Oscar Nominations - The Big Ones

Well here we are, a couple days before the Oscars ceremony and we will soon find out how much of this speculation is correct. What better time to do the last categories left in my little prediction piece? Here we go.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Winter's Bone

Toy Story 3

True Grit

127 Hours

The Social Network

This is  very good category this year, of course it is most years. I think the clear winner, though, has to be Aaron Sorkin's script for The Social Network. From the very first sentence, this movie grabs the viewer's attention and doesn't let them go until the final shot. There has been much debate as to how close to reality this movie is, but in my mind, that doesn't matter. What matters is that the audience cares about the characters, they follow the twists and turns of the drama, and that even though the audience more or less knows what is going to happen, they stay surprised.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Another Year

The Fighter

Inception

The Kid's Are All Right

The King's Speech

Again, another solid group of nominees, but this one doesn't quite have as clear a winner. This year either Inception or The Kings Speech. This one was a tough call for me, because if it was strictly up to me, Inception would be the winner. It was interesting, it was fun, and it was mind bending. This movie had everyone talking for weeks after it came out. However, I think the more likely winner is going to be The Kings Speech. It has the feel of a movie that the Oscar voters typically go for and Inception is decidedly not. 

Animated Feature Film

How to Train Your Dragon

The Illusionist

Toy Story 3

This is another category in which what I want to win and what will probably win are two different movies. I absolutely LOVED How to Train Your Dragon. I saw it more times in the theaters than i think any other movie ever. It had more heart than any movie I've seen in a very long time, with one possible exception. Toy Story 3 will probably be the winner this year, and that's my pick. The thing about Toy Story is that people like me literally grew up watching these movies. The original Toy Story is one of my earliest movie going memories. So seeing this franchise come to an end, especially the way they did it, was very emotional for all of us. Toy Story 3 gives these characters that we've loved for fifteen years a send off worthy of what we all had hoped from them.

Directing
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
David O. Russell - The Fighter
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
David Fincher - The Social Network
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - True Grit


This is another amazing category this year. All five of these movies were amazing and had amazing direction. As is the case with many of the categories this year, this is more or less a two horse race. It comes down to The Social Network and The King's Speech. Both well directed and both very deserving of winning. I personally feel like The Social Network was the better directed movie, but best direction usually goes hand in hand with best picture. I personally think that The King's Speech will win best picture so I think it will also win direction.

Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone


When looking at best picture after they've added an additional five nominees, one has to look at the nominees for best director. If one of these ten was not nominated for direction, it most definitely will not win best picture.  As I said before, the two categories usually go hand in hand, since I picked The King's Speech for direction, it would be foolish for me to change my vote for best picture.

So there you have it. All 24 awards. I'll do a follow up after the awards to tell you all how I did.