My 2011 Academy Award Predictions

Actor in a Leading Role

✿My Pick: Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”

Reason: Javier Bardem in “Biutiful” gives such an awe-inspiring, full-bodied performance with great emotional range and depth. Until this film, my pick was Jeff Bridges in True Grit, who gave us a true-to-life tough and gritty performance.

Probable Winner: Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”

Reason: Colin Firth brilliant performance in “The King’s Speech” has so much momentum from winning numerous previous awards that he will likely win this award.

Other nominees: Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”; and James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role

✿My pick: Christian Bale in “The Fighter”

Reason: Almost unrecognizable in this role as a drug-addicted trainer, Christian Bale gives the performance of his life. Hands down, the most remarkable performance in this category.

Other nominees: Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech”; John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone”; Jeremy Renner in “The Town”; Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”

Actress in a Leading Role

✿My Pick: Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”

Reason: Portman gives a sensational performance as a ballerina losing touch with reality. Her performance delivers the goose bumps.

Other nominees: Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”; Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”; Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone”; Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actress in a Supporting Role

✿My Pick: Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”

Reason: Steinfeld is a trooper who delivers an exceptionally hefty performance and holds her own against the likes of veteran award winners and nominees Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin.

Second Pick: Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Reason: Weaver is devilishly wicked as a matron of a crime family.

Other nominees: Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”; Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”; Amy Adams in “The Fighter”; Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”

Animated Feature Film

✿My Pick: “Toy Story 3” -  Lee Unkrich

Reason: “Toy Story 3” is a smart, action-pack, and funny animation. This well-developed movie contains several tear jerking scenes. The Toy Story franchise still has the power to deliver fun and excitement for all ages.

Other nominees: “How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois; “The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet

Art Direction

✿My Pick: “Alice in Wonderland” (Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara)

Reason: The wonderfully inventive production design creates an eye-popping alternate reality for this magical story.

Second Pick: “Inception” (Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat)

Reason: Visually stunning, “Inception” is a film whose production designs highlight the mind-bending, dreamscape maze in which most of the film’s action and drama takes place.

Other nominees: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”; “The King's Speech”; “True Grit”

Cinematography

✿My Pick: “Black Swan” Matthew Libatique

Reason: The cinematography brilliantly captures the visual metaphors associated with the psychologcal disintegration of reality.

Second Pick: “Inception” (Wally Pfister)

Reason: The cinematography is simply stunning and pristine.

Other nominees: “The King's Speech” Danny Cohen; “The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth; “True Grit” Roger Deakins.

Directing

✿My Pick: First “Black Swan” (Darren Aronofsky)

Reason: Darren Aronofsky’s direction is as brilliant as it is intriguing as he artfully weaves together Black Swan’s complex story of drama, horror, and mystery. The shocking ending leaves you wondering long after the closing credits.

Second Pick: “The Social Network” (David Fincher)

Reason: “The Social Network” manages to intrigue, educate, and smartly entertain us about today’s most significant internet phenomena. The pacing of the movie is perfect.

Other nominees: “The Fighter” David O. Russell; “The King's Speech” Tom Hooper/ “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Film Editing

✿My Pick: “Black Swan” (Andrew Weisblum)

Reason: The editing makes you shudder with each new revelation of the film.

Second Pick: “The Fighter” (Pamela Martin)

Reason: The docu-style editing added to the film's realism.

Other nominees: “127 Hours” (Jon Harris); “The King's Speech” (Tariq Anwar); “The Social Network” (Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter)

Music (Original Score)

✿My Pick: “127 Hours” (A.R. Rahman)

Reason: A musical score that swings from the exuberant of the human will to the quietude of nature.

Notables: “Inception” (Hans Zimmer) offers a suspenseful, pulse-pounding soundtrack. “How to Train Your Dragon” (John Powell) has a thrilling soundtrack which evokes the reverence of earth, sea, and sky of Keltic tradition.

Other nominees: “The King's Speech” (Alexandre Desplat); “The Social Network” (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)

Best Picture

✿My Pick: “Black Swan”

Reason: A delightfully shocking psychological, suspense, mystery that fully satifies.

Second Pick: “The Social Network”

Reason: A cool, smart, and entertaining that deliver’s the cool factor of the social networking phenomena that is facebook.

Other nominees: “The Fighter”; “Inception”; “The Kids Are All Right”; “The King's Speech”; “127 Hours”; “Toy Story 3”; “True Grit”; “Winter's Bone"

Sound Mixing

✿My Pick: “Salt” (Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin)

Reason: The seamless blending of music, dialogue, special effects with film’s imagery create an environment which immerses the moviegoer.

Probable Winner: “Inception” (Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick)

Reason: The sound mixing creates a beautifully pristine sound inhabits the psyche of the viewer.

Other nominees: “The King's Speech”; “The Social Network”; “True Grit”

Visual Effects

✿My Pick: “Iron Man 2”

Reason: The special effects are just plain cool and will undoubtedly inspire future engineers to develop similar technology, the same way the Star Trek communicators inspired cell phone technology.

Probably Winner: “Inception”

Reason: The brain twisting effects causes viewers to pause in awe as they reorient their visual senses.

Other nominees: “Alice in Wonderland”; “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”; “Hereafter”

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

✿My Pick: “The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

Reason: This screenplay is brilliantly adapted from The Accidental Billionaire. The screenplay has exceptional pacing and educates and informs in a way without speaking down to its audience.

Other nominees: “Winter's Bone”; “127 Hours”; “Toy Story 3”; “True Grit”

Writing (Original Screenplay)

✿My Pick: “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan

Reason: It is based on an original premise of being able to steal corporate secrets directly from an executive’s subconscious mind. The screenplay brilliant explores these possibilities.

Probable Winner: “The King's Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

Reason: An uplifting original screenplay about triumph over personal shortcomings for the love of duty and country.

Other nominees: “Another Year”: “The Fighter”;  “The Kids Are All Right”