2011 Academy Awards Picks

So it's the annual season of Hollywood self-congratulation and the Academy Awards are less than 24 hours away. In the vein of lightheartedness, I'll post my picks for the awards in major categories. Just as a note, and for full disclosure, I have not seen the following movies which have been nominated for major awards: Winter's Bone, Animal Kingdom, Another Year.

Best Animated Feature:

Who should win: Toy Story 3
Who will win: Toy Story 3

Sorry all you Pixar haters, but you can count another golden statue in the pile for this flick which can evenly contend for th highest prize.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Who should win: The Social Network
Who will win: The Social Network

I was caught between The Social Network and True Grit for my pick, but in the end I gave the edge to The Social Network mainly because of how fast paced the movie was and the incredible effortlessness that the delivery of the script contributed to the success of the movie.

Best Original Screenplay:

Who should win: Inception
Who will win: The King's Speech

The creative genius of Nolan that went into the multi-layered Inception is second to none. However, Academy voters have been barraged with the Weinsteins' King's Speech and the Royal tale will get the undeserving nod come Oscar night.

Best Director:

Who should win: Christopher Nolan (Inception)- Not Nominated
Who will win: David Fincher (The Social Network)

For another year, Nolan is snubbed. The win will come for Fincher, previously nominated for Benjamin Button and strangely not nominated for Fight Club.

Best Supporting Actress:

Who should win: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Who will win: Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

He's gone completely mad! That's what you're probably saying. But, with Amy Adams also nominated and the Academy's penchant for honouring young actresses in this category, this will probably be one of the few upsets of the night.

Best Supporting Actor:

Who should win: Geoffery Rush (The King's Speech)
Who will win: Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Look, it's MY opinion alright! You can comment and give yours too. I just think that acting goes beyond the ability to morph oneself by gaining or losing weight. Bale's performance is great, but I personally think that Rush embodied the role of Lionel Logue and made him completely believable.

Best Actress:

Who should win: Annette Bening (The Kids are All Right)
Who will win: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

They both give convincing performances but again, in my opinion, Portman does more morphing by losing weight than acting. The real crime in this category is that Julianne Moore didn't get a nod.

Best Actor:

Who should win: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Who will win: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

No contest. And the explanation for it is simply to look at the performance. Notable omission is Leonardo DiCaprio and no, not for Inception, but for Shutter Island, which was released in March and duly forgotten. His performance in that movie was at least better than Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network, for which he got a nom.

Best Picture:

Who should win: Inception
Who will win: The Social Network

And you're thinking I've COMPLETELY lost it. Truthfully, I'm not that confident in The Social Network, but I gave it the edge over the King's Speech because of the nature of the story and the voters who actually make the decision. In any case, for yet another year, the best movie of the year won't win the Oscar.

After all is done tomorrow night, I think it's Inception that comes out on top with 5 or 6 awards, mainly in minor categories. Kings' Speech and Social Network should each pick up about 3.