Oscars 2011 – Progress Update

So Kiddies, this is a very special year for a certain twenty-nine year old film geek.  This is finally the year that I am going to see every single major nominated film before the ceremony and make predictions accordingly instead of just going on gut.  Actually, to be fair, going on gut served me quite well in the past.  I mean, who predicted Marcia Gay Harden winning for Pollock bar me?  That’s right – no one.  Suck it Blogosphere. (No!  Come back..)

So, I finally saw The King’s Speech this afternoon, which officially pushes me past the halfway mark of seeing all the contenders in the Big Six categories.  Even with the absurd ten Best Picture Nominees making things extra financially taxing (Academy – Fuck You.  Having 10 nominees is the stupidest thing you’ve done since you gave Nicole Kidman’s prosthetic nose an Oscar back in 2003.  Don’t even get me started on Julia Robert’s Push-Up Bra a few years earlier..)  So, yeah, very good movie.  Marvelously acted, but needs to tighten itself up by about twenty minutes to really consider it the best movie of 2010.  The thing is, now it’s scooped every single award bar The Oscar, I’m afraid it’s a shoe-in for Best Picture and I don’t think it really merits it.  A nomination, sure, but a shiny gold trophy?

Anyways, here is my current personal rankings on who REALLY deserves the awards based on what I’ve seen to date :-

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

The Fighter

Toy Story 3

The Social Network

Black Swan

The King’s Speech

The Kids Are All Right

Inception

Haven’t Seen :-

127 Hours

True Grit

Winter’s Bone

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network

Haven’t Seen :-

Javier Bardem – Biutiful

Jeff Bridges – True Grit

James Franco – 127 Hours

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine

Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right

Haven’t Seen :-

Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Mark Ruffalo (and his amazing, AMAZING ass) – The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

Christian Bale – The Fighter

Haven’t Seen :-

Jeremy Renner – The Town

John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams – The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech

Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Haven’t Seen :-

Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit

Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan

David Fincher – The Social Network

David O. Russell – The Fighter

Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech

Haven’t Seen :-

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen – True Grit