Oscars 2010

[superhero]

Yeah can't disagreed with at least the top 4. The Hurt Locker, whilst it's had some glowing reviews has somehow disappeared from the radar.

[andrews]

Yeah can't disagreed with at least the top 4. The Hurt Locker, whilst it's had some glowing reviews has somehow disappeared from the radar.

I'm not in any position to comment yet, superhero - of the five being tipped for Best Picture, I've only seen The Hurt Locker. I found it very powerful, and extremely disturbing - I was squirming in my seat most of the time. Not the most enjoyable film that I've seen this year, though very well made. I'll be seeing Up in the Air in January, and will have to win a few more free tickets for the others!

[ciro22]

Invictus and Nine will (rightly or wrongly depending on your opinion) be up there in the Best Film noms, both for the previous work of the people connected to the movie and the subject matter.

Precious should get a few noms in various categories, and perhaps Best Film too given the expanded list this year, but I don't think it's as big a contender as people are making it out to be, and its place as the "message" film of the year will be taken up by Invictus.

Up In The Air and The Hurt Locker are the two critical favourites and certainly deserve to be on the Best Film list (with Up In The Air, I'm mainly going on the critical consensus it has received so far and the previous work of the director)

But the problem with the first is that it's a comedy and Oscar voters don't really go for laughs (see above).
Whereas with the second it didn't make as big of an impact with audiences (given that it only had a very limited release) and a film about Iraq that doesn't really comment on the contentious war itself might be considered a risky move for voters - all such politics aside though, it clearly was one of the best films of 2009

However, if either film manages to get enough attention at the Golden Globes (and I expect that they will) it is possible that they could then ride the momentum all the way to the Oscars...

[phunkygal]

have finally gotten round to doing my predictions today and noticed most sites who've done a few are a) still calling Invictus The Human Factor and b) haven't realised there's 10 films up for best picture
Ive only done the main categorys so far need to watch all the shorts before i can do the minor ones

btw ive seen the road and pretty sure it wont be getting any noms

[andrews]

George Clooney's film Up In The Air is being tipped for Oscar success after bagging a prestigious award in New York. (Source: Press Association)

The movie, directed by Juno's Jason Reitman, was named Best Film Of The Year by the National Board Of Review.

Last year, the board honoured Slumdog Millionaire ahead of it becoming the big Academy Award winner.

Up In The Air stars George as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer and business traveller who is forced to reassess his life after years of solitude.

The silver-haired heartthrob also picked up the Best Actor gong, although he was forced to share it with Morgan Freeman for his turn as Nelson Mandela in Invictus.

Up In The Air also scooped Best Supporting Actress for Anna Kendrick and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Director Reitman said: "I'm simply overwhelmed with gratitude for the many honours the National Board Of Review has bestowed upon Up In The Air."

Elsewhere the board honoured Carey Mulligan, star of An Education, with the Best Actress title, and Woody Harrelson was named Best Supporting Actor for The Messenger.

Clint Eastwood was named Best Director for Invictus, the story of Nelson Mandela's embrace of the South African national rugby team.

Pixar's Up won the Best Animated Film gong and The Cove, about the slaughter of dolphins in a Japanese village, won Best Documentary. Best Ensemble went to It's Complicated, a romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin and John Krasinski.


I need all the help I can get when it comes to making any Oscar predictions - I haven't seen enough films, or know nearly enough to make informed predictions. Last year, I was guessing in most of the categories!

[superhero]

Oh, Up in the Air isn't a comedy...I use the dreaded word they used for Funny People, it's more a dramedy. It's definitely more drama than a comedy, but then again there's not been a good record for corporate-themed stories succeeding in the Oscars. However I would say Up in the Air is just a very interesting story about life, as most of Jason Reitman's films rather than being typecast into a particular genre.
I am going to stick my neck out though, I am sure the most The Hurt locker will get is some nominations, I very much doubt it will win anything major.

Invictus and Nine will (rightly or wrongly depending on your opinion) be up there in the Best Film noms, both for the previous work of the people connected to the movie and the subject matter.

Precious should get a few noms in various categories, and perhaps Best Film too given the expanded list this year, but I don't think it's as big a contender as people are making it out to be, and its place as the "message" film of the year will be taken up by Invictus.

Up In The Air and The Hurt Locker are the two critical favourites and certainly deserve to be on the Best Film list (with Up In The Air, I'm mainly going on the critical consensus it has received so far and the previous work of the director)

But the problem with the first is that it's a comedy and Oscar voters don't really go for laughs (see above).
Whereas with the second it didn't make as big of an impact with audiences (given that it only had a very limited release) and a film about Iraq that doesn't really comment on the contentious war itself might be considered a risky move for voters - all such politics aside though, it clearly was one of the best films of 2009

However, if either film manages to get enough attention at the Golden Globes (and I expect that they will) it is possible that they could then ride the momentum all the way to the Oscars...

[superhero]

Invictus is coming out this weekend in the States, but I am reading the overall opinion might be that it's very good but not brilliant, so maybe it will get noms, but it's not going to be a best pic winner....
Maybe it's going to be abit like The Queen, focusing on a certain period of a very famous living person, hence it could be very interesting but lacks the historical scope of traditional biopics that the awards people might go for.

[andrews]

For your consideration:

Austrian director Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon," a chilling exploration of the roots of Nazi terror, dominated the European Film Awards on Saturday, winning three prizes including best film.

The 2,000-member European Film Academy awarded Haneke the best film, best director and best screenwriter prizes at the 22nd anniversary ceremony in Bochum, in the industrial Ruhr area of western Germany.

Actress Kate Winslet scooped up another award for her portrayal of a German woman with a secret Nazi past in the romantic drama "The Reader," winning best actress.

Newcomer Tahar Rahim won best actor for portraying a homeless and illiterate 19-year-old at the mercy of a Corsican gang that controls the jail where he is imprisoned, in Jacques Audiard's French film "A Prophet."


Interesting choices by the European Film Academy, but will the US Oscars feel the same? er...no I don't think so.

[ciro22]

Well it hasn't actually been said yet, but it probably should be:

The Oscars haven't been an indicator of the year's best films for a long long while now, both because of the make-up of their voting panel and all the politics and marketing that go behind their decisions.

There's also a growing trend for the Oscars to try to become even more populist in the future because their TV ratings are declining and so they are making drastic changes such as the expanded Best Film list

For my money, the awards you should be p*ying attention to these days are the Golden Globes because they are voted for by the foreign press - so they are generally free of the Oscar voter's afflictions; they represent the opinions of actual critics and not just random industry members; and the categories allow for a wider selection of films to be celebrated without having to dumb down or try desperately to be popular...

[ciro22]

And if you want a case in point about the problems with the Oscars' credibility - how about Judi Dench's "Best Supporting Actress Award" for just under 10 minutes work on Shakespeare In Love...?!