And that's 100% ladies and gents. A thank you. My address is available on request for that "something pretty."

Thank you and good night!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

It's that time again . . . Oscar time! Here are my predictions for the major categories. You know the drill, if I get 100%, you all must send me something pretty.

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up in the Air Up

Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Should Win: Inglourious Basterds

Ok, considering they upped the nominees from five to 10, I did pretty well. I've seen them all except An Education and A Serious Man. I may make it to An Education this weekend but regardless I have a well formed opinion of most of these and I don't think my ignorance of those two will affect my decision. The Blind Side is a joke. I seriously laughed out loud when I saw it on here. I only saw it because my mom wanted to and although it's fine for its type of movie (meaning sappy and ridiculous) there is no way it deserves to be on this list. I'd rather Star Trek, Fantastic Mr. Fox, hell even The Hangover taken its place. Avatar is a phenomenal movie. In all areas besides story and dialogue, it blows the rest of these movies out of the water. However, I happen to think plot and dialogue are important in determining Best Picture, so I will be very upset if James Cameron is given the opportunity to once again make a fool out of himself, no matter how much I love what he's created. Up will win Best Animated Film so it won't get the the votes here. District 9 is the populist choice that deserves to be here but won't win. Precious' performances are the star, not the film as a whole. Up in the Air is wonderful, almost too effortless to win the big prize, so that leaves my should win, Inglourious Basterds and my will win The Hurt Locker. Inglourious Basterds is the only one on the list where my jaw was dropped at the end and I was in complete awe of what I'd just seen. It's the complete package of story, visuals and performances—truly the best picture. The Hurt Locker did something else. It has all that, plus it takes the war film and makes it not about war. Plus, it's a war film—a completely masculine genre that happened to be directed by a woman. It breaks ground in many ways and that is why it will win.

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow
Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow

This is tough because in terms of direction, the sheer scope of Avatar and what it took to get made deserves recognition. That can't be denied. But I think James Cameron got that recognition in the tremendous box office of his film. He has his Oscar. Like I said above, Kathryn Bigelow made a war film not about war. It's about the men who are addicted to war. It's gritty, intimate and beautiful in its own way. All the performances are pitch perfect and, again, the fact that this man film was made by a woman can't be ignored. As for the rest of them, this is really a two-way race and they will all have other chances.

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


Will Win: Jeff Bridges
Should Win: Colin Firth

Full disclosure: I haven't seen Crazy Heart. I'm sure Jeff Bridges is great in it and he probably deserves the win he's about to get. However, I'm rooting for a personal favorite and someone who's "time" it would have been if Bridges not slipped in at the last minute, Colin Firth. A Single Man is a gorgeous film, and he is phenomenal in it as a early-1960s professor who is unable to display grief after he learns his lover (Matthew Goode) has died. It's quiet but powerful, which I often find more intriguing then chewing the scenery acting (see Christoph Waltz nomination). The same can be said of Clooney in Up in the Air, but his performance, like the movie itself, could be seen as too effortless. While it takes a lot of work to make it look so easy, I don't think this is the role that will bring him his second Oscar. There could be a surprise upset with Jeremy Renner coming to spoil Bridges' party, but I assume he'll suffer from the "he'll have other changes" brigade of Academy voters.

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia

Will Win: Sandra Bullock
Should Win: Meryl Streep

Full Disclosure, part II: I haven't seen The Last Station, though I don't think I'm alone in that. It barely got any press or push, though what I have read, it sounds wonderful. And I don't doubt that Helen Mirren is fantastic, but she already has her Oscar and for the more deserving role from what I can tell. Should the Academy just reward Bullock for trying something different? Something that doesn't make most of them cringe at just the preview like most of her movies of late. I don't think so. But all indications seem to be saying that she will, it's her "time" as they say. Thus Oscar will get a winner that is, by box office numbers, a fan favorite. Enjoy the ratings, too bad the best actress won't really be rewarded. That should go to Miss. Streep, who everyone knows would give a killer acceptance speech and who really deserves it for being able to channel a beloved figure like Julia Child and not make her cartoonish as she well could have been. As for Mulligan and Sidibe, the nomination is your prize.

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds


Will Win: Christoph Waltz
Should Win: Christoph Waltz

Hands down this belongs to Waltz for the very thing I criticized a few paragraphs above. But if you can't chew scenery in a Tarantino film, where can you? And he does it wonderfully. Equal parts charming and terrifying, his Nazi soldier is one of Tarantino's best baddies and he'll be rewarded justly for it. None of the other gentlemen measure up, I'm afraid, though Woody, it's nice to see you as always.

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhall, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'nique, Precious


Will Win: Mo'nique
Should Win: Mo'nique

This race has been over for months and all the ladies honored know it. But it is over for a reason because Mo'nique's performance as an abusive mother is just sickeningly good. If the scene in the social worker's office where she gives her "justification" for how she treats Precious doesn't make you cry, you are officially dead inside. Had it not been for her, I'd have cheered on Anna Kendrick for giving a performance that resonates strongly with those in my generation. The up-starters who think we know it all. Plus, you make Twilight bearable, so thank you for that.

So that's the major categories. The last one I mentioned already above: Best Animated Film. It will go to Up, though I'd rejoice if Fantastic Mr. Fox won, which includes my favorite Clooney and Streep roles of the year. So tune in this Sunday to see how I do, and leave comments where you think I've gone wrong.