THE OSCARS

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This article was published 07/03/2010 (6031 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

4444111″ö BEST PICTURE — Our favourite long shot: With a whopping 10 nominees in the best picture category, there are several pretty good films that have no hope of winning. (Sorry, District 9.) However unlikely, we would love to see Up take the top prize, especially since it’s only the second time an animated feature has been nominated in this category. From the heartbreaking opening sequence to the brilliant visuals to the truly touching relationship between Carl and Russell, Up was the only movie of 2009 that delivered on every level. (And come on, who doesn’t want a collar that would allow his dog to talk?) Unfortunately for Up, the last time James Cameron released a mediocre movie, it took home almost every single Oscar (thanks a lot, Titanic), so we’re bracing ourselves for Avatar’s inevitable sweep of almost every category.

“ö Best Actor — Our favourite long shot: It’s not even up for debate anymore: Jeff Bridges is pretty much considered a lock for his turn as an alcoholic country singer trying to reclaim his glory days in Crazy Heart. And yes, his performance was commendable. But the rest of the film? Snore! Equally deserving is Up in the Air‘s George Clooney (who’s never been more vulnerable) and A Single Man‘s Colin Firth (who deserves to take home hardware for that phone-call scene alone). But the most intriguing nominee has to be The Hurt Locker‘s Jeremy Renner. The relative newcomer somehow managed to steal our hearts, despite playing a hotheaded bomb expert who’s — frankly — a bit of a jerk.

“ö Best Actress — Our favourite long shot: Of all the Best Actress nominees, none has delighted us more than Gabourey Sidibe, who has proved herself to be poised, witty and all-around awesome. (Any girl who uses an interview to gush about ‘N Sync and beg Justin Timberlake to be her Oscar date is all right with us.) Her bubbly personality makes her performance in Precious all the more impressive, as she perfectly portrayed an introverted, broken, 16-year-old girl dealing with abuse. So not only would Sidibe completely deserve an Oscar, but she’d probably deliver one of the best speeches of the night. Unfortunately, we’re pretty sure the Academy is going to give the statuette to Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, simply because she wasn’t that terrible in it, and Hollywood owes her for the hundreds of millions of dollars she brought in with shlock like The Proposal and Two Weeks Notice.

“ö Best Supporting Actress — Our favourite long shot: We assumed we’d be championing A Single Man‘s Julianne Moore as our favourite long shot this year, but she didn’t even get a nomination. (Silly Academy voters!) So instead, we’re doling our shout-outs to Up in the Air‘s Anna Kendrick. The actress, who was only known to most audiences as a minor character in the Twilight films, not only managed to hold her own alongside acting vets George Clooney and Vera Farmiga; she threatened to steal the show with her portrayal of an uptight, young corporate dynamo. Of course, she doesn’t stand a chance against Precious‘s Mo’Nique, but we can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.

“ö Best Supporting Actor — Our favourite long shot: There is absolutely no question that Christoph Waltz is going to win the Oscar for Inglourious Basterds, so to even pretend that someone else could take home the prize seems a bit silly. (The opening in the French farmhouse? That scene alone proved him worthy of winning.) But even so, Woody Harrelson’s portrayal of U.S. army Cpt. Tony Stone in The Messenger was incredibly affecting, and the man really knows how to cry. Even more impressive was that we completely bought Harrelson as a tortured soldier, considering he’s such an (alleged!) hippy-dippy pothead in real life.

“ö Best Director — Our favourite long shot: This race has come down to a battle of the exes/sexes, with former spouses James Cameron (Avatar) and Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) vying for the prize. While we’d have no problems with Bigelow claiming the trophy (not only because she made a great film, but because we support anyone who shuts down Avatar), we’d love nothing more than to see Jason Reitman take it. More so than any other nominated film this year, Up in the Air stayed with us long after we saw it. Not only did Reitman craft a subtle, timely drama that perfectly captured the woozy weariness of travelling, he also managed to cleverly toy with George Clooney’s real-life, coolly-unattached persona, and, in doing so, captured the best performance of the actor’s already astonishing career.

— Canwest News Service