Oscarpalooza... It's Over

The Oscars were held and, as predicted, The Hurt Locker is the Best Picture. Shame of shame - I did not win the Oscar Pool.

Curse you, Red!

I have not been able to duplicate my 2008 win. I declare war. 2011 is my year!! Even though I will be participating long-distance. I have been promised to be skyped in to the Calgary festivities from my new home in Vancouver.

I lost it in the smaller categories... that's where Red got me.

Good on you, Red! But next year - it's on.

The Results... Oscarpalooza

Here's my picks for the Academy Awards in the major categories:

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

Who should win: Up in the Air

Who WILL win: Up in the Air

It won't win for Best Picture, so this will be Reitman's award.

WRITING (ORIGINAL)

Who should win: The Hurt Locker

Who WILL win: Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino will take this category for strong character and imaginative re-telling of WWII.

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Who should win: Christoph Waltz

Who WILL win: Christoph Waltz

Duh. Although I think Stanley Tucci is a distant second.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Who should win: Vera Farmiga

Who WILL win: Mo'Nique

The only reason I thought Vera Farmiga should win is that she did a surprising turn as a woman who out-Clooney'd Clooney. Plus, Precious was not my favourite film. But of course, it would be imbecilic to think that anyone other than Mo'Nique will take this cateory.

BEST ACTOR

Who should win: Jeremy Renner

Who WILL win: Jeff Bridges

Jeff Bridges has the whole "Oscar-for-an-entire-career" thing going for him, but I thought that Jeremy Renner did a fantastic job in The Hurt Locker that I wish he would win.

BEST ACTRESS

Who should win: Sandra Bullock

Who WILL win: Sandra Bullock

I would be surprised if Bullock didn't win. The Blind Side was a touching film and it's about time for a physical comedic actress to take the Oscar. Besides, Meryl already has enough... she can win next year.

BEST DIRECTOR

Who should win: Kathryn Bigelow

Who WILL win: Kathryn Bigelow

I am taking a chance here, but she obviously did the best job, 3-D or no 3-D.

BEST PICTURE

Who should win: The Hurt Locker

Who WILL win: The Hurt Locker

Again, I am taking the anti-Avatar stance here. Avatar was technically impressive, but it didn't have the entire package. The Hurt Locker is the way to go. I think it will have the shocking win!

So there you have it. Let's see how I do!!

Oscarpalooza... 10 out of 10

So, I watched it. And I almost wish I didn't.

Precious was not so precious. I still have emotional bruises. I think I need to read some Archie comics to bring back the goodness and light into my brain.

Yes, it was a well-made film with top-notch acting performances. But I wanted to kill myself after watching it. Or throw the TV off the balcony...

The TV remains safely ensconced in the corner of our tiny hovel and I am writing this blog, so I obviously did not do either.

After Precious I tried to watch some other Oscar films (The Lovely Bones and The Fantastic Mr. Fox), but after Precious, my heart and brain were no longer in it. I made take another stab at The Lovely Bones (no pun intended) before the Oscars tonight.

Up next: My picks for the Oscars!

8.5 hours and counting until the BIG event...

9 Down, 1 to Go...

Alright, so the new job, play rehearsals, and moving combination is not conducive to keeping a blogging schedule. Sue me.

I have seen 9 of the 10 Best Picture nominees... Precious is the only one remaining. Oy.

Last Monday: An Education. Good movie, great lead actress (Carey Mulligan) - I can see why she was nominated. Though it seemed to me to be your standard British film: staid and polite, with a stiff upper lid.

I also saw The Princess and The Frog. Very cute movie, well-written. It was a throwback to the old animated films Disney used to do (you know, before Pixar). The songs were not quite as catchy though.

Tuesday: District 9. Excellent sci-fi flick. Alien apartheid set in South Africa... kind of beats you over the head with the metaphor. The premise is that is the footage of a camera crew following around the main character while he does alien evictions in District 9. Then it switches back to a traditional movie where the camera is the invisible observer. But they still use the hand-held camera, with the shaky-I-am-in-the-action feel. It was a bit distracting.

Wednesday: The Hurt Locker. Best Picture. Period. Well written, well directed, well acted. I think Jeremy Renner should win for Best Actor. (He won't, but he should. He's got chops.) My favourite movie so far.

Thursday: A Serious Man. Seriously - Coen Brothers, what the hell? I do not get it. I chuckled a few times, but really... I did not get it. Red - will you please explain it to me? Red is the resident Coen Brothers expert.

So that leaves Precious. Saturday is the day.

(I still want to see The Lovely Bones, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The Young Victoria. I haven't been able to find The Last Station, The Messenger, and A Single Man though. One last attempt, and then, I give up!)

I will blog about my picks on Sat or Sun morning. Stay tuned!