A Look at Best Art Direction

Sorry for the lateness of this post. I was struck with a pile of homework last night and didn't have time to blog. I'll make up for it today with two prediction posts, starting with what should have been yesterday's: Best Art Direction. The nominees are...

American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood

I PREDICTED: 2/5...eek. I went with The Assassination of Jesse James, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Hairspray in place of American Gangster, Atonement and The Golden Compass. I kind of sleepwalked through these predix.
I'VE SEEN: 3/5. I never saw The Golden Compass, and I saw Ruby Dee's scenes in American Gangster. I watched the first 10 minutes of the SAG screener, too, but it was waaaay too intense for me.

AMERICAN GANGSTER-I doubt it. I'm sure the art direction was good enough, but the Academy prefers awarding movies with a specific tone in this category. Manhattan just isn't original enough.

ATONEMENT-The film is a very safe choice for this category (just like the Academy likes it) and the sets here were simply gorgeous. It has a really good chance, but it's hard to pick between this and Sweeney.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS-Another very Oscar-friendly film in terms of Art Direction, but did enough people see it? I kind of doubt it.

SWEENEY TODD-It'll go to this or Atonement. However, the Academy may want to award Sweeney Todd in some way and if they pass on Costume Design, this is really the only other chance (unless they have an 11th hour meltdown and give Depp Best Actor...that won't happen, right?). My prediction is that it will win both: this had very impressive art direction, and it has Academy friendly costumes.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD-I suppose if the Academy really wants to give TWBB a tech win it'll be here, but, in retrospect, there were better choices.

WILL WIN: Sweeney Todd
SHOULD WIN: Atonement or Sweeney Todd

IN ORDER OF LIKELINESS:
1. Sweeney Todd
2. Atonement
3. There Will Be Blood
4. The Golden Compass
5. American Gangster

TOMORROW (er...later tonight): Best Cinematography

A Look at Best Costume Design

The nominees are...

Across the Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie en Rose
Sweeney Todd

I PREDICTED: 4/5. I had Enchanted in place of Across the Universe.
I'VE SEEN: 4/5. All but Across the Universe. Notice a pattern?

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE-If there was ever a nominee that should be happy just to be in the lineup, this is it. It's not like this is a bad candidate for the category, but the fact that it got in over the likes of more worthy candidates is a bit sad.
ATONEMENT-Don't count this out at all. Time Magazine named Keira's back-revealing green dress as the best movie costume ever. I gotta say...I know what they mean. This was a great year for this category, though. This, Sweeney Todd or Elizabeth would all be good choices.

ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE-My choice for this category. No matter what you think of the film, you can't deny that the set decoration and the costumes were really quite great. That said, I doubt that the Academy will actually give an award to such a poorly received film.

LA VIE EN ROSE-I feel pretty safe in saying that this won't make it. Quite honestly, I don't see what was so fantastic about these costumes.

SWEENEY TODD-I would classify this as "good but not great" in the costume department, but this can't walk away empty-handed. It will be either here or in Art Direction...I think its real chances lie here. Costumes like Mrs. Lovett's 19th-century-England dress are the kinds that win this award.

WILL WIN: Sweeney Todd
SHOULD WIN: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

IN ORDER OF LIKELINESS:
1. Sweeney Todd
2. Atonement
3. Elizabeth: The Golden Age
4. La Vie en Rose
5. Across the Universe

TOMORROW: Best Original Song

Predictions: Round Two (Best Picture)

BEST PICTURE

1. Charlie Wilson's War-Out of all the early contenders, this one seems most likely. Oscar friendly cast and director...it's in for now.

2. The Kite Runner-Marc Forster is a pretty reliable filmmaker and the plot to this sounds very baity.3. There Will be Blood-Daniel Day-Lewis has a knack for picking great movies. The plot to this sounds a little shaky, but I'm pretty confident.

4. Sweeney Todd-I didn't want to hop on the bandwagon, but, like Daniel-Day Lewis, Johnny Depp picks good projects. However, anything Sondheim always looks good on paper. And there are some unverified rumors that his singing is...subpar to say the least. I'm very nervous about this one.

5. Atonement-Like The Kite Runner, "Atonement" will have a hard time living up to the popular novel it is based upon. We'll see.

IN THE RUNNING

6. American Gangster-A baity premise, but it's hard to rely on Ridley Scott, Russel Crowe and Denzel Washington anymore.

7. My Blueberry Nights-If it succeeds at Cannes, expect this to be the sleeper comedy of the year.

8. The Savages-The trailer was fantastic, and it could end up doing quite well. Looks funny, no?

9. The Other Boleyn Girl-The feeling of this being a success is slowly waring off.

10. Lions for Lambs-We'll wait for reviews on this one.

Hairspray Trailer!

http://movies.aol.com/movie-trailer-clip/hairspray-quicktime

It's finally here! It looks absolutely fantastic. Travolta, Pfeiffer, Efron (yes, I said it) and especially newcomer Nicole Blonsky look outstanding! Here's an updated "most anticipated" list.

1. The Simpsons Movie
Sorry, but I cannot deny my geekiness here. Most. Anticipated. Movie. Ever.

2. Hairspray
What a trailer!

3. Sweeney Todd
Until we get a trailer or a picture of Helena Bonham Carter in costume, this will probably stay here.

4. Spider-Man 3
Although I usually find comic book movies formulaic and boring (Daredevil), I love the Spider-Man franchise. This looks VERY risky, so I'll await seeing how it does with critics.

5. Across the Universe
It's hard to go wrong with this plotline and music.

6. Snow Cake
Just a few more days...

7. The Other Boleyn Girl
Great book, but very hard to adapt. But with Peter Morgan at the typewriter, it shouldn't be a problem.

8. Shrek the Third
I usually don't realize how good the Shrek franchise actually is until I see one of them. And after last night's American Idol sneak-peak of the film, I'm excited.

9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
As with Shrek, I'll like it more when I actually see it.

10. Evening
The plot sounds sorta "eh", but it has the best cast of the year.

Sweeney is Here!

The first picture of Depp as Sweeney Todd has finally been released. He certainly looks the part, so that concern was settled. Now how about the singing...