100% positive he's walking away with a statue on Sunday. Choose your poison. Although I thought Jesse James was a beautiful pic.)

Costume Design - Sweeney Todd
(When it comes to costume design and art direction always bet on black, er, I mean Tim Burton)

Directing - The Coen Brothers
(I wouldn't be surprised if the Academy pulled the ol' Saving Private Ryan and gave the directing award to PTA and best movie to No Country)

Documentary Feature - No End in Sight
(Sicko and Taxi to the Dark Side could sneak in, but i thought No End In Sight was one of the best documentaries I've seen in quite some time.)

Documentary Short - La Corona
(A wild guess)

Film Editing - The Bourne Ultimatum
(I have never lost the best editing category.)

Foreign Language Film - Mongol
(A lot of people, i.e. movie geeks, are eating this movie up. Here's the trailer.)

Makeup - Norbit
(I hated the movie, but the make-up was well done. Pirates already won and, after watching the trailer, I can't imagine what La Vie En Rose did that was so freaking great.)

Original Score - Ratatouille
(Like I said, best picture nominee and the score was french and fun.)

Original Song - "Falling Slowly" from Once
(This is the lock pick of the night.)

Short Film, Animated - Peter & the Wolf
(Click here to see why I chose it. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if Madame Tutli-Putli won too. Check out the wierdness right here.)

Short Film, Live Action -The Substitute

Sound Editing - The Bourne Ultimatum
(Just a hunch.)

Sound Mixing - Ratatouille

(Music, sound effects and voices come together for a great film)

Visual Effects - Transformers
(I heard The Golden Compass creatures were pretty good, but the Transformer robots weren't too shabby either.)

Adapted Screenplay - Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country For Old Men
(How can you not pick the screenplay with the screwed up WTF ending?)

Original Screenplay - Diablo Cody for Juno
(I'm hearing good word on The Savages, but I just can't see NOT giving Juno's Diablo something. I mean, she's a former stripper, which gives hope to anyone that wants to break it in the movie biz.)

Best Picture - No Country For Old Men
(Any other year, There Will Be Blood would have swept the Academy Awards. It's been said the Coen Brothers have directed what may be considered the next Citizen Kane.)

Well there you have it. What do you think about the picks. Do you even care? I'll give you my tally on Monday.