Oscar Picks

The Academy Awards ceremony is coming up this weekend, so I thought I would chime in with my picks in the major categories. These are the choices I would make if I were voting, and not necessarily who or what I think will win. I don't think my tastes align too closely with the Academy membership (based on past years selections) or the general public, so this is merely offered as another way to keep my blog post count up. Feel free to take issue with any or all of this in the comments sections; in fact I'm kind of curious to see if I'm even remotely in synch with my readers. Also-- I'm only commenting on categories where I've seen at least three of the nominees.

Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds. This was probably the movie that I most enjoyed on a visceral level this past year.

Best Adapted Screenplay: I have two favorites here: first Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche for In the Loop; second Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for Up in the Air. Both were very strong, and very literate-- I might lean a little towards the former because this is the only nomination it has.

Best Director: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air. I'm much more impressed by Reitman's ability to generate a thoughtful, engrossing story about working people than I am most of the other nominees' ability to pull off overblown spectacles (caveat: I did not see Precious, which I suspect was closer to Up in the Air in tone and composition) .

Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds. A big part of the appeal of this movie for me is that it looked like the classic World War II films I saw growing up-- like The Dirty Dozen and Kelly's Heroes.

Best Supporting Actress: Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air. She projects nearly as much charm and likability as George Clooney playing an equally flawed character-- pretty impressive.

Best Supporting Actor: Woody Harrelson in The Messenger. I wouldn't be upset if Christoph waltz wins for Inglourious Basterds, but I've always liked Woody and he did a great job in The Messenger.

Best Actress: I only saw one of the nominees, Carey Mulligan in An Education. She was good, but I can't say she was better than any of the others.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart. Bridges has been so good for so long, that he's long overdue for an award. This isn't his greatest role, but he's as good in it as any other he's played-- in fact, he makes the film worth seeing.

Best Picture: Up in the Air. This is the kind of movie that gives you something to think about, but is also rich in the qualities that make movies popular-- it's funny, touching, with an excellent star turn (by Clooney) along with unexpected fine work from less well known actors (Farmiga, Kendrick). I wish I had seen Precious, but otherwise, I don't think any of the other nominees are quite in the same ballpark in overall quality, even the ones I liked.

Any comments?