The Oscars.

It's that day of the year when I stay up all night for the most glamorous night of the year. Well, essentially, it's Hollywood masturbating over itself with little gold statuettes, rewarding not the best films of the years, but the films that have built up 'momentum' by having a really good advertising campaign in the film capital of the world. As long as you take them with a grain of salt, they're great fun though, and there's no arguing that film history is made every year on this occasion. So, to celebrate, here's my set of predictions, and who I'd like to see win.


Best Picture
- 127 Hours; Black Swan; The Fighter; Inception; The Kids Are all Right; The King's Speech; The Social Network; Toy Story 3; True Grit; Winter's Bone.

What Should Win?
There's no doubt whatsoever in my mind that only one film is better than decent. There's only one film which everyone seems to love, there's one film which is funny, tragic, bittersweet, heart-wrenchingly beautiful, and a cinematic treat. Every element of Toy Story 3 is a winner, except for the fact that it's animated, which is why it won't win. Most of the rest are decent, the only three I'm not fond of are The Social Network, 127 Hours and Inception.

What Will Win? The King's Speech
What Should Be There? Shutter Island



Best Director
- Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan; Coen Brothers for True Grit; David Fincher for The Social Network; Tom Hooper for The King's Speech; David O. Russel for The Fighter

Who Should Win?
Not really bothered about this one really, all were competent but none shone through their filmmaking choices. They were all a little hit and miss. But I'll go for the Brit: Tom Hooper, whose carefully composed shots still leave me thinking, and he was able to create a really funny, deeply moving film about an unlikely friendship without ever being too sentimental.

Who Will Win? David Fincher
Who Should be There? Sofia Coppola for Somewhere


Best Actor
- Javier Bardem for Biutiful; Jeff Bridges for True Grit; Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network; Colin Firth for The King's Speech; James Franco for 127 Hours.

Who Should Win?
No doubt I'd be saying Bardem if I'd seen the film - but that's what will probably stop him winning tonight: he's in a little foreign film which nobody's seen (I missed the 3 day run it had at my cinema...) But as it happens, again, there's nothing I'm strongly passionate for. I'd probably go for Franco, who even in an awful film with one of the most poorly written characters of the year, created a compelling performance.

Who Will Win? Colin Firth
Who Should Be There? Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine


Best Actress
- Anette Bening for The Kids Are All Right; Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole; Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone; Natalie Portman for Black Swan; Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine

Who Should Win?
All of them! They were all uniquely powerful. An absolute beautiful set of nominees, and it's kind of a shame Portman will walk it, as they all deserve some recognition. At a push I'd say Kidman's my favourite for her most human performance in years: she left me in tears.

Who Will Win? Natalie Portman
Who Should Be There? Carey Mulligan for Never Let Me Go




Best Supporting Actor
- Christian Bale for The Fighter; John Hawkes for Winter's Bone; Jeremy Renner for The Town; Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right; Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech

Who Should Win?
There's no denying the vivacity of Bale or the heart of Rush. But for me, Ruffalo was the standout in a really strong cast.

Who Will Win? Christian Bale
Who Should Be There? Andrew Garfield for The Social Network



Best Supporting Actress
- Amy Adams for The Fighter; Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech; Melissa Leo for The Fighter; Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit; Jackie Weaver for Animal Kingdom

Who Should Win?
Amy Adams showed she was more than just a one trick pony who steals your heart with her cuteness. Her performance was a huge departure for her, and she should finally be acknowledged as one of the best talents of today. It's the most open cateogry: The Fighter's ensemble was really strong, but will the support split votes? Will Carter ride The King's Speech love? Will Steinfeld win for her determined performance? Who knows!

Who Will Win? I'll go for Steinfeld
Who Should Be There? Lesley Manville for Another Year!!!!!!! Duh...



Best Original Screenplay
- Another Year; The Fighter; Inception; The Kids Are All Right; The King's Speech.
Who Should Win? Another Year
 Who Will Win?The King's Speech
Who Should be There? Somewhere


Best Adapted Screenplay
- 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter's Bone.
Who Should Win? Toy Story 3.
Who Will Win? The Social Network.
Who Should be There? The Ghost Writer



Best Cinematography
- Black Swan, Inception, The King's Speech, The Social Network, True Grit
Who Should Win? Inception
Who Will Win? True Grit
Who Should Be There? Shutter Island



Best Editing
- 127 Hours, Black Swan, The Fighter, The King's Speech, The Social Network
Who Should Win? The Social Network
Who Will Win? The Social Network
Who Should Be There? The American

Other Predictions:

Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Film: In A Better World
Best Documentary Film: Inside Job
Best Short Film: Wish 143
Best Animated Short: Day & Night
Best Documentary Short: Strangers No More
Best Art Direction: The King's Speech
Best Costume Design: Alice In Wonderland
Best Makeup: The Wolfman
Best Original Score: The King's Speech
Best Original Song: We Belong Together, Toy Story 3
Best Sound Mixing: Inception
Best Sound Editing: Inception
Best Visual Effects: Inception