John's (and Erica's) 2010 Oscar Picks

There's a lot of buzz around this year's Academy Awards.


We've got 10 nominees for Best Picture for the first time in decades. We've got big hits (including the biggest hit of all time) in the running for the big prizes. We've got a pair of hosts (Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin) for the first time in recent history.


And now we've got official Oscar picks from me and a very special guest prognosticator! (That's gotta rank right up there with the stuff in the previous paragraph, right?)


It's Saturday night and we just finished watching "A Serious Man", bringing me up to a respectable 8 out of 10 Best Picture nominees watched. (I think Erica quickly got over the fact that it wasn't the one with Colin Firth.)


That's as far as I'm gonna get, so let's get on with the picks!


Best Picture

“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”


John Thinks: "Hurt Locker" will win, "Inglourious Basterds" should win. I liked a lot of these movies (especially "Up in the Air" and "Avatar"), but none of them exhilarated me while also engaging me on an intellectual level the way "Basterds" did.


Erica Thinks: "Avatar" will win, "The Hurt Locker" should win.


Actor in a Leading Role

Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”


John Thinks: Jeff Bridges will win, George Clooney should win. Bridges is the best thing about "Crazy Heart", but it feels like the reason he's going to win it's because it's "his turn", not necessarily because he's the best in this race. I think Renner was excellent, but I'll give Clooney the edge simply because I don't think he's getting the credit he deserves - he made it look easy.

Erica Thinks: Jeff Bridges will win, Jeremy Renner should win.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Matt Damon in “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”


John Thinks: Christoph Waltz will and should win. I said Waltz gave the best performance of any actor this year back when I reviewed the movie in September, and I haven't changed my mind.


Erica Thinks: Christoph Waltz will and should win. ("I felt like he was good in his monologues and his interactions with others - he was awesome. If he wasn't in the movie, it wouldn't have been as good.")

Actress in a Leading Role

Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”


John Thinks: Meryl Streep will and should win. I realize Bullock is the favorite (and the "her turn" factor comes into play here too), but I'm tired (and I suspect members of the Academy are tired) of Streep's excellence being taken for granted.


Erica Thinks: Sandra Bullock will win, Meryl Streep should win.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”


John Thinks: Mo'Nique will win, Anna Kendrick should win. Nothing against Mo'Nique (I didn't get to see "Precious"), but Kendrick's performance was the most pleasant surprise of the year - besides Waltz.


Erica Thinks: Mo'Nique will and should win.

Animated Feature Film

“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up”


John Thinks: "Up" will and should win. I can agree with those who say "Up" isn't Pixar's strongest effort, but it still earned its Best Picture nomination because it really is one of the 10 best movies of the year.


Erica Thinks: "Up" will and should win.

Art Direction

“Avatar”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“The Young Victoria”


John Thinks: "Avatar" will and should win.


Erica Thinks: "Avatar" will win, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" should win. ("Because it's very Imaginarium-tive.")


Cinematography

“Avatar”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“The White Ribbon”


John Thinks: "The Hurt Locker" will and should win. The look of "The Hurt Locker" is probably its most underrated aspect. (Did you know that it was directed by a woman?)


Erica Thinks: "The Hurt Locker" will and should win.

Costume Design

“Bright Star”
“Coco before Chanel”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“The Young Victoria”


John Thinks: "Nine" will win, "The Young Victoria" should win. "Nine" costume designer is one of the few costume designers I've actually heard of, so I'll go with the past Oscar winner.


Erica Thinks: "The Young Victoria" will win, "Coco Before Chanel" should win. ("It must be about fashion, right? So if they got that part right, it should win.")

Directing

“Avatar” James Cameron
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
“Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
“Up in the Air” Jason Reitman


John Thinks: Kathryn Bigelow will and should win. She succeeded where many others who've tried to tackle the Iraq War have failed by mostly eschewing politics and focusing on making a kickass action movie.


Erica Thinks: James Cameron will win, Quentin Tarantino should win.

Documentary (Feature)

“Burma VJ”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
“Which Way Home”


John Thinks: "The Cove" will, and should win. I don't get out to too many documentaries, so these will all be shots in the dark.


Erica Thinks: "Food Inc." will and should win.

Documentary (Short Subject)

“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
“Music by Prudence”
“Rabbit à la Berlin”


John Thinks: "Music by Prudence" will win, "Rabbit a la Berlin" should win. I don't really think "Rabbit a la Berlin" should win (I haven't seen any of these) - it was just the easiest one to type.


Erica Thinks: "The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant" will win, "The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner." ("Because we're never going to see another campaign again - it's the last one.)


Film Editing

“Avatar”
“District 9”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”


John Thinks: "Avatar" will win, "Inglourious Basterds" should win. Sally Menke ("Basterds") is one of the best editors in the business, and she deserves an Oscar one day.


Erica Thinks: "Inglourious Basterds" will and should win.

Foreign Language Film

“Ajami” Israel
“The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada)” Peru
“A Prophet (Un Prophète)” France
“The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)” Argentina
“The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)” Germany


John Thinks: "The White Ribbon" will win, "A Prophet" should win. I hear "A Prophet" is amazing.


Erica Thinks: "The White Ribbon" will and should win. ("Because I saw it was nominated for another award.")

Makeup

“Il Divo”
“Star Trek”
“The Young Victoria”


John Thinks: "Star Trek" will and should win.


Erica Thinks: "Star Trek" will and should win. I guess those Romulan tattoos left an impression on both of us.


Music (Original Score)

“Avatar”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“Up”


John Thinks: "Up" will and should win. Michael Giacchino ("Lost") is a genius and he deserves an Oscar.


Erica Thinks: "Up" will and should win.

Music (Original Song)

“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog”
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog”
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36”
“Take It All” from “Nine”
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart”


John Thinks: "The Weary Kind" will and should win. Actually, I thought "Fallin' and Flying" AND "I Don't Know" were both better picks from "Crazy Heart", but "The Weary Kind" will win.


Erica Thinks: "The Weary Kind" will and should win.


Short Film (Animated)

“French Roast”
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty”
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)”
“Logorama”
“A Matter of Loaf and Death”


John Thinks: "A Matter of Loaf and Death" will and should win. If there's one thing I like more than the Oscars, it's a cheesy pun.


Erica Thinks: "Logorama" will win, "A Matter of Loaf and Death" should win. ("I don't know.")

Short Film (Live Action)

“The Door”
“Instead of Abracadabra”
“Kavi”
“Miracle Fish”
“The New Tenants”

John Thinks: "Miracle Fish" will win, "Instead of Abacadabra" should win. "Miracle Fish" just came about at the right time - this Oscar should belong to "Instead of Abacadabra" but these things are SO political! (Obviously, I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Erica Thinks: "The New Tenants" will win, "Kavi" should win.

Sound Editing

“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Up”

John Thinks: "Avatar" will and should win.

Erica Thinks: "The Hurt Locker" will and should win.

Sound Mixing

“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

John Thinks: "Avatar" will and should win. Ok, so this is the part where I usually make a joke about not knowing the difference between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. This year, I actually went online and tried to learn what the difference is - and I still don't get it. I'm hopeless. Please help!

Erica Thinks: "Avatar" will win, "The Hurt Locker" should win.

Visual Effects

"Avatar"
"District 9"
"Star Trek"

John Thinks: "Avatar" will and should win. "Star Trek" and "District 9" are both EXCELLENT candidates and it's a shame that they don't stand a chance against the unbeatable (and deserving) "Avatar."

Erica Thinks: "Avatar" will and should win.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“District 9”
“An Education”
“In the Loop”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire"

"Up in the Air"

John Thinks: "Up in the Air" will and should win. It's the one award "Up in the Air" will (deservedly) pick up.

Erica Thinks: "An Education" will win, "Precious" should win.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“The Messenger”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”

John Thinks: "Inglourious Basterds" will and should win. "The Hurt Locker" is the favorite, but this is the best chance for the Academy to honor Quentin Tarantino.

Erica Thinks: "The Hurt Locker" will win, "A Serious Man" should win. I guess "A Serious Man" made some kind of impression.