The Oscar Hut's Final Oscar Predictions 2/1/10

Were finally here, after a year of cinema, constant Oscar buzz and baseless chatter, we've made it to the home stretch of the 2009-2010 Oscar season. Looking back , it's funny how much things have changed over the course of the past 12 months. Shutter Island went from being a surefire contender set for an October release to being a mid February release. The Lovely Bones, Nine and Public Enemies fell from their once golden sure lock statuses. And Avatar was still a mystery to most of the film-going public let alone bloggers and critics.

But that's the exciting thing about an Oscar race that proves to be unpredictable. It's always exhilarating to be kept in the dark guessing until the last moment, principally because it gives people like myself, Nathaniel Rogers, Sasha Stone and Kris Tapley things to write about. It also keeps my passion for writing about film strong, which in of itself is all the payment I need to satisfy my love for movies and the Oscars.

Before I move on to my final predictions, I want to make it clear that even now, the night before we find out who will be nominated, nobody knows anything. For all I know, Avatar could end up snubbed like The Dark Knight in favor of a safer film like The Blind Side (though to be honest, that may be stretching it a bit). any actor or actress could come out of nowhere to steal a previously thought to be locked performers nod. Anything can, and possibly will happen tomorrow morning when Anne Hathaway reads off the nominees. Which is another reason why I love years like this and any other.

I have come to think of myself as a respectable prognosticator. Am I on the level of a Ryan Adams or Sasha Stone? No, but I am proud of what I believe to be a honed talent. I love calculating with hopefully strong precision box office numbers and predictions.

Flat out, I love the Oscars, and nights like these are the prime reason for it. I extend out a wish of good luck to the more experienced bloggers and prognosticators, an extensive amount more so than I, and the same goes for people who write down their predictions on pads of paper at home for their own enjoyment.

Moments like this are ours for the taking, and with that, here are my final Oscar nominees predictions, with each category provided one alternate (because, I need some leverage room.)

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Best Motion Picture

- Avatar

- District 9

- An Education

- The Hurt Locker

- Inglourious Basterds

- Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

- A Serious Man

- Star Trek

- Up

- Up in The Air

Alt: Invictus

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Best Director of a Motion Picture

- Katherine Bigelow for The Hurt locker

- Neill Blomkamp for District 9

- James Cameron for Avatar

- Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

- Jason Reitman for Up in The Air

Alt: Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

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Best Actor in a Leading Role

- Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

- George Clooney for Up in The Air

- Colin Firth for A Single Man

- Morgan Freeman for Invictus

- Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker

Alt: Tobey Maguire for Brothers

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Best Actress in a Leading Role

-Sandra Bullock for The Blind side

- Helen Mirren for The last Station

- Carey Mulligan for An Education

- Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

- Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia

Alt: Nope, this is the 5.

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Best Actor in a Supporting Role

- Matt Damon for Invictus

- Woody Harrelson for The Messenger

- Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles

- Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones

- Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

Alt: Anthony Mackie for The Hurt Locker

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Best Actress in a Supporting Role

- Vera Farmiga for Up in The Air

- Anna Kendrick for Up in The Air

- Diane Kruger for Inglourious Basterds

- Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

- Julianne Moore for A Single Man

Alt: Penelope Cruz for Nine

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Best Adapted Screenplay

- District 9 by Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell

- An Education by Nick Hornby

- Fantastic Mr. Fox by Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach

- Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire by Geoffrey Fletcher

- Up in The Air by Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

Alt: Crazy Heart

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Best Original Screenplay

- (500) Days of Summer by Scott Neustatder & Michael H. Weber

- The Hurt Locker by Mark Boal

- Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino

- A Serious Man by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

- Up by Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy and Bob Peterson

Alt: Avatar

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Best Film Editing

- Avatar

- District 9

- The Hurt Locker

- Inglourious Basterds

- Up in The Air

Alt: Star Trek

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Best Cinematography

-Avatar

- The Hurt Locker

- Inglourious Basterds

- Nine

- The White Ribbon

Alt: District 9

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Best Art Directon

- Avatar

- District 9

- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

- Inglourious Basterds

- Sherlock Holmes

Alt: Public Enemies

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Best Costume Design

- Bright Star

- Inglourious Basterds

- Nine

- Sherlock Holmes

- The Young Victoria

Alt: Coco Avant Chanel

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Best Make-Up

- District 9

- The Imaginarium of Docter Parnassus

- Star Trek

Alt: Once again, nope, this is the 5.

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Best Visual F/X

- Avatar

- District 9

- Star Trek

Alt: And yet again, this is the 5.

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Best Original Score

- Avatar by James Horner

- Fantastic Mr. Fox by Alexandre Desplat

- The Informant! by Marvin Hamlisch

- Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer

- Up by Michael Giacchino

Alt: Star Trek by Michael Giacchino

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Best Original Song

- "I See You" from Avatar

- "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart

- "(I Want To) Come Home" from Everybody's Fine

- "Cinema Italiano" from Nine

- "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog

Alt: "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog

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Best Sound Editing

- Avatar

- District 9

- The Hurt Locker

- Star Trek

- Up

Alt: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

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Best Sound Mixing

- Avatar

- District 9

- The Hurt Locker

- Star Trek

- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Alt: Up

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Best Animated Feature

- Coraline

- Fantastic Mr. Fox

- Ponyo

- The Princess and the Frog

- Up

Alt: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

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Best Foreign Language Film

- Ajami, Israel

- A Prophet, France

- Samson & Delilah, Australia

- The White Ribbon, Germany

- Winter in Wartime, Netherlands

Alt: The Secret in their Eyes, Argentina

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Best Documentary Feature

- The Beaches of Agnes

- The Cove

- Every Little Step

- Food Inc.

- Mugabe and the White African

Alt: Burma VJ: Reporting from a closed country

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And thats all folks. The Oscar's race for the nominations is over as of 5 AM tomorrow morning, or for those of us in Florida, 8 AM. It's been a great year, as I pointed out in my personal Oscar Hut Awards that happen to be available to read below! But now the ballots are in, the reviews have been read, precursors collected, and box office reciepts sent in. Theres nothing left to do but wait in eager anticipation for tomorrow morning;s announcement. Will I sleep soundly tonight? Probably not, the excitement already energinizes me. Yet I hope all of you can rest assured knowing that in the end, with luck, the right films will be acknowledged with nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts ans Sciences. See you tomorrow Oscar, bright and early.

- Tyler j. Pratt

The Oscar Hut

The 2nd Annual Oscar Hut Awards 2009-2010

I saw over 60 movies in theatres over the last year of the last decade. There were some instant classics, films i loved, movies i enjoyed to an extent and of course cinema that can only be described as downright vile, putrid shit on celluloid. The Oscar Hut Awards, which as of yet have no official nickname (I'm taking suggestions!) are my way of honoring what i felt to be excellence in cinema from January 2009 to January 2010. There were a few titles that ended up passing me by over the year, some that I wish I could have seen in time, but alas, they ended up being ineligible.

So, without further pause, I now present to you, the 2ND Annual Oscar Hut Awards!

Top 10 Films of 2009-2010

10. The Lovely Bones

9. District 9

8. Adventureland

7. Up

6. Star Trek

5. Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

4. Avatar

3. Up in The Air

2. Inglourious Basterds

1. A Serious Man

2009 was an great year for film, I only gave out a few grades for films that were lower than a C, because I truly enjoyed nearly every film I saw over the year in some way, unless that film was Transformers 2, New Moon or The Final Destination 3D. The best film I saw last year though was undoubtedly what I feel is the Coen Brother's masterpiece, A Serious Man. It left me stunned and with questions that plagued my mind for weeks until I came up with the ultimate solution to these queries: A Serious Man is THE BEST film of 2009.

Best Director

5. Jason Reitman for Up in The Air

4. Katherine Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

3. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen for A Serious Man

2. Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

1. James Cameron for Avatar

Each and every director listed here undoubtedly left their mark on cinema in 2009. Jason Reitman made the year's most socially relevant movie. Katherine Bigelow handed down the most kinetically charged. The Coen Brothers gave us the year's most thought provoking work. Quentin Tarantino delivered the most intelligently playful film. The winner here is a man whose previous seminal work, Titanic, is a film I have never been overly into to. However, with Avatar, James Cameron cements himself as the world's greatest living showman. Avatar is the most visually fantastic film of 2009. It changed the landscape of cinematic technology and revolutionized motion captured performance art. All of this was due to the decades worth of effort layed onto the screen by James Cameron, a master of his craft.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

5. Johnny Depp for Public Enemies

4. Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker

3. Sharlto Copley for District 9

2. George Clooney for Up in The Air

1. Adam Sandler for Funny People

2009 was also a year for great leading men performances. I limit myself to the five best in my opinion, leaving off great work from people like Tobey Maguire, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Matt Damon. As for my top 5, it was extremely difficult to peg down my number one. In the end I went Adam Sandler's performance in Judd Apatow's Funny People, which happens to be his best yet. The best way express my feelings about Sandler's work here is to simply tell you to watch the bedroom breakdown scene halfway through the movie. It is angry, raw and painfully realistic to point that I feel uncomfortable just watching it. Sandler definitely left his mark on the screen in Funny People by shedding the shtick that made him a household name in favor of nuance and raw emotional honesty.

Best Actress in A Leading Role

5. Maya Rudolph for Away We Go

4. Meryl Streep for It's Complicated

3. Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones

2. Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

1. Carey Mulligan for An Education

I must admit, I felt 2009 was a rather weak year for leading women. There were great performances, there can be no mistaking that, but those great performances were few and far between. I feel like my top 5, however, is a fantastic representation of 2009. We have the two big breakouts, A solid lead turn from a yong actress better known for her supporting roles, yet another fantastic piece of work from Meryl Streep as if thats suprising these days, and a suprising portrayal from Maya Rudolph, better known for her days spent as a minor cast member on SNL. The best performance by an actress this year was delivered by Carey Mulligan in a "star is born" type performance in An education. She perfectly captures the transformation of her character Jenny from being just another teenage girl into being a young woman. Mulligan is touching, souful and resonates throughout the entire picture. Heres hoping she has a healthy long career ahead of her.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

5. Stephen Lang for Avatar

4. Mark Ruffalo for The Brothers Blooom

3. Anthony Mackie for The Hurt Locker

2. Jackie Earl Haley for Watchmen

1. Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Christoph Waltz's performance in Inglourious Basterds was hands down the best performance by any actor in 2009, if one of the best of the entire decade. Waltz's embodiment of Quentin Tarantino's creation, Hans Landa, was charming, intense, profound, smart and downright terrifying. Waltz is so good in Inglourious Basterds that he wipes every other performer in the film off of the screen, sometimes with little more than a gesture. He is perfect in this film. His competitors, 4 men from 4 completely different movies represent my rundown of the other most unforgettable supporting performances of 2009. Jackie Earl Haley made Watchmen. Anthony Mackie was the soul behind The Hurt Locker. Mark Ruffalo played the perfect brother and con man in The Brothers Bloom. And finally, besides Waltz, Stephen Lang created 2009's other instantly iconic villain in Avatar. They were all great, yet none could measure up to Waltz.

Best Supporting Actress

5. Anna Kendrick for Up in The Air

4. Vera Farmiga for Up in The Air

3. Melanie Laurent for Inglourious Basterds

2. Marion Cottilard for Public Enemies

1. Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

Like Christoph Waltz in the Supporting Actor category, one woman completely tore a hole in the screen in 2009, nearly decimating all of her competition in the Supporting Actress field. The suprising thing about this woman is that she is someone you would never expect to be able to accomplish such a feat of raw intensity, of such nuance and depth of such skill. Marion Cottilard was phenominal in Public Enemies, yet she is not the actress I speak of. Neither is Melanie Laurent whose breakthrough performance in Inglourious Basterds was excellent. The same goes for Up in The Air's one-two punch of Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, both of whom in another year could have found themselves atop the pile. No, the woman I am talking about is an actress whose biggest credits thus far include Soul Plane, Phat Girlz and Beerfest. The lady I speak of is none other than Mo'Nique. Mo'Nique's performance in Precious speaks for itself. If you have seen the film, you already understand why she's my number one. If you havent, you need to go out right now and find a theatre where this is playing because it is a must see, principally because of Mo'Nique's work in the film.

Best Screenplay

5. Away We Go by Dave Eggars and Vendella Vida

4. The Hurt Locker by Mark Boal

3. Up in The Air by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

2. Inglorious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino

1. A Serious Man by Joel & Ethan Coen

Best Film Editing

5. The Hurt Locker

4. District 9

3. Star Trek

2. Inglourious Basterds

1. Avatar

Best Cinematography

5. Sherlock Holmes

4. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

3. Inglourious Basterds

2. Avatar

1. Where The Wild Things Are

Best Art Direction

5. Star Trek

4. Sherlock Holmes

3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2. The Imaginarium of Docter Parnassus

1. Inglourious Basterds

Best Costume Design

5. Bruno

4. Nine

3. Sherlock Holmes

2. The Imaginarium of Docter Parnassus

1. Inglourious Basterds

Best Original Score

5. Avatar by James Horner

4. The Informant! by Marvin Hamlisch

3. Star Trek by Michael Giacchino

2. Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer

1. Up by Michael Giacchino

And Now For The Extras!

Best Acting Ensemble

5. A Serious Man

4. Star Trek

3. Away We Go

2. Up in The Air

1. Inglourious Basterds

Best Breakthrough Performance

5. Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

4. Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

3. Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

2. Carey Mulliagn for An Education

1. Sharlto Copley for District 9

Best Body of Work

5. Matt Damon for The Informant! and Invictus

4. Stephen Lang for Avatar, Men Who Stare At Goats and Public Enemies

3. Marion Cottilard for Nine and Public Enemies

2. George Clooney for fantastic Mr. Fox, Men Who Stare At Goats

1. Michael Fassbender for Hunger and Inglourious Basterds

BestActor in a Cameo/Limited Performance

5. Jeff Daniels for Away We Go

4. Jason Bateman for State of Play

3. Bill Murray for Zombieland

2. Richard Sammel for Inglourious Basterds

1. Eminem for Funny People

Best Actress in a Cameo/Limited Performance

5. Sarah Silverman for Funny People

4. Carla Gugino for Watchmen

3. Tina Fey for The Invention of Lying

2. Maggie Gylenhaal for Away We Go

1. Carrie Preston for Duplicity

Best Opening Scene

5. Up

4. Watchmen

3. Star Trek

2. A Serious Man

1. Inglourious Basterds

Best Ending

5. Duplicity

4. The Hurt Locker

3. Up in The Air

2. Inglourious Basterds

1. A Serious Man

Best Credits Sequence(Beginning or End)

5. An Education (Opening Credits)

4. Up in The Air (Opening & Closing Credits)

3. Zombieland (Opening Credits)

2. Sherlock Holmes (Closing Credits)

1. Watchmen (Opening Credits)

Film Maker of the Year

5. J.J. Abrams for Star Trek

4. Judd Apaptow, Jody Hill & Greg Mottola for Comedy on Film in 2009

3. Wes Anderson, Pete Docter, Henry Selick for Animation in 2009

2. Weta Technology for Technological advancements in Filmmaking

1. James Cameron for Avatar's box office, cultural impact and advancing cinematic technology

DGA Predictions

With arguably the most important guild precursor coming up this Saturday, we could very well be seeing the wrapping up of Oscar's best Picture race. While most have been calling it a dead heat between James Cameron's Avatar and Katherine Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, we must remember that there are 8 other films vying for that number one spot. The strongest contenders against these top dogs are Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Jason Reitman's Up in The Air, both of which are finding themselves squared up against Avatar and The Hurt Locker for the DGA. So when I say this is an important precursor, you will hopefully now understand what I meant.

The winner of the DGA has matched up with Oscar every year for the past seven, since Roman Polanski's upset of Chicago's song and dance man Rob Marshall, yet Chicago won the Best Picture Oscar after receiving the DGA. Other than that little slip up, the DGA has only mismatched with Oscar's Best director winner twice.

This year, I predict the DGA's winning trend to continue, with their winner going on to receive a Best Director Oscar, but the director's film will not also pick up Best Picture.

Before I reveal my prediction, I'm going to cater to my egotistical love of my own writing and give you a rundown of this year's nominees.

1. Katherine Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

2. James Cameron, Avatar

3. Lee Daniels, Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

4. Jason Reitman, Up in The Air

5. Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

I want to start off by making it clear that I think this is one of the most interesting Best Director categories of the last decade. We have a woman, a gay African-American, an up and coming auteur, a veteran known for his by the numbers blockbusters and a veteran known for his distinct cinematic originality. And to make things even more exciting they all have a shot at winning. Ok..so maybe Lee Daniels doesn't but still, each one of these visionaries, ok once again, maybe not in Daniels' case (unless your Mo'Nique), brought their interesting and wonderful personalities to the table and delivered excellence.

1) Katherine Bigelow filled the screen with adrenaline fueled tension, delivering what in years to come could be called the definitive Iraq war film. She created a visually engaging work of art, pulled great performances from her cast and managed to keep her buzz going since last year's Independent Spirit Awards, and for that she is deserving of accolades.

2) James Cameron's Avatar is a phenomenon. It is currently the highest grossing film of all time(when not adjusted for inflation). It is perhaps the most visually exciting films of all time. It pushes the boundaries of cinematic technology and film itself with it's revolutionary production.

Say what you will about the weak screenplay, we get it, Cameron cant write. But once you move that aside and experience the picture for what it is, it is clear why Cameron is the king of the world yet again.

3) Lee Daniels' career has been uneven to say the least. He was involved in Monster's Ball, a decent good but not great film. Yet he also directed Shadow Boxer, yes, that shadow Boxer. However, Precious, his latest film sweeps all of that under the mat, and showcases his natural ability as a storyteller when using honest, raw emotion to drive his story forward. His film is affecting, as are the performances he got out of newcomer Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique, yes, Mo'Nique of Soul Plane fame. For transforming the longtime comedienne and historically bad actress into the terrifying mother from hell Mary Jones, he deserves his spot on the list.

4) Jason Reitman is the nominee here whose career excites me the most. He is a second generation filmmaker, the son of Ghostbuster's Ivan Reitman, and has carved a nice spot in the Hollywood community since his 2006 debut Thank You For Smoking. Many scoffed at his Director nod for 2007's Juno, but there is no doubt that Reitman balanced the comedy with the film's unfunny subject matter perfectly. His 2009 contribution, Up in The Air far surpasses anything he has done in his career so far. It was one of my favorite films of the year, and also the best serio-comedy to be released since 2004's Sideways. The guy's got talent and is incredibly deserving of his spot.

5) Quentin Tarantino. What do you say about the man's career that hasn't been analyzed from every angle already? He gave us Resevoir Dogs at a time when not showing the heist in a heist film was unheard of. He revolutionized the cinematic art form and independent film making when he released Pulp Fiction. He then did Jackie Brown, a decent effort if you ask me before moving on to his hyper stylized martial arts revenge novella Kill Bill. He honored his grindhouse influences with Death Proof, helping to make Grindhouse one of the most entertaining movies of 2007. And then he came up with his most accomplished, entertaining, polished and smartest effort yet with his latest film, Inglourious Basterds. His screenplay and direction are fabulously referential and downright fun. His cast is aces all around, despite having to direct most of them in a language or languages other than his own. The man is a genius, pure and simple.

So, who wins in this group of crowded artists? Will it be the war ravaged woman director? The larger than life showman? The breakout minority? The up and coming auteur? Or, the eccentric mad genius?

Who Will Win: Katherine Bigelow. She's got the buzz and the talent to live up to it.

Who Should Win: Katherine Bigelow or James Cameron. They are neck and neck in my opinion.

Who Wont Win: Lee Daniels. He's pure filler, but mighty good filler at that.

I say Bigelow takes it in an extremely tight race with Cameron. It really is the battle of the exes, despite the fact that I find that tag line a bit pedestrian. She's hot, she's talented, she's got the buzz, and her film is the kind that wont be ignored, the kind that will live on to be a modern classic (even though that could also be attributed to James Cameron and Avatar, minus the hot part).

Who Was Snubbed:

The Coen Brothers for their masterpiece, A Serious Man.

Neill Blomkamp and J.J. Abrams for re-invigorating the sci-fi genre along with Avatar and Moon

2010: Golden Globes Predictions

Sorry i've been absent yet again, my good and blog contributor Aaron Morales thankfully has gotten home from the hospital after his accident last month, so ive been tied up in the details of that for the last week or two. Theres not much you can say about the Globes. The HFPA are star fuckers, as i've said the last two years, which means they will most likely award a-listers in every category except the supporting ones, Because of this im using a Will/Should win predictions set along with a contender that should have made the cut.

Tonight, if there is but one certainty, it is that Ricky Gervais should be flat out hillarious. Heres hoping he follows through on his promise and shows up inebriated, the show should be a good time for sure.

Best Picture (Drama)

Will Win: Avatar

Should Win: Up in The Air

Should have been nominated: District 9

Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)

Will Win & Should Win: (500) Days of Summer

Should have been nominated: Away We Go, Funny People & A Serious Man

Best Director:

Will Win: James Cameron for Avatar

Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

Should have been nominated: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen for A Serious Man

Best Actor (Drama)

Will Win & Should Win: George Clooney for Up in The Air

Should have been nominated: Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker & Sharlto Copley for D9

Best Actor (Musical or Comedy)

Will Win: Matt Damon for The Informant!

Should Win: Michael Stuhlbarg for A Serious Man

Should have been nominated: Adam Sandler for Funny People & John Krasinski fpr Away We...

Best Actress (Drama)

Will Win: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side

Should Win: Carey Mulligan for An Education

Should have been nominated: Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones

Best Actress (Musical or Comedy)

Will Win: Meryl Streep for Juli & Julia

Should Win: Marion Cottilard for Nine

Should have been nominated: Maya Rudolph for Away We Go

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Will Win & Should Win: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

Should have been nominated: Anthony Mackie for The Hurt Locker & Stephen Lang for Avatar

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Will Win & Should Win: Mo'Nique for Precious

Should have been nominated: Marion Cottilard for Public Enemies & Melanie Laurent for Ing...

Best Screenplay:

Will Win: Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino

Should Win: Up in The Air by Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

Should have been nominated: A Serious Man by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Best Animated Film

Will Win & Should Win: Up

Should have been nominated: I saw one animated film this year, Up. So thats my only point of reference in this category.

Best Foreign Language Film:

Will Win & Should Win: A Prophet

Should have been nominated:Police, Adjective

Best Original Score:

Will Win & Should Win: Up

Should have been nominated: Sherlock Holmes

Best Original Song:

Will Win & Should Win: The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart

Should have been nominated: Help Yourself from Up in The Air

2010: Most Anticipated

2009 was a fairly decent movie going year for myself, I saw almost every movie I wanted to that was released between January 2009 up until last night, totalling with 58 titles, just four less than my 2007 record of 62 and 3 more than 2008's 55 films. But, alas, that decade is dead and gone and it's now time to focus on the films I am most heavily anticipating for this year. Some will live up to the hype, some will be consumed by it and a few of them might not even meet they're scheduled release date. That's pretty much the nature of the beast.

So, without further rambling on my end, here the the ten films I look towards as my most anticipated of 2010, the first year of a new decade of theatre going experiences.

10. Somewhere, dir. Sofia Coppola

9. The Green Hornet, dir. Michel Gondry

8. Cemetary Junction, dir. Gervais & Merchant

7. The American, dir. Anton Corbijn

6. Iron Man 2, dir. Jon Favreau

5. You're Highness, dir. David Gordon Green

4. The Fighter, dir. David O. Russell

3. Toy Story 3, dir. Lee Unkrich

2. Shutter Island, dir. Martin Scorsese

1. Inception, dir. Christopher Nolan

A word on the hiatus

For those wondering why the blog has been down for the past ten days, contributor to the site and one of my best friends, Aaron Morales, has been in the hospital following a car accident. He is currently still in critical condition, so I've been taking a break from posting. I promise to get back as soon as possible, especially given the Golden Globes, SAG and precursor groups that were announced this week. I doubt I will be back before Christmas but I am doing my best. Any prayers and well wishes for Aaron are extremely appreciated, and I hope he gets well soon. 

Thank You,

Tyler j. Pratt

The Oscar Hut

Catchin' up with The Oscar Hut

A few things of importance have gone down in the last week since I posted my Golden Globes predictions, so I'm going to do a rundown of my thoughts on the big events of the last seven days.

The Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominees for this year's best in independent film, which apparently includes Precious, The Last Station, (500) Days of Summer, Sin Nombre and Amreeka. I was a bit disappointed that A Serious Man didn't make the best feature or screenplay cut, being one my favorite films of the year, but at least it received Director and Cinematography citations, both deserved. I was pleased with the acting nods for the most part, but snubs for Carey Mulligan, Zooey Deschanel, Ben Foster and Michael Stuhlbarg were disappointing. Overall, I doubt the spirit awards made that big of an impact on how the rest of awards season will look, but they no doubt helped (500) Days of Summer get back into the picture.

(500) Days of Summer was also greatly helped by the National Board of Review who named it one of the ten best films of the year.
Always kick starting the awards season, giving us the first real ideas about what and who will shape the upcoming Oscar race, The National Board of Review helped out a great many films to set out on the road to an Oscar nod, and perhaps a win.
Up in the Air undoubtedly received the largest boost out of the proceedings,taking home their Best Picture trophy along with a Best Actor award for George Clooney (tied with Morgan Freeman for Invictus), Best Supporting Actress for Anna Kendrick and a Best Adapted Screenplay award for the film's director, Jason Reitman and co-writer Sheldon Turner.
I think this is going to translate to a large success for the film at the Oscars where it'll probably take home the Best Picture, Director and Screenplay trophies.
Also making a big splash was Invictus, the Nelson Mandella biopic/sports drama that won Clint Eastwood yet another NBR Best Director citation, Morgan Freeman Best Actor and a spot on the NBR's top 10. While I'm sure these nomination will be echoed come Oscar time, I doubt the film will win Clint his third Best Director award, the NBR's just seem to have a hard on for the guy as evident in every film of his since Mystic River getting a spot in their top ten. I'm also pretty sure that Freeman wont be able to repeat his victory, especially when he's competing with Jeff Bridges, Colin Firth and even George Clooney.
This year's Best Actress award went to the well deserving Carey Mulligan for her career defining performance in An Education. A great choice, Mulligan seems poised for front runner status at the show, yet she still faces competition from the beloved Meryl Streep and Gabourey Sidibe who may be her biggest threat for the award.
The Messenger and A Serious Man also got boosts with top ten citations, along with both winning a second award. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen picked up the Best Original Screenplay award, hopefully signalling a sign of things to come. The Messenger's second award may have been one of the more suprising of the winners. Essentially shaking up the Best Supporting Actor race, the NBR awarded Woody Harrelson for his excellent performance in The Messenger. With Matt Damon pretty much out of the race the last spot up for grabs will be a hotly contested one. Christoph Waltz, Stanley Tucci, Alfred Molina and Christopher Plummer all seem pretty locked in, but who does that last spot go to? Woody's win places him squarely in the lead for it, but Alec Baldwin has been getting early raves for his turn in It's Complicated, and being one of the co-hosts helps his chances at getting a nod. We also need to keep an eye on Peter Sarsgaard for An Education, he's yet to receive a nod and his work in this buzzed about British indie was excellent.

A few new movies were released this week, the most notable of which was Brothers, the latest film from Academy Award nominated writer-director Jim Sheridan. While it's certainly not his best work, and at times a bit ridiculous and barely sensible, Brothers features some of the year's best performances. Jake Gylenhaal and Natalie Portman give decent work here, both doing their best work since 2007, but they seem limited by the film that surrounds them, giving their performances a muted effect. The same goes for Sam Shepard who was fantastic as a grizzled father, but he gets little to work with screenplay wise. The film does however give us two wonderful supporting performances by the young girls who play the children of Tobey Maguire and Portman. They play off their adult co-stars perfectly and emote in ways better than most actresses twice their age, and both are deserving of recognition for their work. If you've noticed the lack of any real mention of Tobey Maguire so far, it's because I'm trying to save the best for last. Maguire's work in Brothers is riveting, a career best piece of work for the man best known as Spiderman. Maguire completely becomes Sam Cahill, and during his performance his character arc is visible through his mental and physical transformation from a calm family man to a war ravaged POW survivor forced to return to domestic life. Maguire definitely delivers on the promise he showed in films like Wonder Boys with Brothers, and though his chances for an Oscar nomination this year are slim, he'll have to pull a Tommy Lee Jones, he can rest assured knowing that his performance is one of the years best.

And that's it for my catch up! Not much happened yet so much happened. Movies opened died while their performances thrived. Awards groups announced nominations and winners, some were snubbed, some should have been snubbed.
All in all it was a good week for lovers of film and the Oscars, so, here looking at next week!

T.O.H Predicts: The Golden Globes

Just to make it clear from the get go, I love the Golden Globes. Yes, they aren't as respectable as the Oscars, and yes, the HFPA tend to be starfuckers, but the show itself is one of my favorites every awards season. The mood seems much lighter and more friendly, more of a cocktail party compared to the Oscars grand banquet, especially this year with Ricky Gervais hosting (supposedly while a bit tipsy).

It tends to be easier to predict the Globes compared to other awards bodies, simply because they like to honor stars in big event films. Take Leo DiCapri last year for Revolutionary Road for example. The Globes love stars.
So, without further rambling, here are my Golden Globe predictions.

Best Motion Picture- Drama
- An Education
- The Hurt Locker
- Invictus
- Precious
- Up in the Air
Alt: Inglourious Basterds or Brothers

Best Motion Picture- Musical or Comedy
- (500) Days of Summer
- In The Loop
- It's Complicated
- Nine
- A Serious Man
Alt: Julie & Julia

I'm having alot of trouble pegging down the main categories this year. There are only 6 or 7 true contenders for each of these Best Picture categories but those 6 0r 7 are really fighting for those spots. Brothers, Inglourious Basterds and The Lovely Bones could both potentially hit in a big bad way or completely bomb so those are my biggest question marks in the drama category. Musical and Comedy is a bit easier to nail down but I feel emotionally compromised due to my love of Funny People, a film which I find wonderful and awards worthy but I get the feeling it wont make the cut. All in all I think I'll do ok in these two categories, getting at least 75 percent of the five for each of these right.

Best Director of a Motion Picture
- Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
- Lee Daniels for Precious
- Clint Eastwood for Invictus
- Rob Marshall for Nine
- Jason Reitman for Up in the Air
Alt: Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

The Best Director category at the Globes can also get a bit difficult to make sense of as well. I think I got it 100 percent right, but there is still the lurking potential for Inglourious Basterds or The Lovely Bones to do very well, and by extension Tarantino or Jackson could get a Directorial nod. However I think these five make sense, they'll want to honor a bad ass woman, and man giving Bigelow and Eastwood an in. Jason Reitman has a next big thing vibe abd Up in the Air could go all the way. Rob Marshall is a razzle dazzle showmanwho they love, and I believe they will like Precious enough to nominate Daniels but he's definitely the weak link of these five since he's not a name director. Yet.

Best Actor in a Drama
- Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
- George Clooney for Up in the Air
- Colin Firth for A Single Man
- Morgan Freeman for Invictus
- Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker
Alt: Tobey Maguire for Brothers

Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy
- Peter Capaldi for In The Loop
- Matt Damon for The Informant!
- Daniel Day-Lewis for Nine
- Robert Downey Jr. for Sherlock Holmes
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt for (500) Days of Summer
Alt: Adam Sandler for Funny People

I like my picks for the Drama category, I'm thinking I'll be 5/5 with those, since all of those guys have buzz and are names, with the exception of Renner not really being that well known yet. However, watch out for Tobey Maguire in Brothers, his buzz is only growing louder. The Comedy/Musical actors are befuddling me though. I think Damon and Day-Lewis are locks, they were both excellent and they are internationally famouse movie stars. Peter Capaldi I think will be this year's Colin Farrell/Brendan Gleeson, meaning he is a respected European actor starring in a great European indie comedy that made some noise upon release. In The Loop is still being talked about so I say he's in. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is extremely deserving and he's in a well loved film, so he's in. The big question mark for me though is that last spot. Adam Sandler was phenominal in Funny People, and if anyone is deserving of a nod, it's him. Funny People gave us his best work to date and he's a star so he could make it, but I have a feeling the film will be completely and unfairly snubbed. So instead, I'm going with another beloved star, Downey to get a nod reminiscent of Johnny Depp's in Pirates of the Carribean.

Best Actress in a Drama
- Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
- Helen Mirren for The Last Station
- Carey Mulligan for An Education
- Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones
- Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
Alt: Abbie Cornish for Bright Star

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy
- Sandra Bullock for The Proposal
- Marion Cottilard for Nine
- Zooey Descahnel for (500) Days of Summer
- Meryl Streep for It's Complicated
- Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia
Alt: Ellen Page for Whip It!

The Best Actress categories are pretty simple. On the drama side, Sandra Bullock is the only one who could be vulnerable and if so, Abbie Cornish gets in, simple. Comedy/Musical, take two Streeps, a Cottilard and Deschanel and you have four out of 5. Assume Bullock is going to make it at least into one of the categories and boom, there you go.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- Alec Baldwin for It's Complicated
- Alfred Molina for An Education
- Christopher Plummer for The Last Station
- Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
- Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
Alt: Matt Damon for Invictus

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- Penelope Cruz for Nine
- Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air
- Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
- Mo'Nique for Precious
- Julianne Moore for A Single Man
Alt: Judi Dench for Nine

The Supporting Categories are simple enough as well. The Supporting Actor race has been sewn up for months with the only question being, will Damon make it in? I think not, and the last spot goes to Alec Baldwin who is on a role as of late. My Supporting Actor predictions are most likely to be the same for the rest of the season, or at least until the Oscar nominations are announced. The same can be said for Supporting Actress. These ladies are sitting pretty. Unless the Globes go apeshit for Nine and nominate more than one of the ladies for Supporting actress, this is your line up. Once again though, in both the supporting categories, watch out for Brothers cast members Jake Gylenhaal, Sam Shepard and Natalie Portman, they are all dark horses. Other than that though, pretty simple.

T.O.H Predicts: The National Board of Review

Even though the Golden Satellite Awards present their nominees before nearly every other group, they are widely considered meaningless in the grand scheme of the awards season. I mean, they failed to nominate Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood two years ago, only one example of how ludicrous this group can be at times.
The opposite of the Golden Sattelites, as far as the first important awards group to present goes, is the National Board of Review, arguably the precursor that sets the scene for the rest of Oscar season. This year, given the 10 nominee template the Oscars have switched too, the National Board may have an even larger effect this year than usual. The Board will also play a huge role in the acting categories, having launched George Clooney towards on Oscar nod for Michael Clayton in 2007 andAnne Hathaway last year for Rachel Getting Married.
Unfortunately, the Board is also the easiest precursor to mis-predict. Movies you would think be a grandslam with them, like There Will Be Blood, can be shutout in favor of a movie like The Bucket List. Their Best Director award can also be spotty as well, recent winners including eventual snubs like Tim Burton, Michael Mann, Edward Zwick and Phillip Noyce, while also award winners like Ang Lee and Martin Scorsese.
Either way, the National Board of Review will be a major trend setter for this Oscar season, and all I can do is my best in predicting it, so here it goes...

Note- You can never tell whether or not the winner of their best film will be included in the top ten so for now I'm just going with a top ten, and if the winner happens to be in my prediction for the top ten, lets just say I got it right lol.

Top Ten Films
- (500) Days of Summer
- An Education
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglourious Basterds
- Invictus
- The Lovely Bones
- Precious
- A Serious Man
- Star Trek
- Up in the Air
Alt: A Single Man

Best Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen for A Serious Man - Just a hunch on this one, not sure why though. I just think the Coens are going to see a lot of love this year.
Alt: Jason Reitman for Up in the Air

Best Actor: George Clooney for Up in the Air- He won a few years ago but I think he'll do it again because quite frankly, this is the quintessential George Clooney role, and the industry loves him.
Alt: Michael Stuhlbarg for A Serious Man

Best Actress: Carey Mulligan for An Educaton- Just because she's given the best female performance of the year hands down. She's also young, beautiful and british.
Alt: Gabourey Sidibe for Precious

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Waltz for Inglourious Basterds- The best performance of the year hands down in my oppinion, he owns this year.
Alt: Woody Harrelson for The Messenger

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique for Precious- She's scary awsome and cast majorly against type, I think the board will eat this up.
Alt: Julianne Moore for A Single Man

Best Original Screenplay: A Serious Man by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Alt: The Hurt Locker by Mark Boal

Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air by Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
Alt: Precious by Geoffrey Fletcher

Best Animated Film: Up
Alt: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Documentary Film: The Cove
Alt: Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Best Foreign Film: The White Ribbon
Alt: Mother

Best Cast: Nine
Alt: Inglourious Basterds

Best Breakthrough Actor: Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker
Alt: Michael Stuhlbarg for A Serious Man

Best Breakthrough Actress: Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
Alt: Carey Mulligan for An Education

The Oscar Hut will be returning...

...at the end of this Thanksgiving Weekend! We've been on hiatus for about a month now due to an unforseen illness that had me layed up in a hospital bed for the last few weeks. I have new reviews waiting to be published for A Christmas Carol, An Education, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Nine, Paranormal Activity and a reprint for Precious. I have updated the site features, with a new poll, updated predictions and an updated contenders tracker.
Theres a new all category encompassing State of the Race on the way, and a full predictions article on the Golden Globes, BAFTAS and much more!