AND THE OSCAR GOES TO ……..

The Oscar telecast is on Sunday, March 7, and this should be an interesting year. I'm a pure cinephile who merely enjoys chance after chance at discussing film, and what better occasion than on film's biggest night (and the month preceding it)? Since I’m hardly immune to Oscar fever, which is why I’ve went ahead and put together this list of my picks for the winners at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. I’ve highlighted the predicted winners in bold and then offered a few thoughts on why I arrived at that conclusion. .Also i thank my friend K.S . Jayan who was instrumental in getting me all the Oscar nominated films in spite of his busy schedule.


1. Best Picture
"THE HURT LOCKER"

Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker," story about a bomb-disposal expert in Iraq, opened in July to great praise, but was considered a dark horse because of its low budget, lower profile and earlier release date. Then it started sweeping up year-end awards, and many more people saw it. I think it's the current favorite.The crucial factors may be "The Hurt Locker's" recent victories in two guild elections: It has been honored for best direction. In many years, the Directors Guild winner is a predictor of best picture.James Cameron had already won best picture for "Titanic" in 1996.



2. Best Direction
Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker,"-

If James Cameron by chance gets the Oscar for best picture but I’m betting that the Academy will recognize his ex-wife; Kathryn Bigelow. The film delivers a powerful message about war and the men who fight it. Critics went nuts over the film. If Bigelow wins, she’ll be the first woman to do so. Also she has already won the prestigious Director’s Guild of America award for best director which makes her a sure bet in this category,



3. Best Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart”

I’m thrilled to see Jeremy Renner nominated for 'Hurt Locker’. But without a doubt, Jeff Bridges will pick up his first Academy Award for portraying an aging country musician in Crazy Heart. Jeff, a five-time nominee who’s never won, already has a Golden Globe, Broadcast Critics, and SAG Award on his mantel for Crazy Heart. But Beware of Jeremy Renner pulling an Adriane Brody (Adriane Brody, the star of The Pianist shocked the Kodak Theatre by winning the Best Actor Oscar over presumed front-runners Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis in 2003) it’s a long shot, but he’s the only one who can upset Jeff Bridges.


4. Best Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side”

Great to see Meryl Streep getting her 16th Oscar nomination. But this time Sandra Bullock will win. She has come a long way from the days of driving a bus in Speed, to various average romantic flicks, and finally settling in a role that calls for plenty of gravitas, which she pulled off wonderfully.This is her first Oscar nomination .She had already picked the Golden Globe But you can never count out Meryl Streep, who certainly has legions of fans in the Academy, who may be sick of seeing Bullock beat her. Carey Mulligan, for 'An Education' has an outside shot .But age (20 y) and experience factor is against her.



5. Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds”

With his calculated tenacity, dead accuracy for scene-stealing dialogue and for the most convincing Nazi ever, the award goes to Christoph Waltz! He has already won a Golden Globe, Satellite Award, Cannes Film Festival Award, and SAG Award for his portrayal of the brilliantly efficient Colonel Hans Landa.





6. Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Mo'Nique for "Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push' by Sapphire”

Mo’nique had already picked up a Golden Globe and SAG. The film 'Precious' is likely to lose five of the six trophies it’s up for, but not this one. There’s no way she’s losing. Somewhat surprised that Maggie Gyllenhaal crept into the mix. She has not been hitherto nominated at any other function.




7. Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"Up in the Air," Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

2009 was the year of economic recession. A screenplay based on the ill effects of recession on families and employees will be surely recognized by the academy. Also this will be a chance for the academy to recognize a promising new generation talent named Jason Reitman.


8. Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino

This may just be the toughest race to predict. It’s definitely between Mark Boal ('The Hurt Locker')and Tarantino('Basterds').If the Academy wants to recognize someone(Tarantino !) but don’t feel their film will win the top prize, this award often serves as a compromise. Also since the screenplay of ‘Basterds’ used the power of cinema to rewrite history, so I go with Basterds.


9. Best Animated Feature Film
"Up”

Up is also nominated in the Best Picture category and the Academy does seem to have a Pixar bent as of late. So how could it not win this award?



10. Best Art Direction
"Avatar,"- Art Direction by Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg


11. Best Cinematography
Mauro Fiore for "Avatar"


12. Best Foreign Language Film
Das weisse Band (The White Ribbon), Germany

Dealing with themes of war and terrorism, it’s just the sort of message-oriented film that the Academy loves. Plus, it already won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and Palme d'or at Cannes. There is a slight possibility of an upset here, since Hollywood doesn't give Oscars to Cannes festival winners. But it is high time that a great director like Michael Haneke, who has been a force to reckon with in the festival circuit, should be recognized by Hollywood. This will be the right moment.


13. Best Film Editing
“The Hurt Locker”- Edited by Bob Murawski, Chris Innis


14. Best Make -Up
Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano for IL Divo (2009)

Stunning make up job on actor Tony Servillo to transform him into former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.



15. Best Costume Design
Sandy Powell for "The Young Victoria "-

The Young Victoria is a period piece. A drama in the Victorian Age. The academy loves this type of thing. Plus, it won the Choice award here.

16. Best Music (Original Score)
Michael Giacchino for “UP"

I bet Michael Giacchino scores a well-deserved nomination here for his work on "Up".He has already won the Golden Globe .James Horner's Avatar score was grand but actively forgettable .But he has a slight chance on winning especially since the Academy's orchestra will be playing his music all evening


17. Best Music (Original Song)
The Weary Kind” (Theme from Crazy Heart) from Crazy Heart, Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

A great song that has already captured a Golden Globe, and I’m betting that the streak will continue.


18. Best Sound Editing
Paul N.J. Ottosson for "The Hurt Locker,"


19. Best Sound Mixing
Transformers: Revenge of the fallen (2009), Mixing by Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers

The academy should award Greg P. Russell this time. This man has been nominated for Best sound mixing academy award category for 12 times previously and never won!



20. Best Visual Effects
"Avatar," Visual FX by Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones

If there was only one award that Avatar could win, it would be this one.


21. Best Documentary (Feature)
"The Cove”

A powerful documentary about dolphin hunting in Japan. This real life thriller puts other cinematic thrillers to shame. The great risk that the crew of the documentary took to surpass the tight security of Japan, to obtain the footage, itself deserves an award. Also this documentary won the powerful DGA award.





See you on March 7th! The hosts are Alec Baldwin (interesting...) and Steve Martin (Hooray!!). It should be a fun ceremony, even if the whole affair feels fairly mundane and predictable.

Festival Coverage : BERLINALE (2010)

The Berlin International Film Fest commenced on Feb 11 .The festival's opening film "Tuan Yuan" (Apart Together) was attended by the festival’s jury president Werner Herzog plus a starry guest list from across European and Asian cinema.The fest concluded on 21 February. Here are the list of winners in major categories......



1. Golden Bear for Best Film

" Honey "

Dir : Semih Kaplanoglu

Country:Turkey

Honey is the last installment of director Kaplanoglu's autobiographical "Yusuf Trilogy",The trilogy runs in reverse chronological order and Honey explores Yusuf's early childhood. In the remote and undeveloped eastern Black Sea region, a six-year-old boy (Yusuf) wanders through the woods searching for his lost father, trying to make sense of his life. His father is a beekeeper whose bees have disappeared unexpectedly, threatening his livelyhood.A bizarre accident kills the father.


2.Silver Bear - Grand Jury Prize

"If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle "

Dir : Florin Serban

Country : Romania

The film focuses on an incarcerated young man who finds himself in love with a Sociology student, Ana, working in the penitentiary as an intern.He takes her as a hostage shortly before he is to be released from the youth detention center.


3.Silver Bear for Best Director

Dir :Roman Polanski

Film: "The Ghost Writer "

Country :France


Synopsis:When a successful British ghostwriter, The Ghost, agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, his agent assures him it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start because his predecessor on the project, Lang's long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.a former .Also a British cabinet minister accuses Prime minister Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA.As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA—and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind.Based on Robert Harris Novel 'The Ghost'.


Trivia :

Director Polanski, who could not come participate in the awards ceremony for reasons by now known to all, sent an ironic message through one of his producers: "Even if I could come, I wouldn't. Because the last time I went to a festival to accept an award, I ended up in jail."
Earlier due to Polanski's arrest, the film's post-production was briefly put on hold, but he resumed work from house arrest at his Swiss villa.


4.Silver Bear for Best Screenplay

"Apart Together"

Dir : Wang Quan'an

Country : China

The film touches on the themes of autumnal romance, bittersweet memory and self-sacrifice. Ling Feng , a civil war veteran who fled to Taiwan after Mao’s Communist revolution half a century ago. Now a newly widowed pensioner, he returns to the mainland with a Taiwanese tourist group with a secret scheme to rekindle his youthful romance with Qiao Yu’e , his great lost love and the mother of the son he has never met. The low-key family drama that follows finds history repeating itself, more as farce than tragedy, with flashes of lyricism and dry humour. Set in an increasingly globalised and modernised Shanghai.


5.Silver Bear for Best Actor

Grigory Dobrygin

Film: "How I Ended This Summer "

Country :Russia

Synopsis :One place. One day. Two men. The place is a polar station on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean. A day up here in the far north lasts weeks, since the sun never sets during the summer at this high latitude. This used to be an important research station but, Sergei, an experienced meteorologist and Pavel, a high school graduate, are now the only inhabitants. Soon a ship will arrive to pick up the two men. For Sergei this will mean the end of a sojourn that has lasted several years. He is anxious about returning to his wife and child on the mainland. And then one day Pavel picks up a radio message that he daren’t communicate to Sergei. Pavel does everything he can to keep the message from Sergei, in the hope that the ship’s arrival will relieve him of this particular task. Fear, lies and suspicions start poisoning the atmosphere.....


6. Silver Bear for Best Actress

Koji Wakamatsu

Film : "Caterpillar"

Country :Japan

Synopsis :Durin the Second Sino-Japanese War, in 1940, Lieutenant Kurokawa returns home as a honoured and decorated soldier... but deprived of his arms and legs lost in battle in mainland All hopes, from the villagemen and women to close family members, turn to Shigeko, the Lieutenant's wife: she must honour the Emperor and the country in setting an example for all by fulfilling her duty and taking care of the 'god soldier'.But the war hero turns out to have been a wife-beater and rapist when wearing civilian clothes.


sources: Wikipedia,the guardian.