Oscar Predictions (Rhoades)

Oscars Nods Invite Predictions
by Shirrel Rhoades

I’m excited. How about you? The Oscar nominations are in and winners will be announced at the March 7th Academy Awards presentations. You’ll want to gather at the Tropic Cinema to watch the live telecast, I’m sure.

But the question at hand: Who will win? Given my role as your faithful movie companion, everybody asks me whom I think will snag that little golden statuette. Fair enough.
My disclaimer is that Oscars are often political (i.e. based on who deserves to win this year, not necessarily the best performance). So with that in mind, here are a few of my picks and backup guesses.

Best Picture. This year the category has been opened up to 10 nominations. I’ll pick “Up in the Air,” George Clooney’s paean to loneliness and modern times as he portrays a corporate hatchet man who travels a lot. A near-perfect movie except for a needed tweak at the end. But “Avatar” might well get it for sheer overwhelming blockbuster success.

Best Director. An interesting race between James Cameron (“Avatar”) and his ex-wife Katherine Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”). She deserves it, but he might again become King of the World.

Best Actor. Hands down, Jeff Bridges for “Crazy Heart,” an ode to a broken-down old country western singer. See my accompanying review. But let’s acknowledge that George Clooney did a good job in “Up in the Air.”

Best Actress. I’ll go with Sandra Bullock, who broke a glass ceiling with her schmaltzy sports movie, “The Blind Side.” But don’t count Meryl Streep out for her channeling of chef Julia Child in “Julie & Julia.”

Best Supporting Actor. I liked Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger,” but Christoph Waltz has a good shot for “Inglourious Basterds.”

Best Supporting Actress. Both Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart” and “Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air” deserve it, but Mo’nigue in the painful-to-watch drama “Precious” may walk away with the little man.

Best Animation. The voice of our old friend Ed Asner made “Up” my pick, but Wes Anderson fans will go for “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

Okay, you take it from here. When it gets down to the Best Foreign Language Comedy Short Subject (or whatever), my crystal ball grows cloudy.