2009 Live Action Oscar nominated Shorts program

This show has also been extended for another week at the University-area theatre. It includes all five of the nominees.

The New Tenants (Denmark, in English, 20 min.) is violent and hilarious, with David Rakoff (who wrote the screenplay, adapted from another Danish short, as well as dozens of books and essays) as a petulant guy who opens with a depressing monologue on how the world is ending, while blowing cigarette smoke on his partner's meal, Kevin Corrigan, about whom I wrote in Big Fan, doing a Christopher Walken imitation (I'm not the first to call it that, but, I swear, I thought of it on my own!), Jamie Harrold (40 credits, yet I don't know him) as the beleaguered partner, and Vincent D'Onofrio in a fine cameo.

Kavi (India, subtitled, 19 min.) is sad, about a little Indian boy working with his parents in a brick factory, made at U.S.C. and winner of the 2009 Student Academy Award. They're hoping to turn it into a feature.

The Door (Ireland, in Russian, 17 min.) was nearly incomprehensible to me (perhaps because I had been in the theatre for 3 hours at that point? perhaps not). I'll just tell you outright that it's supposed to be about Chernobyl, because I had no clue whatsoever until I read the credits. One reviewer of the whole series, Tomato Nation (contains spoilers) predicts it will win the Oscar, specifically because of the Chernobyl subject matter, though had as many issues with it as I.

Miracle Fish (Australia, 18 min.) is strange and not wonderful. I also agree with Tomato, that the kid was way too blah (a "staring simpleton," ha!) to hold our interest.

The show's finale is Instead of Abracadabra (Sweden, subtitled, 18 min.). A reviewer at Rope of Silicon compares it to Napoleon Dynamite, calling it a quirky, awkward comedy. I'll take that. His synopsis contains spoilers and also trailers for four and the entire movie of Miracle Fish, his favorite.

They were shown in the following order: “Kavi” Gregg Helvey, “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson, “Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey, “The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn, “Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström.

2009 Animated Oscar Nominated Shorts

This show has been held over for another week at the University-area theatre. Jack & I highly recommend it.

It shows five nominees:
1. “French Roast” (France, 8 min.), a funny, nearly wordless (the waiter says, "Un autre?" which means, "Another?" and the man says, "Café") scene that takes place in a café, and reminded me a bit of the full-length Oscar-nominated animated feature, The Triplets of Belleville (2003), which I loved.
2. “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” (Ireland, 6 min.), also funny, in which a scary grandmother terrifies a little girl with her version of the fairy tale.
3. “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” (Spain, 8 min.), completely wordless, in which an old lady, mourning the loss of her husband, meets the grim reaper. Ultimately funny as well. Produced by, among others, Antonio Banderas.
4. “A Matter of Loaf and Death” (U.K., 29 min.), another fine clay-mation Wallace & Gromit tale, wherein Wallace, the dumb baker, is rescued repeatedly by Gromit, his smart dog. Hilarious and chock-full of sight gags.
5. “Logorama” (France, 17 min.). We found this one, the finale, side-splitting, in which Ronald McDonald is a trash-talking criminal and every bit of the screen is filled with some sort of logo. We figured it had to be French, because Americans would be sued for it. WARNING: there is bad language and violence and you will laugh your [bad language] off. You can watch it at this link, unless it's removed, as it was from youtube. Best on a big screen, second best if you click the fullscreen arrow at the lower right.

And three extras:
6. “Partly Cloudy” (USA, 6 min.), a Pixar short which was screened with Up in its theatrical release, about clouds who make infants for storks to deliver and one cloud/stork pair.
7. “The Kinematograph” (Poland, 12 min.), not funny, but beautiful, about an inventor who is putting the finishing touches on the technology of film, and his devoted wife. The people have a sort of wood grain to their skin.
8. “Runaway” (Canada, 9 min.), about a runaway train, where each car has its own personality, like in the movie-within-a-movie in Woody Allen's Stardust memories (1980).

30th Annual Razzie Nominations for worst movies of 2009

Winners of the Golden Raspberry Awards, AKA The Razzies, will be announced Saturday, March 6, the night before the Oscars.

Worst Picture:
•All About Steve
•G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
•Land of the Lost
•Old Dogs
•Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen (AKA Trannies, Too)

Worst Actor:
•All three Jonas Brothers, Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience
•Will Ferrell, Land Of The Lost
•Steve Martin, Pink Panther 2
•Eddie Murphy, Imagine That
•John Travolta, Old Dogs

Worst Actress:
•Beyonce, Obsessed
•Sandra Bullock, All About Steve
•Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana: The Movie
•Megan Fox, Jennifer’s Body and Trannies, Too
•Sarah Jessica Parker, Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Worst Supporting Actor:
•Billy Ray Cyrus, Hannah Montana: The Movie
•Hugh Hefner (as himself), Miss March
•Robert Pattinson, Twilight Saga: New Moon
•Jorma Taccone (As Cha-Ka), Land Of The Lost
•Marlon Wayans, G.I. Joe

Worst Supporting Actress:
•Candice Bergen, Bride Wars
•Ali Larter, Obsessed
•Sienna Miller, G.I. Joe
•Kelly Preston, Old Dogs
•Julie White (as Mom), Trannies, Too

Worst Screen Couple:
•Any two (or more) Jonas Brothers, The Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Experience
•Sandra Bullock & Bradley Cooper, All About Steve
•Will Ferrell & any co-star, creature or “comic riff,” Land of the Lost
•Shia LaBeouf & either Megan Fox or any transformer, Trannies, Too
•Kristen Stewart & either Robert Pattinson or Taylor Whatz-His-Fang, Twilight Saga: New Moon

Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel (Combined Category for 2009):
•G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
•Land of the Lost
•Pink Panther 2 (A rip-off of a sequel to a remake)
•Trannies, Too
•Twilight Saga: New Moon

Worst Director:
•Michael Bay, Trannies, Too
•Walt Becker, Old Dogs
•Brad Silberling, Land of the Lost
•Stephen Sommers, G.I. Joe
•Phil Traill, All About Steve

Worst Screenplay:
•All About Steve, Screenplay by Kim Barker
•G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Screenplay by Stuart Beattie and David Elliot & Paul Lovett, based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe® Characters
•Land of the Lost, Written by Chris Henchy & Dennis McNicholas, based on Sid & Marty Krofft’s TV Series
•Trannies, Too, Written by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman, Based on Hasbro’s Transformers action figures
•Twilight Saga: New Moon, Screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, Based on the Novel by Stephenie Meyer

Worst Picture of the Decade (Three Special 30th Razzie-Versary Awardz) (Special Category!):
•Battlefield Earth (2000), Nominated for 10 Razzies® / “Winner” of 8, (including Worst Drama of our first 25 Yrs)
•Freddy Got Fingered (2001), Nominated for 9 Razzies® / “Winner” of 5
•Gigli (2003), Nominated for 10 Razzies® / “Winner” of 7, (including Worst Comedy of our first 25 Yrs)
•I Know Who Killed Me (2007), Nominated for 9 Razzies® / “Winner” of 8
•Swept Away (2002), Nominated for 9 Razzies® / “Winner” of 5

Worst Actor of the Decade:
•Ben Affleck, Nominated for 9 “Achievements,” “Winner” of 2 Razzies®, Daredevil, Gigli, Jersey Girl, Paycheck, Pearl Harbor, Surviving Christmas
•Eddie Murphy, Nominated for 12 “Achievements,” “Winner” of 3 Razzies®, Adventures of Pluto Nash, I Spy, Imagine That, Meet Dave, Norbit, Showtime
•Mike Myers, Nominated for 4 “Achievements,” “Winner” of 2 Razzies®, Cat in the Hat, The Love Guru
•Rob Schneider, Nominated For 6 “Achievements,” “Winner” of 1 Razzie®, The Animal, Benchwarmers, Deuce Bigalo: European Gigolo, Grandma’s Boy, The Hot Chick, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Little Man, Little Nicky
•John Travolta, Nominated For 6 “Achievements,” “Winner” of 3 Razzies®, Battlefield Earth, Domestic Disturbance, Lucky Numbers, Old Dogs, Swordfish

Worst Actress of the Decade
•Mariah Carey, The Single Biggest Individual Vote Getter of the Decade:, 70+% of All Votes for Worst Actress of 2001, Glitter
•Paris Hilton, Nominated for 5 “Achievements,” “Winner” of 4 Razzies®, The Hottie & The Nottie, House of Whacks, Repo: The Genetic Opera
•Lindsay Lohan, Nominated for 5 “Achievements,” “Winner” of 3 Razzies®, Herbie Fully Loaded, I Know Who Killed Me, Just My Luck
•Jennifer Lopez, Nominated for 9 “Achievements,” “Winner” of 2 Razzies®, Angel Eyes, Enough, Gigli, Jersey Girl, Maid In Manhattan, Monster-In-Law, The Wedding Planner
•Madonna, Nominated for 6 “Achievements,” “Winner” of 4 Razzies®, Die Another Day, The Next Best Thing, Swept Away

Of the 57 movies referenced here, I think I've seen 11, maybe 12, and am here to tell the tale.

Anyone can join to become a voting member of the Razzies (I haven't done so). But it'll cost ya.

35 Shots of Rum (35 rhums - 2008)

Recognizing the title from my awards list, I was excited to see this French movie about a train engineer named Lionel (which is funny to Americans of a certain age) who lives with his adult daughter Joséphine in Paris, where their middle-class world is mostly non-white, like them. Upstairs lives Gabrielle, who is in love with Lionel, and Noé, who is in love with Jo. And nothing really happens for the first 60 of its 100 minutes, and then only a little happens, and then it jumps and we wondered, "What just happened?" I thought I knew of the director, Claire Denis, but it turns out I haven't seen a single one of her 20 credited works. Alex Descas (Lionel) and Grégoire Colin (Noé) also have many credits, but I wasn't familiar with their faces. Critics have raved about this movie (beware of spoilers ahead): Roger Ebert, A.O. Scott in The New York Times, Kevin Thomas in The Los Angeles Times, and Variety, summed up to 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. But Jack and I felt it was more slow than languid, plus it breaks my #2 Rule in movies. The music, by the British band Tindersticks, is good, but they are not planning to release the soundtrack. The old saying is 50 Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong, so we are the odd ones out. Perhaps you will agree with all those non-French critics, and perhaps you won't.

Shutter Island (2010)

Shutter Island made us shudder. This thriller about a couple of 1954 Boston detectives investigating a missing person at a hospital for the criminally insane is very good, though a bit too long. The first time we saw the trailer we shook our heads. But when we saw it was a Martin Scorsese picture, we knew we'd have to see all 138 minutes of it.

Many of Scorsese's movies are difficult to watch (Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Gangs of New York (2002)), some are a pleasure (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), The Last Waltz (1978), After Hours (1985), Casino (1995), The Aviator (2004) (the color trickery in the beginning of the latter went right over my head: I ran out of the theatre and complained, "The peas are blue, the grass is blue! Please fix it!" The gimmick is explained in the fifth item on imdb's trivia page), Shine a Light (2008)), and only one won an Oscar, The Departed (2006), but they're all worth seeing. The man knows exactly what to do and when.

We had no idea what was going to happen in Shutter Island; the settings (various Massachusetts locations plus Acadia National Park in Maine) were appropriately creepy, both physically and with weather effects; and the star-studded cast was outstanding.

It's Leonardo DiCaprio's (favorites: What's Eating Gilbert Grape and This Boy's Life (both 1993), The Basketball Diaries (1995), Celebrity (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), and The Aviator) story, as the lead detective, and he is amply supported by Mark Ruffalo (I wrote about him in The Brothers Bloom), Ben Kingsley (my new fave is The Wackness), Max von Sydow (he has so many distinguished credits, yet to me, he's Barbara Hershey's older husband who says, "You've been kissing!" in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)), Patricia Clarkson (good in everything, must-sees include The Station Agent (2003), Far From Heaven (2002), High Art (1998), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), season 5 of Six Feet Under, Elegy, and Pieces of April), and many others.

No composer is credited; instead, Robbie Robertson, as music supervisor, has rustled up a collection of eerie classical and 1950's pop tracks, three of which you can hear on this link. The screenplay was ably adapted by Laeta Kalogridis (nominated for a Razzie for worst screenplay for Alexander (2004)) from the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote the novels on which Mystic River (2003) and Gone Baby Gone (2007) were based.

Jack and I both heartily recommend this movie, which displaced Avatar (whose 8 producers included Ms. Kalogridis) and Valentine's Day to open at number one at the box office last weekend.

Valentine's Day (2010)

Being caught up on the local releases drove us to try this best-seller which we expected to hate, but it was not awful. We even had a few belly laughs, plus we enjoyed the predictably high production values: nice aerial shots, great L.A. locations, beautiful stars (why does Jessica Biel keep playing nerdy, unloved characters?). Roger Ebert hit the nail on the head when he said he didn't have enough words available in his review to name all the stars. I also liked the L.A. Times review, which sums it all up nicely without spoilers (yes, the Jennifer Garner scene in the restaurant late in the movie is pretty great, so, when you watch this on cable or DVD later, wait for it). The same L.A. Times reviewer also did a video review, but it spoils the other of Garner's good moments, so you decide if you want to see that video before the movie. Anne Hathaway is also very funny in her scenes. Jack told me he had heard director Garry Marshall (my faves include Nothing in Common (1986), Pretty Woman (1990), and Runaway Bride (1999)) in an interview saying that, since it would be impossible to get big stars to do a whole movie, he would, instead, have them do just a few scenes each. The high school girl (Julia's niece, Eric's daughter, Emma Roberts) should have been earlier identified as the babysitter of the boy (we thought she was his sister), and her story is one of the less hackneyed. I'll put it this way: if your movie-going companion insists on seeing this, it's okay. Go ahead. But it's not a destination for a serious movie-lover. Better you should see the movies which it rips off: Love, Actually (2003), Playing By Heart (1998), or He's Just Not That Into You (same story writers: Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein).

The out-takes and gag reel at the end don't, for a change, run over the credits, so you are able to read them, and there's a teeny little bonus, which we found puzzling, at the very end.

Big Fan (2009)

Recognized in 2009 at Sundance and others, this is a fabulous movie that Jack and I enjoyed immensely. Robert D. Siegel makes an assured directorial debut (he wrote The Wrestler before this) with a story of Paul, an obsessed New York Giants fan, perfectly played by Patton Oswalt (United States of Tara, HBO's Lucky Louie, the voice of Remy in Ratatouille, and more, plus he's a stand-up comedian). His only friend, Sal, is played by the reliable Kevin Corrigan (so many to choose from, but my favorites are "the ugly guy" in Walking and Talking (1996), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), and the TV show Grounded for Life from 2001-05). Perhaps the only thing wrong with Big Fan is that the women characters are little more than an annoyance to Paul and Sal, but their loser lives are so one-dimensional that this is no surprise. Michael Rapaport (again, lots to choose from, I'm going with Higher Learning (1995), the TV show Boston Public (2001-04), and Spike Lee's hilariously offensive Bamboozled (2000)) is the talk-show caller Philadelphia Phil. Jonathan Hamm (not Jon Hamm of Mad Men) is Quantrell, Paul's favorite player, a (fictitious) linebacker.

Imaginatively plotted and skillfully written, this movie is available now on netflix, both on DVD and streaming. It's a palate cleanser after The Blind Side. Even if you don't like football, there's a good chance you'll like Big Fan.

Still Walking (Aruitemo aruitemo - 2008)

This charming Japanese family drama has universal appeal. Taking place over 24 summer hours, it centers on a grown son, Ryo, who brings his wife and stepson to his parents' house to observe the anniversary of his brother's death with them and his sister and her family. No one is completely honest, just like families the world over. 

The sister (played by an actress named YOU, written in English in the credits) has a distinctive childlike voice that I recognized from another wonderful movie, Nobody Knows (Dare mo shiranai - 2004), where she played a young mother who leaves her 12 year old son to fend for himself and his three half siblings in a tiny Tokyo apartment (it sounds depressing but it's not), which, it turns out, was also written and directed (and edited) by the same man as this one, Hirokazu Koreeda (also known as Kore-eda Hirokazu). 

The acting in this one is subtle and to the point, from the kids up to their grandparents. Lots of delicious-looking food is prepared and eaten, but not enough to qualify it as one of my food movies. I really want to try some corn tempura next August! Tall handsome Hiroshi Abe, a former model, plays the brooding Ryo, and Kirin Kiki, who has a long resumé, is wonderful as his no-nonsense mother. His father (played by Yoshio Harada, who has an even longer resumé) is the one who is still walking, up and down the steps with his cane. Or perhaps the surviving family members are all still walking.

From the reading I've done this evening it looks like Kore-eda may be one of the greatest living Japanese filmmakers. If that isn't reason enough to see it, see it for the quiet humor and the peaceful seaside setting of Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 miles south of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay.

The Blind Side (2009)

Jack and I saw this because it was nominated for Best Picture and Best Actress Oscars and, Surprise! We didn't hate it (we don't hate much). It helped that Jack has a prodigious memory for sports trivia and knew the historic football clips that open the movie and all the coaches playing themselves at the schools where they worked at the time the movie takes place. It's based on Michael Lewis' book about Michael Oher, a real professional football player, who was adopted at 17 by a rich Memphis couple, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, who already had two biological kids, Collins and Sean Jr.. Funny that both "Oher" and "Tuohy" (OWE-er and TOO-ey) are difficult to spell with their silent H's. Sandra Bullock (I wrote about her in The Proposal) plays Leigh Anne, an interior decorator with expensive blonde hair, lots of mascara, and tight clothes, who brings a large, homeless, African-American boy into her family and helps him find himself through football, a sport for which she and her family share a passion. Some have complained that it should be Mike's story and not Leigh Anne's. But that's Hollywood. It's Bullock's year, after all, and she has won the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and Screen Actors Guild Best Actress awards for this movie, in which she barely cracks a smile (I wonder if Julia Roberts, had she taken the part offered to her, would have kept her famous grin under wraps). This movie also helped propel Bullock into the position of highest-grossing female box-office star of 2009. 6'9" Quintin Aaron capably plays Oher as the gentle giant (any metaphors the filmmakers want you to get are clearly identified). Country singer Tim McGraw (also acted in a few movies, including Four Christmases) plays the quietly supportive husband Sean, Jae Head (Justin Bateman and Charlize Theron's son in Hancock (2008)) is the cute pipsqueak Sean Jr. AKA S.J., and Lily Collins (daughter of musician Phil) is almost an afterthought as sister Collins (another odd coincidence of names). All the actors playing educators, especially Kathy Bates as the tutor Miss Sue and Ray McKinnon as the high school football Coach Cotton, were fine.

This is the only Best Picture Oscar nominee we saw after the nominations were announced, and, though it's not awful (did you notice? I am damning it with faint praise--don't want you to miss that--I considered calling this post "The Blind Snide"), I will not be choosing it as my favorite for that award. Its story includes redemption, fine furnishings, Architectural Digest-style homes, bitchy southern women lunching, stick-to-it-iveness, sports victories, a few laughs, a few tears. Plenty of product placement (Under-Armour and BMW, among others) rounds out this commercial success. Its two Academy Award nominations will boost the ratings of the Oscar telecast on Sunday, March 7 (5 PM Pacific, 8 PM Eastern on ABC, hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin).

Too much?

The Maid (La nana - 2009)

This Chilean movie about an awkward live-in servant for a rich family (duh) in Santiago is neither farce nor thriller, but is amusing yet disturbing. Director/co-writer Sebastián Silva (it's his second project) apparently was inspired by his own upbringing with/by household help. Catalina Saavedra, in the title role, had me convinced she was her character Raquel (NO similarity to Raquel Welch). Well, there is nudity, both male and female. The actors, for the most part, have worked in TV more than movies in Chile. Though not recognized by Oscar, Silva and Saavedra will need new shelves for all their awards (they are what prompted me to see it without viewing a trailer). Mary Ellen was distressed by it, but Dan and I thought it had its hopeful side. It doesn't have a big story nor a big message, but I recommend it.

Red Cliff (Chi bi - 2009)

This Chinese spectacle set in 208 B.C. is about 80% battles with a huge body count. In 2½ hours, that's a lot of fightin'. That said, Red Cliff is beautiful, with magnificent locations, vistas, and costumes, and the blood spatter is slo-mo Tarantino style (director John Woo is idolized by Tarantino, and I can't say who did it first). Despite its prodigious length, what we saw was the Western release, which cut together TWO movies totaling 280 minutes, adding an opening narration in English, though all the dialogue is in Mandarin with English subtitles.

Woo has returned to movie-making in his native language after 15 years in Hollywood (Face/Off (1997), which I didn't see, and Mission Impossible II (2000), which I did, among others), which followed 14 years of directing in China. Tony Leung (I really liked In the Mood for Love (Fa yeung nin wa - 2000) which had amazing costumes, and Lust, Caution (Se, jie - 2007) which was also a return to China from Hollywood for director Ang Lee, among many of Leung's credits) showed up to star after about a half hour of plot (Yun-Fat Chow, a big box-office draw here and abroad, was set to have that role, but pulled out right before shooting) (if you think of him as Chow Yun-Fat, you'd have been right a while ago, but some Chinese movie people have reversed their names to conform with our American custom of putting family names last, e.g. actress Li Gong and director Kar Wai Wong used to be Gong Li and Wong Kar Wai) (John Woo was born Yusen Wu, and Tony Leung is also known as Tony Leung Chiu Wai). Supporting cast is mostly men, including Takeshi Kaneshiro (House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu - 2004)), half Chinese, half Japanese, as the strategist, and two women: supermodel Chiling Lin as the Helen of Troy character, and Wei Zhao as the warrior princess. The battles are fought with arrows, spears, crossbows, flames, flagpoles with only a little acrobatics. Does anyone else think that Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) changed martial arts movies forever?

There are no laughs unless you giggle among yourselves (e.g. "He speared him with his own flagpole!" or "Didn't that zither sound like a ringtone?"). We hope that no horses were harmed in the making of this motion picture, because a lot of them fell down. I wanted to see it because it got a lot of Satellite Award nominations as well as one from the Critics' Choice. But it's really for John Woo fans and serious film buffs. It's not playing here anymore, so if you see it, try to find a big home theatre screen to appreciate the nominated cinematography, costumes, visual effects, etc.

Sundance 2010 winners

These will be the ones to watch for over the next 12 months.

http://festival.sundance.org/2010/news/article/and_the_envelope_please/

Academy Award (Oscar) nominations/winners 2009-10

Anyone who reads this blog has probably seen the nominations and the winners. But I use this myself to keep track of what I still need to see. Also check my list of 2009 nominations sorted by movie.

Best picture

"Avatar"
"The Blind Side"
"District 9"
"An Education"
*"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"
"Up in the Air"

Best actor

*Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker

Best actress

*Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"

Best supporting actor

Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
*Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

Best supporting actress

Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
*Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"

Best director

James Cameron, "Avatar"
*Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"
Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"

Best animated feature

"Coraline"-haven't seen
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"-haven't seen
"The Secret of Kells"-haven't seen
*"Up"

Best foreign language film

"Ajami" (Israel)-haven't seen
*"The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)" (Argentina)-haven't seen
"The Milk of Sorrow" (Peru)-haven't seen
"A Prophet" (France)
"The White Ribbon" (Germany)

Best screenplay (original)

*"The Hurt Locker," written by Mark Boal
"Inglourious Basterds," written by Quentin Tarantino
"The Messenger," written by Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
"A Serious Man," written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"Up," screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter; story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Best screenplay (adapted)

"District 9," written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
"An Education," screenplay by Nick Hornby
"In the Loop," screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
*"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
"Up in the Air," screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Best music (original score)

"Avatar" James Horner
"Fantastic Mr. Fox" Alexandre Desplat
"The Hurt Locker" Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
"Sherlock Holmes" Hans Zimmer
*"Up" Michael Giacchino

Best music (original song)

"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog," music and lyrics by Randy Newman-haven't seen
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," music and lyrics by Randy Newman-haven't seen
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," music by Reinhardt Wagner and lyrics by Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from "Nine," music and lyrics by Maury Yeston
*"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," music and lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best art direction

*"Avatar" art direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; set decoration: Kim Sinclair
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" art direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; set decoration: Caroline Smith
"Nine" art direction: John Myhre; set decoration: Gordon Sim
"Sherlock Holmes" art direction: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Young Victoria" art direction: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Maggie Gray

Best cinematography

*"Avatar" Mauro Fiore
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Bruno Delbonnel-haven't seen
"The Hurt Locker" Barry Ackroyd
"Inglourious Basterds" Robert Richardson
"The White Ribbon" Christian Berger

Best costume design

"Bright Star" Janet Patterson
"Coco Before Chanel" Catherine Leterrier
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" Monique Prudhomme
"Nine" Colleen Atwood
*"The Young Victoria" Sandy Powell

Best documentary (feature)

"Burma VJ" Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller-haven't seen
*"The Cove" Nominees to be determined-haven't seen
"Food, Inc." Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers" Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
"Which Way Home" Rebecca Cammisa-haven't seen

Best documentary (short subject)-haven't seen any

"China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province" Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner" Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant" Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
*"Music by Prudence" Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
"Rabbit à la Berlin" Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Best film editing

"Avatar" Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
"District 9" Julian Clarke
*"The Hurt Locker" Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
"Inglourious Basterds" Sally Menke
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" Joe Klotz

Best makeup

"Il Divo" Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano-haven't seen
*"Star Trek" Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
"The Young Victoria" Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Best short film (animated)-saw them all

"French Roast" Fabrice O. Joubert
"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty" Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell
"The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)" Javier Recio Gracia
*"Logorama" Nicolas Schmerkin
"A Matter of Loaf and Death" Nick Park

Best short film (live action)-saw them all

"The Door" Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
"Instead of Abracadabra" Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
"Kavi" Gregg Helvey
"Miracle Fish" Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
*"The New Tenants" Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Best sound editing

"Avatar" Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
*"The Hurt Locker" Paul N.J. Ottosson
"Inglourious Basterds" Wylie Stateman
"Star Trek" Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
"Up" Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Best sound mixing

"Avatar" Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
*"The Hurt Locker" Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
"Inglourious Basterds" Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
"Star Trek" Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson-haven't seen

Best visual effects

*"Avatar" Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
"District 9" Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
"Star Trek" Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton