Oscar Nominations

The Academy Awards are quickly approaching (eeeeeeeek!), and it’s that time to post my predictions, along with snubs in some of the major categories. No stealing my answers!

Best Actor: Colin Firth. He blew competition out of the water with his inspired performance in “The King’s Speech.” To be honest, no other nominee has a fighting chance. But I was impressed with the other nominations in this category (Jesse Eisenberg was an odd but fitting choice).

Best Actress: Natalie Portman.  I may have thoroughly disliked “Black Swan,” but I’d be a complete fool not to admit she was fantastic in it. Annette Bening is her main competition in this race, but I didn’t really like her all that much in “The Kids Are Alright.”

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale. Seriously, they might as well just hand him the Oscar now. Geoffrey Rush was great in “King’s Speech,” but Bale truly blew him out of the water. He really became his character, and that shined through his performance.

            SNUB: Andrew Garfield. The poor guy didn’t get nominated for a single thing for his performance in “The Social Network.” He was the much needed lightness and sometimes comic relief next to Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg.

Best Supporting Actress: This is going to be a battle between “The Fighter” girls, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. In the end though, I don’t think Adams’ departure from cutesy romantic comedies will be enough to overshadow Leo’s performance. She’s already one a Golden Globe and SAG award for this role, and it’s likely the trend will continue on.

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network. Sorkin is known for his witty dialogue, and this is his chance to be recognized for it. Some might say True Grit is the main competitor, but since this is a remake of a movie, I doubt it will hold as much weight with the Academy.

            SNUB: The Town. Unfortunately, I wasn’t expecting too many nominations for this film, since it is being touted as a strong “genre piece.” However, I’ve read the novel it was based off of, and I must say that Affleck did a fantastic job brining it to the big screen. We all know he is a gifted screen writer (aka his Oscar-winning piece “Good Will Hunting”), and I’m a bit shocked that the academy hasn’t recognized his efforts as of late (both films he has directed have garnered nominations in the “supporting actor/actress categories: Amy Ryan for “Gone Baby, Gone” and Jeremy Renner for “The Town”). I’m confused as to why “Toy Story 3” got nominated in this category. Sure, I loved it, but I’m not so sure it belongs with the other heavy-hitters in this category.

Best Original Screenplay: Inception. This category has stiff competition this year, with films like “The Fighter” and “The King’s Speech,” but this truly was the most inspired screenplay of the year. Plus, Nolan has paid his dues in this industry, and frankly deserves something after all these years.

Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3. I loved “How To Train Your Dragon,” but based off the support Toy Story has gotten, frankly I’d be shocked if it didn’t win.

Best Director: This is another competitive category this year, with nominees Aronofsky, the Coen Brothers, David Fincher, and Tom Hooper. Ultimately, I don’t think the Coen Brothers will strike gold again, but picking between the other three might be difficult. Aronofsky hasn’t received many (if any) awards this season for his directing, so based on that he’s out. Hooper and Fincher have been neck and neck for the entire awards season, but ultimately I think the award will go to Hooper for “The King’s Speech.”

            SNUB: Christopher Nolan. How the HELL did he not get nominated for “Inception?” I haven’t seen “True Grit” yet, but I’m a bit confused as to why the Coen Brothers are nominated in this category. Congrats, you remade a classic western and switched up the dialogue a bit. Let’s award some creativity here!

Best Picture: Again, very tight race. However, I think The Social Network will walk away with this one. It’s an edgy pick for the academy, and it’s been doing well in this category for other awards. But I could see “The King’s Speech” taking this one as well.