The 2011 Oscars are this Sunday, February 27th at 8:00 P.M. In the past few years, I have had complaints about what was or wasn’t nominated. Not this year. I can’t remember a year when I liked everything that was nominated. Unlike previous years, I will be okay with pretty much whoever wins. These are my choices for who I think deserves to win in the major categories.
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”
Christian Bale should and will win this category. With this performance, he reminds us what acting is all about. A lot of actors and actresses bring something of their own personality and mannerisms to every role they play. That can be a good thing, but is always distracting from the reality of the movie. Christian Bale becomes this character, without a shred of Bruce Wayne or himself or any other character you have seen him play. This is a role unlike any he has done before and he nails it perfectly.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”
This is a race between Melissa Leo and Hailee Steinfeld. I think Hailee Steinfeld should win. She has more of a stand-out performance and is really the lead of the film.
Best Actress
Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”
As far as I am concerned, this is no contest. Natalie Portman should and will win this award.
Best Actor
Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
James Franco in “127 Hours
Once again we have a category that really is no contest. Colin Firth should and will win for The King’s Speech.
Best Director
“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter” David O. Russell
“The King’s Speech” Tom Hooper
“The Social Network” David Fincher
“True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are Alright
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
For both Best Picture and Best Director, I would choose The Social Network. At first, it was the front runner, but The King’s Speech has gained a lot of momentum since then winning other pre-oscar awards. I have nothing against it. It is a very intimate movie and watching it is like seeing a work of art in motion. However, I feel The Social Network is a better movie overall and a real accomplishment in Direction being that this could have been a very boring movie in the hands of a different Director. My second choice for Best Picture would be Black Swan, an intense and involving film.
So watch tomorrow night, or just take the easy way out and see who won in the headlines Monday morning.
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about the author: Donald Hanson
