Your Guide to the Oscars

Movies with Abe presents your guide to tonight's Oscars. Click on each category heading for detailed analysis, reference the asterisk for the predicted winner, and click on each movie title for a full review of the film in question. Post your own predictions in the comments, and enjoy the ceremony! I'm hosting a party so I won't be live-blogging, but good luck on your own pools and enjoy the show.


Best Motion Picture Of The Year
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up In The Air

Best Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role
*Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up in the Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Best Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role
*Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role
Matt Damon (Invictus)
Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
*Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz (Nine)
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
*Mo'Nique (Precious)

Best Achievement In Directing
*Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
James Cameron (Avatar)
Lee Daniels (Precious)
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen
The Hurt Locker
*Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up

Best Writing, Screenplay Based On Material Previously Produced Or Published
District 9
An Education
In the Loop
Precious
*Up In The Air

Best Achievement In Cinematography
*Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

Best Achievement In Art Direction
*Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

Best Achievement In Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
*The Young Victoria

Best Achievement In Editing
Avatar
District 9
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

Best Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures, Original Score
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
*Up

Best Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures, Original Song
*“The Weary Kind” (Crazy Heart)
“Take It All” (Nine)
“Loin de Paname” (Paris 36)
“Almost There” (The Princess and the Frog)
“Down in New Orleans” (The Princess and the Frog)

Best Achievement In Sound
*Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Achievement In Sound Editing
Avatar
*The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

Best Achievement In Makeup
Il Divo
Star Trek
*The Young Victoria

Best Achievement In Visual Effects
*Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

Best Documentary, Features
Burma VJ
*The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America
Which Way Home

Best Foreign Language Film Of The Year
Ajami
The Milk of Sorrow
A Prophet
The Secret of Her Eyes
*The White Ribbon

Best Animated Feature Film of The Year
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
*Up

Best Documentary Short Film
China’s Unnatural Disaster
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
*The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin

Best Animated Short Film
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper
Logorama
*A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Live Action Short Film
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
*The New Tenants