Heya! I'm Erickh. I'm new here. For my first contribution, I'll give you my Oscar commentary. So lets-a get started! Smaller awards first, bigger ones last. Not gonna do all of 'em. Go!
Visual Effects:
Prediction: Inception
Personal pick: Scott Pilgrim or Tron Legacy
Personal pick from the actual list of nominees: Inception
Now, even if Scott Pilgrim or Tron Legacy WERE nominated, this is Inception's year. I LOVED Inception's visual effects, but as the same weirdo who thought District 9 had better effects than Avatar, I'd say that both Scott Pilgrim AND Tron Legacy had better effects than Inception. Inception altered an already existing world with it's visual effects. Tron MADE THEIR OWN WORLD. I also seem to be in a minority of people who actually thought the motion-captured Young Kevin Flynn/Clu looked pretty good. As for Scott Pilgrim, the effects are both in-your-face AND subtle to make the film look and feel like a comic book and a video game. Inception's effects were great, but they were only taken advantage of in a few scenes, and they were too in-your-face.
Sound Mixing:
Prediction: Inception or The Social Network
Pick: Inception
I love how subtle sound is used in Inception. Even after watching the film several times, I'll notice new things, like the "kick" being put several layers into the background noise, barely even audible.
Original Score:
Prediction: The Social Network
Pick: Tron Legacy
Pick from the nominees: The Social Network
Daft Punk has proven that they can conform their style to the requirements of a feature film phenomenally. Science fiction in particular. That being said, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score is like nothing I've ever heard before in a film score, and it surprisingly works. You wouldn't think to mix Nine Inch Nails and the founding of Facebook, and in a way, that's kinda WHY it works. That didn't make much sense, did it? Ah well...
Documentary:
Prediction: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Pick: Exit Through the Gift Shop, though I haven't seen any of the others :/
I'm a tad disappointed Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage and Best Worst Movie weren't nominated. I guess that's karma for the gladness I have from Catfish NOT being nominated.
In many ways, Catfish and Exit Through the Gift Shop are similar, and yet polar opposites. They're both largely based around a confrontation between two people, only for one person to reveal that they are not what they seem. However, while Catfish manages to be shocking only in how surprisingly dull and true-to-life the reveal is, Exit Through the Gift Shop manages to genuinely make the audience FEEL something SURPRISING when they witness Thiery Guetta fall from a humble filmmaker to a pretentious buffoon. Exit Through the Gift Shop informs its audience about the street art scene and industry, while entertaining them with its interesting, mysterious characters.
Costume Design:
Prediction: The King's Speech or Alice in Wonderland
Pick: True Grit
It's not often that you see such detail and originality in the costumes for a western. Should go to True Grit, but since the Academy has a hard-on for English clothing from the 1700's to the mid 1900's, I'd predict a win for The King's Speech or Alice in Wonderland, even though there was only a small handful of outfits in The King's Speech that weren't just generic suits or dresses (Colin Firth's regal king outfit and just about anything Helena Bonham Carter wore), and even though many of the characters in Alice in Wonderland were just CGI animals...
Animated Film:
Prediction: Toy Story 3
Pick: Toy Story 3
Y'know, I haven't seen How To Train Your Dragon yet. I've heard it's pretty awesome.
Cinematography:
Prediction: The King's Speech or Black Swan
Pick: Black Swan
The stunning dance sequences make up for the annoying close ups of Natalie Portman walking.
Original Screenplay:
Prediction: The King's Speech
Pick: Toy Story 3
Pick from the nominees: Inception
The King's Speech was really good, and the script was better than I imagined. I wouldn't mind it winning. Even though I really liked how Inception created this new concept, along with how this new concept would work scientifically, I understand its GLARING flaws (like how it sometimes seems Ariadne's only purpose is to say anything the audience is probably thinking...).
Adapted Screenplay:
Prediction: The Social Network
Pick: Well, The Social Network, but Toy Story 3 should be up there! ^^^
WTF guys? Why the fuck is Toy Story 3 here? From what is it being adapted, exactly? Just because it's a sequel doesn't mean they didn't have to set up the dialogue from fucking SCRATCH. Goddamn. It's a shame, because it has better dialogue than anything nominated for best original screenplay.
The Social Network's script was pretty much perfect. No complaints for it winning.
Supporting Actress:
Prediction: Hailee Steinfeld
Pick: Well, Hailee Steinfeld was probably better, but it would be cool to see my two favorite actresses win an Oscar in the same night, so I'm rooting for Helena Bonham Carter.
Hailee Steinfeld was the fucking STAR of True Grit. Not Jeff Bridges. She should be up for best actress. Helena Bonham Carter was good and all, but Hailee Steinfeld ruled True Grit with an iron fist. Lol.
Lead Actress:
Prediction: Natalie Portman
Pick: Natalie Portman
To be fair, I have only seen Black Swan out of all the nominees for lead actress, but this is my list, I'm not a professional critic, Black Swan was fucking outstanding, Natalie Portman is one of my favorite actresses, and Natalie Portman was fucking awesome in Black Swan, so if you have a problem with my unprofessionalism, fuck you. :3
Supporting Actor:
Prediction: Christian Bale or Geoffrey Rush
Pick: Andrew Garfield or Justin Timberlake
Pick from the nominees: Geoffrey Rush, but I haven't seen The Fighter yet
Actually, out of all these, I've only seen The King's Speech. Derp...
Why were Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake snubbed while Jesse Eisenberg was nominated? There were moments in The Social Network where Eisenberg SUCKED. Garfield and Timberlake were fucking awesome, though. Grah.
Lead Actor:
Prediction: Colin Firth
Pick: Colin Firth
Colin Firth was surprisingly awesome in The King's Speech. From his first appearance, I could see genuine distress in his face. Actually, it was because of Firth's impressive emoting in that opening scene that I realized The King's Speech was not going to be as annoying as I had previously expected. Since he was limited in what he was able to actually SAY, it really was nice to see subtle, but telling emotion in his facial expression. That's not to say that Firth wasn't amazing when he WAS speaking. It's quite enjoyable to view his fluctuation between stammering and normal speech, as well as his fluctuation between distressed and triumphant.
Director:
Prediction: Erm...Darren Aronofsky or David Fincher
Pick: Christopher Nolan
Pick from the nominees:Raaaaaaaaaaa...Aronofsky, I guess. I dunno...
David Fincher directed my favorite movie. It would be cool for him to win another Oscar. That being said, Black Swan was REALLY good, it had MANY similarities to said favorite movie, and Fincher's already won an Oscar for directing. I guess I'm rooting for Aronofsky.
Best Picture:
Prediction: On the fence between The King's Speech and The Social Network. Hmm...The Social Network.
Personal pick that actually has a chance at winning: The Social Network
Movies that would be fucking cool if they won, but don't have much of a chance: Black Swan or Inception
The best picture of 2010: Toy Story 3
This is not an opinion. Toy Story 3 was not only my FAVORITE movie of 2010. It was the BEST. I rarely speak in absolutes, but I'll make an exception here.
Toy Story 3 had much more heart and work put into it than any of the other nominees. Every detail was rendered by hand and imagination. There was so much care put into these characters, these environments, these words, these notes. So much, that the film demands this care in return from the audience, who is willing to deliver. I've witnessed a whole theater full of people my age crying at the end of this movie. I've witnessed some of the most stoic people I know crying at the end of this movie. That, alone, is an impressive fucking feat.
To dismiss Toy Story 3's merits because it is an animated film is repugnant. Animated films have the ability to be just as effective as live-action films. It just takes more effort. Toy Story 3 puts in that effort, and then some.
Now that I've said my crazy shit, I'll go on to being a bit more sane, I guess...
The Social Network may not be his best film, but it was still fucking great, and I want David Fincher to win an Oscar for best picture.
While it may not be Fincher's best, The Social Network can, in many ways, be viewed as Citizen Kane with modern twists. That may seem like a hyperbole, and in many ways it is, but in many ways it's true. Both films are told in various flashbacks. Mark Zuckerberg's rise to power, only to desire his initial simplicity, parallels Charles Foster Kane's life in Citizen Kane. Hell, Mark's ex-girlfriend could practically be Rosebud.
As for The King's Speech, well, I liked it more than I thought I would. I'm very glad to say that. In fact, it was very refreshing, entertaining, well-crafted, and, more importantly, enjoyable. I cynically walked into the theater expecting to end up comparing it to Avatar. "Extremely cliched, making no attempt to hide its cliches, but at least it has a redeeming quality, so meh". Walking out of the theater, I ended up comparing it more to District 9. "Cliched, but everything it does right makes up for it." That all being said, it was still too cliched to be the best of the year. The King's Speech's one and only flaw was its lack of originality or imagination. Unfortunately, this is kind of a big flaw.
Too many Oscar nominees feature the British monarchy. Too many have Nazis. Too many feature disabilities. Too many feature class struggle. Unless we're going to do something unique with one of these elements (Like, say, what Inglourious Basterds did), I request a moratorium.
That's all from me. Thanks for reading my ramblings. I may edit them if I change my mind...
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