hi oscar

dear project leader:

oscar nominations came out this morning. i've noticed that year after year, i've seen fewer and fewer of the nominated flicks; 2009 certainly continues in that downward trajectory.

anyway, here are my takes on the nominations:

Best Picture: "Avatar,""The Blind Side,""District 9,""An Education,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire,""A Serious Man,""Up,""Up in the Air."

from what i've been able to view, i have to go with inglourious basterds. didn't see up in the air, wonder if i would prefer that? i'm surprised to see up; i liked it well enough, but best picture? whutevs. and avatar: as my coworker would say, oh hell to the no!

Actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"; George Clooney, "Up in the Air"; Colin Firth, "A Single Man"; Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"; Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker."

colin firth, but it looks like one can't go wrong with this category...jeremy renner was really enjoyable in the hurt locker, so he'd be a fine second choice. but clooney should win it...he should win everything, ever.

Actress: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"; Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"; Carey Mulligan, "An Education"; Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' by Sapphire"; Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia."

of these, i only saw julie & julia...in which meryl streep was wonderful, but when one plays a well-known real life character, does that still qualify? i suppose. sandra bullock? blechk.

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

christopher waltz was really quite good. and i didn't see any of the others, except stanley tucci in the lovely bones. (ha ha, a nomination for that bullshit.)

Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Nine"; Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"; Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"; Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"; Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

wow...didn't see any of these. so i'll just pick anna kendrick, because i like george clooney. i'm sure members of the academy have the same selection criterion.

Directing: James Cameron, "Avatar"; Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"; Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air."

of these, i only saw the hurt locker and inglourious basterds, and either is fine. (what about avatar? see "oh hell to the no," above.)

Foreign Language Film: "Ajami," Israel; "El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Argentina; "The Milk of Sorrow," Peru; "Un Prophete," France; "The White Ribbon," Germany.

blah blah blah, blah blah blah. the preview for the white ribbon looked good.

Adapted Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, "District 9"; Nick Hornby, "An Education"; Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, "In the Loop"; Geoffrey Fletcher, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, "Up in the Air."

district 9 was surprisingly great, but i am not familiar with the source material, so i can't really judge the adaptation. so, i guess george clooney -- er, i mean sheldon turner -- wins again!

Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"; Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, "The Messenger"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "A Serious Man"; Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, "Up."

goodness, how did i miss a serious man? the cohen movies don't stick around long enough to see, anymore. just because it's the cohens, i'll assume it was the best original screenplay.

Animated Feature Film: "Coraline"; "Fantastic Mr. Fox"; "The Princess and the Frog"; "The Secret of Kells"; "Up."

had coraline not been up against mr fox, i might have selected that from this list...but george clooney -- er, mr. fox -- wins again. this time, deservedly so, and not just for the clooney connection. fantastic mr. fox may well have been my favorite movie this year.

Art Direction: "Avatar,""The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,""Nine,""Sherlock Holmes,""The Young Victoria."

i haven't seen doctor parnassus yet, but suspect it might truly have been the best art direction -- terry gilliam movies are like that. sherlock holmes was a worthy competitor. avatar was OHTTN.

Cinematography: "Avatar,""Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""The White Ribbon."

i'm going with the hurt locker on this one. the intended imagery was perfectly captured, i think. can one refer to an animated feature, avatar, as having been cinematographed?

Sound Mixing: "Avatar,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""Star Trek,""Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

not an expert in this field...all i know is transformers hurt my ears. i'll go with star trek, because i liked that movie a lot, and george clooney isn't nominated in this category.

Sound Editing: "Avatar,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""Star Trek,""Up."

eh...star trek again? i don't know. i don't recall sound effects missing cues, or whatever.

Original Score: "Avatar," James Horner; "Fantastic Mr. Fox," Alexandre Desplat; "The Hurt Locker," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders; "Sherlock Holmes," Hans Zimmer; "Up," Michael Giacchino.

if john williams isn't on the list, i don't really have much interest. but i did enjoy everything about fantastic mr fox, so we'll assume the original score had something to do with that impression.

Original Song: "Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman; "Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman; "Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas; "Take It All" from "Nine," Maury Yeston; "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

i'm going with t bone burnett, because he's consistently remarkable. and he had nothing to do with princess and the frog.

Costume: "Bright Star,""Coco Before Chanel,""The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,""Nine,""The Young Victoria."

hmmm. parnassus?

Documentary Feature: "Burma VJ,""The Cove,""Food, Inc.""The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,""Which Way Home."

didn't see any of them. food, inc. shouldn't win, because i like everything about food.

Documentary (short subject): "China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province,""The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner,""The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant,""Music by Prudence,""Rabbit a la Berlin."

dunno, dunno, dunno-dunno-dunno

Film Editing: "Avatar,""District 9,""The Hurt Locker,""Inglourious Basterds,""Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

oh, i don't know. film editing is one of those things that you have to know the craft before you can judge it, i think.

Makeup: "Il Divo,""Star Trek,""The Young Victoria."

only saw star trek of the three listed, but seriously, captain kirk's makeup in the movie was DREADFUL. looked like a clown.

Animated Short Film: "French Roast,""Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty,""The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte),""Logorama,""A Matter of Loaf and Death."

no opinion, didn't see any of them.

Live Action Short Film: "The Door,""Instead of Abracadabra,""Kavi,""Miracle Fish,""The New Tenants."

no opinion, didn't see any of them.

Visual Effects: "Avatar,""District 9,""Star Trek."

i would say avatar, if i didn't hate the movie so much...so, star trek. the effects were so good, that even in 2-D, they blew me away. on the other hand, the integration of effects into the real world (not green screen) really gave district 9 it's biggest boost.