As you all may, or may not, know I pretty much cream my shorts for American Idol.
I don't care what anyone says, it's the best reality competition show on TV.
This season however, has been a (almost) complete shitshow.
Before I go off on whats wrong, and not wrong, with this season, let me give you my Idol background. Meaning let me explain to you why I love this show so much.
American Idol is one of those shows that you don't casually watch, nobody really likes American Idol. You must either LOVE it or HATE it. I've never met anyone who says "It's okay". I have heard both: "I'm fucking obsessed!!!" and "That show is annoying."
I, obviusly, love the show and everything about it, except Kara "Dumb-ass" Dioguardi but I'll talk about her later.
Here are the reasons I love Idol, and also the things that just make it so darn special to my heart:
-Simon Cowell, is the best judge on any show ever in the history of TV shows.
-The auditons: I love the really bad/hilarious (William Hung-She Bangs) to the amazing ones (Carrie Underwood, Kristy Lee Cook-even though she ended up being a joke). And of course every one in a while an audition becomes legendary (Pants on the Ground.)
-Hollywood Week: Also known as Hell Week. This is when the judges weed out the bad, from the really bad and the good from the really good. It makes for the best fucking television around. Fighting, tears, laryngitis, etc.
-The Ford Commercials: This isn't something I love about the show, but those commercials are always a good laugh. . .because they're soooo bad.
-Idol Gives Back: This is a new aspect of the show. Once a season, or every other season now, Idol has one episode that is dedicated to giving money to charities. I just like it cus they always get legit people to perform (K. Clark, Celine Dion, Miley Cyrus).
-Mentors: I love when Idol gets down to like 11 or 10 contestants cus that's when they break out the sometimes ridiculous, sometimes honest, mentors. The mentors are usually someone who is a famous singer and they usually helps the contestants with that weeks theme. Some highlights from mentors past include: Quentin Tarantino during Songs from Movies week (he was really good actually, Jamie Foxx during Big Band week (he was terrible), Jennifer Lopez during Latin week (good), Gwen Stefani during Gwen Stefani/No Doubt week (terrible), etc.
-The Theme Song: I FUCKING LOVE THE IDOL THEME SONG. It's probs the best theme song for a singing competition ever. The best part, it has NO LYRICS.
-The Coca-Cola cups: I want one of those god damn red cups the judges drink out of sooooo bad. For real.
-Paula Abdul, R.I.P: Once upon a time there was a judge on American Idol that literally had no fucking idea what was going on half the time. She wore the most ridiculous things, said the most incoherrent phrases, and clapped in the most awkward way ever. SHE WAS AMAZING.
My favorite Paula Abdul moment is when she judged both of Jason Castro's performances when he had only performed his first song. LOL. It hasn't been the same without her.
Now time for the list of things that I don't like about Idol this season:
-Kara "Dumbass" DioGuardi: Kara is a dumbass, literally she is a DUMBASS. She doesn't know anything about anything. Her facts are always wrong and she is trying way too damn hard to be the "cool" judge. Sorry bitch, but you and you're ridiculous mouth will never be cool, that's Simon's job. And Ellen's. And even Randy's. FIRE KARA.
-Amateurs: I've been watching Idol for 9 years now and let me just say there has never been such an untalented Top 12 ever. EVER. Paige Miles is complete shit. Katie Stevens is off pitch half the time. Tim Urban is a joke. Andrew Garcia looks like an idiot everytime his mouth opens. My god AND to make things worse this could all have been avoided if they would've just not kicked off Lilly (amazing), Katelyn (amazing), and Alex (amazing).
-The Lack of Drama: Each season of Idol comes with a scandal. Last season it was the tons of contestants that went to Hollywood even thought half of them had already had record deals and albums out before. And then there's Paula's affair that one year, and all those girls who've had nudey pics. This season there's nothing besides Crystal going to the hospital for diabetes. YAWN.
-Big Mike: I hate him. I just do.
To be fair there are some redeeming qualities about this season. There's Crystal Bowersox who is quickly becoming my favorite Idol contestant EVER. And Siobhan (amazing), Aaron Kelly (getting better), Didi Benami (she could be great if she picked better songs) and some others.
Also, Ellen Degeneres is a great addition to the judging table it would help if she was a tad bit meaner than she already is, I like her honesty but she's still trying too hard to be funny sometimes.
That's it on my Idol thoughts. Enjoy the rest of the season, I know I will (especially if Big Mike leaves next week).
Black Swan
"I was perfect"
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
People Who Don't Read, Are Dumb Part II.
Sorry, the first part of this post kind of went off on a tangent. I'm just a really passionate person, FALSE. Anyway, so what the point of this post was supposed to be is that people need to read more books, comics, graphic novels, hell even magazines. For every movie or tv show you love I guarantee there is a book/book series that fits the same genre and is probably better than the movie/tv show. For example, say you love watching movies that deal with Kings and Queens and the medieval times. Movies like Lord of the Rings, which itself is a book series, then you should read the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin because it will change your life completely. The Acacia series is also really good high fantasy. Let's say you love T.V. shows that deal with family drama, like Brothers and Sisters, Everwood, Friday Night Lights, or even One Tree Hill (which is a terrible show now, btw) then you should read The Pact or Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Both equally AMAZING books.
There are also amazing graphic novels and comic books out there that only seem to become popular when the movie comes out. But let me let you in on a secret, for every major superhero movie there is a comic book/graphic novel based on the same character(s) that is even better. The Dark Knight
NO. Reading a book just because you have seen the movie or are going to see the movie doesn't really make you a reader. If you saw Twilight, then read Twilight then read The House of Night novels or the Bluebloods series you are not a reader. You are a FREAK who is obsessed with Vampires, and for the record vampires don't sparkle, they burn in the sun and it's not spelled Vampyre, ITS VAMPIRE. I can understand reading a book because you liked the movie and then reading more books by the same author because you are just expanding your horizons. The only vampire series worth reading Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series which is what True Blood is based off of, also The Vampire Diaries is a good series but I feel the T.V. show is way better. Same for True Blood.
That's basically all I wanted to say in this post.
Oh and here is my current reading list:
I am reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and then I will read, in no particular order. . .
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
The Other Lands, by David Anthony Durham
City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann
Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Under the Dome, by Stephen King
The Georgia Nicolson Series, by Louise Rennison
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
American Vampire, by Scott Snyder
and Finally
Watership Down, by Richard Adams
Yeesh that's a huge list.
But whatever, I plan on reading most of those this summer if my concert going doesn't get in the way (expect a post on my future concerts soon.)
See ya, wouldn't want to be ya.
There are also amazing graphic novels and comic books out there that only seem to become popular when the movie comes out. But let me let you in on a secret, for every major superhero movie there is a comic book/graphic novel based on the same character(s) that is even better. The Dark Knight
NO. Reading a book just because you have seen the movie or are going to see the movie doesn't really make you a reader. If you saw Twilight, then read Twilight then read The House of Night novels or the Bluebloods series you are not a reader. You are a FREAK who is obsessed with Vampires, and for the record vampires don't sparkle, they burn in the sun and it's not spelled Vampyre, ITS VAMPIRE. I can understand reading a book because you liked the movie and then reading more books by the same author because you are just expanding your horizons. The only vampire series worth reading Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series which is what True Blood is based off of, also The Vampire Diaries is a good series but I feel the T.V. show is way better. Same for True Blood.
That's basically all I wanted to say in this post.
Oh and here is my current reading list:
I am reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and then I will read, in no particular order. . .
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
The Other Lands, by David Anthony Durham
City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann
Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Under the Dome, by Stephen King
The Georgia Nicolson Series, by Louise Rennison
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
American Vampire, by Scott Snyder
and Finally
Watership Down, by Richard Adams
Yeesh that's a huge list.
But whatever, I plan on reading most of those this summer if my concert going doesn't get in the way (expect a post on my future concerts soon.)
See ya, wouldn't want to be ya.
Friday, March 19, 2010
People Who Don't Read, Are Dumb.
Last night I finally (after about five months of reading) finished Stephen King's The Stand. A 1000+ page book, it wasn't the best King book I've read; that honor goes the The Dark Tower Series, especially Book 4:Wizard and Glass.
Anyway, after reading the last page of that epic, monster, brilliant novel I got the same feeling that I usually get when I finish a really good book/series. I felt a like a burden has been lifted, because when I undertake the task of reading a book/book series there's always that point when I have to make the decision to either stop reading now or continue on even if the story becomes pure shit and I become dissatisfied with the ending. That point of no return can come within the first chapter or up until the second to last book in a series.
This rule that I give myself when reading can sometimes bite me in the ass, really hard. For example, I read Twilight about four years ago, way before the desperate virgin fangbangers gobbled it up. After reading the first book, I'm not gonna lie I liked it, I was eager to read New Moon and there was a point in New Moon where I realized that I had to finish this incredibly cheesy story. It was when Edward breaks up with Bella and is basically gone for over half the novel. I thought Stephenie Mormanface Meyer was being bold by removing Bella's pretty boyfriend from the narrative for so long. That was my point of no return for that series. Then Breaking Dawn came around and I completely regretted ever going through with that series. Breaking Dawn is pure idiot writing. I don't want to talk about it. It was just terrible. But I accepted the ending and decided that that book had just ruined the entire series. Way to go Mormanface.
The point I'm trying to make with my point of no return is that if you are going to start a book/book series you need to decided at some point to either finish it or not. If you decide the story isn't for you and you stop reading, that's fine. BUT (and this is one of my commandments in life) if you decide to finish you must accept that the ending that was written is the only ending for that story. I HATE when people finish a book and say "I hated the ending, that's not how it should've ended. So-and-so shouldn't have died." The books is that the story and characters are copyrighted for a reason. Because they are the author's stories and characters, and ONLY the author, the original author, has the ultimate say in how a story is supposed to end. Because they created it, they see the story in their minds before they even write it. IT'S THEIR STORY, THEIR ENDING, THE ENDING CAN'T BE WRONG BECAUSE IT'S THEIR STORY.
It's hard to remind myself of this fact of life after reading shit like Breaking Dawn. I just have to let the ending rest in my mind and thoughts for a day or two and finally accept that that's the ending to the story and those characters and nothing else could've happened. The End. For example, the ending to the Dark Tower series is completely controversial. It has split fans down the middle and more people probably hate it than like it. When I first read it, I felt completely cheated. I didn't know what to do. I closed the book and sat there for at least fifteen minutes contemplating what had just happened. However, the next day I re-read the last couple of pages and it the ending made sense to me and even though I still wished it had ended differently I accepted it.
I just decided that this post is going to be a two-parter. Part Two will be posted sometime tomorrow.
Kay-bye.
Anyway, after reading the last page of that epic, monster, brilliant novel I got the same feeling that I usually get when I finish a really good book/series. I felt a like a burden has been lifted, because when I undertake the task of reading a book/book series there's always that point when I have to make the decision to either stop reading now or continue on even if the story becomes pure shit and I become dissatisfied with the ending. That point of no return can come within the first chapter or up until the second to last book in a series.
This rule that I give myself when reading can sometimes bite me in the ass, really hard. For example, I read Twilight about four years ago, way before the desperate virgin fangbangers gobbled it up. After reading the first book, I'm not gonna lie I liked it, I was eager to read New Moon and there was a point in New Moon where I realized that I had to finish this incredibly cheesy story. It was when Edward breaks up with Bella and is basically gone for over half the novel. I thought Stephenie Mormanface Meyer was being bold by removing Bella's pretty boyfriend from the narrative for so long. That was my point of no return for that series. Then Breaking Dawn came around and I completely regretted ever going through with that series. Breaking Dawn is pure idiot writing. I don't want to talk about it. It was just terrible. But I accepted the ending and decided that that book had just ruined the entire series. Way to go Mormanface.
The point I'm trying to make with my point of no return is that if you are going to start a book/book series you need to decided at some point to either finish it or not. If you decide the story isn't for you and you stop reading, that's fine. BUT (and this is one of my commandments in life) if you decide to finish you must accept that the ending that was written is the only ending for that story. I HATE when people finish a book and say "I hated the ending, that's not how it should've ended. So-and-so shouldn't have died." The books is that the story and characters are copyrighted for a reason. Because they are the author's stories and characters, and ONLY the author, the original author, has the ultimate say in how a story is supposed to end. Because they created it, they see the story in their minds before they even write it. IT'S THEIR STORY, THEIR ENDING, THE ENDING CAN'T BE WRONG BECAUSE IT'S THEIR STORY.
It's hard to remind myself of this fact of life after reading shit like Breaking Dawn. I just have to let the ending rest in my mind and thoughts for a day or two and finally accept that that's the ending to the story and those characters and nothing else could've happened. The End. For example, the ending to the Dark Tower series is completely controversial. It has split fans down the middle and more people probably hate it than like it. When I first read it, I felt completely cheated. I didn't know what to do. I closed the book and sat there for at least fifteen minutes contemplating what had just happened. However, the next day I re-read the last couple of pages and it the ending made sense to me and even though I still wished it had ended differently I accepted it.
I just decided that this post is going to be a two-parter. Part Two will be posted sometime tomorrow.
Kay-bye.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Paris, Texas: Home, Sweet Home.
Two days ago my partner in crime, the legendary Sarah Henry, and I made an epic voyage through southeastern Oklahoma to visit Paris, Texas. Needless to say the voyage itself was one big clusterfun. But it wasn't until we drove into Paris that I truly felt this trip had meant something.
Paris is unlike any other city, or Paris, in the world. The city itself knows it's probably the most ridiculous place in America and I like that everyone in Paris is in on the joke as well.
First of all, they have a replica of the Eiffel Tower with a cowboy hat on top! How can you not fall in love with that?! The fountain in the middle of downtown Paris is filled with bubbles! Like a giant hot tub! It's amazing. There's even a statue of Jesus in the cemetary. . .and the statue is wearing cowboy boots. Brilliant.
I am completely head over heels in love with Paris and I am going to hopefully get my ass back down there sometime this year. It's beautiful.
Paris is unlike any other city, or Paris, in the world. The city itself knows it's probably the most ridiculous place in America and I like that everyone in Paris is in on the joke as well.
First of all, they have a replica of the Eiffel Tower with a cowboy hat on top! How can you not fall in love with that?! The fountain in the middle of downtown Paris is filled with bubbles! Like a giant hot tub! It's amazing. There's even a statue of Jesus in the cemetary. . .and the statue is wearing cowboy boots. Brilliant.
I am completely head over heels in love with Paris and I am going to hopefully get my ass back down there sometime this year. It's beautiful.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Random Tuesday Update.
Sooo I've been a lazy little shit about updating this little doodad. This is going to be a quick and informative update on what is currently going on with me, life, and pop culture.
-I am finally watching American Idol this season. Currently my favorites are Katelyn, Siobhan, Alex Lambert, and Lilly. Crystal is, of course, fucking amazing and she is def my number one. P.S. Kara DioGuardi is a fucking idiot, I want to drop kick her bigass grill everytime she opens her mouth, and Ellen is cool.
-LOST had a rough start in my opinion but it's definitely building up to something thats going to blow my mind. Tonight's ep was especially kickass, I'm thinking about starting up a LOST Recap on here. Thoughts?
-You guys have no idea how excited I am that Lauren Graham is back on my TV. She is doing beautifully on Parenthood, it's a really good show. Like Brothers and Sisters without the millions of dollars.
-Also, I am completely caught up on Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Desperate Housewives, Real Housewives (which I'll get to in a sec), Parks and Recreation. I will soon catch up on Vamp. Diaries, Supernatural, Big Love, Ugly Betty, Chuck, and Life UneXpected. Patience everyone, Patience.
-P.S. Alice in Wonderland SUCKED.
-I went to see Shutter Island but I fell asleep like 20 mins into it and everytime I woke up wierd shit would come on screen so I just gave up and woke up at the end and still understood everything. Make of that what you will.
-P.S. Grey's Anatomy is good TV again.
-I got 17 Oscar predictions right. Fuck Bullock.
-Movies I'm excited to see that are coming soon: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, How to Train Your Dragon (3-D), Clash of the Titans, The Last Song (send it on), Kick-Ass.
The biggest news I have is that I have 1(!!!!!!!!!!!) follower, YAY ME.
Thank you follower, spread the word about my blog!!!!!!!!
-I am finally watching American Idol this season. Currently my favorites are Katelyn, Siobhan, Alex Lambert, and Lilly. Crystal is, of course, fucking amazing and she is def my number one. P.S. Kara DioGuardi is a fucking idiot, I want to drop kick her bigass grill everytime she opens her mouth, and Ellen is cool.
-LOST had a rough start in my opinion but it's definitely building up to something thats going to blow my mind. Tonight's ep was especially kickass, I'm thinking about starting up a LOST Recap on here. Thoughts?
-You guys have no idea how excited I am that Lauren Graham is back on my TV. She is doing beautifully on Parenthood, it's a really good show. Like Brothers and Sisters without the millions of dollars.
-Also, I am completely caught up on Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Desperate Housewives, Real Housewives (which I'll get to in a sec), Parks and Recreation. I will soon catch up on Vamp. Diaries, Supernatural, Big Love, Ugly Betty, Chuck, and Life UneXpected. Patience everyone, Patience.
-P.S. Alice in Wonderland SUCKED.
-I went to see Shutter Island but I fell asleep like 20 mins into it and everytime I woke up wierd shit would come on screen so I just gave up and woke up at the end and still understood everything. Make of that what you will.
-P.S. Grey's Anatomy is good TV again.
-I got 17 Oscar predictions right. Fuck Bullock.
-Movies I'm excited to see that are coming soon: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, How to Train Your Dragon (3-D), Clash of the Titans, The Last Song (send it on), Kick-Ass.
The biggest news I have is that I have 1(!!!!!!!!!!!) follower, YAY ME.
Thank you follower, spread the word about my blog!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
EMILIO'S ANNUAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS!!!! :D !!!!! WOOO HOOO, the only opinion that matters.
Hey friends and stalkers, it's finally time to announce my Oscar predictions for this year's Academy Awards Ceremony.
I like to cover both the big races (Actor, Actress, Picture) and the minor ones (Costumes, Make-Up, Sound Editing).
Here we go. . .
And remember, my predictions are usually pretty correct. And this year's races aren't very close anyway.
Best Picture:
Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air.
SHOULD/WILL WIN: The Hurt Locker. It's one the WGA, PGA, and the DGA. The PGA Awards almost always win the Oscar and it's just an amazing film. Avatar is the only other film that could win, also I'm not completely ruling out Inglourious Basterds, it's getting more and more supporters as the race goes on.
Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
James Cameron, Avatar
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Kathryn Bigelow. Only an expert filmmaker could've captured the intensity and preciseness of The Hurt Locker like she did. She is like the anti-James Cameron (fun fact: they were once married) who likes big bold visuals. She goes for the nitty gritty nailbiter images. It's definitely hers to lose. (fun fact: if she wins, she'll be the first woman ever to win this award)
Best Actress:
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
SHOULD WIN: Carey Mulligan. There's still a chance that this pint sized brilliant actress can steal the trophy. But really this one's between Meryl and Sandra, and while Sandra has been cleaning up at every awards show the winner will be. . .
WILL WIN: Meryl Streep. I just honestly don't see the Academy rewarding Sandra for a movie just because she was decent in it and it wasn't a romantic comedy. Meryl completely dominated as Julia Child. She deserves it so much more.
Best Actor:
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Jeff Bridges. He's literally won every award this season that matters. Nobody is competition anymore. However, Jeremy is gaining more and more support. Colin Firth was so heartbreaking in A Single Man and he won the BAFTA, but there's no real competition here. Congrats, Jeff.
Best Supporting Actress:
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Mo'Nique, Precious
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Mo'Nique, surest win of the year.
Best Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Matt Damon, Invictus,
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Christoph Waltz. He gave an absolute acting master class in Basterds. Charming, frighening, hilarious, and manipulative. He's had this award since last summer when the film opened in Cannes. However, I wouldn't be too upset if Woody snuck in a win, he gave the best performance of his career in The Messenger.
Best Original Screenplay:
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
The Hurt Locker
Up
A Serious Man
SHOULD WIN: Inglourious Basterds. Just for having the balls to re-write history. Up I think has the biggest chance that any animated film has had at winning this award.
WILL WIN: The Hurt Locker. It won the Writer's Guild Award, it's win here isn't certain but it has the best chance.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
An Education
Up in the Air
Precious
In the Loop
District 9
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Up in the Air. Jason Reitman took the book and completely transformed it into a beautiful and subdued screenplay.
Best Cinematography:
The Hurt Locker
The White Ribbon
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Avatar. James Cameron is a visual genius.
Best Sound Editing:
Avatar
Star Trek
Up
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Avatar. Just expect Avatar to win at least three or four of these technical prizes. Maybe 5
Best Sound Mixing:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Star Trek
Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Avatar. Remember that Pandora wasn't just a beautiful place to look at, it also had very distinct sounds and noises in the background.
Best Film Editing:
District 9
Avatar
Precious
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: The Hurt Locker. So much of the tension of that film comes from the precise editing.
Best Make-Up:
Il Divo
The Young Victoria
Star Trek
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Star Trek. It all depends on the taste of this years voters. They may go for the over the top alien prosthetics, or maybe the classic beauty of The Young Victoria. Because there are so many nominations for Sci-Fi films this year I'm going with Star Trek.
Best Costume Design:
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria
SHOULD/WILL WIN: The Young Victoria. Never bet against an old school period film in a category like this. Never.
Best Original Score:
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Sherlock Holmes
Up
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Up. The movie wouldn't have been as heartbreaking without the beautiful music to back it up.
Best Original Song:
Almost There, The Princess and the Frog
Down in New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog
Loin de Paname, Paris 36
Take it All, Nine
The Weary Kind, Crazy Heart
Should Win: Take it All. BEST MOMENT OF THAT MOVIE was Marion tearing it up with this song.
Will Win: The Weary Kind. This Crazy Heart song has been picking up lots of awards this season. The Princess and the Frog would've had a stronger chance with just one nominated song, most recent films with more than one song nominated (Dreamgirls, Enchanted) don't end up winning.
Best Animated Film:
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Coraline
The Princess and the Frog
Up
The Secret of Kells
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Up. No competition here. I mean it is nominated for Best Picture.
Best Visual Effects:
Avatar
Star Trek
District 9
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Avatar. The only award that James Cameron is guaranteed to win.
I like to cover both the big races (Actor, Actress, Picture) and the minor ones (Costumes, Make-Up, Sound Editing).
Here we go. . .
And remember, my predictions are usually pretty correct. And this year's races aren't very close anyway.
Best Picture:
Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air.
SHOULD/WILL WIN: The Hurt Locker. It's one the WGA, PGA, and the DGA. The PGA Awards almost always win the Oscar and it's just an amazing film. Avatar is the only other film that could win, also I'm not completely ruling out Inglourious Basterds, it's getting more and more supporters as the race goes on.
Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
James Cameron, Avatar
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Kathryn Bigelow. Only an expert filmmaker could've captured the intensity and preciseness of The Hurt Locker like she did. She is like the anti-James Cameron (fun fact: they were once married) who likes big bold visuals. She goes for the nitty gritty nailbiter images. It's definitely hers to lose. (fun fact: if she wins, she'll be the first woman ever to win this award)
Best Actress:
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
SHOULD WIN: Carey Mulligan. There's still a chance that this pint sized brilliant actress can steal the trophy. But really this one's between Meryl and Sandra, and while Sandra has been cleaning up at every awards show the winner will be. . .
WILL WIN: Meryl Streep. I just honestly don't see the Academy rewarding Sandra for a movie just because she was decent in it and it wasn't a romantic comedy. Meryl completely dominated as Julia Child. She deserves it so much more.
Best Actor:
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Jeff Bridges. He's literally won every award this season that matters. Nobody is competition anymore. However, Jeremy is gaining more and more support. Colin Firth was so heartbreaking in A Single Man and he won the BAFTA, but there's no real competition here. Congrats, Jeff.
Best Supporting Actress:
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Mo'Nique, Precious
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Mo'Nique, surest win of the year.
Best Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Matt Damon, Invictus,
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Christoph Waltz. He gave an absolute acting master class in Basterds. Charming, frighening, hilarious, and manipulative. He's had this award since last summer when the film opened in Cannes. However, I wouldn't be too upset if Woody snuck in a win, he gave the best performance of his career in The Messenger.
Best Original Screenplay:
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
The Hurt Locker
Up
A Serious Man
SHOULD WIN: Inglourious Basterds. Just for having the balls to re-write history. Up I think has the biggest chance that any animated film has had at winning this award.
WILL WIN: The Hurt Locker. It won the Writer's Guild Award, it's win here isn't certain but it has the best chance.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
An Education
Up in the Air
Precious
In the Loop
District 9
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Up in the Air. Jason Reitman took the book and completely transformed it into a beautiful and subdued screenplay.
Best Cinematography:
The Hurt Locker
The White Ribbon
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Avatar. James Cameron is a visual genius.
Best Sound Editing:
Avatar
Star Trek
Up
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Avatar. Just expect Avatar to win at least three or four of these technical prizes. Maybe 5
Best Sound Mixing:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Star Trek
Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Avatar. Remember that Pandora wasn't just a beautiful place to look at, it also had very distinct sounds and noises in the background.
Best Film Editing:
District 9
Avatar
Precious
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
SHOULD/WILL WIN: The Hurt Locker. So much of the tension of that film comes from the precise editing.
Best Make-Up:
Il Divo
The Young Victoria
Star Trek
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Star Trek. It all depends on the taste of this years voters. They may go for the over the top alien prosthetics, or maybe the classic beauty of The Young Victoria. Because there are so many nominations for Sci-Fi films this year I'm going with Star Trek.
Best Costume Design:
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria
SHOULD/WILL WIN: The Young Victoria. Never bet against an old school period film in a category like this. Never.
Best Original Score:
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Sherlock Holmes
Up
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Up. The movie wouldn't have been as heartbreaking without the beautiful music to back it up.
Best Original Song:
Almost There, The Princess and the Frog
Down in New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog
Loin de Paname, Paris 36
Take it All, Nine
The Weary Kind, Crazy Heart
Should Win: Take it All. BEST MOMENT OF THAT MOVIE was Marion tearing it up with this song.
Will Win: The Weary Kind. This Crazy Heart song has been picking up lots of awards this season. The Princess and the Frog would've had a stronger chance with just one nominated song, most recent films with more than one song nominated (Dreamgirls, Enchanted) don't end up winning.
Best Animated Film:
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Coraline
The Princess and the Frog
Up
The Secret of Kells
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Up. No competition here. I mean it is nominated for Best Picture.
Best Visual Effects:
Avatar
Star Trek
District 9
SHOULD/WILL WIN: Avatar. The only award that James Cameron is guaranteed to win.
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