At last, The King’s Speech won Best Picture, including Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Actor (Colin Firth) and Original Screenplay (David Seidler) at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.

It was a strange cold night (weather forecast was possible frost and hail over the weekend in California), particularly for the royalty, as The Social Network bagged 3 awards (Adapted Screenplay, Original Score and Film Editing) and Inception 4 awards (Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Visual Effects) halfway through the show. Like a palace drama twist, apparent prognosticators on the blogosphere and twitterverse began to speculate the king might be usurped by the young college geeks at The Social Network in the prized Directing and Picture categories.

What a load of rubbish, the Brits would utter. The proceedings panned out to be nothing but hearsay and The King’s Speech was rightfully crowned Best Picture at the end of a long-drawn awkward night.

Franaway a Train Wreck

It was billed as the night where the dour Academy decided to be hip and savvy to appeal to the younger generation with two youthful telegenic movie stars taking over hosting duties from the standard stand-up comedians (Jon Stewart, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and the Pink Panther, we kid).

The opening montage where James Franco and Anne Hathaway appeared in the 10 Best Picture nominees was a riot, especially when they appeared alongside veterans Alec Baldwin (“Who were those people?”) and Morgan Freeman (“Alec likes me to narrate his dreams. Says I have a soothing voice”). Hathaway appeared in The King’s Speech: “I’ve got news from the future. Microphones get smaller.”

The audience laughed sparingly and when Franaway (termed for convenience sake and not an indication of their sizzling combo) appeared in person on the grand stage, the playbook was out the window and everything kinda went more or less downhill.

“You guys are real,” cooed Hathaway. Awkward silence.

The audience was definitely for real, except Nicole Kidman’s nose. The chemistry between Franaway wasn’t. It felt strangely unreal the entire night. For most parts, Franco looked stoned and distracted. It was alleged he was busy tweeting backstage. Or maybe he was still stuck in that cave as screen legend Kirk Douglas aptly suggested. Franco simply seemed to be in pain or just plain constipated. Tellingly, he admitted in an interview with Vanity Fair earlier he only managed to rehearse on weekends due to his PHD studies in NYU. These young people never learn. Always practice, practice, practice.

At one point, Franco appeared in drag chanelling Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot and made an uncomfortable joke about Charlie Sheen. Hathaway, on the other hand, was all smiles throughout the night and even mustered a solo Broadway number in tribute to Hugh Jackass, um, Jackman. Hathaway was much more confident, doe-eyed, seasoned and natural with ad-lib jokes (“And I thought F stands for The Fighter!”) and a cheery disposition.

‘Nuff said about the mismatched hosts because we are damn sure they won’t appear in the next Oscars telecast. It was evident the attempt by the Academy to attract younger viewers has somewhat tanked because the older folks were left to salvage the show, or whatever’s left. For instance, perennial ex-host Billy Crystal appeared briefly to a baffling standing ovation. Genuine laughter was heard in the auditorium when he joked on fast-forwarding the slow night: “Here are the nominees for Best Pictures.”

But why did Crystal even get a standing ovation? Did the audience miss his hosting prowess that much?

And there was 94-year-old Kirk Douglas who hammed it up with his deliberate delay of announcing the Best Supporting Actress. He fought with the gentleman helper over his walking cane. “You know,” catching his breath and pausing before announcing the winner.  “You look more beautiful than you did in The Fighter,” he gingerly told Melissa Leo. We hope Franco was somewhere (even if it’s in that darn cave) diligently taking notes like how he did back in NYU.

Dropping F-Bombs

Younger viewers would have loved Melissa Leo’s speech when she accepted the Best Supporting Actress award for playing a brassy mom in The Fighter. Clearly, her real life wasn’t too far off from her screen role. “Truly wow…I’m shaking in my boots here…When I watched Kate (Winslet) two years ago, it looked so f***ing easy!” The bleepers came on but it was too late. Twitter and Facebook was buzzing with the F-bomb.

Co-star Christian Bale, who won Best Supporting Actor in the same movie, paid tribute to Leo. In a sly reference to his F-bomb tirade on the set of Terminator movie, Bale said: “‘Melissa, I’m not going to drop the F-bomb like she did, I’ve done that plenty before.” Well played, Bale. The Dark Knight also gave thanks to Dicky Eklund, the real life former boxer he played on screen.

And the last word on the F-bomb belonged to Colin Firth, who chimed when picking up his Best Actor statuette: “I think my career has peaked. I would like to thank the Queen Her Majesty for not putting me in the tower for dropping the F-bomb.” It was a reference to the movie being re-released in America with cuts of the F-word by distributor Harvey Weinstein in order to gain more viewers. Firth later said backstage to reporters adamantly: “In the context of this film it couldn’t be more edifying or less malicious. It’s about a man trying to free himself through the expression of forbidden words. I think the film should stand.”

Listen to Your Mother

Indeed, it wasn’t a night for the young ones. The night belonged instead to the mothers and grandmothers. Hathaway acknowledged her mom in a nervous banter (Mom: “Stand up straight. Steven Spielberg is here!”) and Franco’s grandmother quipped: “I just saw Marky Mark!” The camera cut to a bemused Mark Wahlberg and the (infamous) constipated look on Franco.

On a more serious note, Tom Hooper, who won Best Director for The King’s Speech, attributed the making of the movie to his mother who called him after seeing a stage version earlier. “She said, ‘Tom, I think I’ve found your next film’.” He continued with one of life’s most important lessons: “Moral of the story is listen to your mother.”

And the Academy swooned over the moms, crowning a mom-to-be to be exact. The pregnant 29-year-old Natalie Portman, looking gorgeous in a deep-purple Rodarte gown, received the Best Actress award for her tour de force performance in Black Swan, the only award of the night for the film. She later revealed backstage that she would not be naming her baby Oscar and the baby was playfully kicking during the song performances. Cute.

Writers have the Last Word

A testament of their wins, screenwriters Aaron Sorkin and David Seidler demonstrated their wit and candour in their acceptance speeches. Sorkin, who won Adapted Screenplay for The Social Network, pleaded to his daughter for some “respect from [her] guinea pig”. He thanked everyone concisely despite the orchestra playing him off once.

And during Seidler’s acceptance speech for Original Screenplay, he spoke with fondness and warmth: “My father always told me I would be a late bloomer. I believe I am the oldest person to win this particular award. I hope this record is broken quickly and often.”

And the Best Presenters go to…

At times, the awards didn’t seem to fare too badly thanks to hilarious, however brief, moments from the presenters. Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr, when presenting Visual Effects which Inception won by the way, showed doses of remarkable wit in their banter, especially on Downey’s chequered past. Law retorted to Downey’s smart-alecky talk: ”If it wasn’t for them [visual effects artists], your closest association with a superhero would’ve been in 2001, when you got busted in a cheap hotel with a woman dressed as Batgirl.”

Downey had the last word, naturally: “”Okay, first of all, that cheap hotel room cost $1,250 a night with a corporate discount. Secondly, it was 2000, not 2001. And most importantly, she was dressed as Wonder Woman. And that attention to detail is what has won the respect of all the Academy voters.” The bromance was infectious.

Another hilarious couple, as odd as the pairing seemed, was comedian Russell Brand and Best Actress Helen Mirren. Brand translated (and fabricated) Mirren’s French when presenting Best Foreign Language Film. We’re pretty sure Mirren at one point called Brand an idiot, to which the bloke mistook as a compliment on his handsome rugged looks. We beg to differ, oui!

Similarly, Sandra Bullock reminded us why she is America’s sweetheart when she effortlessly introduced the five Best Actor nominees with great panache. “You scared the entire nation with your haircut,” she told Javier Bardem, nominated for Biutiful, not No Country for Old Men. She acknowledged Jeff Bridges as the Dude and asked Firth, the eventual winner, if he “planned on going home some time”.

And we almost gave the Best Presenter award to Oprah Winfrey as well when she came on but we didn’t. Because she didn’t give everyone in the audience a free sedan car or a trip down under.

As Time Goes By

Frankly, we are disappointed at how the telecast has once again failed to stir any imagination (or re-imagination for that matter) and ignite the movie-magic experience as a result of the hosts’ lack of chemistry, odd moments (another Bob Hope tribute, really?), awkward banter between hosts, presenters and even reporters and stars backstage, more awkward silences amongst the audience, presumptuous takes (the King’s Speech score soars through the 10 Best Picture montage before the winner was announced) and inconsequential cameos (Kevin Brownlow, Eli Wallach and Francis Ford Coppola appeared for a grand total of 4.5 seconds before being cut off).

The entire evening was just awkward, listless and dull. And you didn’t have to be in the Kodak Theatre to feel it. Pulitzer-Prize film critic Roger Ebert felt the same and called the show “dead in the water”.

In the end, the hype machine has failed. Young Hollywood, represented by the college kids of today’s wired and connected social network, didn’t really manage to take over the Establishment, symbolised by the stuttering King overcoming his condition and building a long-lasting friendship with his speech therapist in bleak World War times. The Academy, with its majority of old hands and wise adults favouring the warmth of a British period piece and its inspiring themes of friendship and conquering adversity, returned to its comfort zone, not ready to change or Facebook like the cool quotient.

One may argue The King’s Speech didn’t exactly make a big deal with a clean sweep of its 12 nominations but it did ascend to the throne nonetheless with four major prizes. That was a feat in an even playing field with equal distribution for all – Inception, the crowd pleaser and brain teaser mostly for younger geeks, took four prizes too in the lesser glam technical categories. The Social Network trailed with three prizes while The Fighter and Alice in Wonderland each had two.

But who’s keeping score, seriously?

The Oscars ritual has long since been demystified, with its tradition of comparing ballots excitedly amongst friends and simply watching the stars razzle-dazzle on the TV screen as idols disappeared down the rabbit hole.  The desperate attempts by the Academy to be hip and all-inclusive by feeding online audiences with exclusive access and more backstage footage on Oscars.com (we hear the winners speak on and on about their wins) exemplified how the magical and mysterious attraction of the movie star are gone and audiences are spoilt for choices. Is it a case of too much for their own good? Even the joke to be relevant and Apple-hip fell flat (Justin Timberlake introduced Best Animation Feature with an app).

But we do not lament the inevitable.

It’s clear however as time goes by, the Academy will continue to woo the younger generation with new antics, conjurations and showings like a circus ringmaster. And we pray the circus will stay in town for a little while more.

For the full LIVE tweet transcript of the awards show, read here.

For the full LIVE tweet transcript of the red carpet, read here.

For the writer’s predictions on the Oscars (14 out of 18 correct), read here.

Layout: Yeong Kar Yan

Full Winners’ List

BEST PICTURE
The King’s Speech

BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech

BEST ACTRESS
Natalie Portman, Black Swan

BEST DIRECTOR
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech

BEST SONG
We Belong Together,” Toy Story 3, Randy Newman

BEST EDITING
The Social Network, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
God of Love, Luke Matheny

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Strangers No More, Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood

BEST MAKEUP
The Wolfman, Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

BEST SOUND EDITING
Inception, Richard King

BEST SOUND MIXING
Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, and Ed Novick

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In a Better World (Denmark)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The King’s Speech, Screenplay by David Seidler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Social Network, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Toy Story 3

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Melissa Leo, The Fighter

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Inception, Wally Pfister

BEST ART DIRECTION
Alice in Wonderland, Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara

To be frank, the Best Picture nominees at the Oscars this year are impressive and offer nothing dire to gripe about. But of course, as with every self-important film critic and pop culture writer, opinions differ on which film deserves to be best. I write a list not for a list’s sake, but to throw up a few more suggestions just for the fun of it since the offbeat and guilty-pleasure movies are often missed at the Oscars.

Was 2010 a good year at the cinemas? It was, and it isn’t. According to movies rating website Metacritic.com, just “30 films met or exceeded the 81 Metascore threshold that indicates ‘universal acclaim’ from critics” compared to 37 films back in 2009. This measure indicates there are fewer critically-acclaimed movies (arbitrary, we emphasise) but it doesn’t mean the rest stinks (only 3 films dropped below 20 Metascore).

Yes, there are lesser superhero movies (the average Iron Man 2 comes to mind) and summer blockbusters last year. And potential franchises that could guarantee sequels and more box office takings didn’t exactly debut to exponential heights (Jonah Hex, Robin Hood, Tron Legacy). But thank god for every dud like Prince of Persia or Sex and the City 2, there is a delightful picture such as Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter to save the world.

And may Shrek Forever After live happily ever after and rest in peace.

And here are the best pictures according to the zeitgeist, and a few more.

The Social Network

The movie definitely speaks to the zeitgeist, or the spirit of our times. Who would have thought of making a movie out of something as intangible as the Internet, to be more specific a social network? David Fincher’s direction and Aaron Sorkin’s lightning-paced script made it possible, transforming the movie into a courtroom drama that revealed the inner psyche of its founder Mark Zuckerberg. Essentially, we’re looking at the story of a genius who made billions from helping people get connected but failed at his own personal relationships. It’s a cautionary tale that speaks to today’s generation on the perils of greed, corporate skull drudgery and tangible disconnections between humans in an increasingly connected parallel world.

Hereafter

How did Hereafter not make it to the Best Picture list still perplex me considering its pedigree (directed by Oscars fixture Clint Eastwood) and well-loved multiple narrative thread (think Best Picture winner Crash). Perhaps the uncomfortable subject of spiritual afterlife polarises the Academy but in retrospect, Eastwood has objectively treated the topic delicately, coaxing nuanced performances out of leads like Matt Damon. Audiences are not given answers on the possibility of an afterlife, but how to deal with death, grief and the strength to move on.

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 completes a lifetime journey of adventure, fun and nostalgia for most moviegoers. Its form may be built on pixels and movement digitally rendered but the characters (or should I say toys) and the story are what made this movie a true classic in the making. You laugh at Woody’s escape sequence, cry at Bear’s plight and embrace every part of the movie for its emotional pull and central theme of friendship. It’s a brilliant finish to a trilogy, an introspection of our childhood, and a gentle reminder to hug our action figurine and teddy bear one last time.

Inception

Once in a blue moon, a visionary director comes along and creates a whole new world of imagination and concept – at least on celluloid. There’s George Lucas and his Empire, James Cameron and his Na’vi people and Peter Jackson and his hobbits. And then we have Christopher Nolan and his dreamscape architecture that roll up skyscrapers and collapses bridges. Inception demonstrates Nolan’s brilliant mind in blurring the line between reality and dreams, perception versus reality, consciousness and unconsciousness, and even limbo in between. We are left to wonder what else can we discover if we were to perform an inception into Nolan’s mad-scientist mind.

The King’s Speech

It’s not easy to make a British period film especially on the monarchy but somehow, Tom Hooper manages to not only make a period piece, but have everyone enjoying every damn moment of it. Thanks to stellar performances from a bona fide British theatre cast (and that Australian interloper called Geoffrey Rush), our spirits are lifted by the king overcoming his stutter and leading the country into anxious times of war with Germany. Plus the bromance between the King and his speech therapist is a joy to behold.

Kick-Ass

The absurd movie has gotten several prominent American film critics and their knickers into a twist over its profane language and grotesque violence. But that’s the point! It’s supposed to be a colourful riot and tongue-in-cheek movie that pokes fun at celebritydom, voyeurism, spandex superhero costume amongst other irrelevant stuff. Kick-Ass is so clever and self-aware, reeking of Tarantino all over. For the critics (A.O. Scott of New York Times and the eminent Roger Ebert) who couldn’t stomach it, I suggest they take their twisted knickers and turn them into superhero costumes. Come on, let loose a little.

The Runaways

Easily missed because of its unconventional nature (boys will not pay to watch girls in leather performing like hell’s angels), the Runaways offers a close look on how the machinery churns out the first all-girl rock band and its climb to success and eventual decline. Both Kristin Stewart and Dakota Fanning bring out the raw energy and sexual charge hardly seen in their prior careers. This is a hardcore chick flick with drugs, guitars and an edge.  

Easy A

It’s a typical high-school coming-of-age story but Emma Stone single-handedly owned the summer movie and made the one-liners and zingers palatable and well, funny. The redhead radiates and reminds us that a star is born. Having followed her religiously from The House Bunny to Zombieland, I write with biased glee and unreserved affection that Easy A warrants a spot on the list. Oh, have I not mentioned I’m in love with Emma Stone?

The Fighter

The Fighter works like every boxing movie: brassy, energetic and in-your-face. Amidst the rumble and tumble in the ring, the conflicts of an individual fighting and breaking free from a dysfunctional family reels one to invest into his story. As much as it was about boxing and becoming champion, the audience is intrigued to know what happens to the fighter. A compelling piece of work.

Black Swan

How far would one go for his or her art? The question of perfectionism of one’s craft consumes every consummate artist and Natalie Portman portrays the tension between perception and perfection in  tipping fashion in Black Swan. We are thrown into the rarefied and exalted world of ballet that celebrates the physical (female) body, defies laws of gravity and embraces the grace of even a gentle gesture or tiptoe. We become spectators of the objectified female image, how it breaks free from its entrapment and transforms physically and sexually in relation to its art. And then we are reminded of the derision and madness when the lights go up in the cinemas.

And a few more good pictures…

Blue Valentine The trajectory of a short-lived marriage from its sweet origins to its eventual decline takes away any hope from a singleton (like me) on the possibility of  love.  Heart-wrenching and heart breaking, the movie works as a bittersweet tale but it has also failed many moviegoers with its affecting premise. I do not believe in love anymore.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World All hail the king of super nerd cool and awkward conversations Michael Cera, star of the indie-spirited movie infused with rock and roll roots, geek humour and video games eccentricities.  The movie is so fun like an underrated PlayStation game you can’t get enough of!

The Kids are All Right The movie proves that all relationships and families never mind same-gender or single-parent are the same: they all have their own fault lines. And they work hard to make them all right. The character-driven dramedy feels like a TV movie/miniseries sometimes and that’s the beauty of it – it’s intimate, heartfelt and real.

Alice in Wonderland Finally, a movie that works in 3D in a year-of-rubbish-movies-that-pretend-to-be-magical-in-3D (think The Last Airbender). The gorgeous sets, art direction and eye-popping visuals make the movie feel so alive and wonderful! Doesn’t it make you feel like having tea with the Mad Hatter?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I Some lament it’s simply a transitional movie but I think it tells us something deeper — Harry, Hermione and Ron have come a long way and their friendship is put to test in dark times with questions of insecurities and jealousy, issues that are relevant to teenagers. We feel for the trio, and we are reminded of their bravery, courage and true friendship. The movie doesn’t soar with action and wades gently in anticipation of something greater.

Every year, there’s something contentious or arguable about the Best Picture category. But the diverse nominees this year are spot-on and well-loved by all, easily appearing in every critic’s top 10 lists and every movie buff’s to watch/download lists. There’s something for everyone from blockbusters (Toy Story 3, Inception), crowd pleasers (Black Swan, 127 Hours, The Social Network, The Fighter) to indie art films (Winter’s Bone, The Kids are All Right, True Grit).

And while they are different in genres, including revenue generated, these Best Picture nominees are based on universal themes and common subjects. We sift through the pictures, dreamscapes and competitive world of sports and decipher the meanings in between.

Against All Odds

The King stutters. James Franco is between a rock and a hard place. Mark Wahlberg is The Fighter on the verge of becoming champion. From The King’s Speech, The Fighter to 127 Hours, the narrative centres on the protagonists conquering personal demons and overcoming disabilities to rise in dark times to become heroes. Such uplifting and inspiring tales never fail to stir emotions and resonate with audiences.

Finding Father

The kids raised by a lesbian couple in The Kids are All Right search for their free-wheeling biological father while Jennifer Lawrence tries to find a missing father who is seemingly dead from drug overdose in Winter’s Bone. While patriarchal roles are often seen in positions of power, the fathers lately have seen the tables overturned.  They are cheats, irresponsible and have a habit of running away, inciting their children to embark on self-discovery journeys to find them.

Mummy Issues

In Black Swan, Natalie Portman is the perfectionist ballet dancer who lives with her mother in a small apartment that feels claustrophobic and repressive. Her mom, a former dancer, watches over her like a hawk while developing her fledgling career. In The Fighter, Mark Wahlberg the sensible boxer has a manager who is actually his deranged mother. He struggles to walk away from his destructive mom in order to develop his career. Mommy issues are great narrative threads or bugbears that showcase character development and inner psychology, the twin pillars for (over) dramatic acting.

Going Home

Self-discovery journeys about the protagonist having an adventure of a lifetime before returning home to the ultimate destination of warmth, joy and love, always make a good story. And we see them in Inception, True Grit and 127 Hours. Leonardo DiCaprio wants to return to his family (did he, did he not?) after one last inception; Hailee Steinfeld avenges her father’s death before going home; and James Franco survives 127 dreaded hours of starvation, dehydration and a painful separation in a hole before heading back to civilisation.

Other Oscar features:

Oscars Predictions: Who will be King of Hollywood’s Social Network?

How the Oscars Nominees are Chosen

Franaway for Generation Social Network

Best Pictures According to The Zeitgeist

Since its INCEPTION, the Oscars has always been a calculated and intense campaign to crown who is KING of Hollywood’s SOCIAL NETWORK. Every movie executive thinks he is a FIGHTER out to pick a BONE and nab the statuette with TRUE GRIT. In less than 127 HOURS, we will find out at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.

We have arrived at the moment where Hollywood’s self-important social network of Academy voters, friends, colleagues and sleeping partners (for most) will superpoke one another at the champagne bar, practise winning speeches without stuttering and confer the coveted golden statuettes to the deserving victors at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards on Feb 27 (Feb 28 Singapore time).

But why should you care?

For starters, we are seduced by the drama surrounding the studio fat cats scrambling to outsmart one another in the alley with scare tactics (slighting emails), endorsements (“for your consideration” ads) and childish antics (read: Harvey Weinstein stormed out at the Golden Globes). It’s like watching another episode of Jersey Shore, albeit with lesser makeup and trailer trash talk.

And of course we are fixated on the Oscars because eye candy hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco have been craftily picked to win younger audiences and stoke the flames of our desires. We can only hope Anne’s chemistry with James will be as good as the one she had with Jake Gyllenhaal in Love and Other Drugs where she pranced around naked half the time. But I digress.

It’s evident the Oscars show producers are doing their darnest to attract younger viewers and hence buzz has been building around the showdown between The Social Network, acclaimed as the hyper nerdy and hipster cool movie of the twenty-something generation and The King’s Speech, the old-fashioned against-all-odds British movie favoured by the older crowd, especially the geriatric folks in the Academy who can still cast a vote ably.

Will The King’s Speech have the last word? Or can the cool nerd in the college block lure the entire academy to “like” it? I guess we have to wait till the totem falls to find out.

Best Actor

We’re looking at a sequel to last year’s fight between Jeff Bridges and Colin Firth, the former who won for Crazy Heart. This year, Bridges’ gritty performance as a Western marshal in True Grit proves the Dude deserves the statuette won but we believe it’s Colin Firth’s year in a category brimming with wonderful performances from Javier Bardem (brutal), Jesse Eisenberg (geek cool) and James Franco (gripping). Firth’s tormented portrayal of a monarch overcoming his stutter has certainly found favours with the older establishment who loves a comeback kid. Long live the King.

The spotlight is on a delicate showdown between Natalie Portman and Annette Bening, the former who put on a physiological and psychological performance in Black Swan and the latter a nuanced and subdued act in The Kids Are All Right. It was frightening to watch Portman the ballet dancer self-destruct in the name of art compared to Bening who strikes a chord with her heartfelt display of anguish and love. In a particular scene where after finding out her partner (played by the equally excellent Julianne Moore) has cheated on her, Bening sat at the dinner table with the cheating partners looking on listless, terrified and angry all at the same time. It had Oscars written on that face alone but we’re guessing Portman will win Best Actress – by a tiptoe.

Is there even any fight (pun intended) in this race? It’s a lockdown on Christian Bale to win for an insane and knockout performance in The Fighter as a former champion boxer sliding into drug addiction and mental breakdown. Props to Geoffrey Rush for squaring off with Colin Firth in The King’s Speech and putting on an articulated performance but Bale will win on his first nomination by a wide margin.

The winning streak might just continue for the cast of The Fighter. Melissa Leo, who has picked up most of the awards leading up to the Oscars, is tipped to win in a category known to have unwittingly caused careers to falter for winning actresses (read: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Marcia Gay Harden, Jennifer Connelly). Co-star Amy Adams and Hailee Steinfeld from True Grit might just cause an upset but we think Leo will stick around and score for all the crazy mothers in the world.

As much as we think David Fincher should win for The Social Network, the movie benefited more from a strong screenplay than direction. Money’s on Tom Hooper to win thanks to his win at Directors Guild and besides, The King’s Speech has much more momentum. It’s too close to call but we’re going with the tried-and-tested narrative – Best Picture wins Best Director too.

There’s always a school of thought among pundits, water-cooler speculators and Hollywood insiders on naming the Best Picture – whichever movie has momentum and buzz, whichever movie wins. And what a difference a month or two makes. Just when The Social Network was sweeping the prizes at the critics’ circles, smarty pants began to update their Facebook statuses congratulating on its pending win.

But the victory speeches are being rewritten of late with um, um, The King’s Speech, the uplifting and inspiring tale of a King-in-waiting conquering his stutter and ascending a throne of a nation in a critical time of need. With awards won at the Guilds (Producers, Directors and Screen Actors), the momentum is certainly with the royalty.

We don’t mean to ignore the other contenders, which are all commendable but if anything, the showdown is really between the older establishment which favours a traditional storytelling of overcoming odds and an edgier crowd liking a movie that attests to the zeitgeist on greed, friendships and a disconnected world that seems to yearn and build towards more connections than ever.

All rise to hear The King’s Speech on the podium.

And the other awards…

Original Screenplay
The King’s Speech for its inspiring storytelling that warms the cockles of your heart. Inception should win but we bet some of the Academy voters are still confused by the dream sequences hence giving it a miss.

Adapted Screenplay
The diagoue is rich and the banter fast and furious in The Social Network thanks to Aaron Sorkin‘s wit and bite-sized pace. Everyone’s liking it!

Editing
My head tells me it will be The Social Network for its fragmented jumps in time-space but my heart goes to 127 Hours for its dynamic and quick cuts that portray the adrenaline rush apt for a action-driven and fast-forward movie.

Cinematography
The Western landscape can’t get as dark, gritty and dangerous as it gets in True Grit with the talented Roger Deakins helming it.

Art Direction
The set’s designed so delish everyone wants to be part of the tea party in Alice in Wonderland.

Costume Design
It takes a great vision to dress Johnny Depp (just look back at his pirated history) and Alice in Wonderland brings out the mad-cap in him with frilly frocks and hats.

Makeup
I’m uncertain but I’ll go with the one with more hair – The Wolfman.

Visual Effects
Inception blew our mind with the rotating corridors and shifting skyscrapers, parts of an elaborate dreamscape accented by the brilliant visual effects.

Sound Editing
Inception, its cool sound editing matching with the trippy visual effects.

Sound Mixing
As if I can tell the difference with sound editing, but I’m going for The King’s Speech. The uncomfortable silences, the pace of the stutter, the tempermental shouts all add up to a wonderful sound mix if you ask me.

Original Score
The King’s Speech‘s deliberate score filled with painful silences and lifting notes should win.

Original Song
‘If I Rise‘ for 127 Hours by A.R. Rahman and the haunting Dido.

Animated Feature
Toy Story 3.

Illustrations courtesy of Valerie Chua.

Other Oscar features:

How the Oscars Nominees are Chosen

How to make a Best Picture

Franaway for Generation Social Network

Best Pictures According to The Zeitgeist

But what really buzzes (or kills depending on how you see it) are the snubs, the ones who got left behind for the biggest and most glamorous party in Tinseltown come Feb 27 (Feb 28 Monday morning Singapore time).

• Christopher Nolan misses out on a nom for Best Director, whose vision (and dreams) made Inception the most-talked about brainy film of 2010.
• If Annette Bening is nominated for Best Actress, what about her equally brilliant co-star Julianne Moore? Perhaps the campaign marketers were over carried with Bening and forgot to push for Moore instead.
• Despicable Me makes way for How to Train Your Dragon. Nonetheless, we know who’s gonna win for Best Animated Feature. Psst, it’s the sequel to Toy Story.
• Javier Bardem’s Best Actor nom Biutiful thanks to Julia Roberts’ shameless campaigning.
• Winter’s Bone surprise nomination in Best Picture category. Gotta catch this little film that might just could.
• Did we mention Christopher Nolan’s snub? Oh yes, we thought it was just a dream. Damn!

Complete List of Nominations

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

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

BEST ANIMATED FILM
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

BEST ART DIRECTION
Alice in Wonderland, Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
Happy Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1, Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
Inception, Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
The King’s Speech, Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
True Grit, Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Black Swan, Matthew Libatique
Inception, Wally Pfister
The King’s Speech, Danny Cohen
The Social Network, Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit, Roger Deakins

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood
I Am Love, Antonella Cannarozzi
The King’s Speech, Jenny Beaven
The Tempest, Sandy Powell
True Grit, Mary Zophres

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David O. Russell, The Fighter

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz
Gasland, Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
Restrepo, Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
Waste Land, Lucy Walker and Angus Aynley

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Killing in the Name
Poster Girl
Strangers No More, Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
Sun Come Up, Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
The Warriors of Qiugang, Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

BEST EDITING
127 Hours, Jon Harris
Black Swan, Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter, Pamela Martin
The King’s Speech, Tariq Anwar
The Social Network, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Hors la Loi (Outside the Law) (Algeria)
Incendies (Canada)
In a Better World (Denmark)
Dogtooth (Greece)
Biutiful (Mexico)

BEST MAKEUP
Barney’s Version, Adrien Morot
The Way Back, Eduoard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, Yolanda Toussieng
The Wolfman, Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

BEST SCORE
127 Hours, A.R. Rahman
How to Train Your Dragon, John Powell
Inception, Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech, Alexandre Desplat
The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

BEST SONG
“Coming Home,” Country Strong, Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
“I See the Light,” Tangled, Alan Menken, Glenn Slater
“If I Rise,” 127 Hours, A.R. Rahman, Dido, Rollo Armstrong
“We Belong Together,” Toy Story 3, Randy Newman

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Day & Night, Teddy Newton
The Gruffalo, Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
Let’s Pollute, Geefwee Boedoe
The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary), Bastien Dubois

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
The Confession, Tanel Toom
The Crush, Michael Creagh
God of Love, Luke Matheny
Na Wewe, Ivan Goldschmidt
Wish 143, Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

BEST SOUND EDITING
Inception, Richard King
Toy Story 3, Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
TRON: Legacy, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
True Grit, Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
Unstoppable, Mark P. Stoeckinger

BEST SOUND MIXING
Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
The King’s Speech, Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
Salt, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan, and William Sarokin
The Social Network, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, and Mark Weingarten
True Grit, Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, and Peter F. Kurland

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Alice in Wonderland, Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1, Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
Hereafter, Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
Iron Man 2, Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Another Year, written by Mike Leigh
The Fighter, Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; 
Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
Inception, written by Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right, written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech, Screenplay by David Seidler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 Hours, Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
The Social Network. Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Toy Story 3, Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
True Grit, written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Winter’s Bone, adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini