Harry Potter... Meet Oscar?

For the upcoming Oscars, there has been one film that has been on everybody's lips--whether they're talking about the film will definitely be there or there's no way in Hell it'll be there. That film is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. And as quite a known HP enthusiast, I feel I should give my serious thoughts on the subject.

Now, the biggest argument that is pushing for the films winning is that it's the biggest (and most profitable) film series in history and should be acknowledged as such (such as Lord of the Rings was with Return of the King). Detractors, on the other hand, have said that LOTR was one film with one vision (and that also ROTK was deserving in and of itself), and HP is a series with multiple directors, multiple visions, etc. You could argue that David Yates' films have been the best of the series anyway (shut it, Cuaron fanboys!). Even if you don't agree with that, you could mix Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2 together and have a one film/one epic/one vision push as it was with LOTR. Yet detractors will come back and say LOTR were all picked up by the Oscars, whereas the Harry Potter films were not. So I want to take both sides into account.

Believe it or not, I'm not going to be a stringent pusher or detractor. I want to take a serious look at each possibility that Warner Bros. put up For Your Consideration and have a discussion. I'm not here to make Oscar predictions for other films (I refuse to mention any other possible contenders in this article). I would just like to spend a wee bit of time on whether or not what WB is pushing for is actually going to happen (or if I think it should happen). So let's get into it.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Alexandre Desplat gave an amazing, haunting score for both Parts 1 and 2. I think that, at the very least, it should be nominated. It's an amazing score. It's hard to say it should win based on the "Epic Series" argument. Like with the directors, the films have had many different composers. Granted, David Yates is known for taking the best of everything from the previous films and mixing it in with his own vision to help with the continuity. The score is one of those things. To top it off, all the films have, at the very least, used John Williams' "Hedwig's Theme," which is now an iconic bit of scoring in and of itself. You could argue that Hedwig's Theme is the one bit that an "Epic Series" win could definitely cover (but you could also argue how fair that would be to John Williams, who was actually nominated back in the day, but didn't win). Though at the very end when the theme swelled, got extremely loud and incredibly close to my heart, it did bring back memories and nearly brought tears.

So it just comes back to Desplat. I do feel his score is strong enough to be nominated. Will it win? We'll have to wait and see what else is nominated. But for right now, I do think it can be a contender.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Deathly Hallows (both films) are two of the most beautiful films in the entire series (shut it, Cuaron fanboys!). Eduardo Serra has an amazing eye. You can't argue that, no matter how you feel about the series, that these films don't look pretty damn good. Again, you can't use the "Epic Series" argument for this category, as there have been multiple cinematographers, and all of the films aren't necessarily worthy of it. In fact, I'd only say half are (Azkaban, Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows 1 and 2... and the only one of those actually nominated is Half-Blood Prince). So it would be up to the (2) film(s) itself.

Now, Deathly Hallows Part 1 wasn't nominated for Cinematography (which I feel was an upset), so what is the likelihood Part 2 will be? Part 2 gives us a lot of carnage, though that might not be enough visually. Maybe they were waiting for the second part to honor both at the same time through the latter half. Like the previous category, I think it deserves to at least be nominated... but will it win? There have been some strong contenders for this category this year, but I can see this getting a nomination easy.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Is any other category more worthy of a win than this one? First of all, it's based on one of the biggest young adult series' of all time. And despite how you feel about Steve Kloves' adaptation skills, he is one of the Top 3 that helped to bring these films to the screen (the other two being Stuart Craig (production designer, who is truly the artist of these films) and David Heyman (executive producer)). Only one other person came on as writer through the series (Michael Goldenberg - Order of the Phoenix); though some may argue that that one was one of the best. Regardless, if the Academy is going to give it a win for the "Epic Series" argument, it will be in this category. It maybe has 2 strong possible contenders.

Does it hold up as a film adaptation in and of itself? Taking out the "Epic Series" argument, this film might suffer. It's the second half of a 2-part film, and most have argued that not only does it have a strange opening because of this, but the epilogue ending (despite coming straight from the book... I mean, look at the descendants' names alone... Albus Severus, Scorpius, Teddy, Hugo, etc.) isn't strong, either. I honestly don't believe, however, that it will be nominated simply for itself.

There is absolutely no way this film will not get a nomination. There is perhaps a female with skin ink-related film that could upset it; however, I think that this, over any other category, will give the movie its win. But it will be close.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

There are two up for this category, and I can make it through this one pretty fast.

-Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange)

No. Ain't gonna happen. Despite the fact that HBC is a perfect choice for the role, it's not a Oscar-worthy performance. At all. Sorry. It's probably not even going to be considered for a nomination.

-Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall)

Had the film series included McGonagall to the degree the books do (she's a total iron lady with a heart of gold), there could be a possibility of nomination. Maggie Smith is great in the part (not to mention she's awesome in the final film), but her film inclusion is so miniscule that it's really not worth a nomination.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

This is going to be a tough one for me, personally. Again, there are two up for consideration. But are they worthy?

-Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort)

Fiennes is a fine actor (no pun intended), but Voldemort is a little too over-the-top and silly to be considered. I truly can't see this happening.

-Alan Rickman (Snape)

This is the tough one. Sure, people make fun of his long, slow speech with pauses. But Snape is one of the greatest literary characters in modern history, and Rickman portrays him brilliantly (again, despite not being given adequate screen time in comparison to the books). It's become famous that JK Rowling told Rickman about Snape's secret, which could have been a dangerous method of getting what she wanted out of him (due to trusting him in keeping it for a decade), but it led to a perfect performance. Though if we're looking at the films, Rickman is at the top of his game in Part 2, and he could be nominated for The Prince's Tale segment alone.

Should he win? Probably not. But I think Rickman should get a nomination for his role over the last 10 years, culminating into a fantastic set of flashbacks in the final film. Will the nomination actually happen? I doubt it. But I would love to see it.

BEST ACTRESS

Only one on this list, and it's pretty obvious who.

-Emma Watson (Hermione Granger)

No. Of the Trio, I think Watson is the weakest. I actually think she captured Hermione perfectly in the first two films, then became pretty rough in the middle films. She was better in Half-Blood Prince and actually pretty excellent in both Deathly Hallows. But while her performance is quite good in the last two films, it definitely isn't worth an Oscar nomination.

BEST ACTOR

Again, the obvious two choices are here... and I'm going to have a similar opinion.

-Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)

If Radcliffe were to be nominated, it would be for the "Epic Series" argument. However, I doubt it will happen. There are too many other excellent performances this year. Sorry.

-Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley)

Grint is the best of the Trio, I feel, but if Radcliffe isn't getting a nom, there's no way Grint will, either. Again, sorry.

BEST DIRECTOR

David Yates has directed half of the entire series. In this blogger's opinion, his films have been the best (shut it, Cuaron fanboys!). But there are seemingly thousands of other strong contenders this year that it would be miraculous for Yates to get a nomination. I mean, I suppose it could be possible. Everything's possible. But with a category of only 5 spots to fill, the only reason would be to fill the spot for the "Epic Series" argument.

Would it be fun to see? Yeah. But even if he got a nomination, there's no way he'd win. And I don't think he'll even get the nom. And this just leaves one more category.

BEST PICTURE

This has been the most talked about category over the past year. Will it received a Best Picture nomination? On top of that, will it win? The sole argument for not only its nomination, but its win, is the "Epic Series" argument. I honestly have no clue. I would like it to be nominated. I doubt it would win, but I'd like to see recognition here. I'm just not sure, based on everything I've talked about, if the "Epic Series" argument is enough to drive the nomination.

But who knows? I guess I'm just with everybody else. There's a 50/50 chance.

Oscar Night 2010: The Live Blog.

[It's Oscar day! And much like every other movie blog on the intarwebz, I shall be doing a live blog shortly. So just to prep, I'm gonna post up who I think should win, who will win, who could possibly win, and then the actual winner. I'll do this now (sans actual winner), and come one hour from now, I'll re-arrange the bits to correspond with when each is announced. And in between the winner decisions, I'll comment on the goings-on of the actual show.

Hopefully this will be better than last year. Last year, there was this whole big switch from analog to digital television, so the channel the Oscars was on was all fuzzy. There were long stretches where you couldn't see or hear anything, and even longer stretches where you could only hear stuff. So short of the electricity going on, there's really not anything that can be worse than last year.

Also, I doubt my choices right now and my choices on the LAMB Oscar Pool... or even the Oscar-related LAMBcast... are the same (though they're probably closest to the LAMBcast). Mostly because I don't remember, and some I've just changed my mind about since. So without further ado, here are my choices.]

It's time for the live blog! Continue refreshing for more of my thoughts and for the announced winners. And it begins... now.

7:30: All the leading actors/actresses are listed off one-by-one. I'm not gonna spell them out, mostly because I can't spell some of their names.

7:31: Haha! Neil Patrick Harris! That's freakin' awesome. He's singing "No one wants to do it alone" to explain why he's there. And a Twilight joke. lol... "There are two hosts tonight, and I fired my agent 'cause one's not me."

7:34: Steven Martin and Alec Baldwin are lowered from the ceiling in a giant ball thing. Ha... Steve Martin made a funny.

7:35: Aw, poor Meryl Streep.

7:39: Burn! Alec to Steve: "They just don't give Oscars to stand-up comedians, but nobody has to tell you that."

7:40: And there it is, the first mention of Bigelow vs. Cameron.

7:41: Clooney seemed a bit miffed... but maybe that's just me.

7:43: Again... Clooney seems a bit miffed. But maybe it's just an act. Who knows? On with the show!

7:44: Penelope Cruz is out for the first award: Best Supporting Actor. There's Matt Damon for Invictus. Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (Ben Foster spotting!... at least in the clip). Christopher Plummer for The Last Station. Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones. And Christoph Waltz for Inglorious Basterds.

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Will: Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)
Want: Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)
Possible: ...it's gonna be Christoph Waltz.
Actual: Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds). Totally knew it.

7:49: Yeah... no idea what Christoph Waltz was just talking about in his acceptance, but good for you!

7:50: Ryan Reynolds is introducing Best Picture nominee, The Blind Side.

7:55: And we're back. Cameron Diaz and Steve Carell are up. Steve is funny.

7:56: Animated characters talking about what they feel about being nominated. This is pretty cool/funny.

7:58: Announcing best Animated Feature Film. There was The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline, The Secret of the Kells, Princess and the Frog, and Up.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Will: Up
Want: Up
Possible: It's gonna be Up (it was nominated for Best Picture, for cryin' out loud).
Actual: Up

8:00: Alec and Steve talk about The Hangover before introducing Amanda Seyfried and Miley Cyrus. Wow, is Amanda getting married? That dress is huge. But now it's up for Best Original Song. There were songs from Crazy Heart, Princess and the Frog, Nine, and Paris 36.

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Will: The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart)
Want: Down in New Orleans (Princess and the Frog)
Possible: Almost There (Princess and the Frog)
Actual: The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart)

8:04: "I'd like to thank my wife. I love you more than rainbows, baby." Um... k.

8:05: Chris Pine introduced Best Picture Nominee, District 9.

8:11: And we're back. Alec introduces Robert Downey Jr. and Tina Fey. Robert Downey Jr. is hilarious. It's a writing award... which one? Original Screenplay. We have The Hurt Locket, Inglorious Basterds, The Messenger, A Serious Man, and Up.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Will: Up
Want: Up
Possible: The Hurt Locker
Actual: The Hurt Locker

8:15: At least I got it with my "Possible" guess, so I wasn't completely off.

8:17: Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick. Molly seems really stiff and nervous right now. They're talking about John Hughes. Followed by a bunch of John Hughes movie clips.

8:21: A bunch of former Hughes film stars come out on stage, introduce his family, say goodbye, and leave.

8:23: Samuel L. Jackson comes out and talks about Best Picture Nominee, Up.

8:27: Out comes Carey Mulligan and Zoe Saldana. They're here to give the awards for Short Films.

8:31: First is Animated Short.

ANIMATED SHORT (Guessing)

Will: A Matter of Loaf and Death
Want: Don't know.
Possible: Don't know.
Actual: Logorama

8:32: Yeah, haven't actually seen any of the shorts (of any type), so I was really just picking one.

8:33: Next is Documentary Short.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT (Guessing again)

Will: Rabbit a la Berlin
Want: No idea.
Possible: No idea.
Actual: Music by Prudence

8:34: This lady bursts in during the middle of the dude's speech and speaks really slowly until they start playing the music to hurry them along.

8:35: Now for the Live Action Short.

LIVE ACTION SHORT (Guessing again)

Will: Instead of Abracadabra
Want: Don't know.
Possible: Don't know.
Actual: The New Tenants

8:36: Yup... so, I got all the Shorts completely wrong. But again, I hadn't seen any of them or heard really anything about any of them. And this guy's talking super slow. Speed it up, guy. Poor second guy who didn't have time to speak.

8:37: Ben Stiller is out... dressed as a Na'Vi. lol. He's there for Best Make-Up. He's being really funny. And the nominees are... Il Divo, Star Trek, and The Young Victoria.

BEST MAKE-UP

Will: Star Trek
Want: Star Trek
Possible: The Young Victoria
Actual: Star Trek

8:43: Jeff Bridges comes out to introduce Best Picture Nominee, A Serious Man.

8:47: Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams come out for Best Adapted Screenplay. Nominees are Up in the Air, Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, In the Loop, An Education, and District 9.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Will: Precious (it's based on the novel Push by Sapphire, you know)
Want: District 9
Possible: Up in the Air
Actual: Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

8:50: For all the people who yelled at me, mocked me, and called me crazy for saying that Precious would beat out Up in the Air for this category, especially in the LAMB Devours the Oscars post I did, this I say to you: F*#@ You! Told ya so! Nana nana boo boo! (Because I'm not childish in any way).

8:52: Steve Martin introduces Queen Latifah. She's here to talk about the Governor's Awards.

8:54: Honorary awards recipients, Roger Corman and Lauren Bacall.

8:55: Out comes Robin Williams... and already a balls joke. He's giving the award for Best Supporting Actress. There's Penelope Cruz for Nine, Vera Fermiga for Up in the Air, Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart, Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air, and Mo'Nique in Precious.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Will: Mo'Nique (Precious)
Want: Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
Possible: It's gonna be Mo'Nique... there's really no other possibility.
Actual: Mo'Nique

9:00: Mo'Nique has given the best speech of the night so far.

9:01: Colin Firth comes out to introduce Best Picture Nominee, An Education.

9:05: And we're back with Sigourney Weaver. She's talking about Art Direction. There's Avatar, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Nine, Sherlock Holmes, and The Young Victoria.

ART DIRECTION

Will: Avatar
Want: Avatar
Possible: Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Actual: Avatar

9:07: With Sigourney Weaver giving the award for a visual-based award with Avatar as a nominee, I was totally surprised that Avatar won... *cough*

9:08: Alec and Steve introduce two clothes whores? hehe... Tom Ford and Sarah Jessica Parker. They're here to give the award for Best Costume Design. And the nominees are Bright Star, Coco Before Chanel, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Nine, and The Young Victoria.

COSTUME DESIGN

Will: Nine
Want: Don't care.
Possible: The Young Victoria
Actual: The Young Victoria

9:10: Not sure why I picked Nine over The Young Victoria when my gut told me to go with the latter. Maybe it's because the former was full of so many Oscar-winning people. But still, it was my "Possible" choice, so I feel it at least somewhat counts.

9:11: Charlize Theron is out to introduce Best Picture Nominee, Precious.

9:16: And we're back. Steve and Alec introduce a segment about horror movies... beginning with a hilarious spoof on Paranormal Activity.

9:18: Out come Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner to talk about the genre. And they're damn straight that horror films aren't given their due at the Oscars. Let's watch this little montage thingy now...

9:22: Pretty good... but only a half-second clip of Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days Later? Lame. Anywho, Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick introduce Sound Editing and Mixing, narrated by Morgan Freeman. I love how they have to explain WTF Sound Editing and Mixing are every year, because nobody really cares enough to remember. Anyway, Sound Editing is up first.

SOUND EDITING

Will: The Hurt Locker
Want: The Hurt Locker
Possible: Star Trek
Actual: The Hurt Locker

9:26: Now it's up to Sound Mixing.

SOUND MIXING

Will: Star Trek
Want: Star Trek
Possible: The Hurt Locker
Actual: The Hurt Locker

9:26: I was banking on the fact that more mainstream action movies tend to go in this category, but I guess I didn't take into account that "the best movie of the year" is technically an action movie.

9:28: Elizabeth Banks is up now... to the E.T. theme. And she's really enthusiastic! (And makes a pretty funny James Cameron joke... he's been hit quite a few times tonight).

9:29: John Travolta is up to introduce Best Picture Nominee, Inglorious Basterds.

9:34: Sandra Bullock is on stage now to give the award for Best Cinematography. The nominees are for Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, and The White Ribbon.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Will: The Hurt Locker
Want: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Possible: Avatar (Strong possibility)
Actual: Avatar

9:36: Seriously? I mean, seriously? This is the only one that was truly going to upset me if it happened. In the classic sense of the word, there IS no cinematography in this movie. It's all CGI. This was a BS win for this movie. Whatever.

9:37: Demi Moore is out now. It's the part of the show where we see the montage of those Hollywood individuals who have died in the past year. Are they trying to say something about making Demi introduce this segment (like her career being just as dead)? And... huh, that was much shorter than the past few years. Maybe they just cut out all the people nobody had ever heard of.

9:45: Back with JLo and Sam Worthington. And they're here to give us Best Original Score. And "The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers" dance to all the best scores including Sherlock Holmes, The Hurt Locker, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up, and Avatar. The dances of Up and Avatar were the best, though the score for Up is much more emotional and penetrating (you know what I mean).

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Will: Up
Want: Up
Possible: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Actual: Up

9:52: Heck yeah. I'm actually doing pretty good with my choices. And I take back what I said about Mo'Nique's speech. This one just given was the best of the night so far.

9:53: Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper are now out for Visual Effects. The nominees are Avatar, District 9, and Star Trek.

VISUAL EFFECTS

Will: Avatar
Want: Avatar
Possible: There's no way Avatar isn't winning.
Actual: Avatar

9:55: This one was pretty obvious. Like I said, there was no way this movie wasn't winning Best Visual Effects.

9:56: Jason Bateman is up to introduce Best Picture Nominee, Up in the Air.

10:01: And we're back... getting down the nitty gritty. Matt Damon is out to give the award for Best Documentary. Nominees include Burma VJ, The Cove, Food Inc., The Most Dangerous Man In America, and Which Way Home.

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Guessing)

Will: The Cove
Want: The Cove
Possible: No idea.
Actual: The Cove

10:04: I only chose The Cove because that's the only one I'd ever hea... did I just hear Fischer Stevens? Really? Fischer Stevens was involved with this movie? I did not know that. Huh.

10:05: Tyler Perry is now on stage... not dressed like a woman. And it's down to film editing. And the nominees are for Avatar, District 9, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, and Precious.

FILM EDITING

Will: The Hurt Locker
Want: The Hurt Locker
Possible: Inglorious Basterds
Actual: The Hurt Locker

10:07: I really have a lot of respect for editors. If I couldn't direct movies or act, I'd love to be an editor. It's a lot of work, but it's fun to me.

10:08: Keanu Reeves at the Oscars. Foreshadowing? Anyway, he's introducing Best Picture Nominee, The Hurt Locker.

10:14: And we're back with Quentin Tarantino and Pedro... let's leave it with Pedro. Quentin is being goofy, but they're introducing Best Foreign Film. Nominees are Ajami, The Milk of Sorrow, A Prophet, The Secret in Their Eyes, and The White Ribbon.

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Guessing)

Will: A Prophet
Want: Don't know.
Possible: The White Ribbon
Actual: The Secret in Their Eyes

10:17: Wow, I don't think anyone saw that coming (no pun intended). I actually haven't seen any of the foreign films this year, but the only ones I'd even heard of are A Prophet and The White Ribbon. And I had been under the impression that those were the top contenders for the winner. I guess not.

10:18: Kathy Bates is out now introducing Best Picture Nominee, Avatar.

10:23: We're down to the nitty gritty officially now. The big four are left. First up, Lead Actor. The nominees are Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman, and Jeremy Renner. Kate Winslet is here to give the award, which will go to..

LEAD ACTOR

Will: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
Want: Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
Possible: Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
Actual: Jeff Bridges

10:32: Despite loving how Renner did in Hurt Locker, I'm happy for Jeff Bridges, because I love that man. I haven't seen Crazy Heart yet, but I'm sure he deserves it.

10:33: They'll really need to speed this show up. They still have 3 awards to go, and they're already starting to go over in time. And I have to wake up early for work in the morning. What happened to the 45-second speech rule? Does it not matter for the Big 4? Speed it along, guys, especially if you're gonna do the never-ending praises on the Lead Actresses like you did with Lead Actors.

10:39: Now we're up to the Lead Actress award. The nominees are Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe, and Meryl Streep.

10:47: Sean Penn is up to give the award. The award goes to...

LEAD ACTRESS

Will: Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Want: Don't care.
Possible: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Actual: Sandra Bullock

10:48: Wow, even though I put it under "Possible," I didn't actually expect it to happen. She looked utterly shocked when they said her name. I feel particularly bad for Meryl Streep, who after all those nominations, she still didn't win... and in fact lost to Sandra Bullock. Granted, I haven't seen The Blind Side yet, and I'm sure it's wonderful and she's wonderful in it. Though she did give quite a good acceptance speech.

10:52: Barbra Streisand is out on stage now to give the award for Best Director. Here it is, folks. It's potentially the first female director winner of the Academy Awards. The nominees are James Cameron (Avatar), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds), Lee Daniels (Precious), and Jason Reitman (Up in the Air). And the winner is...

BEST DIRECTOR

Will: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Want: Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds)
Possible: James Cameron (Avatar)
Actual: Kathryn Bigelow

10:55: I'm all for this win. I think she did a great job with The Hurt Locker, and if Quentin Tarantino couldn't have won, I like that she did.

10:58: And now Tom Hanks is up to give the winner for the Best Picture. This is it, folks.

BEST PICTURE

Will: The Hurt Locker
Want: Inglorious Basterds
Possible: Avatar
Actual: The Hurt Locker

10:59: Wow, I couldn't even get my previous comment all typed up before Hanks said the winner. They really were rushing it. But good stuff, nevertheless.

Final Thoughts: I thought this was one of the most obvious Academy Awards in some time, with only one real surprise (foreign). As for Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin... didn't care for them much. I actually liked Hugh Jackman last year better, and I could hardly see and hear him (see the top of this post). Maybe they'll get Neil Patrick Harris next year. But yeah, good show, if it did go a bit long.

R2D2's Ultimate Top 10 Countdown Of The 2000s #10 - Oscar Winners.

[For the last 10 days of the decade, I'm doing a Top 10 list a day, all culminating into an ultimate post of Top 10 lists. We have previously seen Top 10 Comedies, Dramas, Animation, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Foreign, Musicals, Action/Thrillers, and Decade Specials. Now we're moving on.]

Top 10 Oscar Winners of the 2000s

This is it. The last "category"-based Top 10 list. Tomorrow will be a virtual cornucopia of lists looking at one year at a time... but we'll get to that tomorrow. As for now, I'm sure over the last week and a half, you've been wondering where the heck all those Oscar-worthy films were on my lists, and why the majority of my choices were either major blockbusters or never-heard-of-it's. It's mostly because I find a lot of Oscar-bait films to be either way too serious for my liking or way too depressing. And sometimes they're just too pompous and/or full of themselves to be enjoyed. So while they might be the cream of the crop, the best of the best, the "reason films are made," they make it hard for me to like them. However, every now and then, a movie is nominated (or wins) and they're not your typical Oscar films. However, since I've most likely included those in other lists already (see: Chicago and Lord of the Rings), I have to include the next best thing. And what is that, you might ask? Well... they're like the movies on this list.

Note: Before I get into it, though, I want to explain what my reasoning was for choosing the films I did. These films either won numerous awards or was incredibly popular for the win of its year, but they didn't necessarily win Best Picture. There are only 2 exceptions to this process, and I'll make note of them when I get there. So let's wrap this up.

10. Milk (2008)

Gus Van Sant pissed me off with the overrated, artsy, self-absorbed, P.O.S. abomination that is Elephant. Luckily, Milk is more mainstream, so he couldn't pull off the stuff he attempted in Elephant. So how did this fare? Pretty much as I expected it would. It's a really good political drama about gay rights/activism. It's acted amazingly well. But it wobbles on that line between entertaining and boring melodrama that I dislike about Oscar films (no offense to the life of Harvey Milk, who is an utterly fascinating individual and a hero to not only the GLBT community, but human rights activists everywhere). But mostly, it's an inspiring film. Match that up with the acting, and you have my reason why it ended up on this list.

9. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

I don't care what people say about this movie, the next movie, or my #3 movie, I like them. OK? I like them. A lot. Which is why they're on this list. You say they're overrated. I say you're face is overrated. Yeah, I said it. Anyway, it's a good film with good acting and a good story. And it launched both Abigail Breslin's and Paul Dano's careers (the latter of course having done quite a bit of work beforehand, but nothing to really catch people's attention this much). And if it weren't for this film, a certain other film on this list probably wouldn't be as good, seeing Dano probably wouldn't have been cast. I realize I haven't really said anything specific about this movie, but... well... let's just leave it at me liking it.

8. Juno (2007)

Yes, Juno. People don't like it for its unrealistic dialogue, quirky humor, indie music... pretty much everything that made it popular. I think this movie really suffered from the very populist culture that most high school students, as well as the Juno character, live by: It's only good while it's relatively unknown... the second it's popular, it's immediately crap and overrated. I love the dialogue, the humor, and even the music. This was practically the only movie that's ever caused me to go out and immediately buy the soundtrack after seeing the film. But besides the humor, it has heart. And it launched the mainstream careers of Ellen Page and Michael Cera.

7. No Country For Old Men (2007)

This movie had the potential to be one of my favorites ever. And then the last 20 minutes started. I don't believe I've watched the movie since theater (maybe a snippet here or there on a movie channel, but that's it). The majority of the movie is great, and it introduces a great (Oscar-winning) villain. But you know what, Coens? Sometimes it's better to make changes to the ending of a book in favor of action. Just ask the Twilight films. It's sad that the script adapters of the Twilight Saga know that the climax of certain genres needs to show the action... but you don't. Don't be Stephenie Meyer, Coens. Don't just say it happens and expect your audience to be satisfied. But forgive my tangent. Besides the ending, this was a great film that deserved to win.

6. There Will Be Blood (2007)

I believe I was in the minority that wanted There Will Be Blood to win over No Country. I also feel that while Daniel Day-Lewis proved to be one of the best actors today in this film, Paul Dano got screwed out of an Oscar nom for supporting role. He was my favorite part of the movie, and I found myself not enjoying the movie as much when he wasn't in the scene. Sure, the movie has its faults, but don't they all just get negated with one simple line? I. Drink. Your. Milkshake!

5. Man On Wire (2008)

This is the first exception to my choosing process. This was a documentary, so it was really only eligible for one category (it was also mostly in French, which is kind of a double whammy there). But the film is presented like a heist film, and we all know how I love my heist films. I usually don't go out of my way to see documentaries, but this really is one of my favorites. And I couldn't do an Oscar list without adding this movie (especially since I didn't do a documentary list--I apologize, King of Kong).

4. Michael Clayton (2007)

I recently saw this film just the other day, and I was surprised. The acting between George Clooney and (especially) Tom Wilkinson is fantastic. It started to lose my attention around the last third of the film, which isn't too hard to do these days, but it still grabbed me overall, which is why it made it so high up on this list.

3. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Wow, that was weird. Literally the second I started to type this section, I hear M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" start on the TV. Anyway, I know this movie gets a lot of flak for being overhyped and/or overrated, but I think it deserves the praise. Danny Boyle presents us with a overly simplistic complex story as a mainstreamed Oscar-bait film... and any other paradoxical oxymoron (redundant?) statements I can make. It's a modern fairy tale with a Middle Eastern setting using a spin-off of an American game show. I love the concept, love the visuals, love everything about the movie. It's a fairy tale, people. Go with it.

2. The Wrestler (2008)

Another film I just saw recently. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I ended up seeing. I guess I figured I was going to see your average depressing Oscar-bait film that I didn't care for. But it wasn't. I figured it was going to be a movie about an unlikable a-hole. But it wasn't. Mickey Rourke's Randy "The Ram" was not only likable, but you could feel his pain when he was told he couldn't wrestle anymore. The movie kept me engaged throughout. I was totally into the character and his story. And I even cringed a couple times during a couple brutal matches, regardless of knowing it was fake (both for the character and the actor). Great film all around.

1. Inglorious Basterds (2009)

This is the second movie on the list that doesn't follow the choosing process. Why? Because, well, the Oscars haven't even happened yet, and we don't know at this point whether or not it was even nominated. But you know it will be. At the very least, it's going to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz... for giving us one of the best villains in recent years. He frightened me even more than Hitler (who really wasn't menacing at all). But I also predict a screenplay nomination and possibly a Best Picture nomination (seeing that the category stretched to 10). Overall, a fantastically made film, one of the best of the year, and I'm looking forward to rooting for Christoph at the Oscars next year.


End Note: You'll probably notice that the earliest film on this list is 2006. Here's why: Gladiator (a fine film, but I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Crowe). A Beautiful Mind (see: Gladiator). Million Dollar Baby (the kind of depressing Oscar-bait I don't care for). The Aviator (haven't seen it). Crash (The only thing I really liked was Ludacris' performance... which says a lot about my opinion on the film). Brokeback Mountain (yet to see it). The Departed (I swear, I'm probably the only person on the planet who hasn't seen this movie... but I'm working on it...). All the other films I'd choose were already on other lists, as I previously said. And that about catches us up.

My Almost-Too-Late Oscar Predictions!

Well, Oscars are tonight (as if you didn't know). I wanted to go ahead and post my predictions. I'm also in the LAMB Oscar Pool, so here's to hoping I do well. But silly me, I didn't write down which ones I voted for in the Oscar Pool, so I don't remember if I chose the same ones for this list as I did for that one (as I guessed on some). Anywho, here's my current predictions, the ones I'm going to be going off of during the show. And for reference, one this list, Winner means who I think will win, Might means who I think could take the Oscar if not the one listed under Winner, and Want is the one I want to win.

Actor in a Leading Role

Winner: Sean Penn - Milk

Might: Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Want: Don’t care

Actor in a Supporting Role

Winner: Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Might: Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Want: Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Actress in a Leading Role

Winner: Kate Winslet – The Reader

Might: Meryl Streep - Doubt

Want: Angelina Jolie - Changeling

Actress in a Supporting Role

Winner: Penelope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Might: Viola Davis – Doubt

Want: Don’t care

Animated Feature Film

Winner: WALL-E

Might: Kung Fu Panda

Want: WALL-E

Art Direction

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Might: Changeling

Want: The Dark Knight

Best Picture

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Might: Milk

Want: Slumdog Millionaire

Cinematography

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Might: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Want: Slumdog Millionaire

Costume Design

Winner: The Duchess

Might: The Duchess

Want: The Duchess

Directing

Winner: Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

Might: Gus Van Sant - Milk

Want: Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

Documentary

Winner: Man On Wire

Might: Man On Wire

Want: Man On Wire

Documentary Short

Winner: The Witness

Might: The Witness

Want: The Witness

Film Editing

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Might: Slumdog Millionaire

Want: Slumdog Millionaire

Foreign Language Film

Winner: Waltz with Bashir

Might: The Class

Want: Waltz with Bashir

Makeup

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Might: Hellboy II

Want: Hellboy II

Music (Score)

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Might: Slumdog Millionaire

Want: Slumdog Millionaire

Music (Song)

Winner: Jai Ho – Slumdog Millionaire

Might: Down to Earth – WALL-E

Want: Jai Ho – Slumdog Millionaire

Short Film (Animated)

Winner: Presto

Might: Presto

Want: Presto

Short Film (Live Action)

Winner: New Boy

Might: Toyland

Want: New Boy

Sound Editing

Winner: WALL-E

Might: Slumdog Millionaire

Want: WALL-E

Sound Mixing

Winner: WALL-E

Might: Slumdog Millionaire

Want: WALL-E

Visual Effects

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Might: Iron Man

Want: Iron Man

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Might: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Want: Slumdog Millionaire

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Winner: Milk

Might: WALL-E

Want: In Bruges

The Oscars: Wants, Wills, and Wins.

So the Oscars are over for another year... and boy did at least half the winners come from left field. The following is the list of movies I wanted to win, movies I thought would win, movies I thought would win after I'd actually seen most of them and/or just second guessing myself (AKA Second Choice), and the actual winner...

Best Actor
Want: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Will: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Actual Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

Best Supporting Actor
Want: Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)
Will: Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)
Actual Winner: Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men)

Best Actress
Want: Ellen Page (Juno)
Will: Ellen Page (Juno)
Second Choice: Julie Christie (Away From Her)
Actual Winner: Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)

Best Supporting Actress
Want: Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)
Will: Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)
Second Choice: Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)
Actual Winner: Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

Best Animated Feature
Want: Ratatouille
Will: Ratatouille
Actual Winner: Ratatouille

Best Art Direction
Want: Atonement
Will: The Golden Compass
Second Choice: Atonement
Actual Winner: Sweeney Todd

Best Cinematography
Want: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Will: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Actual Winner: There Will Be Blood

Best Costume Design
Want: Atonement
Will: Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Actual Winner: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Best Directing
Want: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Will: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Second Choice: The Coen Bros. (No Country For Old Men)
Actual Winner: The Coen Bros. (No Country For Old Men)

Best Documentary
Want: War/Dance
Will: Taxi to the Dark Side
Second Choice: Sicko
Actual Winner: Taxi to the Dark Side

Best Documentary Short
Want: Salim Baba
Will: Sari's Mother
Second Choice: La Corona
Actual Winner: Freeheld

Best Film Editing
Want: No Country For Old Men
Will: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Second Choice: No Country For Old Men
Actual Winner: The Bourne Ultimatum

Best Foreign Language Film
Want: 12
Will: 12
Actual Winner: The Counterfeiters

Best Makeup
Want: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Will: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Actual Winner: La Vie En Rose

Best Musical Score
Want: Atonement
Will: Atonement
Actual Winner: Atonement

Best Original Song
Want: That’s how you know (Enchanted)
Will: That’s how you know (Enchanted)
Actual Winner: Falling Slowly (Once)

Best Picture
Want: Juno
Will: There Will Be Blood
Second Choice: No Country For Old Men
Actual Winner: No Country For Old Men

Best Animated Short Film
Want: Peter and the Wolf
Will: Peter and the Wolf
Second Choice: I Met the Walrus
Actual Winner: Peter and the Wolf

Best Live Action Short
Want: The Mozart of Pickpockets
Will: The Mozart of Pickpockets
Actual Winner: The Mozart of Pickpockets

Best Sound Editing
Want: Transformers
Will: No Country For Old Men
Actual Winner: The Bourne Ultimatum

Best Sound Mixing
Want: 3:10 to Yuma
Will: No Country For Old Men
Actual Winner: The Bourne Ultimatum

Best Visual Effects
Want: The Golden Compass
Will: The Golden Compass
Actual Winner: The Golden Compass

Best Adapted Screenplay
Want: No Country For Old Men
Will: No Country For Old Men
Actual Winner: No Country For Old Men

Best Original Screenplay
Want: Juno
Will: Juno
Actual Winner: Juno

So I called at least 50% of them, depending on how you look at it. I have to say, a lot of these came out of nowhere for me. I'm still upset that Jesse James didn't win Cinematography. Not even Atonement won it. But There Will Be Blood? Somebody was bribed. I mean, it's a great movie... but the previous two were still much better in the cinematography category.

Also, for those of you who read my Art Direction segment for the LAMB Devours the Oscars... I think it was funny they had a section devoted to explaining what the hell Art Direction actually was... it was like they read my article... and they STILL didn't really explain it very well.

From the Heart: Best/Great Movies and the Oscars.

The Large Association of Movie Blogs (LAMB) has pulled its members together, myself included, and made up what we believe to be our top 5 movies of the year. Reading through the winners and the picks has made me think a lot about something, so I would like to make a little shpeel of my own onto what I believe makes a great and/or Oscar-worthy movie (which might more explain my list, especially when juxtaposed against some of the others). For instance, a lot of people picked movies like In the Valley of Elah, Michael Clayton, The Assassination of Jesse James, and No Country for Old Men. There is only one major reason as to why I didn't pick these or any of the other 'Oscar-worthy' picks: I live in a small city, so it's very, very rare for movies like that to even show their face in these parts. Hell, even Sweeney Todd is skipping out on us (damnit).

I'm not going to say anything against these films. They actually might be super awesome, and probably are. But even if I had seen them, I still may or may not have included them as my favorite of the year. Why? Because, honestly, most Oscar-worthy pictures are BORING (at least after one viewing). That's right, I said it. But I also said most, not all.

To me, a great movie doesn't have to be made by Eastwood or Scorsese and star Swank or DiCaprio... which too many recent winners have. I'm not saying these guys are awful... no, FAR from it. These people are great in their own respects. But when I watch a movie, I want to be both entertained and want to watch it again. I don't want to be like "Oh my God, that was the most depressing thing I've ever seen... never again." *pause* "THAT WAS OSCAR GOLD!" My brain doesn't really work like that.

That's why I'm ecstatic when movies like Lord of the Rings and Little Miss Sunshine are nominated, and even happier when they win. But don't get me wrong, I'm not against the depressing masterpieces. I love Pan's Labyrinth. It should have been nominated for best picture, though it obviously wasn't going to be, as it was foreign. Again, one of the biggest reasons I'm not all up and for these movies is because I haven't seen them. I just don't think that movies like The Queen would be my cup of tea (bad joke). I'll see it someday eventually anyway... I just believe there are more entertaining movies out there. Because that's all a movie is meant to be, entertaining. If it's not entertaining you, it's not doing its job. And if it isn't doing its job, then why should it get this high praise?

Of course, story isn't the only thing that makes a movie great. Acting, direction, cinematography... they all play their part. A movie can have an enthralling story, but if it looks and feels boring, then it will be. And before you jump on me, I'm not one of those people who just likes the blow-em-up blockbusters that have no depth. I love movies with depth, as well. I love all kinds of movies... almost any and all, for that matter.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that when it comes to Oscar noms, the littler guys should be given a bigger chance than they're ever given, instead of just focusing on all the Scorsese's and such. There's other great movies out there, and they don't all have to be violent and/or depressing to get best picture, as a lot of the winners these days have been. Because honestly, movies are for the average movie goer, and the average movie goer is a lot more likely to see Superbad and Enchanted over Eastern Promises and The Darjeeling Limited. And in the end, it's the people's opinion that matters, not a snob in a suit who sees 30 second clips.

Finally, as to not take up a load of room, here is the link to the winners, which I'm happy to say I believe is a great list and more true to form than what the Oscars are likely to say.