Who Will Win? (Part 1)

I'm so late with this. There's no great excuse for that, either.


But, to make up for the lack of predictions, I'm going to try to be as un-biased as possible (so expect very little Avatar bashing over here, folks).

Keep in mind that although I did get a good majority of the winners last year (and these Oscars are supposed to be incredibly predictable), there's always one or two upsets along the way. And there probably will be more.


Best Sound Mixing

Avatar
The Hurt Locker - Should/Will Win
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen  

Having seen 4 out of the 5 films, I'm guessing that this is going to go to The Hurt Locker. Although the others (excluding Inglourious) are heavy sci-fi and those usually garner the effects and technology awards, Locker has the potential to best them all due to the setting that encompasses the film. You have to admit that Iraq would probably require more mixing than the serene and gorgeous Pandora.

Best Sound Editing

Avatar
The Hurt Locker - Should/Will Win
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

Even though Up got included here, I still feel that it will go to the same film that Sound Mixing went to.


Best Visual Effects

Avatar - Should/Will Win
District 9
Star Trek

My bias would completely go to Star Trek right now, but Avatar has no competition. The film is basically CGI with a few humans, so naturally it will get quite a few effects awards

Best Film Editing 

Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker - Should/Will Win
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

Before you go assuming that Hurt Locker is my favorite movie ever, I'm just going to give out this point: without the editing in the film, it wouldn't even be up for best picture. The mood and intensity are completely set by the editing. And, if something makes or breaks a film, why shouldn't it win the award it's nominated for?

Best Makeup

Star Trek - Should/Will Win
Il Divo
The Young Victoria

Don't know why Il Divo is? So does everybody else. This category, though, is cinched completely by Star Trek. The makeup has to be spot on for every separate race and species and they use it almost perfectly.

Best Costume Design

Coco Before Chanel - Should Win
Bright Star
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria - Will Win

The Academy seems to have a love affair with period pieces, especially from the Jane Austen or Victorian eras. However, the costumes used in Coco Before Chanel were gorgeous, instrumental, and absolutely vital to the film. It is, after all, about one of the most influential designers of all time. The costumes have to be top notch.

Best Cinematography


Avatar - Will Win
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon
The Hurt Locker - Should Win

I don't quite think that Avatar, which will most likely win, deserves this award. I feel as though cinematography comes more from real footage and experience than graphics and effects. This is probably my own personal opinion though.
But have you seen Hurt Locker? You can feel the sand in your eyes. The gritty cinematography only matches the war themes in the film.

Best Art Direction

Avatar - Should/Will Win
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

This is just another lock. It's got to go to the CGI-dependent film with the couple hundred million dollar budget.

Best Short Film (Animated)

French Roast 
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y La Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death - Should/Will Win

Do you recognize the title? It's one of the newest Wallace & Gromit shorts and it's quite well done. The claymation simply blows the other films out of the water, as it usually does.


Best Short Film (Live Action)

The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants - Should/Will Win


The New Tenants is the only one of these I have heard of, so I'll pick it.
 


Best Documentary (Short Subject)

China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province - Toss Up

The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

Music by Prudence - Toss Up

Rabbit a la Berlin

As usual, the Academy tends to go for heart-tuggers and depressing subjects. As far as I know, the front runners are China and Prudence. One is the tale of a community torn to shreds by earthquakes and the collapsed school buildings which led to the deaths of thousands of schoolchildren. The other tells the story of a social outcast who is shielded from the cruelty of society by her mother. She later blossoms and finds a haunting, beautiful voice to carry her through life.

Crying yet?

Best Documentary Feature

Burma VJ

The Cove - Should/Will Win

Food, Inc. 

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

Which Way Home

It's been reported to be somewhat of a toss up between Food, Inc. and The Cove, but the latter started to pick up more steam just about the time awards season started. I haven't seen many of these, so I'm mostly basing this off of industry insiders and reviews.