Keeping track of my correct choices with a *
(I ended up with 18/24, if you don’t feel like counting)

* Best Picture
The Hurt Locker

* Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges

* Actor in a Supporting Role
Christoph Waltz

* Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock

* Actress in a Supporting Role
Mo’Nique

* Animated Feature Film
Up

* Art Direction
Avatar

* Cinematography
Avatar

* Costume Design
The Young Victoria (these period pieces always win)

* Directing
Kathryn Bigelow

* Documentary Feature
The Cove

Documentary Short
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

* Film Editing
Hurt Locker

Foreign Language Film
The White Ribbon

* Makeup
Star Trek (too good to get no Oscars!)

* Music (Score)
Up

* Music (Song)
The Weary Kind – Crazy Heart

Short Film (Animated)
A Matter of Loaf and Death

Short Film (Live Action)
Kavi

* Sound Editing
Hurt Locker

* Sound Mixing
Hurt Locker

* Visual Effects
Avatar

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Up In The Air

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Inglorious Basterds

                  

Avatar
I really didn’t know what to expect with this because of all of the hype, but Avatar absolutely lived up to everything I heard about it. I agree with most that the story is nothing new. It is pretty typical SciFi. It’s the effects that completely blew me away. It took me a while to really become absorbed in the world of Pandora, but once I did I couldn’t look away. I don’t see any way that this film doesn’t win Art Direction, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. Its the other categories that I am not sure about. I really don’t want it to win best picture, Director, and Cinematography, but I could see some of them happening.
Final thought: Spectacularly beautiful film! Everyone should see this in 3D. Don’t wait for dvd!

Julie & Julia
This was a very cute film. It really made me want to eat and cook delicious French foods! Meryl Streep was really great as Julia Child. Very convincing. I hope she wins Best Actress. She was much better than Sandra Bullock.
Final thought: Great film to watch at home with your family.

The Blind Side
This film was very heart warming and inspirational. Sandra Bullock did a great job in her role as a wealthy suburban mother who takes in a homeless teenager and helps him go to college on a football scholarship. As a Best Picture nominee, I’m just not convinced. There were other films this year that could have been nominated over this.
Final thought: Great inspirational family film, not really worth the Oscar buzz, though.

Precious
I can’t even tell you how heartbreaking this film is. Gabourey Sidibe plays Precious, a teen mom in the ghetto trying to make it through the worst possible situation. Monique, who plays Precious’ mother will win Best Supporting Actress, no doubt about that. You will hate her character, but her power is undeniable in the role. This could contend for Adapted Screeplay, but Best Picture and Director are a long-shot.
Final thought: Not a film for anyone who is not interested in very rough and horribly sad realism, but a must see otherwise.

                  

In absolutely no particular order

1. Gangs of New York
2. Wet Hot American Summer
3. In the Bedroom
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. No Country for Old Men
6. There Will Be Blood
7. Brick
8. The Departed
9. The Royal Tenenbaums
10. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
11. Juno
12. The Fellowship of the Ring
13. Inglourious Basterds
14. Pan’s Labyrinth
15. Donnie Darko
16. Up
17. District 9
18. Mulholland Dr.
19. 28 Days Later
20. The Pianist
21. Wall-E
22. Memento
23. Moulin Rouge
24. High Fidelity
25. Dark Knight
26. Punch Drunk Love
27. Almost Famous
28. Spirited Away
29. Kill Bill Vol. 1
30. Superbad
31. 3:10 to Yuma
32. Hotel Rawanda
33. Little Miss Sunshine
34. Avatar
35. O Brother Where Art Thou
36. Dogville
37. Amelie
38. Big Fish
39. The Squid and the Whale
40. Brokeback Mountain
41. Lost in Translation
42. The Hurt Locker
43. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
44. Babel
45. Letters from Iwo Jima
46. Milk
47. One Hour Photo
48. Requiem for a Dream
49. Amores Perros
50. Adaptation

Maybe I’ll do best albums of the decade in a few months. I know, I’m so timely with these things.

                  

An Education
I haven’t watched any other films nominated for Leading Actress, and I know Carey Mulligan is a long shot, but her performance is fantastic in An Education. Mulligan plays a very convincing 16 year old who is seduced by an older man. Her performance is very natural and stands out in a phenomenal ensemble cast. As a Best Picture contender, I doubt this film would have made the cut if the category hadn’t been expanded, but certainly hold it’s own among the other nominees. For Adapted Screenplay this is a major contender.
Final thought: Very witty, very clever film that I would recommend.

The Hurt Locker
Certainly the best Iraq War film I’ve seen, the Hurt Locker follows a small team of Bomb Squad Technicians through their tour of duty. The story isn’t really special, so I don’t really see this as getting far in Screenplay Original. Visually it is ultra realistic and makes you feel like you are a journalist covering the action. Certainly a contender for Directing and Cinematography, though it will be hard to beat Avatar for the latter.
Final thought: Great war film worth the watch.

Inglorious Basterds
If I were a member of the Academy, this would get my vote for Best Picture. The competition is stiff this year with 5 extra nominees, but Inglorious Basterds, a rewrite of WWII history where Hitler is assassinated, is easily the best. This is a defining piece of cinema and may be Quentin Tarantino’s best work. Although, these things may be what keep it from winning the honor as movies this good never seem to get the credit they deserve until later. I would love to see this film win best picture (dark horse for sure), directing (very possible), and screenplay original (maybe).
Final thought: Probably the best film of the last 5 years…maybe 10, in my opinion.

A Serious Man
I’ve heard a lot of people say this film is overly pretentious and boring. I found it to be very thoughtful and darkly hilarious. A serious man chronicles the ridiculous trials of Larry Gopnik, a Jewish professor whose life seems to be falling apart before him. This film proves that you don’t have to be nominated for every other category to be considered for Best Picture; it stands on the story alone. That said, the Coen Brothers could grab the Screenplay Original award for this film, but I doubt it has a serious chance at Best Picture.
Final thought: Not for everybody, but very good if you typically like the Coen Brothers.

Up in the Air
This film certainly deserves the nominations it received. The acting is phenomenal and the story is both hilarious and desperately sad.
Up in the Air is about a business man who lives in the air, traveling from city to city to fire people. He doesn’t realize how terribly lonely he is until he meets another frequent flier who catches his heart. Like A Serious Man, this film shows that a great story is enough to be a Best Picture contender. Though it probably wont win, Up in the Air stands a good chance for an upset.
Final thought: For me, this film was more sad than funny, though enjoyably so.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Why don’t people like Terry Gilliam? I seriously love his films, and Dr. Parnassus does not disappoint. It may sound odd, this being a film about the struggle between imagination and the devil, but this film is very imaginative! Visually it is spectacular. The costumes, the scenery, everything about this film looks great. The story may be muddled, but it is fascinating at the same time. Certainly has a chance to win both Costume Design and Art Direction.
Final thought: I love Terry Gilliam, so I recommend this to anyone who also loves him.

Nine
I really love Daniel Day-Lewis, so I hate to say that I didn’t really enjoy Nine. The music and choreography is almost all really great, but the narrative is really awful. The story focuses on film director Guido Contini’s struggle to write his next film. I see no chance for Penelope Cruz going up against Mo’Nique for Supporting Actress (honestly Marion Cotillard had a better performance than Cruz), but could win for Costume Design and Art Direction. I haven’t really heard any of the other original songs, but the music was fantastic in Nine, so it could win there.
Final thought: I wouldn’t really recommend this film. The story really is poorly told.

The Messenger
The Messenger offers a look into the awful job of informing next of kin of the death of a soldier. Woody Harrelson is terrific and will be the only person up for Supporting Actor who might be able to beat Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds). This movie gives a different side of war that isn’t often portrayed in film, at least not as well as it is in this film.
Final thought: Very good film that I highly recommend.

Food, Inc.
This is the only Documentary Feature I have had a chance to see. I liked it, but already knew most of the information that was presented so it became a bit tedious. I would have liked to see some solutions for people who can’t afford to shop at Whole Foods.
Final thought: Not as good as I thought it would be, but worth a look if you’ve ever wondered where your food comes from.

Invictus
Clint Eastwood is a very good director. He got a bit of a snubbing by not being included in either Directing or Best Picture, but I don’t blame the academy. This film wouldn’t have won either and the other nominees are probably better than Invicus, the story of Nelson Mandela using the South African rugby team to unite a very divided country. This movie is quite good and Morgan Freeman has a very good chance of winning for Leading Actor.
Final thought: Very enjoyable film that I would recommend to anyone.

                  

Actor in a Leading Role
Sean Penn

Actor in a Supporting Role
Heath Ledger (obviously)

Actress in a Leading Role
Kate Winslet

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz

Animated Feature Film
Wall-E

Art Direction
Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Cinematography
Slumdog Millionaire

Costume Design
The Duchess

Directing
Slumdog Millionaire

Documentary Feature
Man on Wire

Documentary Short
The Witness

Film Editing
Slumdog Millionaire

Foreign Language Film
Waltz with Bashir

Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Music (Score)
Wall-E

Music (Song)
Jai Ho – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire

Short Film (Animated)
Presto

Short Film (Live Action)
Newboy

Sound Editing
Wall-E

Sound Mixing
Dark Knight

Visual Effects
Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Slumdog Millionaire

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Milk

**UPDATE**

So the show is over. I did ok. I didn’t miss any of the big ones, so that is good! 17 out of 24…not too bad!

                  

Some noteable quotes include:

• “There are 2 kinds of people in the world…those who love Jesus and those who don’t” Wow. Tolerance please? Is that really teaching our kids to care about others? You’re with us or against us. Does the gospel tell us that?
• “Where should we be putting our focus? I’ll tell you were our enemies are putting it. They’re putting it on the kids.” She then goes on the make a comparison between what they are doing at these camps and arming and training kids to fight in battle.
• “At 5 I got saved because I just wanted more out of life.” What 5 year old wants more out of life? When I was 5, more out of life was going outside and playing with my friends, not protesting abortion and worshiping a picture of George W Bush. <–I’m not kidding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co1_9lR9EpM.
• “I really feel that we are the key generation to bring jesus back” If we are going to teach our kids about Jesus, at least let them the truth. This line is from what looks like an 11-12 year old boy. He thinks that his generation will “bring jesus back.” !?!?!?
• “This means war, this means war, this means war!” I don’t know, I guess that just scared me. 100’s of children screaming that. There is something wrong with that.

You can watch the trailor here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_EKHK1C2IE