Oscar Day with the What

It is that time of year during which we all gather around our televisions to watch famous people dress up nice and win little statues of some naked gold dude named Oscar. Sounds a bit ridiculous, but that is what happens one day each year, and today is that day. We here at the What would like to offer up some of our predictions for who we think will win certain categories during this evening's ceremony. Keep in mind that we may not have seen every film, so we're going based on what we did see.

Black Swan
Darren Aronofsky's latest film lived up to the standard set by his previous works, actually surpassing most. The one award I definitely see Black Swan taking is Best Actress. Natalie Portman's performance was stunning, haunting, and masterful. Even if somehow she does not take home the Oscar tonight, there are sure to be plenty in her future. As an editor myself, I also would give this film the Editing award. I had no complaints with the manner in which this film was cut, and was at several points in the film impressed with cutting styles and choices.


The Social Network
Being a huge Aaron Sorkin fan, I was eager to see this film, even without the subject matter. Clearly I would give the Best Adapted Screenplay to Sorkin. Apart from that, I would have to agree with the Golden Globes in giving this picture Best Score.

Inception
For the record, if there had been ten Best Picture nominees in 2008 I have no doubt that The Dark Knight would have been nominated. While I did enjoy Christopher Nolan's latest, I feel that it will win mostly technical awards. Inception has got to be a lock for Best Visual Effects. The world created in the film was fantastic, and a testament to what technology has enabled filmmakers to achieve. I also believe that Inception would be a great selection for Sound Mixing, a category that I have always felt Nolan's films do well with (whether recognized or not).

Toy Story 3
No big surprises here! While I was floored to see that Despicable Me did not garner a nomination, even if it did I would still go with Toy Story 3 as Best Animated Feature. The latest Toy Story flick also deserves Sound Editing in my opinion, thought it is unlikely to win that award tonight. Also, in the Best Animated Short, I'm going with Day & Night, the short that was shown along with this film.

The King's Speech
This was a wonderful film. Were I giving out awards, this film would sweep the remainder of the acting category. Colin Firth was excellent as Bertie and truly captured the emotion of the frustrated monarch well. I will be surprised if he does not win Best Actor. Though I am sure the nominees from The Fighter will take these next two awards, I did not get the chance to see that film, so I would go with Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter as Best Supporting Actor and Actress. To me, a great actor is one who can make the audience forget about other roles they have played, and Rush and Carter did that exquisitely. I was continually stunned that the two people on the screen were also Captain Barbossa and Bellatrix Lestrange. These performances deserve recognition. 

Snubs
As mentioned above, I was shocked to see that Despicable Me was not nominated in the Best Animated Feature category. Furthermore, I would have nominated Blue Valentine over Winter's Bone in the Best Picture category. Finally, I would have liked to have seen Mila Kunis nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but that may have something to do with the little crush I have on her.

Best Picture
Ah, finally. The moment of truth. Having only seen six of the ten nominated films (I missed The Kids Are Alright, The Fighter, True Grit, and 127 Hours) I still had trouble narrowing it down to which I enjoyed most. In the end it came down to either Black Swan or The King's Speech. Though I enjoyed both of these films and both are deserving of such an award, I would give the award to Black Swan. I'd love to hear your thoughts on who you would like to win the big awards tonight. Enjoy the show!