Updated: Oscar Buzz Continuing

*Update - so the noms are out. I would put a little more stock in Sandra Bullock for Best Actress now that Blind Side is also nominated for Best Picture (woah, didn't see that one coming)
*Katheryn Bigelow has more cred for the Best Director spot since she picked up the DGA award
*You can now officially switch George Clooney & Jeff Bridges, with Bridges as Will Win and George Clooney as underdog, thanks to the noms for Crazy Heart.
*Broken Embraces didn't make the noms for Best Foreign Film...um what-ever...sigh, anyway...
*A Single Man didn't make Best Orig Score...grrrrrr...I have no idea who's the underdog there, maybe Hans Zimmer for Sherlock Holmes?...um...yeah....
*And don't even get me started on Best Orig Song, i think this has been rigged to make sure Weary Kind wins b/c the other noms pretty much suck.

*Update: Best Orig Screenplay
Should Win: Inglorious Basterds
Will Win: Inglorious Basterds
Underdog: The Hurt Locker

*Update: Best Adapted Screenplay
Should Win: Up In The Air
Will Win: Precious
Underdog: An Education

Original post is below:

So i had some highs hopes that are skyrocketing (Sandra Bullock) and some that are not (Invictus & Hurt Locker) but oh well, here's my current WIll Win/Should Win predictions for the Oscars coming up.

Best Picture:
Should Win: Inglorious Basterds
Will WIn: Avatar
Underdog: Up In The Air

Best Director:
Should Win: Katheryn Bigelow
Will Win: James Cameron
Underdog: Quentin Tarentino

Best Actor:
Should Win: Colin Firth, A Single Man
Will Win: George Clooney, Up In The Air
Underdog: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Actress:
Should Win: Sandra Bulloch, The Blind Side
Will Win: Sandra Bulloch, The Blind Side
Underdog: Emily Blunt, Young Victoria

Best Supporting Actor:
Should Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Will Win: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Underdog: Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Best Supporting Actress:
Should Win: Mo'Nique, Precious
Will Win: Mo'Nique, Precious
Underdog: Penelope Cruz, Nine

Best Animated Film:
Should Win: Fantastic Mister Fox
Will Win: Up
Underdog: Princess & The Frog

Best Foreign Language Film:
Should Win: The White Ribbon
Will Win: The White Ribbon
Underdog: Broken Embraces

Best Orig Score
Should Win: Avatar
Will Win: Avatar
Underdog: A Single Man

Best Orig Song
Should Win: Cinema Italiano (Nine)
Will Win: Weary Kind (Crazy Heart)
Underdog: Winter (Brothers)

*I'll update more when the final nominees are announced next week*

Movie Review: The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria is the story of England's longest reigning queen (to date) and he initial rise to the throne and the love that took her through it.

Emily Blunt is a delight as Victoria, she carries the role, the clothes, the covered emotion, all of it really really well. Rupert Friend is dutiful as her young suitor, vying for the affections of the world's most powerful monarch, and he grows on you throughout the movie.

As with any period / monarchy piece there's a big supporting cast - Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent just to name a few - and they all turn in great performances here.

What I appreciate most about Young Victoria is that unlike a lot of period pieces, it didn't overthink itself or make the usual mistake - take forever to tell the story! Coming in at 105 minutes, it tells the story just like the Queen herself - small, strong, and to the point, and always faithful.

Movie Review: A Single Man

A Single Man is so-far, my favorite movie from this Oscar Season. Not just because it's written & directed by Tom Ford, yes, he of Gucci fame, or because it's beautifully acted by Colin Firth & Matthew Goode & Julianne Moore.

This movie is really, really good. It's well shot, the music score is haunting, the slow-cut scenes are well-thought, and as-expected, there is great attention to detail. For a first-time Writer, Producer & Director, this is an awesome accomplishment from Tom Ford.

Movie Review: Nine

Nine is an ok movie, but not great...and not really that good.

Daniel Day Lewis, how i HATE to say this, but you were not the right pick for this role. Even Antonio Banderas would have been better. Marion Cotillard got very little screen time except to look pathetic and sorry, even though she's stunningly beautiful. Penelope Cruz was fantastic as the mistress, but quickly got dissolved into dribble.

The two bright spots - Fergie, who's number "Be Italian" is THE highlight of the movie and what any number of sorry moviegoers will remember. Second only to Kate Hudson, surprisingly really really good as an extremely flirty reporter for Vogue, and her rendition of "Cinema Italiano" has people moving and dancing in their seats.

But that's it, the two highlights. Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, others...sadly misused. There was a good, maybe great, movie in here somewhere, but it didn't make it to the cutting floor. Ugh, here's hoping Rob Marshall does better next time.

Movie Review: The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker: Easily Kathryn Bigelow's best work to-date. Although be warned, if you are not a fan of the hand-held camera movie, this is prob not for you.

The tension is high with this bomb-defusing crew in post-Iraqi-invasion occupied Baghdad, but the undercut drama is actually quite good. The "adrenaline-junky" syndrome, the razor-like focus required by the bomb squad, the un-release of dramatic tensions, it's all here.

This is a great example of and "inside the war" film, which are usually done very badly - meaning they make the soldiers look bad and do nothing to explain how they arrived at a point. Bigelow is great in this aspect making it a much more thought-provoking, if still-disturbing film.

Great lead in Jeremy Renner as the leader of the Bomb Unit. He's been a standout in most of his action films, this is no exception. The cameo appearances in the movie from Guy Pierce and Ralph Fiennes are unexpected but a nice treat for movie goers.

Enjoy this one, it might be a few more years again before we get more Bigelow on the big screen.

Movie Review: Up In The Air

Up In The Air: It's everything we've come to expect from a Jason Reitman film - witty, funny, insightful, sometimes hitting right below the gut in the way that relationships can do...

It helps that George Clooney turns in one of the best performances of his career, and is supported by a great cast including Vera Farmiga, his female equivalent in the movie, and Anna Kendrick, mostly known for her smaller Twilight/New Moon roles, gets a huge step forward here.

In the end, Clooney learns that it's not about the end of the 10 million miles flown to get the big card, but the sucking that happens when you get to the end and have no one to share it with.

Movie Review: Brothers

Brothers is an adaptation of a Dutch film by the same name. Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal & Natalie Portman all deliver fantastic performances, supported by Sam Shepard & Mare Winningham. Tobey's ordeal in Afghanistan including some gruesome torture scenes, followed by his return home, and trouble in returning to a home where he was presumed dead, is torture on the souls watching.

Tommy, played by Jake, is the bad boy everyone loves, and watching he and Natalie Portman together is actually very enjoyable and believable. The trouble starts when the presumed-dead Sam (Maguire) returns home 4 months later.

The untold sleeper hit in this movie is not any of the principal actors, but Bailee Madison who played Isabelle Cahill. For a child actor of her age (9 at film time) to display such a range of emotion and depth, it's un-nverving. She more than any of the dramatic performances in the move, steals every scene for me. Here's hoping we get to see more of her in future dramas!

Loved the movie, and this after I was genuinely afraid it might just be a Lifetime-movie put on the big screen. But the powerful performances by every actor in the movie, good script, and able direction by Jim Sheridan proved me wrong and left me wanting more.