My Oscar Picks 2010

NOTE: I wanted to post this before the show so all the links point to the same place right now. I’ll edit them later.

I usually like to see all the films nominated in the popular categories but this year I missed a few key films. I’ll make note of those when I think it matters.

Best Actor

The clear winner among the performance I saw is Jeff Bridges for his portrayal of a washed up country singer who is down on his luck and struggling with his addiction to alcohol in Crazy Heart. Bridges is an exceptional actor and this performance is brilliant.

I saw the other two films – The Hurt Locker and Up In the Air – twice and I would give second place to George Clooney. The second time I saw this film I found myself surprised that I’d not remembered his performance. It was a solid performance.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen two of the performances – Morgan Freeman and Colin Firth. I understand both are excellent actors and I’m guessing both were better than Clooney and Renner.

Best Supporting Actor

I did not see The Lovely Bones or Invictus and I saw Inglorious Basterds twice.

I was thoroughly impressed with Harrelson’s performance in The Messenger. In any other year, he might be the clear winner, but I think the Oscar should definitely go to Christoph Waltz for his performance in Inglorious Basterds. His was one of the finest performances I remember seeing in any film.

Plummer’s performance was excellent in The Last Station was also excellent but I have to make Harrelson my second pick.

Best Actress

I’ve seen all of these films and I’m a fan of all these actresses, but I’m not excited about this category this year. Last year, I thought all five nominees were brilliant and I had no idea who would take the Oscar. This year I think there is a clear winner, but I’m still not that excited about it – even though it’s an actress I really love.

Julie & Julia was not nearly as good as expected. Streep is an excellent actress (and my choice for this Oscar last year) and I love Amy Adams but the people they were portraying were not nearly as lovable as the actresses themselves. I guess that colors my opinion of the movie and the performances.

Precious was a great film and Sidibe’s performance was solid – especially for a first performance – but not worthy of the Oscar, in my opinion.

Mirren was fantastic in The Last Station and I enjoyed the film, but the other two performances were better in my opinion.

I would give second place to Carey Mulligan for her performance in An_Educatoin. This is the first time I’ve seen her and I was very impressed. I’ve read that she is the favorite to win, but I think the Oscar belongs to Sandra Bullock.

The Blind Side is the kind of film I do not normally appreciate and this is no exception. I have to say I enjoyed the film more then I expected but it was not an excellent film. Bullock’s performance, on the other hand, was fantastic. My opinion might certainly be skewed by my undying love for Sandra Bullock, but I’d like to think I’m being objective. Two days before I saw this film, I’d seen her in another film where she plays a completely different role and the difference in characters was remarkable. She really did an excellent job in this film. Really? I’m not just sayin’ that because I like her.

Best Supporting Actress

I’m disappointed I did not get to see Nine. I’ve read that it was not a great film but the last few films in which I’ve seen her, Cruz has been fantastic.

I saw Up In the Air before the nominations were announced because I had read that it was going to be a favorite for Best Picture. I was very impressed with the film and with many of the performances. As I’ve already written, I wasn’t blown away by Clooney but his performance was good – as were the other performances in the film.

The performance that stood out for me was Anna Kendrick’s. I wasn’t sure if I’d just fallen for her character or not, but I loved her in the film.

When the nominations were announced I was very pleased she was nominated and I was a little confused about Farmiga’s nomination. I had not been nearly as impressed with her. When I saw the film a second time, though, it made more sense. It also confirmed my opinion of Kendrick. Her performance was excellent (and now I’m sure I’ve fallen for the character).

Then I saw Precious and a once in a lifetime performance by Mo’Nique. She was great from start to finish but her monologue late in the film was brilliant.

Just the other day I went to see Crazy Heart since I’d heard Bridges was great. I’m glad I did because Bridges is the clear winner in his category, but I don’t think Gyllenhaal wins this category. Her performance was solid and probably worthy of the nomination, but I don’t expect her to win.

I’d like to see Kendrick beat Mo’Nique, but I’d have to call this one a toss up.

Best Animated Feature

I’ve only seen two of these films but I’m certain Up wins this category. Before I learned that the best picture category was being expanded to ten films, I still felt as though Up was worth of best picture. It was that good. I assumed it wouldn’t be nominated and was pleased to learn when the field would be expanded to ten because I thought it might get a nomination. Turns out I was right but I still don’t expect it to win – because this category exists.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Up clearly wins this and I have to give second to the only other film I saw – Coraline, which I think was a fantastic film too.

Art Direction ##

Only seen one of these films – Avatar – so I am going to guess.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus wins, Nine maybe.

Cinematograpy

I did not see Harry Potter (I’m a big fan of the Potter books and films, I just missed this one) and I did not see The White Ribbon.

I only saw Avatar once. I saw the other two – The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds – twice.

I think Inglorious Basterds is the clear winner but any of the others could certainly win. So, I’ll have to go on my son’s recommendation on this one. He came home from Harry Potter and told me that it was one of the best “looking” movies he had ever seen. If you know my son, you understand that means a lot.

So, I’ll go with Harry Potter as my second choice. My son agrees, btw.

Costume Design

We received Bright Star from NetFlix about two weeks ago but we haven’t watched it yet. Haven’t seen any of these films so I’ll guess again.

Nine wins, Bright Star in second.

Directing

I’ve seen Avatar and [Precious][precous] once; Up In the Air, The Hurt Locker, and Inglorious Basterds twice.

I think this is an easy call really – Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. Second place is a tougher call for me but I’d give it to Jason Reitman for Up In the Air.

Documentary Feature

I’ve only seen two of these and I think it’s toss up who wins. I’ll go with The Cove to win and Food, Inc. in second. They are both great documentaries. If you haven’t seen them, you should.

Documentary Short

Haven’t seen any of these and I’m not going to guess on this one.

Film Editing

I’ve seen Avatar and [Precious][precous] once; District 9, The Hurt Locker, and Inglorious Basterds twice.

I’m going to pick The Hurt Locker to win and Inglorious Basterds second.

Foreign Film

Also not going to guess.

Makeup

Star Trekwins and my second pick is Il Divo.

Score ##

Avatar wins and Up is my second pick.

Song

The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart and my second pick is Almost There from The Pricess and the Frog.

Best Animated Short ##

This is a tough one for me. I saw them all and they were all worthy of an award. I’m going to guess that A Matter of Loaf and Death will win but my favorite was Logorama.

Best Live Action Short

Also a tough one for me. I wasn’t a huge fan of The Door but I liked the others. My favorite was The New Tenants but I’ll make it my second pick. I think the winner will be Instead of Abracadabra

Sound Editing

I’ve seen all these films and I think this is another tough call. Up and Avatar are possibilities since they are both animated (essentially). Inglorious Basterds would also not surprise me, but I think the winner will be The Hurt Locker and my second pick is Star Trek.

Sound Mixing

I’ve seen all these and I can’t believe Transformers was nominated. That movie was one of the loudest experiences of my entire life. It sounded to me as though everything was at the same level. Perhaps it was just a problem at that theater. I hated the movie too, btw.

I think Inglorious Basterds will, and should, win. Star Trek is my second pick.

Visual Effects

I saw District 9 twice and the others once. Avatar will win, but I’d prefer either of the others win instead.

Adapted Screenplay

Along with District 9, I saw Up In the Air twice. I saw the others once. Up In the Air will win. Tough call for second but I’ll have to go with In the Loop.

Original Screenplay

I’ve seen two of these only once and the others twice. I am not going to be disappointed no matter who wins but I would choose A Serious Man or Inglorious Basterds.

Best Picture

Like I mentioned earlier, I am glad this category was expanded to ten films because I think Up deserves a nomination. It is worthy of the win but I don’t expect it to win.

I have seen all of these films – half of these movies twice – and I’d call all of them excellent films. I don’t think Avatar or The Blind Side are in the same category as the others, but they are still excellent films.

I saw Up first and I thought it was worthy of an Oscar from day one. The next film I saw was The Hurt Locker and was sure it would win for best picture. As I saw each of the next films, most of them made me wonder a bit but I stick by my original pick. My second choice is Up In the Air.

March 7, 2010 | Filed Under Fun | Comments 

TWO CENTS EACH – 1/26/10

40 and 44
Obama's first year in office is strikingly similar to that of Reagan's. Serioiusly.
Girls just wanna have style
Grant's vision was to find clothing that empowered girls in their development as individuals, not just sexual beings.

"I wanted to inspire them to be whatever they want in life, way beyond a princess or a diva." –Elena Grant

Good for you Ms. Grant!

Tough Love Needed for Haiti by Jonah Goldberg on National Review Online
"Why? Because American culture not only expects hard work, but teaches the unskilled how to work hard."

I'm not so sure I believe that??

What the Vikings-Saints Game Shows Us About Systems and Mindsets
An interesting point about systems. I don't completely buy the Favre argument about mindsets but I understand what the author is trying to say.
January 26, 2010 | Filed Under Fun | Comments 

The Internet Is Fun

I know the Internet is a tremendous resource for any number of constructive pursuits, but every once in a while I am reminded of how much fun it is. I’m not talking about blatantly useless time wasting activities we’ve all engaged in – watching drunk animals or people getting injured on YouTube and things like that. I’m talking about something else.
Continue reading The Internet Is Fun

January 25, 2010 | Filed Under Fun | Comments 

What Google Can Teach Us About Us

Several months ago I was trying to learn more about what the Christian church has taught about war and peace. My research, of course, included several searches using some of my favorite search engines – including Google.

What immediately struck me was the suggestions that popped up when using Google. I took some screenshots and made a note to write this post.

Today I read an interesting post over at search engine land entitled Can Google Tell Us What Men and Women Are REALLY Thinking? and it made me want to dig out those screenshots.

Continue reading What Google Can Teach Us About Us

January 20, 2010 | Filed Under Faith | Comments 

The Earthquake in Haiti – An Appropriate Response

The stupidity of the theological argument increases in direct proportion to the intensity of suffering.

Like most people I was shocked at the news of a quake in Haiti and the absurd casualty totals being reported. I’ve been to Haiti. It’s a beautiful place but the people there have had their share of difficulties and they absolutely don’t need this. No one needs something like this, but least of all a place like Haiti.

I was shocked once again when I learned of the responses of Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson. I listened to the complete statements of both men several times and I just can’t get over how wrong they both are.
Continue reading The Earthquake in Haiti – An Appropriate Response

January 19, 2010 | Filed Under Faith | Comments 

King’s Other Dream

In a thought provoking piece entitled Martin Luther King’s other dream: Economic justice for all, John Gehring of the Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good writes:

As we pause to honor King’s legacy, it’s tempting to sanitize his radical call for economic justice or temper his prophetic words about war. We prefer King as an icon stored safely behind history’s glass case. When his words are quoted these days, we rarely hear the righteous anger of a preacher who denounced the Vietnam War and described America as the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” We choose not to reflect on his warnings about the arrogance of American foreign policy. We avoid an honest grappling with his critique of capitalism as a system that permits “necessities to be taken from the many to give luxuries to the few.

Dr. King was an extremist. It seems that most of those who point this out do so as a judgement against him. Those of us who respect him and his work tend to forget it. Last year on this day I reflected on King’s extremism and did my part to express my thoughts about King the Christian and the American.

We need more extremists.

Remember his legacy by listening to some great songs inspired by his life and work.

January 18, 2010 | Filed Under Fun | Comments 

Great Sites – 1/17/2010

January 17, 2010 | Filed Under Links | Comments 

Great Ideas – 1/15/2010

January 15, 2010 | Filed Under Links | Comments 

AT&T – FAIL!

Every time I’m involved in a discussion about failed customer service it reminds me of my experiences with AT&T Wireless. And every time I wish I’d my experiences in a public place so I could give out a link and not have to talk about it anymore.

Today I spent an hour and seven minutes on the phone with AT&T to fix something that should have taken just a few minutes and I’m convinced, once again, that AT&T could not provide worse customer service if they were purposely trying to do so.

So, I’m here to detail the story of these fails so I no longer have to talk or write about them again.
Continue reading AT&T – FAIL!

January 13, 2010 | Filed Under Family, Fun | Comments 

Two Cents Each

In Manhattan, Preparing for Kindergarten Admission Test
This is simply ridiculous!
Geeks Drive Girls Out of Computer Science | LiveScience
Girls do seem to shy away from CS careers and that is unfortunate, but this "study" has not found the answer. I've not read anything quite so silly on livescience in a long time.
E-books spark battle inside the publishing industry – washingtonpost.com
Is anyone else growing tired of old school companies trying to stop innovation instead of finding a way to adapt?
100 Skills Everyone Should Master   | Mighty Girl
I don't think every item should be on the list but it's a great list anyway.
Your guide to better chopstick etiquette (mostly Japanese) | Just Hungry
A great list of tips if you want to use chopsticks properly. It does not explain "how" to use them but how to use them properly.
January 12, 2010 | Filed Under Books, Family, Freedom, Fun | Comments 

Jesus Junk – I don’t care if it’s illegal

An article I read in the USA Today last month reminded me of a topic I’ve wanted to write about for some time – the thriving business of spoofing corporate logos in the name of Christ. According to the article,

American retailers sell about $4.6 billion worth of Christian products annually, and some are spoofs or spinoffs of commercial logos or brand names. Many such goods are illegal, trademark attorneys say, but companies often are unaware their names are being copied or don’t put up a fight for fear of being labeled anti-faith.

The piece focuses mostly on the legal and ethical questions mentioned in that paragraph and these are legitimate concerns. I don’t think most of these products qualify as parody. They are almost certainly infringements of copyright and/or trademarks, but that is not what bothers me most about this stuff.
Continue reading Jesus Junk – I don’t care if it’s illegal

January 11, 2010 | Filed Under Faith | Comments 

Happy Holidays!

Are you offended that I didn’t say Merry Christmas?

According to statistics posted on the website of the Wish Me A Merry Christmas Campaign, 53% of Americans are offended when greeted with Happy Holidays.

I have to tell you that I am a little surprised by this. I’m not sure I trust the statistics in the first place but that seems like an awful lot of people. Are people really offended by this? I understand why people prefer “Merry Christmas.” I prefer that myself and I’m very pleased when people say it, but I’m not offended when people say something different.

Another statistic on the website states that nine out of ten people think it’s okay to say Merry Christmas. Saying Happy Holidys is a good way to keep from offending the one out of ten. If more then five out of ten are offended by this effort, do we drop in in favor of offending the minority? I think the answer is no. People who are offended by Happy Holidays simply need to lighten up. If it doesn’t exclude you, don’t be offended by it. Simple as that.

I just think people misunderstand the spirit of Happy Holidays. I know many people are worried about the war on Christmas, but I don’t think that is what this is about. Americans celebrate at least five different holidays in the space of five or six weeks. Happy Holidays is a way to acknowledge all of these holidays at once. Is there really something offensive about inclusioin? Years ago my friends and I used to say Happy Hanukwanzmas. Would that be better?

The merits of the campaign itself are a different issue entirely for me. When I first stumbled onto this site I was very irritated – mostly because of my thoughts above – but I came to see some merit in the idea or at least in a modified version of the idea. I do think more retailers should offer a friendly Merry Christmas under certain circumstances. A great example is when I stop to purchase my tree every year. It would be downright silly for the clerk to wish me Happy Holidays when I am clearly in the act of celebrating a specific holiday.

On the other hand, my experience tells me that this campaign could do without the buttons. I tend to say Happy Holidays sometimes, but I’ve found that people almost always respond with Merry Christmas if I say Merry Christmas first.

Merry Christmas!

December 7, 2009 | Filed Under Faith, Family, Freedom | Comments 

Great Sites

Confusing Words

Project Censored – Media Democracy in Action

one word. so little time.

Snowflakes and Snow Crystals

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy [IEP]

Digital Resistance to Political and Cultural Manipulation and Indoctrination

How to Flex Your Rights During Police Encounters

habitforge – Getting you to the finish line.

Visual Walkthroughs

Recent codes – RefactorMyCode.com

Posted via email from Bill’s posterous

December 1, 2009 | Filed Under Fun | Comments 

Great Sites – 11/24/09


Gamebook SVG Flowcharts
Very cool flowcharts from interactive gamebooks.

Fraidy Cats
A log of who is and is not afraid of terrorists.

Data.gov
The U.S. government attempts to be more transparent.

USPS Postage Calculator
Not quite as cool as some of the other sites on this week’s list but I thought it was handy.

The Supreme Court Database
An archive of cases from the SCOTUS. I follow a lot of the court’s cases and I love this site for catching up on some old ones.

Citizen Tube
Digital activism.

Movies in Frames
Another cool Tumblog. This one displays four frame summaries of movies. It’s a lot of fun

Tweeting Too Hard
Pretentious twits and their tweets. Warning: you may find some of the tweets offensive.

In Bb 2.0
A collaborative music/spoken word project.

RunPee
Don’t miss any of the best parts of the movie because you have to tinkle.
November 24, 2009 | Filed Under Fun | Comments 

Two Cents Each – 11/22/2009

The Ultimate Christian Novel :: ramblings :: A Reformed, Christian Blog
Funniest things I've read all day.
Movie popcorn still a nutritional horror, study finds — latimes.com
I'd much rather eat the quarter pounders. I like Big Macs better but I haven't eaten at McDonald's in years. Anyway, what were we talking about?
Eagles Settle For Field Goal After 260-Yard Drive
The Eagles are having a tough time scoring and I'm loving every minute of it.
RNC Health Insurance Covers Abortion
RNC insurance covers *elective* abortion. Hypocrisy at its finest.
The Science Behind 'Stop Me If I've Told You This'
Somehow I always knew this was a sign of self centeredness. Now there is some evidence to support it.
Parents banned from supervising their own children in playgrounds
in case they are pedophiles. Absolutely unacceptable.
YouTube – Rush Limbaugh Pranked
We know he thinks it anyway? Wow, Rush is losing his mind.
10 Tips for Optimizing MySQL Queries (That don’t suck)
A great article about an important topic.
It’s Official. Google Wave to Get Its Own App Store (with potentially more than just apps)
Well, this sounds like a lot of fun.
ZigZagPhilosophy.com
A fun way to waste some time.
Bread Kills!
it's time for a ban on bread
Dallas police ticketed 39 drivers in 3 years for not speaking English | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News
Driving while Mexican is not a crime. The police should know that, shouldn't they?
Top 10 Time-Saving, MacGyver-Style Cleaning Tricks – Cleaning – Lifehacker
All very cool tips.
Bank fee for paying off credit card on time
Banks have every right to make the rules because they have the money – that is exactly the problem with our current system. We've got to do something about this.
Amazon.com Introduces Same-Day Delivery
It has always aggravated many of my neighbors that we live so close to a facility and can't shop there. Of course, most things show up the next day – for FREE with Prime – but this is nice option if I'm ever in a big hurry.
November 22, 2009 | Filed Under Links | Comments 

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