Oscar Weekend Special: Prediction Blog Three

And so finally we come to the big award - Best Picture. As with all the other categories I've put these in a Top 10 list and I have to say it was very hard compiling it.

Unlike last year whose Top 10 including the overly-worthy and overly-hyped Avatar and The Blind Side a film that I found just a little bit sickening, there's not one film among the contenders that I feel would be an embaressment to win.

As you've seen my predictions you probably know what I want to win but this year there isn't a clean winner and I think its going to be down to the wire between The Social Network and The King's Speech although I'd love it if Toy Story 3 came out of nowhere and won the thing here's my Top 10 list nonetheless.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

10. The Fighter: By no means an awful film, The Fighter is nothing more than a standard triumph-against-adversity boxing drama. It has all the Oscar hallmarks – based on a true story, features drug abuse, small town community life, family struggles and actors slimming down or donning ugly wigs in order to get Oscar recognition. There are some good performances most notably from Mark Wahlberg, who didn’t get a nomination, in the lead while the camerawork in the boxing scenes is also fairly good. However I fail to see how this film is anything special when compared to the rest of the Best Picture contenders. 


9. True Grit: It can be argued that the Coen Brothers already made a Western in their award winning No Country for Old Men however True Grit is proper old school Western. Mixing three fine central performances with a real feel that you are back in the 19^th century the Coens really achieve what they set out to do. However there is nothing really new to say here and I felt that this was a very good film but nothing special 


8. The Kids are All Right: The token offbeat comedy of the year in the sort of vein of Juno, Little Miss Sunshine or Sideways. The Kids Are All Right is full of heart and realistic characters and situations. Although not particularly cinematic the film does have some very nice shots including close-ups of character’s reactions which does add to the overall feel. Films like this very rarely triumph but it’s always nice to see at least one comedy film acknowledged every year.


7. Winter's Bone: A brutal uncompromising look at the landscape of the Ozark Mountains in Missouri and in particular one girl’s struggle to find her father and keep her family’s home. Ree’s journey around the community and the secrets she may uncover are the backbone to the film the transposition between the vast mountain exteriors and the cramped houses in which the mountain people live. There are some brilliant shots and well put-together scenes and you can almost feel like you are there. There are three terrific central performances all of which feel totally real and I am really glad that this raw independent film made into Oscar’s Top 10 list.


6. Black Swan: A very visual film about paranoia, jealousy and identity set around the world of ballet. Aranofsky’s follow-up to The Wrestler employs similar camera work on the ballet scenes as it did in the wrestling matches but this is much more lodged into the horror thriller genre. The performances from the three lead actresses are all superb and creepy at the same time and the use of sound and colour throughout the film is greatly done. 


5. 127 Hours: An interesting film that uses every cinematic trick it can. While we as an audience know what the end result is going to be getting there is never boring thanks to the script and an excellent central performance from James Franco. The merging together of Erin Ralston’s predicament with fantasy sequences and flashbacks works perfectly and some of Anthony Dod Mantle’s camerawork is superb. 


4. The King's Speech: Brilliantly played and beautifully put together this is a work of love. While not original in the least bit, the set direction is sumptuous and there are some very good shots. The performances from everybody drive the story through and the script itself is full of warmth and laughs. A classic movie but splendind nonetheless.


3. Toy Story 3: The end of an era as Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang say goodbye. TS3 does have some better moments that its predecessors the closing scenes at the garbage dump are particularly traumatic while the prison movie spoof and the Ken and Barbie storyline add some lighter moments and some in-jokes for older viewers. Above the script the Toy Story films still know how to mould sound together and also create some great moments. This is a film about growing up and leaving behind the things we love. It would also be quite special for the film to be recognized as Best Picture, in part to award the trilogy as a whole.


2. The Social Network: A classic Hollywood story about jealousy, pride and invention told around the creation of one of the greatest social phenomenon in recent memory. The story of the creation of Facebook isn’t exactly visually breathtaking but it is a very well-told well-acted piece about a lot of young men sitting in rooms and talking. The fast-paced dialogue matches the theme of the digital age and the story flips between creation and lawsuit with ease. Even though there’s not much going on cinematically it is still a great film and deserves some recognition from Oscar.



1. Inception: I think if 2010 is going to be remembered for one film in particular then Inception would be it. Incredibly bold and brave with breathtaking visuals and a very smart and complex concept it was almost the anti-blockbuster but went onto make millions. It still stands up after multiple watchings and you notice things every time as it is incredibly designed and very well acted. There may be one or two problems with the script in terms of the expositional dialogue being used but overall this film will definitely be hailed as a modern classic 
 

But don't take my word for it last year of the 24 categories I only guessed 11 right but if you haven't been keeping up with the blogs this is my full list of predictions: 

Best Picture: The King’s Speech

Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)

Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Best Supporting Actress: Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech)

Best Director: David Fincher (The Social Network)

Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler (The King’s Speech)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Film: Civilisation

Best Documentary Film: Restrepo  

Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins (True Grit)

Best Editing: Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall (The Social Network)

Best Art Direction: Eve Stewart and Judy Farr (The King’s Speech)

Best Costume Design: Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland)

Best Make-Up: Rick Baker and Dave Elsey (The Wolfman)

Best Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network)

Best Original Song: If I Rise by AR Rahman and Dido (127 Hours)

Best Sound Mixing: Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novik (Inception)

Best Sound Editing: Richard King (Inception)

Best Visual Effects: Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Pete Bebb and Paul J Franklin (Inception)

Best Animated Short: Day and Night  

Best Documentary Short: Killing in the Name

Best Short Feature: Wish 143