Academy Award preview

Posted by admin on Feb 17, 2010 in Arts & Culture | 0 comments

We are over halfway through February and, as any self-respecting movie fan knows, that means the Oscars are near. On March 7th, millions of cinephiles around the globe will find out whether or not James Cameron will reign supreme once more as the “king of the world.”

As many have come to expect, there were few surprises when the Oscar nominees were revealed. In fact, the biggest surprise came when The Hurt Locker received as many nominations as Avatar (each are nominated for nine awards), positioning it as a legitimate threat to James Cameron’s crown. Apart from that, however, it was business as usual. 

On the acting side of things, there isn’t much debate as to who will win what. Christoph Waltz is a lock for Best Supporting Actor due to his brilliant portrayal of the “Jew Hunter,” Col. Hans Landa, in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, and Mo’Nique is guaranteed a win for her role in Lee Daniels’ Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (that title is a mouthful). Both have already won Golden Globes in their respective categories, along with a slew of other industry awards.  

As for leadings roles, while many feel that Jeremy Renner’s breakout performance in The Hurt Locker is worthy of a statuette, it is highly unlikely that he’ll be able to upset current frontrunner Jeff Bridges. Bridges has already won a Golden Globe for his turn as Bad Blake in the film Crazy Heart and it is highly likely that he’ll repeat on March 7th. The Best Actress category is a bit tougher to call, however, as both Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep are fighting for an Oscar – Bullock for The Blind Side and Streep for Julie & Julia. With this one, we cannot operate under the assumption that the Golden Globes serve as a predictor of what will happen in the Oscars because each of them received a best actress nod, Bullock in the drama category and Streep in the comedy/musical category. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen in this race, but I think we’ll be seeing Bullock win her first Oscar. 

The biggest question this year is whether or not Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker can beat James Cameron’s titanic Avatar (pun intended). In their continual effort to remain relevant, the Academy has decided to feature 10 films in the category of Best Picture. While this may draw more viewers to the telecast, everyone knows that there are only two films on the list that really matter. The last time James Cameron released a film; it won a record-setting 11 Academy Awards. This year, however, Avatar is almost the underdog. The Hurt Locker has received universal praise from critics and audiences alike, and with a multitude of Best Picture awards already under its belt, the film could dethrone James Cameron’s opus. Kathryn Bigelow is also the favourite to get the nod for Best Director, meaning that she would be the first woman to ever win in that category. Leave it to the Oscars, however, to go with popular opinion. You can’t underestimate the fact this is James Cameron we’re talking about here, and Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all time (unadjusted of course). Just as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave Cameron and Avatar Golden Globes, I wouldn’t put it past the voters to bestow Cameron two more golden statues because an Avatar win would please the viewers. Let’s hope, however, that the Academy gets it right this time, because let’s face it: regardless of how much you loved it, Avatar is not the best film of 2009. Feel free to hate me. 

Our picks: 
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) 
Best Actress: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) 
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) 
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire)
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) 
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker 

For a full list of categories and nominees, visit oscar.go.com