Today the Academy Award nominees were announced. I’m currently suffering from sore wrists, so I’m keeping things brief as possible. Just the list of nominees with some of my thoughts on each category.
Best Picture
“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”
It’s not secret that I’m not a fan of The Blind Side, but I’ve come to peace with its nod. Fact is it’s a hugely popular film, and it’s not the first time a film of this kind has been nominated for best picture (Rocky, Titanic, The Fugitive, etc). The rest of the nominees are pretty darn good. I just wish (500) Days of Summer, Star Trek, or The Cove had made it.
Best Director
James Cameron, “Avatar”
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
“Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
“Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”
No surprises there. Exactly the same five nominees that were nominated for the DGAs (Director’s Guild).
Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”
Again, no surprises. These are the same five actors who have been nominated by nearly every awards group this year. I wish Matt Damon (The Informant), Sam Rockwell (Moon) or Ben Foster (The Messenger) had a shot, but the category was just too crowded this year.
Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”
Again, the same five actresses who have been dominating the awards race. I would’ve been happy if Sandra Bullock had been replaced by Abbie Cornish (Bright Star) or Katie Jarvis (Fish Tank), but they’re movies were too small and Bullock just can’t be stopped.
Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, “Invictus”
Woody Harrelon, “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Yup, no surprises once again. I personally thought Damon’s performance was on the boring side. Maybe they wanted to nominate him here since they knew he wouldn’t get nominated in the lead category? It’s a shame Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) didn’t get a nod.
Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, “Nine”
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique, “Precious”
I haven’t seen Nine or Crazy Heart, so I don’t have much to say here. I would’ve liked to see Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) or Samantha Morton (The Messenger) sneak in.
Best Adapted Screenplay
“District 9”
“An Education”
“In the Loop”
“Precious”
“Up in the Air”
I’m extremely happy to see In the Loop’s nomination. Also would’ve liked it if they recognized the great animated adaptations (Fantastic Mr. Fox/Coraline), but I’ll take what I can get.
Best Original Screenplay
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“The Messenger”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
Wasn’t really expecting The Messenger to get recognized here. It probably got in at the expense of (500) Days of Summer, which is kinda sad. Both films have great screenplays.
Best Animated Feature Film
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up”
Was NOT expecting The Secret of Kells to get a nod. It was one of my favourite animated films of the year, so I’m filled with joy. It’s sad that Ponyo got the snub. There were simply too many good animated films to choose from.
Best Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” (Israel)
“The Milk of Sorrow” (Peru)
“A Prophet” (France)
“The Secret in Their Eyes” (Argentina)
“The White Ribbon” (Germany)
All I have seen is The White Ribbon, so no comment.
Best Art Direction
“Avatar”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“The Young Victoria”
Best Cinematography
“Avatar”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“The Hurt Locker”
“The White Ribbon”
Pleased to see Bruno Delbonnel’s beautiful Harry Potter work recognized here. Great slate of nominees in this category. Bright Star and Lovely Bones both had lovely cinematography that deserved notice.
Best Costume Design
“Bright Star”
“Coco Before Chanel”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“The Young Victoria”
It’s nice that Bright Star got SOMETHING I guess. Inglourious Basterds, Watchmen, Sherlock Holmes, Where the Wild Things Are, and Fantastic Mr Fox have sadly been ignored.
Best Film Editing
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”
I expected Star Trek or Up in the Air to get in over Precious. It’s no surprise though. Best Picture nominees always dominate this category.
Best Makeup
“Il Divo”
“Star Trek”
“The Young Victoria”
Where are Dr. Parnassus, District 9 and/or Drag Me to Hell?
Best Music (Original Score)
“Avatar”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“Up”
The Informant! was snubbed! I was shocked by The Hurt Locker’s nod. Good work from Marco Beltrami, but it’s only noticable for a few minutes during the film.
Best 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” from “Crazy Heart”
Crazy Heart SHOULD take this in a cakewalk.
Best Sound Editing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Up”
I don’t have much to say about the Sound categories other than that I thought Drag Me to Hell had amazing sound work. Oh, and Lovely Bones had some nice Sound Mixing.
Best Sound Mixing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
Best Visual Effects
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“Star Trek”
Avatar has this in the bag.
Best Documentary Feature
“Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
“Which Way Home”
Best Documentary Short
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
“The Last Campaign of Booth Gardener”
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
“Music by Prudence”
“Rabbit a la Berlin”
Best Short Film (Animated)
“French Roast”
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty”
“The Lady and the Reaper”
“Logorama”
“A Matter of Loaf and Death”
Best Short Film (Live Action)
“The Door”
“Instead of Abracadabra”
“Kavi”
“Miracle Fish”
“The New Tenants”