Oscar Predictions

I wish I could up with something exciting and original to post... but I am currently lacking imagination, so you'll have to settle for these. How thrilling, etc.

BEST PICTURE
Will win: Slumdog Millionaire.
Should win: I'm sure you've heard it's quite a dreadful year. So I won't go on. Milk by quite a way.

BEST DIRECTOR
Will win: The Boyle TM.
Should win: Gus Van Sant even though it's hardly his best work and for me he was the weakest link. But OH WELL.

BEST ACTOR
Will win: Could go either to Rourke or Penn. And indeed consensus has not been reached. I will go for... Mickey Rourke.
Should win: In an amazing coincidence, the two duking it out for the prize are the two supreme performances in this category (pending Richard Jenkins whose DVD is sitting suspiciously next to me). In the tightest squeeze, I'll go for Sean.

BEST ACTRESS
Will win: Kate Winslet is finally going to win and I'm not happy about it? What is the world coming to.
Should win: Anne Hathaway, with Melissa Leo not far behind.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will win: I forget his name. Heath somebody...?
Should win: I'm going to have to throw my hands up and admit that Heath does indeed deserve this one and if he doesn't win I'll be joining the lynch mob.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will win: People have been shifting around on this one but I'm still betting on Penelope Cruz.
Should win: I'm perhaps a bit too fresh on Penelope having only seen her yesterday BUT I'll give it to her since Viola Davis has faded just a little bit. But apart from (the lovely) Taraji P. Henson, this is a top-notch category. (Which I'll be profiling along with other brilliant bloggers at StinkyLulu tomorrow- don't forget to check it out!)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will win: I'll be daring and go for Martin McDonagh's In Bruges. (You FOOL.)
Should win: I'll go for Dustin Lance Black's slightly worthy but lively, witty and incisive script for Milk.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Will win: Somehow Simon Beaufoy will walk off with the prize for his shallow scripting on Slumdog Millionaire. (I hear it's better than the book though so SCORE.)
Should win: This category is utterly, utterly dreadful. You know this when the best option to take is... Frost/Nixon.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Will win: Shiny, flashy romanticization of those slums always gets 'em [/gross generalization]. So it's Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire.
Should win: Wally Pfister's dark, moody and electrifying work on The Dark Knight.

BEST EDITING
Will win: Chris Dickens' lively cutting on Slumdog.
Should win: Elliot Graham's measured amalgamation of the fictional and documentary footage on Milk.

BEST ART DIRECTION
Will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, since it covers several thousand decades.
Should win: Revolutionary Road.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Will win: The Duchess, 'cause those duds is large.
Should win: The Duchess.

BEST MAKE-UP
Will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 'cause is that Cate Blanchett under there?
Should win: The Wrest- I concede that- of the nominees- Benjamin Button actually deserves this one.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Will win: A.H. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire. Because even I liked the music.
Should win: Danny Elfman's low-key but pleasant work on Milk is the winner in a rather dull field.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Will win: Slumdog's "Jai Ho".
Should win: I like "Jai Ho".

BEST SOUND
Will win: I don't know. Slumdog.
Should win: Wanted totally deserved these nominations. Now that I've said that, I'll admit that despite all my reservations about it, Wall-E's sound was really rather special.

BEST SOUND EDITING
Will win: Wall-E. Gotta give the ickle robot something. (Oh, I haven't done Animated Film yet, have I?)
Should win: Wall-E.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, because who knows where Brad Pitt ends and computers begin?
Should win: I couldn't care any less. The Dark Knight.

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Will win: Wall-E, because it is written. Wait, wrong film.
Should win: I haven't seen Bolt which I hear is pretty good as these things go, but I'll continue my season-long blasphemy and say Kung Fu Panda. Yes, you heard me.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Will win: Um. The Class?
Should win: I've only seen Waltz with Bashir and The Baader Meinhof Complex and am a fan of neither, but Waltz is slightly better as these things go. I have hopes for the others, however.

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Will win: Why break with tradition. Man on Wire.
Should win: I've only seen Man on Wire and it's perfectly acceptable.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Will win: The Conscience of Nhem En

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Will win: Presto (which is much better than the film it preceded so THERE.)

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Will win: Manon sur le bitume