BEST PICTURE
Who should win: "Inception"
Commentary: I hope “Inception” will be acknowledged for what it is : the best movie made in 2010. But if the Academy goes by their unwritten (and rarely broken) rule that the message and theme of the film are just as important as its production, then the battle will be between “The Social Network” and “The King’s Speech”, with “The Social Network” as the most likely winner. Let’s hope it won’t come to that.
BEST ACTOR
- James Franco for “127 Hours”
- Jeff Bridges for “True Grit”
- Colin Firth for “The King's Speech”
- Jesse Eisenberg for “The Social Network'
Who should win: Colin Firth
Commentary: Javier Bardem may have a shot at a nomination for his role in "Biutiful".
BEST ACTRESS
- Natalie Portman for “Black Swan”
- Annette Bening for “The Kids Are All Right”
- Jennifer Lawrence for “Winter's Bone”
Who should win: Natalie Portman
Commentary: Other possible contenders are Nicole Kidman for “Rabbit Hole” and Noomi Rapace for 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Andrew Garfield for “The Social Network"
- Geoffrey Rush for “The King's Speech'”
- Christian Bale for “The Fighter”
- Mark Ruffalo for "The Kids Are All Right”
Who should win: Christian Bale
Commentary: Other possible contenders are John Hawkes for “Winter’s Bone” and Matt Daemon for “True Grit”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Melissa Leo for 'The Fighter'
- Helena Bonham Carter for 'The King's Speech'
- Hailee Steinfeld for “True Grit”
Who should win: Hailee Steinfeld
Commentary: Other possible contenders are Keira Knightley for “Never Let Me Go”, Amy Adams for “The Fighter” and Barbara Hershey for "Black Swan"
BEST DIRECTOR
- Danny Boyle for "127 Hours"
- David Fincher for "The Social Network"
- Tom Hooper for "The King’s Speech"
- Joel and Ethan Coen for "True Grit"
- Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan"
- Christopher Nolan for "Inception"
Who should win: David Fincher for "The Social Network"
Commentary: I have no idea which one of these six can be left out.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- Christopher Nolan for "Inception"
- Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for
"The Kids Are All Right"
- David Seidler for "The King's Speech"
Who should win: Christopher Nolan for "Inception"
Commentary: There are two films I haven’t seen yet that might end up in here because both Mike Leigh and Sofia Coppola are brilliant screenwriters: “Another Year” (Leigh) and “Somewhere” (Coppola)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- The Coen Brothers for “True Grit”
- Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for “Winter's Bone”
- Alex Garland for “Never Let Me Go”
- Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy for “127 Hours”
- Aaron Sorkin for “The Social Network”
Who should win: Aaron Sorkin for “The Social Network”
Commentary : As much as I would love to see “Never Let Me Go” or an independent film like “Winter’s Bone” win something, what Fincher did cannot be denied. He’ll get the Oscar.
For BEST DOCUMENTARIES I haven’t seen that many last year so I have just one name: "Waiting for Superman", which is basically about the failure of the American education system.
And finally for BEST ANIMATED FEATURE I have again only one name and in this case the other nominees won’t even matter because “Toy Story 3” will win and nothing is gonna change that.
