Monday, February 22, 2010

Winners of the 2010 BAFTA Awards

Best Film
The Hurt Locker

Outstanding British Film
Fish Tank

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Friday, February 05, 2010

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards

THE NOMINEES:

MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
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


Prediction result: 8/10. Predicted (500) Days of Summer and Invictus instead of and The Blind Side and A Serious Man. Blind Side, seriously? But I should have foreseen it, given the box office heat. Didn't think enough voters would like A Serious Man but the Academy loves the Coens.



ACHIEVEMENT IN 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)

Prediction result: 5/5.


PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

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

Prediction result: 5/5.


PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

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)

Prediction result: 5/5.


PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

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

Prediction result: 5/5. How boring. I was hoping Alfred Molina or someone else would sneak past Damon. Oh well.


PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

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)

Prediction result: 3/5. Predicted Melanie Laurent and Julianne Moore instead of Cruz and Gyllenhaal. This was always the least predictable category.


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

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

Prediction result: 3/5. Predicted Avatar and (500) Days of Summer instead of The Messenger and Up. Bummed about the Summer snub, but not so surprised about the one for Avatar.


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Neill Blomkamp, 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, Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)

Prediction result: 4/5. Predicted Fantastic Mr. Fox instead of In the Loop. The latter was really funny, but I loved the Fox screenplay much more.


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

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

Prediction result: 4/5. Predicted Ponyo instead of The Secret of Kells. Didn't love Miyazaki's latest, so I'm not really surprised about the snub. But I was expecting Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to upset. Who predicted Secret?


BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

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


Prediction result: 3/5. Predicted Beaches of Agnes and Mugabe and the White African instead of The Most Dangerous Man and Which Way Home. I generally guess this category, but the snub for Beaches is rather surprising.


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Argentina (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)
France (Un Prophete)
Germany (The White Ribbon)
Israel (Ajami)
Peru (The Milk of Sorrow)

Prediction result: 3/5. Predicted Bulgaria and Netherlands instead of Argentina and Peru. Had a hunch about Milk of Sorrow; should have stuck with it.


ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION


Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria


Prediction result: 2/5. Got only Avatar and Sherlock Holmes correct.


ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

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

Prediction result: 4/5. Predicted Nine instead of The White Ribbon.


ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

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

Prediction result: 4/5. Predicted Cheri instead of Imaginarium.


ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING


John Refoua, Stephen Rivkin (Avatar)
Julian Clarke (District 9)
Chris Innis, Bob Murawski (The Hurt Locker)
Sally Menke (Inglourious Basterds)
Joe Klotz (Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire)

Prediction result: 4/5. Predicted Up in the Air instead of Precious.


ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP

Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria


Prediction result: 1/3. Predicted District 9 and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus instead of Il Divo and The Young Victoria.


ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

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

Prediction result: 3/5. Predicted Coraline and The Informant! instead of The Hurt Locker and Sherlock Holmes. Reminds me how interesting the score for Holmes is.


ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

"Almost There" (The Princess and the Frog)
"Down in New Orleans" (The Princess and the Frog)
"Loin de Paname" (Paris 36)
"Take It All" (Nine)
"The Weary Kind" (Crazy Heart)

Prediction result: 3/5. Predicted "I Can See in Color" and "I See You" instead of "Down in New Orleans" and "Loin de Paname." Who saw the latter coming?


ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up


Prediction result: 3/5. Predicted Transformers and 2012 instead of The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds.


ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Prediction result: 2/5. Got only Avatar and The Hurt Locker right.


ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar
District 9
Star Trek


Prediction result: 3/3.

TOTAL: 77/106.


BEST 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"


SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

"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"


SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

"The Door"
"Instead of Abracadabra"
"Kavi"
"Miracle Fish"
"The New Tenants"