Predictions : Best Animated Feature

Here are the best animated feature (5 nominations) line up:

LOCKS

1. Toy Story 3: Which recent film has got 99% (yes it is 99%) rating at Rotten Tomatoes? And 92 at the Metacritic? And the film is already the highest grossing film of this year, a billionaire? Yes- Toy Story 3 is going to be nominated and win a well. Nothing stands in front of it.

2. Tangled : This recent hit is critically acclaimed, and who doesn't loves Rapunzel? Another Disney's pic, this film is almost a lock for the nominations.

3. The Illusionist (L'illusionniste) : This french traditionally animated film will definitely gather some attention, the film has already got nominated for Golden Globes.

STRONG CONTENDERS
4. How to Train Your Dragon - Yes, it is also almost a lock, but then again, the constant snubbing of this wonderful film makes me feel different. But still, there are strong chances that the film will get nomination for the Best Animated Feature.

5. Despicable Me - Universal's this picture will probably get a nomination, as the film is critically well received and has performed greatly at the box offfice.

6. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole : Warner Bros' 3D animated film met with positive reviews from the critics, so no one should stuck off the film's chances at the Academy Awards.

ALSO IN RACE
At #7 is Megamind, #8 is Shrek Forever. Rest of #9 and #10 are probably some foreign animated films, as other US films were almost unwatchable.

Costume Design Lineups

Let us take a look at this year's costume design lineups (5 nominations)

LOCKS
1. Alice in the Wonderland - Colleen Atwood anyone? Eight times Academy Award nominated (2 times winning as well), this woman is definitely a front runner for Burton's Alice in the Wonderland.

2. The Black Swan - Costume designer Amy Westcott is pretty new face in terms of Academy Awards, but the film showcases some spectacular ballet costumes and wonderful clothings, Amy is definitely going to be nominated.

3. The King's Speech - British costume drama and about British monarchy? It is baity indeed.
Costume designer Jenny Beavan is an Oscar favorite, so no problems for TKS for this nomination.

STRONG CONTENDERS
4. True Grit - Mary Zophres has designed some flashy western outfits for Coen Brother's True Grit. Mary is nominated for a BAFTA for 'Catch me if you can', let us see what this year gives her.

5. Shutter Island - Sandy Powell, a regular for Scorsese, is again up for the thriller 'Shutter Island'. Take a look:-

6. Robin Hood - Ridley Scott's complete disappointment, but atleast it showcases some amazing costumes, thanks to Janty Yates (winner of Oscar for Ridley's 'Gladiator').

ALSO IN RACE
At number 7 is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, #8 is Eat, Pray, Love, #9 is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, #10 is The Social Network.

Predictions - Best Editing

Let us see what films are up for Best Editing (5 nominations) for this year's Oscars -

LOCKS
1. Inception - Lee Smith's work for Inception is definitely going to be a front runner for Best Editing this year. The film's interwoven and sleek editing is marvelous. Moreover, Lee is twice nominated for an Oscar (recently for Nolan's The Dark Knight).

2. 127 Hours - The swift and crisp editing for Boyle's film by Jon Harris is also going to gather Academy's attention. Jon is previously known for his work on 'Snatch (2000) and recently 'Kick Ass' (2010).

3. The Social Network - Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter are pretty much locks due to their amazing work in 'The Social Network', this duo was previously nominated for Fincher's 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'.

STRONG CONTENDERs
4. Black Swan - Editor Andrew Weisblum worked as an addition editor for a lot of acclaimed films like 'Chicago', and as an editor he worked for Darren's previous film' The Wrestler'. This time, he is one of the major contender for Academy Award for Best Editing, and there's no denying.

5. Shutter Island - Thelma Schoonmaker is no new name of the world of film editing. She is probably the most talented film editor of recent times, and she was won 3 Oscars for Scorsese's films. This time again, nothing will stop her for getting a nomination for Best Editing.

6. True Grit - Coen Brothers (as Roderick Jaynes) are always Academy's favorite and this time, there is no exception.


ALSO IN RACE

7. The King's Speech - Tariq Anwar is having a great opportunity for this year, as TKS is one of the front runners for Academy Award for Best Picture.

8. Kick Ass - Although the film has three editors (Jesus Christ!), namely Eddie Hamilton, Jon Harris and Pietro Scalia, this swift and furious film will probably get some Oscar attention. Scalia is two times winner of an Academy Award.

9. Buitiful - Stephen Mirrione may get an Oscar nod for this Spanish film.

10. The Town - Dylan Tichenor is known for acclaimed films like 'There Will Be Blood', 'Brokeback Mountain' and 'Magnolia'. One time Oscar nominee, this year could be his lucky year.

Line Ups - Art Direction/Production Design

Here are some shots for the Oscar for Best Production Design (or Art Direction in some other awards) :

LOCKS
1. Alice in the Wonderland

Alice in the Wonderland's art direction is innovative and captivating. Moreover, the production designer Robert Stromberg is already the defending winner (he won for 'Avatar'), Alice is always in the first place.

2. Inception

The liberty of architecture due to dream world is fully utilized by this years most favorable film in terms of technical awards, Inception. Production Designer Guy Hendrix Dyas created majestic buildings, cathedrals and domes, hotel corridors and what not. A three times Art Director Guilds nominee and a BAFTA nominee, Dyas certainly is going to be nominated for Inception.

3. Black Swan

The above FYC poster says it all. Black Swan showcases some spectacular sets and visual treats, Thérèse DePrez, the Production Designer of this Drama-Thriller, is already nominated for more than 5 critics circles for the film and he is definitely a lock for the Oscars.

ALSO IN RACE
4. The King's Speech

This British political drama is one of the major contenders of this years Oscars, and so is the film's art direction. Eve Stewart is a one time Oscar nominee, and she has done a great job in this film.
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Stuart Craig is a long overdue for Potter, and this time again, he has shown a great work for the magical world of Harry Potter. A potent contender, Potter 7.1 may get a nod for Production Design.

6. Shutter Island

Dante Ferretti's eerie sets for this Scorsese's thriller is getting a lot of attention, and deservingly so. Also, Feretti is a huge name for Oscars(he is nominated for no more than 8 times). What is stopping this film from getting a nod?

Others
At number 7 is True Grit, which has got some Critics Circle nominations and showcases art direction by Jess Gonchor, at number 8 is Scott Pilgrim versus the World , number 9 is The Ghost Writer and at number 10 is Kick Ass.

Oscar Predictions : Best Cinematography

I'm starting off with techies, so here are my predictions for Cinematography this year (5 nominations).
MOST LIKELY
1. Inception : Wally Pfister's work for Inception is marvellous. Let it be the slow motion shots, or the gravity defying scenes, Wally has excelled all of them. Here are some of the screen shots.


2. Black Swan
Darren Aronofsky's psycho-thriller is filmed along with graceful and beautiful ballets, wonderful use of lighting and ofcourse Natalie Portman. Take a look.

3. True Grit
Roger Deakins long due is hopefully going to be paid, as he is back behind the camera for Coen Brother's True Grit. The film itself, is isn't much into the Oscar race, but it certainly does have some strong photography.

4. The Social Network
Jeff Cronenweth's urban and fresh cinematography for 'The Social Network' is definitely going to get some attention from the Academy. Shot with beautiful lighting and wonderful camera angles, the film is a real treat to watch. Take a look.

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
It was almost a pleasant surprise previous year, when Bruno Delbonnel was nominated for sixth Potter for cinematography. This time again, Potter shows its true colors with new DOP Eduardo Serra, who has shot the film with naturalistic tone, stark-spectacular landscapes and some great camera techniques. See it yourself-



ALSO IN RACE
Along with above films, these films may also make their way into the Oscars:-
6. 127 Hours - Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak's deserted but beautiful wide angled shot 127 Hours is a serious contender for this year's Oscars.
7. Shutter Island - Although the buzz for Seresin's this thriller has died down, Robert Richardson's photography should never be under-considered.
8. The King's Speech - Danny Cohen has never got any huge success in terms of Awards (except for a nod for Primetime Emmy), he might just get his first glory this year, because of The King's Speech's big buzz for Oscars.

UNLIKELY, BUT CONTENDERS
Here are some unlikely contenders but who may get a nod in the final place. At #9 is 'The Way Back' which is beautifully shot film, and #10 is 'Never Let Me Go'.

Oscar Predictions 2011 - Best Original Score

As award season has just started, here are my very first predictions for Best Original Score (5 nominations).
EDIT - As unfortunately, Black Swan is deemed ineligible, the lineups are changed.

LOCKS

1. How to Train Your Dragon : John Powell was always ignored by the Academy, primarily because he worked on mostly action films, where music didn't had much scope. But fortunately, Mr. Powell has shown his true potential in Dreamworks' animation How to Train Your Dragon, and his score is almost a lock for now. Here is a sample track.
2. 127 Hours : Another great score by Mozart of Madras, A.R. Rahman. It is the second collaboration of Rahman with Danny Boyle, and the film itself is getting some great buzz. The score is completely electrifying and heart-breaking at the same time. Here is the sample track.
3. Inception : Hans Zimmer + Christopher Nolan, what else you could ask for? The score has some of the best use of bass in recent times, it is swift and exciting. 'Dream is Collapsing' - a great track.

Strong Contenders

1. The Social Network - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's perfect rhythms complemented this years most acclaimed film, David Fincher's Social Network. A lot of critics praised the score for the film, however, there is some doubt that the score might be ineligible for Oscars because it has some 'tweaked' versions of 'Ghosts'. Anyways, here's the ear-candy.
2. The King's Speech - Desplat's another work this year, the score suits the film pretty well and it is the trademark style of Desplat. Moreover, the film itself is getting pretty huge Oscar buzz, so it definitely has a shot. Check it out.
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One - Alexandre Desplat's score for Deathly Hallows is emotional, moving and yet powerful and exciting at the same time. People always think of Desplat as a minimalist, paino-only, indie film composer, but he has proved that he can compose some blockbusters too. Check it out.
4. The Ghost Writer - Its Desplat over and over again, and this time, it is for thriller 'The Ghost Writer'. Check it out.
   
5. Never Let Me Go - Rachel Portman's sweeping music, with strong emotions, definitely demands a listen. The film itself has not got much acclaim, though Rachel has got high praise of the film's score. You can listen to one of the tracks here.

Other contenders which are also in the race are Toy Story 3 (Randy Newman has never got lucky for Oscars due to Toy Story, but we'll see),Alice in the Wonderland (Danny Elfman has got a Golden Globe nod for this film, so who knows?) and Tron Legacy (Daft Punk's score is an electrifying fusion of classical orchestra and synth sounds, but only time will tell).

Buzz Review - Avatar

"Avatar is a stylish, visually stunning grand film, with some plot problems"

After a big hiatus of 13 years, James Cameron is back with a bang. His newest affair is with some blue aliens, fighting for their environment with human race in the year 2154. As expected, the film is visually stunning, with visual effects so amazing that Hollywood has never seen before. 3D is just like toppings in a delicious cake!

"I dreamed I was a soldier who could bring peace. Sooner or later though, you always have to wake up" says Jake Sully [Sam Worthington] who was a ex-Marine in US Army, alas he always 'dreamed' as his legs were paralyzed. But he gets one of a lifetime chance for playing huge role in fictional American organization RDA's mission - mission Avatar. Human race [or more precisely RDA] is up for a valuable mineral called 'unobtanium' found in Pandora, an earth-like star of Alpha Centuri. Jake's identical twin brother was scientist, who took part in this mission, but after his death, RDA gave opportunity to Jake. Now Jake was all set to take part in 'Avatar' program, to exploit Pandora's valuable resources and 'unobtainium'. He has to gain trust of Na'vis, an indigenous population of Pandora, since huge deposit of unobtainium lies underneath the land of Na'vis. Cameron's writing starts to get very cliched and expected, as Jake [in his Avatar] falls in love with Na'vi girl Neytiri [Zoe Saldana] and starts rebelling with RDA.


Near the middle of the film, the writing starts to get pretty weak. In terms of story, the film has a striking resemblance to 1990 Academy Award winning film 'Dances with the Wolves'. Futhermore, Avatar is full of several plot holes, a big plot hole being Aliens speaking their own language as well as English, Jake flying on a huge flying beast near the end of the film without any problem at all, Jake transforming permanently into his Avatar, leaving his human body without any second thought and so on.

But still, this 162 minute alien film feels like a life-time experience. James Cameron's cliched writing is overshadowed by his visionary direction. Blue aliens in the film never look like CGI driven character.

Cameron also gave public a lesson on saving the environment, loving the trees, treating all the animals like humans and so on. The message is conveyed pretty well through this film, in a very effective way. Cameron did a commendable job here.

Zoe Saldana's performance as Neytiri and Sigourney Weaver's performance as Grace Augustine stole the show. Zoe is a delight to watch. Her expressions for Neytiri and her indigenous accent was all lovely. Weaver also did a great job in portraying Grace Augustine, a fellow scientist with Jake. Sam Worthington did over-acted at times, but still it was impressive performance by him.
Stephen Lang's performance for Colonel Miles was cheesy and stereo-typed. Rest of the cast did well.

Visual effects are something which are definitely to be praised and studied for a long time. After 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, this is the best use of motion capture technology in recent time. Compositing, chroma-keys are done exceptionally by the visual effects team of Avatar. Also, 3D is what which makes the film ahead of the curve. People have seen several 3D films, which are just 3D films and nothing else, but Avatar is first 3D film which is a complete, wholesome entertaining film in its own.

Cinematography is pretty good as well. Mauro Fiore's presentation of green at day and blue at night planet is breath-taking. Production Designer Rick Carter's sets complement Avatar's top notch visual effects and cinematography. However, James Horner's music was slightly disappointing at this time. Horner's must was like a recycled version of his previous work. He didn't showed any originality at all.

So in the end, Avatar is a great film. It is filmed stylishly, has jaw dropping visual effects and has a cliched, slightly weak storyline, giving a humble message in the end. Highly recommended.

3.5 out of 5.

Oscars : Winner predictions

Though it is quite early, and it is almost a month before the Oscars, I will predict some of the winners :

Best Picture

• Will Win - Avatar
• Should Win - The Hurt Locker
• Also In the Race - Up in the Air, Inglorious Basterds, Precious : Based on the Novel 'Push'..
• Underdogs - The Blind Side, Up, A Serious Man, An Education, District 9

Best Director

• Will Win - Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
• Should Win - Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
• Also in the Race - James Cameron (Avatar)
• Underdogs - Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)

Best Original Screenplay

• Will Win - Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker)
• Should Win - Tom McCarthy, Bob Peterson and Pete Docter (Up)
• Also in the Race - Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino), A Serious Man (Ethan and Joel Coen)
• Underdog- Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman (The Messenger)

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Will Win - Precious : Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (Geoffrey Fletcher)
• Should Win - Precious : Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (Geoffrey Fletcher)
• Also in the Race - An Education (Nick Hornby)
• Underdogs - In The Loop ( Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Ianucci and Tony Roche) and Up in the Air (Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner)

Best Animated Feature

• Will Win - Up
• Should Win - Up
• Also in the Race - Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog
• Underdogs - The Secret of Kells

Best Actor in a Leading Role

• Will Win - Jeff Bridges (A Crazy Heart)
• Should Win - Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
• Also in the Race - Collin Firth (A Single Man)
• Underdogs - Morgan Freeman (Invictus) and George Clooney (Up in the Air)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

• Will Win - Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
• Should Win - Carrey Mulligan (An Education) / Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
• Also in the Race - Gabourey Sidibe (Precious..)
• Underdogs - Helen Mirren (The Last Station)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Will Win - Christopher Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)
• Should Win - Christopher Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)
• Also in the race - Matt Damon (Invictus), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
• Underdogs - Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Will Win - Monique (Precious)
• Should Win - Monique (Precious)
• Also in the Race - Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
• Underdogs - Penelope Cruz (Nine) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)

I will post rest of my predictions tomorrow.

Oscar Nominations announced, an analyze

Finally I will review Oscar nominations announced later this evening, and of-course I would compare it to my predictions.

Best Picture- I literally forgot to include 'Up' in my prediction list, whereas 'The Blind Side' is a rather big surprise here. All of my locks were included in the nominees lists, where as District 9 went on to be nominated which I included in Long Shot.

Best Director - Again, all locks went on to be nominated, Cameron and Lee Daniels got the shot from strong contenders.

Best Original Screenplay - I really screwed up this category. Only one nominee of my lock was nominated for it (i.e. The Hurt Locker), Away We Go didn't got nominated whereas District 9 got a chance in Adapted Screenplay (odd!)
Serious Man got a chance from strong contenders, where as The Messenger got long shot.
So, this is the first failure of my prediction.

Best Adapted Screenplay - Again, a pretty bad prediction by me, only Up in the Air and Precious got nominated from my locks, Invictus and Informant were not nominated.
An Eduction and In the Loop got the nod from strong contenders, and District 9 was nominated.
So, here comes failure number 2.

Best Actor in a Leading Role - A great prediction by me, all of locks were nominated and Jeremy Renner and Collin Firth got the nod from strong contenders.

Best Actress in a Leading Role - All of my locks were nominated and Helen Mirren and Sandra Bullock got nominated from strong contenders.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role - All of my locks were again nominated and Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson got nomination from strong contenders.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - A great shock by Academy, Maggie Gyllenhaal got nominated for A Crazy Heart, which I didn't included in my predictions.
However, locks did got a nominations and Penelope Cruz got a nomination from strong contenders.

Best Animated Feature - Though all my locks got nominated, The Secret of Kells got a nomination, which I didn't included in my list.

Best Original Score- My locks were nominated, however, Macro Beltrami and Beck Sanders got a nod for The Hurt Locker and even Hans Zimmer got nominated for Shecklock Holmes, so there are two nominations which I got wrong, so I consider it failure no. 3
Alexandre Desplat is the only person who got nod from Strong Contenders.

Best Cinematography- All my locks went on to be nominated, and Half-Blood Prince got it from the my long shot list.

Best Production Design - AH, the Sherlock Holmes love is something which I don't get. Anyways, it was a bizzare prediction by me, only Avatar got nominated from my locks and only Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus got nominated from my whole list!
It was an epic failure no. 4

Best Visual Effects - All my locks were nominated and Star Trek got a nod from my strong contenders list.

Anyways, I predicted 13 Nominates out of only 4 went badly wrong. My success rate was 69%, then again, it is not pretty bad . :)

I will soon predict winners so keep checking!

Academy Award Predictions - Continued

Here are another set of nomination predictions for this year's Oscars -

Best Original Score (5 Nominations)

LOCKS

• Michael Giacchino - Up
  
• James Horner - Avatar
  

STRONG CONTENDERS

• Abel Korzeniowski - A Single Man
  
• Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant!
  
• Karen Orzolek, Carter Burwell - Where the Wild Things Are
  
• Alexandre Desplat - Fantastic Mr. Fox
  
• T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton - Crazy Heart
  
• Chaz Jankel - Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
  

LONG SHOT

• Thomas Newman - Brothers
  
• Michael Giacchino, Varèse Sarabande - Star Trek
  

Best Cinematography (5 Nominations)

LOCKS

• Barry Ackroyd - The Hurt Locker
• Robert Richardson - Inglorius Basterds
  

STRONG CONTENDERS

• Christian Berger - The White Ribbon
• Mauro Fiore - Avatar
• Lance Acord - Where the Wild Things Are
• Roger Deakins - A Serious Man
• Trent Opaloch - District 9
  
• Greig Fraser - Bright Star

LONG SHOT

• Bruno Delbonnel - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Dione Beebe - Nine

Best Production Design (5 Nominations)

LOCKS

• Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg - Avatar
• David Wasco - Inglorius Basterds

STRONG CONTENDERS

• Terry Gilliam, Dave Warren, Anastasia Masaro- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
• Nathan Crowley - Public Enemies
• Philip Ivey - District 9
• Stuart Craig - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• K.K. Barrett - Where the Wild Things Are
• Sarah Greenwood - Sherlock Holmes

LONG SHOT

• Scott Chambliss - Star Trek
• Naomi Shohan - The Lovely Bones

Best Visual Effects (3 Nominations)
LOCKS

• John Bruno, Joe Letteri, Stephen Sosenbaum - Avatar

• Matt Aitken, Keegan Douglas, Jason Gross - District 9

STRONG CONTENDERS

• Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton - Star Trek
• Volker Engel, Marc Weigert, Mike Vezina - 2012
• Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Wayne Billheimer, John Frazier - Transfomers : Revenge of the fallen

LONG SHOT

• Craig Barron, Phil Brennan, John Dietz, John Fragomeni - Terminator Salvation
• Tim Burke, John Richardson, Tim Alexander, Nicholas Aithadi - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

So, this is it for nomination predictions. I don't have any opinion for Makeup/hair, Sound Editing/Mixing and Original Song, so won't predict any nominations for it. Academy will announce the nominations on 2nd February, 2010.