It would seem that brothers Joel & Ethan Coen can’t miss and this year they’re going to win more Oscars with their film True Grit. They have always made good movies, from Raising Arizona to Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink to The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Intolerable Cruelty. The Academy Award winning No Country For Old Men and now True Grit. The cast led by newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, starring Oscar winner Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Barry Pepper and Josh Brolin. Take one look at this trailer and your plans for Christmas day 2010 will be in ink- see True Grit then open the rest of my presents.

What do you think? Have you read the book written by Charles Portis? What did you think of the original adaptation starring John Wayne?

No this isn’t a motel review, this is my list of my favorite Western Films ever. Below you’ll find their posters along with a reason or two of why I like the film or what makes said movie worth watching again and again. When starting a list of the best (IMO) Westerns of all time you can start with one of two actors- John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. I’m going to start with John Wayne in the epic directed by John Ford- The Searchers. You can’t go wrong with John Wayne crossing the United States in search of justice.

Clint Eastwood’s Academy Award winning Unforgiven, like manygreat Westerns, boasts an all-star cast including three Oscar winners Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Eastwood himself as well as Oscar nominated Richard Harris. This film, for me, marks the beginning of Eastwood- the great director.

In my life Tombstone is to Westerns what Tommy Boy is to comedies and Terminator 2 is to science fiction. One of the first films I ever purchased with my own money. One of the first live action films I could quote without missing a beat. It also marked the first time the thought crossed my mind, “mustaches are cool and Sam Elliot has the best mustache I’ve ever seen.”

The next three films also hold a special place in my memories. I grew up in a family that didn’t really watch movies so when we did it was a rather memorable event and when my parents actually enjoyed a movie… well, that was “the bee’s knees.” Based on my experience every filmmaker should try to make a movie for adults but safe enough for children as well. That said, ¡Three Amigos! and The Shakiest Gun in the West were two films that my parents watched, with the kids, and laughed at. They also introduced me to the greatness of Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Don Knotts. Then there was the film that my best friend’s family considered one of their favorites- Blazing Saddles. Again, the wild West is a great place for comedy especially in the hands of Jew from Brooklyn.

In recent years the Western has seen a dramatic drop off from popularity at the local megaplex but a few instant classics have made it to the projector room, the Australian Western The Proposition is one of those films. Again, again if this cast doesn’t make you wanna watch this movie before your next meal then I don’t know what will. The Proposition stars Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, John Hurt, Emily Watson and was written for the screen by Nick Cave.

Clint Eastwood spits on a dog in The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Once Upon a Time in the West is just one of the many tremendous contributions to the genre made by Sergio Leone. Every aspect of this film is perfect. I’m not using hyperbole. The cast-  Bronson, Robards, Fonda and the beautiful Claudia Cardinale. The visuals, thanks to Leone, and score composed by Ennio Morricone. Watch this movie and just try to refute my claim.

I know many would say Rio Bravo was better but I saw El Dorado first. And I like the name nickname “Mississippi.”

Eastwood, Leone, and Morricone started the sub-genre “Spaghetti Western” with one of the greatest movies of all time- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. If you haven’t seen this movie, see it now.

I would have thought seeing the spoof (Three Amigos) of a film first would have ruined the viewing of the film being spoofed but The Magnificent Seven is that good. Also I have to mention another Western that didn’t make this list but still holds a place in my heart (yeah, I said that) The White Buffalo (it’s a bison) starring The Magnificent Seven‘s Charles Bronson. If you watch The White Buffalo then you’ll know why I love the film and why I couldn’t put it on this list.

The other modern classic along side The Proposition is The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. This film gave me hope that the genre had not all but been forgotten by Hollywood.

You know you’re watching a Western when a moral decision is at the heart of the story. Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly star in High Noon, I need not say more.

Finally Paul Newman and Robert Redford star in what I call a disco-Western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Interested? I thought you would be- let me know what you think after you’ve seen it.

I have to mention There Will Be Blood which for some reason unknown to me I have trouble calling a Western. Am I wrong? What are some of your favorite Westerns?

Here’s the first movie trailer for writer/director Vincenzo Natali (Paris, je t’aime): Splice, starring Academy Award winner Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley.

Official synopsis: Two young scientists (Brody and Polley) achieve fame by splicing human DNA with the DNA of different animals to create a new creature. In the process they ignore their society’s ethical and legal boundaries. The scientists name their creature “Dren”, which is initially a deformed female infant; however it rapidly develops into a beautiful but deadly winged human-chimera.

In case you were wondering as I was, a Chimera is a mythological creature that has the head of a lion (guessing a male lion) the body of a goat (probably doesn’t matter male/female) and the tail of a snake (where does a snake’s torso end and tail begin?) if that’s not bad enough the Chimera also breathes fire. Watch the trailer below and tell me what you think.

I was hooked until the creature started looking like a beautiful woman because I could rent Species for less than the price of admission to my local cinaplex and Species starred two Oscar winners- Sir Ben Kingsley and Forest Whitaker whereas Splice, in theaters June 4, 2010, must share Oscar winner Adrien Brody with another sci-fi summer release Predators (July 9, 2010). What do you think?

Robert De Niro will star in the leading role as Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi in the upcoming ESPN Films feature Lombardi. Early reports say that the National Football League is involved with this project and a script has been written by Eric Roth.

Roth also penned for the big screen the sports-related stories Ali, Munich, and Forrest Gump. De Niro won an Oscar for his role as boxer Jake La Motta in 1980′s Raging Bull. ESPN Films produced 2002′s Junction Boys based on legendary college football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s takeover and turnaround of Texas A&M University’s football team. Although De Niro has been a shell of his former self and turned into a better comedic than dramatic actor of late this “Super Bowl” role could go either way, laughable caricature or serious biopic a la once-destined-for-Country-Music-Television Crazy Heart.

Though I’m not predicting the same jump from made-for-TV to the big screen for Lombardi like we saw with Crazy Heart nor am I foolish enough to presume De Niro has an Oscar-worthy performance left in him, I will cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Here it is at last! The 2010 Academy Awards! Who’s bringing home the Oscars? James Cameron or Kathryn Bigelow, or will Tarantino stage an upset? Will The Dude Lebowski have a best actor win under his belt? The stars are crossing the Red Carpet right now and in a few hours Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will be hosting 82nd Academy Awards.

Prior the main event, you can check out the AP staff picks for all of the winners and check back often as I’ll be updating all the wins with my own commentary as the evening progresses. Feel free to drop your own guesses and thoughts on the evening as it progresses.

Me, I’m pulling for District 9 for best screenplay!

See you at the Oscars!

Updated! The entire list of winners with my thoughts and earlier predictions below:

— Motion Picture: “The Hurt Locker.”

— Actor: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart.”

— Actress: Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side.”

— Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds.”

— Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

— Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker.”

— Foreign Film: “El Secreto de Sus Ojos,” Argentina.

— Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

— Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, “The Hurt Locker.”

— Animated Feature Film: “Up.”

— Art Direction: “Avatar.”

— Cinematography: “Avatar.”

— Sound Mixing: “The Hurt Locker.”

— Sound Editing: “The Hurt Locker.”

— Original Score: “Up,” Michael Giacchino.

— Original Song: “The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart,” Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

— Costume: “The Young Victoria.”

— Documentary Feature: “The Cove.”

— Documentary (short subject): “Music by Prudence.”

— Film Editing: “The Hurt Locker.”

— Makeup: “Star Trek.”

— Animated Short Film: “Logorama.”

— Live Action Short Film: “The New Tenants.”

— Visual Effects: “Avatar.”

Best actor in a supporting role:

Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Matt Damon in Invictus
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger

Updated:  And the first award of the night goes to Christoph Waltz! No surprises there, but it’s nice to see him win. Waltz was a fantastic villain and it’s good to see new fresh faces take home awards. A nice short acceptance speech that thanked his  fellow filmmakers on ‘embarking on this journey.’

My guess: With the exception of Tucci, who was one-note in a revolting role, all of these performances were good. But it’s Waltz who really zings in Inglorious Basterds and elevates the movie he’s in with his presence. Waltz also doesn’t come with the baggage these others have, allowing the Academy to really focus on the singular work he’s done here.

 Matt’s Pick: Christoph Waltz

Creth’s Pick: Christoph Waltz

Brett’s Pick: Christoph Waltz

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Animated feature film

 
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Peterson)
The Princess and the Frog (Ron Clements and John Musker)
Coraline (Henry Selick)
Fantastic Mr Fox (Wes Anderson)
The Secret of Kells (Tomm Moore)

Absolutely loved the way they introduced this award, with each of the animated protagonists briefly talking about being nominated. Great way to quickly showcase the films and give the Oscar telecast some pep it’s lacking in the awkward Baldwin/Martin team-up. As I watched this I was reminded how great all of these movies are. And Up wins of course! Nice to see Pete Doctor thank his wife and family! Nice, touching moment with a cutaway to his wife in the audience.

My pick: Up has this one in the bag. The fact it was nominated for a best picture it has no chance of winning pretty much clinches it. Pixar is almost always an unstoppable beast in this category. Confession though: It’s not even close to being my favorite of the five choices. I’m a much bigger fan of Mr. Fox and Coraline, which were both odd and brilliant in equal measure. Disney had a great return to form with Princess and Secret of Kells, the mysterious visitor to the list, is a great little bit of art.

Matt’s Pick: Up

Creth’s Pick: Up

Brett’s Pick: Up

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Music (original song)  

Almost There, from The Princess and the Frog by Randy Newman
Down in New Orleans, from The Princess and the Frog by Randy Newman
Loin de Paname, from Paris 36 by Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas
Take it All, from Nine by Maury Yeston
The Weary Kind, from Crazy Heart by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

The Weary Kind wins the award and takes home the Oscar! Interesting though, have they stopped performing Oscar nominated songs? Usually this one comes far later in the evening after all have played. Must have missed that. Loved this song and it makes me want to grab the soundtrack. Nice perf by Colin in the film as well.
 
Nate’s pick: The Weary Kind. Bingham and Burnett are a hard team to beat and the song is part of the film itself and related to Bridges performance. No one saw Paris, and I think the two Princess songs will cancel each other out. Although I loved Princess and the Frog, none of the songs were particularly memorable.

Matt’s pick: Down in New Orleans

Creth’s pick: The Weary Kind

Brett’s pick: The Weary Kind

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A John Hughes tribute? The classiest thing the program has done all night! Bravo! Nice to see all of those actors up there all these years later giving Hughes his due.

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Writing (original screenplay)

 The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen)
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Petersen)
The Messenger (Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman)

Mark Boal wins for The Hurt Locker. Not too surprising. This is the first win of the night for the film, and a good sign. Let’s see how the rest of the night goes.

My pick: The work that Mark Boal did here is very good in movie terms but recently there’s been plenty of discussion as to how much of it was journalistically accurate. Will that hurt its chances? In a different year, probably, but the truth is that Bigelow’s final film speaks more loudly than anything else (including the recent producer scandals) and the other nominees, save for Basterds, don’t have the gumption to best it. If the Academy does decide it wants to punish Boal, expect them to give it to Tarantino.

Matt’s Pick: The Hurt Locker

Creth’s Pick: Inglorious Basterds

Brett’s Pick: Inglorious Basterds

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Short film (animated)
French Roast (Fabrice O Joubert)
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty (Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell)
Logorama (Nicolas Schmerkin)
The Lady and the Reaper (Javier Recio Gracia)
A Matter of Loaf and Death (Nick Park

Logorama? I hadn’t heard of this one prior to the win. What a cool idea! Love the strange animation style and the basic premise; characters running about in a world made up of brand names, icons and slogans. Definitely gonna have to seek this out.
 

My pick: A Matter of Loaf and Death. The Lady and the Reaper is a really fantastic bit of animation, but I suspect that voters are more than happy to welcome Park and his animated characters back into the Oscar fold.

Matt’s Pick: French Roast  

Creth’s Pick: French Roast

Brett’s Pick: A Matter of Loaf and Death

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Documentary (short subject)

China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill)
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher)
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert)
Music by Prudence (Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett)
Rabbit à la Berlin (Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra)

Music by Prudence wins and it certainly was a worthy film. I have to say though, that was a terribly rude and awkward moment where one of the winners interrupted the other and then steamrolled them by using the excuse “they always let the man talk first’. Totally unprofessional, but then that seems to be the theme this year.

My pick: Music by Prudence: I’ve seen exactly one of these short films, and by default that’s the one I picked. It helps that Music By Prudence is a delightful little movie and may actually have a shot at it.

Matt’s pick: Music by Prudence

Creth’s pick: Music by Prudence

Brett’s pick: Music by Prudence

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Short film (live action)

 
The Door (Juanita Wilson and James Flynn)
Instead of Abracadabra (Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström)
Kavi (Gregg Helvey)
Miracle Fish (Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey)
The New Tenants (Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson)

Never seen the New Tenants but it looks interesting. I was just eager to wash the taste of that last embarrasing display away but then the technical team goes right ahead and plays music over one of the recepients as he’s talking. I’m pretty sure they did this two years ago too when Stewart was hosting. If I remember correctly, it was for ‘best song’ when Falling Slowly from Once won.

My pick: Miracle Fish is a perfectly quirky bit that I enjoyed very much. Will it win? Hard to say. The Door might have a shot as well. Kavi’s worth seeing too. Hoping to see a collection of these released soon so I can catch up with the rest.

Matt’s Pick: Kavi  

Creth’s Pick: Kavi

Brett’s Pick: Miracle Fish

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Makeup

Il Divo (Aldo Signoreti and Vittorio Sodano)
The Young Victoria (Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore)
Star Trek (Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow)

Star Trek wins! Awesome. Loved the work they did here and feel they captured the ST universe in a way it previously hadn’t been. For a franchise that started out with the worst kind of pancake makeup, they have come a very long distance. Must say though, after five seconds Stiller’s Na’vi routine wasn’t working for me.

My  pick: Star Trek. Granted, the makeup in Young Victoria is fantastic, but Trek isn’t just giving us the best conceivable version of these characters, visually speaking, it’s also delivering subtle suggestions of the older actors in the younger actors and that’s really hard to pull off. My personal favorite makeup job is the little alien who looks like he’s made out of Cabbage but let’s give some shout outs to the green gal too.  

Matt’s pick: The Young Victoria

Creth’s pick: Star Trek

Brett’s pick: The Young Victoria

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Writing (adapted screenplay)

 
District 9 (Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell)
An Education (Nick Hornby)
Precious (Geoffrey Fletcher)
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner)
In the Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche)

Precious wins the award! I didn’t see this one happening at all, but you know, at least this throws in some surprises. Precious was a difficult work to translate to film and Fletcher managed it beautifully. A great script for a great movie and a pretty darn good acceptance speech too. Maybe Precious will have a bigger night than we guessed.

My pick:  District 9. Although I loved the wonderfully witty screenplay for In the Loop, I don’t believe it has any sort of chance at winning. That may be true too for District 9, but if you consider the fact that it’s one of two big sci-fi pictures nominated this year and the other has been chastised for a lackluster script and generic story, it might pull an upset. The script had all the nuance and originality lacking in Avatar, but it’s highly probable that Up in the Air could gum up the works. I can see this going either way and I’m pulling for Blomkamp. If the Academy wants to honor him at all, this is probably the only feasible chance to do so.

Matt’s Pick: Up In The Air

Creth’s Pick: Up In The Air

Brett’s Pick: Up In The Air

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Actress in a supporting role

Mo’Nique in Precious

Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Penélope Cruz in Nine
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart

Mo’Nique taking the award and doing it with some class and style. I liked this moment a lot. Maybe the best one so far. Go Precious!

My pick:  Mo’Nique

Vera Farmigia is definitely my personal favorite of five and the work she does in Up In The Air is mostly very subtle for long stretches of the film. Ultimately though, it’s Mo’Nique who makes the biggest leap forward from previous roles and hers is also the performance that is most emotionally commanding. I think she’s got this one.

Matt’s Pick: Mo’Nique

Creth’s Pick: Mo’Nique

Brett’s Pick: Mo’Nique
 

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Actress in a leading role

 
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Helen Mirren in The Last Station
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious
Carey Mulligan in An Education

Bullock takes the award! I can live with that. She had a cute little acceptance speech. Loved the line “Did I deserve this, or did I just wear you down?” Nice addition of shouting out to all the mothers who “take care of the babies” and the tribute to her own late mother. Good for you Sandy!

My pick: There’s probably a very good chance Bullock will walk away Sunday with the Oscar. Part of it may come from the fact she’s surrounded this role with several lackluster comedies that aren’t very flattering to her acting ability. Where that worked against Eddie Murphy back in 06, it works for Bullock because Blind Side came after those other films and aimed at and surprised her fan base. However, I’m going with Gabourey Sidibe because it stands to reason that if Mo’nique can win for Precious than certainly the big beating heart of the movie, Sidibe, has a shot. Add to that the fact that Sidibe is a first-time actor who takes a problematic, easily-botched role and gives us a completely plausible and sympathetic human being. She should win and I think she’s got more of a chance than most think.

Matt’s Pick: Meryl Streep

Creth’s Pick: Sandra Bullock

Brett’s Pick: Sandra Bullock

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Actor in a leading role

 
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

My pick: Bridges, no contest. Jeff has been doing great work all through his career and I’ve got a soft spot for his performances in Fearless and Starman. Even if you aren’t as familiar with Bridges past work or aren’t a fan, it’s hard to argue with how completely he embraces the character of . You couldn’t ask for a more plausible grizzled, world-weary country singer, even if Kris Kristofferson was playing the part himself. I suppose Clooney has a shot, but I’m pretty sure we are gonna get to hear The Dude give his acceptance speech.

Who didn’t guess that Bridges acceptance speech would be the most fun. It’s always great to hear a winner use terms like ‘groovy’ and the ‘biz’ in the middle of a big spiffy event like the Oscars and be completely sincere about it. Bridges is the man and his few minutes on stage were genuinely more heartfelt than a good bit of the rest of this. Entertaining too.

Matt’s Pick: Jeff Bridges

Creth’s Pick: Jeff Bridges

Brett’s Pick: Jeff Bridges

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Foreign language film
Ajami (Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, Israel)
A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, France)
The Secret of Her Eyes (Juan Jose Campanella, Argentina)
The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, Germany)
The Milk of Sorrow (Claudia Llosa, Peru)

The Secret of Her Eyes takes the award! I rather like that something I’m not familiar with won. Every time that has happened in the past in this category. I find myself seeking it out and being rewarded with a treasure. I’m looking forward to catching up with this one. Seriously, though, see A Prophet if you can, it’s fantastic.

My pick: This is a hard one because I’ve only actually seen two of these, A Prophet and The White Ribbon. My guess is that both of them are the primary contenders and both are worthwhile movies. The Academy has gone flipping for Haneke before and he won big accolades at Cannes last May, so Ribbon has that going for it. For my money, A Prophet is possibly the best film of the year and after Sunday I’m confident that it will have the same kind of unexpected publicity that previous winners like Lives of Others and Departures got.

 Matt’s Pick: A Prophet

Creth’s Pick: The White Ribbon

Brett’s Pick: The White Ribbon

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Directing

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

Bigelow gets the award! This sets Hurt Locker up for the big win! I expected this, but it’s really shaping up to be a steamroll for Locker vs. Avatar. Add in that sort of ridiculous Stiller moment and I think it’s safe to say Cameron’s reception here isn’t what it was some 12 years ago. Kudos for Bigelow giving a modest acceptance speech that never referred to herself as queen or included a line about her dominion over the planet.

My pick: This is a really interesting category. Kathryn Bigelow battling it out with ex-husband James Cameron? How ‘bout the fact both have atypical Oscar juggernauts that feature men of war in pictures awash in adrenaline and action? That being said, I think this one belongs to Kathryn. Balancing realism, exhilaration and escapism (even if we are ready to get back out five minutes in) is hard to do and she excelled at it. There are suspense pieces in this film that Hitchcock would be proud of. Bigelow deserves it and I think she will easily dethrone the King of the World on this one.

Matt’s Pick: The Hurt Locker

Creth’s Pick: The Hurt Locker

Brett’s Pick: Avatar

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Best picture

Avatar (James Cameron and Jon Landau, producers)
District 9 (Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, producers)
An Education (Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, producers)
The Hurt Locker (nominees to be determined)
Inglourious Basterds (Lawrence Bender, producer)
Precious (Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, producers)
A Serious Man (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, producers)
Up in the Air (Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, producers)
The Blind Side (nominees to be determined)
Up (Jonas Rivera, producer)

And The Hurt Locker claims the big prize! Awesome and nicely done. In the end, I think this was the right choice. A pretty strong close to an evening I felt was otherwise rather haphazard. All in all, I guess it’s about what one expects from The Oscars.

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Art direction

 
Avatar (art direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; set decoration: Kim Sinclair)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (art direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; set decoration: Caroline Smith)
Nine (art direction: John Myhre; set decoration: Gordon Sim)
Sherlock Holmes (art direction: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer)
The Young Victoria (art direction: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Maggie Gray)

What? Avatar won? How did this happen? Amazing acceptance speech though from Robert Stromberg, who shared the award with Rick Carter and Kim Sinclair. “You know, 13 years ago, the doctors told me I wasn’t going to survive and I thought that this dream of standing here would never come true,” he said. “And here we are…” This is perhaps the most well deserved award of the night, save for the vfx guys. Cameron and the rest wouldn’t even be here without them.

My pick: Avatar. This is where the movie is going clean house. Half the reason it’s been nominated for the big prizes is because of how breathtakingly ground-breaking it is on the technical end of things. If you can point out a more stunning elaborate use of art direction this year, I don’t think it will be found on that list. The other films are fine, but none of them frankly come close to what Cameron’s team put together. Pandora was an entire world and culture that felt organic as you were watching it.

Matt’s Pick: Avatar

Creth’s Pick: Avatar

Brett’s Pick: Avatar

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Cinematography

 
Avatar (Mauro Fiore)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Bruno Delbonnel)
The Hurt Locker (Barry Ackroyd)
Inglourious Basterds (Robert Richardson)
The White Ribbon (Christian Berger)

My pick: Avatar. The man invented his own camera specifically for the film. Nuff said. Unless of course, you feel that what was done on the movie is less ‘cinematography’ then special effects editing. Still, some of the best and most effective 3-D shots in the films were captured on the ship and inside the human compound. I’m guessing the only potential competition is Hurt Locker, which found fresh, harrowing ways to visualize the explosions.  

Finally, some reliable Avatar love! Still, I don’t think the movie got the traction it expected. Oh well, it’s not like a lack of awards is going to keep Cameron awake at night. I hear it’s easy to get back to sleep on a bed of money.

Matt’s Pick: Inglorious Basterds

Creth’s Pick: Avatar

Brett’s Pick: Avatar

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Costume design
Bright Star (Janet Patterson)
Coco Before Chanel (Catherine Leterrier)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Monique Prudhomme)
Nine (Colleen Atwood)
The Young Victoria (Sandy Powell)

Yawn. The Young Victoria wins. Deserving? sure. Best work of the nominees? No. SandyPowell doing faux modesty while name dropping her three wins is pretty much par for the Oscar course.

My pick: Bright Star. Period pieces always stand a great chance in this category but there is something wholly refreshing and authentic about the work done in Bright Star, the touching biopic about John Keats and his love Fanny Brawne. Fanny herself was a fashion designer and made many of her own clothes which are highlighted extensively in the picture. But it isn’t just that, it’s the perfect way in which all of the clothing/wardrobe choices accentuate and define the characters. The cinematography on the film was deeply sumptuous and the costume work managed to keep pace with it. Fabulous stuff.

Matt’s Pick: The Young Victoria

Creth’s Pick: The Young Victoria

Brett’s Pick: Bright Star

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Documentary (feature)

 
Burma VJ (Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller)
The Cove (nominees to be determined)
Food, Inc (Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein)
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith)
Which Way Home (Rebecca Cammisa)

The Cove wins the award! Good form and perhaps it will lead others to discover this great film. As usual, there are those pesky shots of the other nominees looking on longingly as the winners take the stage. If I were Daniel Ellsberg, I think I’d look at those cutaways of me and feel like I had just shown up to school naked.

My pick: The Cove. Easily one of the most entertaining documentaries I’ve seen in some time, The Cove plays out like a narrative adventure while also drawing alarming attention to its subject. There’s a really fine line it walks between trying to give us a story we can follow and deliver a fair and intelligent look at all sides of the issue. There’s an odd mash-up of Jacques Cousteau meets Ocean’s Eleven. I’m counting on this one to take home the gold.

Matt’s pick: Food Inc.

Creth’s pick: The Cove

Brett’s pick: The Cove

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Film editing

 
Avatar (Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron)
District 9 (Julian Clarke)
The Hurt Locker (Bob Murawski and Chris Innis)
Inglourious Basterds (Sally Menke)
Precious (Joe Klotz)

This is the death blow to Avatar. The Hurt Locker grabs the film editing award.

My  pick: The Hurt Locker. Yes, this is another significant technical achievement that seemingly Avatar should scoop up. There’s more going on here though. Typically if a film wins film editing it also wins best picture. There have been very few deviations from this theory. If the Academy goes for Hurt Locker in the best pic and directing category, which I suspect they might, then it’s not a big stretch to give it this too. It’s also helpful that Hurt Locker may actually be more deserving of the editing award than Avatar. The suspense scenes are integral to the Hurt Locker and it’s the way all of those elements are cut together that makes those scenes work.

Matt’s pick: Avatar

Creth’s pick: Inglorious Basterds

Brett’s pick: The Hurt Locker

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Music (original score)
Avatar (James Horner)
Fantastic Mr Fox (Alexandre Desplat)
Up (Michael Giacchino)
The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders)
Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)

Up wins? I can certainly live with that. Afterall, Michael Giacchino did some great work, not just on this but the Star Trek score as well. Nice job Giacchino!

My  pick: Avatar. A fine epic score that sometimes scoots over into new age ambient chanting a bit too much for my taste, but is engaging all the same. Is it the best score? Nah. That’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, hands down. But Avatar’s score is integral to the overall effect of the movie and that’s going to work in its favor. Plus, a lot more people saw Avatar than Fox.

Matt’s pick: Avatar

Creth’s pick: The Fantastic Mr. Fox  

Brett’s pick: Avatar

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Sound editing

 
Avatar (Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle)
The Hurt Locker (Paul NJ Ottosson)
Inglourious Basterds (Wylie Stateman)
Star Trek (Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin)
Up (Michael Silvers and Tom Myers)

More awards for The Hurt Locker! Expect the sound mixing to follow suit then.

My pick: Avatar. Cameron is a technical guru and in addition to the slamming visuals his film has some of the finest sound design I’ve ever heard. This, perhaps as much so as the 3D, goes a long way to making the movie an interactive experience. Nothing else comes close.

Matt’s Pick: Avatar

Creth’s Pick: Avatar

Brett’s Pick: Avatar

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Sound mixing

 
Avatar (Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson)
The Hurt Locker (Paul NJ Ottosson and Ray Beckett)
Inglourious Basterds (Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano)
Star Trek (Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J Devlin)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Greg P Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson)

My pick: Avatar. Duh.

Matt’s Pick: Avatar

Creth’s Pick: Avatar

Brett’s Pick: Avatar

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Visual effects

 
Avatar (Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R Jones)
District 9 (Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken)
Star Trek (Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton)

Avatar. As far as the Academy is concerned, I tend to think awarding Avatar’s visual effects is to honor it for everything they valued about it. I can’t see it having gotten nominated for best picture without that massive box office. Again, it little matters about the lack of other awards. People will be watching this for years to c0me on home video I think and Cameron and his artists landed a grand achievement.

My pick: Avatar. All of these are great looking movies and best of all, each also happens to be a stellar science fiction movie. Back in 99 there was an upset where Matrix bested Phantom Menace for visual effects, mostly because voters thought of Matrix as the better movie. Could that happen again with District 9? Not a chance.

Matt’s Pick: Avatar

Creth’s Pick: Avatar

Brett’s Pick: Avatar

The last time we talked about Woody it was the news of Owen Wilson’s joining Woody’s next project. Since then the yet-untitled project has picked up a pair of beautiful Hollywood starlets in Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard (La vie en rose) and Rachel McAdams (probably won a Teen Choice Award for something). Filming on this project begins this summer in Paris with an expected 2011 release date.

Set to release this fall is Woody’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger starring Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto and Lucy Punch. Filmed August 2009 in London and premiering at this year’s Cannes Film Festival You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger has been purchased by Sony Pictures Classics for U.S. distribution. Sony Pictures Classics also distributed Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown (1999) as well as 2009′s Whatever Works.

Pre-production has begun in Hawai’i for The Descendants, based on the book by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Academy Award®-winning writer/director Alexander Payne teams up with Clooney for the first time in what should have the audience saying “mahalo” by the time the end credits roll. The Descendants is Hawai’i native Hemmings’ first  novel; the production marks a return to the director’s chair for Payne, whose last full-length feature was 2004′s award winning Sideways. Payne has been busy, writing 2007′s I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and producing HBO’s Hung starring Thomas Jane. In theaters right now you can see Clooney starring in Jason Reitman’s Golden Globe-winning Up in the Air. It should be noted that The Descendants will have company in the 50th state, as Pirates of the Caribbean 4 will also be filming there. Anybody else curious as to whether Clooney and Johnny Depp will shoot hoops or rock out together while sharing the same chain of islands?

Academy Award® winners Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Richard Dreyfuss and Ernest Borgnine joined Bruce Willis (Sin City), Mary-Louis Parker (“Weeds”), Brian Cox (Rushmore) and Academy Award® nominee John Malkovich in Toronto as they began production of the big-screen adaptation Red based on the graphic novel of the same name by Warren Ellis. Its hard to hear about a graphic novel adaptation starring Willis along side a lot of A list actors and not think of Frank Miller’s Sin City — alas, the City casts a large shadow. Rumors of a City sequel make this an especially interesting project for Willis to take on. I hope that Red finds a unique onscreen style and feel to stand out in whats become a rather big graphic novel crowd. Production moves to New Orleans before wrapping in late March. Look for Red in theaters October 22, 2010 and watch Willis and Freeman in Lucky Number Slevin on DVD today!

Here is the press release for those of you out there that care:

Joining previously announced stars Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker and Academy Award^®-winners Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman, are two-time Academy Award^®-nominee John Malkovich, Karl Urban, Brian Cox, Academy Award^®-winners Richard Dreyfuss and Ernest Borgnine, Julian McMahon, James Remar and Rebecca Pidgeon.

“Red” is the story of Frank Moses (Willis), a former black-ops CIA agent, who is now living a quiet life.  That is, until the day a hi-tech assassin shows up intent on killing him.  With his identity compromised and the life of the woman he cares for, Sarah (Parker), endangered, Frank reassembles his old team (Freeman, Malkovich and Mirren) in a last ditch effort to survive.

Directed by Robert Schwentke (“The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Flightplan”) from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber (“Whiteout”), the film is produced by di Bonaventura Pictures’ Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian (“Salt,” “Transformers,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”).  Executive producers are Jake Myers (“Shanghai,” “Hollywoodland”) and Gregory Noveck (“Jonah Hex”).  Di Bonaventura Pictures’ production executive David Ready serves as co-producer.

“Red” reunites director Schwentke with director of photography Florian Ballhaus (“Marley & Me,” “The Devil Wears Prada”) and Oscar-winning film editor Thom Noble (“Witness,” “Thelma & Louise”) who collaborated with Schwentke on “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and “Flightplan.”  Additionally, “Red” production designer Alec Hammond (“Donnie Darko”) and costume designer Susan Lyall (“Rachel Getting Married”) lent their talents to Schwentke’s “Flightplan” as well.

“I’m so excited at the phenomenal cast that Robert and our script have attracted,” said di Boneventura.  “I think audiences are going to have a great time.”

Summit’s President of Production Erik Feig said, “RED is that classic project with a little bit of something for everyone.  We are thrilled to see it come to vivid life with an outstanding cast, incredibly talented director, and top notch producing team.  It’s gonna be a good one!””

“Red” will film in and around the Toronto metropolitan area for nine weeks before moving on to the road and ending in New Orleans in late March for the final two weeks of principal photography.  The film is scheduled for worldwide release on October 22, 2010.