Best Albums of 2010

Top Five Friday #4
-Best Albums of 2010-

You have no idea how hard it is to limit the top albums of 2010 to only five (5), as there are so many albums which are definitely deserving of attention and admiration that released in the past year. I, would of course, urge you to check out various other music sites or blogs that might give you a more comprehensive list so that you get a full view of the year in music. However, it's called Top Five Friday for a reason and that allows for just five albums.

These are the albums that have been on repeat over and over since they've been released. These are the albums that have occupied me on numerous times driving and kept me going during the various road trips that I've taken. These are the albums that have made me happy and amazed me with the creativity of musicians throughout the year. These are the albums that everybody should buy, in my humble opinion and these are my personal choices for the top five albums of the year.

Not only will I give you the top five albums of the year, but with each album, I'll include three tracks to listen to to give you an idea of what the album is like. If you like those tracks, then there is a good chance you'll like the rest of the album and if you don't like those songs, then there is something very wrong with you.

5. Contra (Vampire Weekend)
Vampire Weekend's follow up to their self-titled debut is filled with some of the most fun songs that you'll hear from the past year and definitely doesn't fall victim to the dreaded sophomore slump. Their second album is filled with not only more confidence but also a sense of excitement that makes this album so enjoyable to listen to. Contra also retains the charm and creativity that fueled the first album, which makes me look forward to their inevitable third album even more.
Listen to: White Sky
Holiday
Horchata

4. Together (The New Pornographers)
Anytime the New Pornographers release an album, it's almost guaranteed to make my top five albums of the year and this year is no exception. This Canadian supergroup produces epic pop melodies sound effortless and easy to create. This is their fifth album and as the album title would suggest, it's definitely a group effort. Utilizing the talents of everybody from A.C. Newman to Neko Case, this is another fantastic album of power pop that is worth listening to. Repeatedly.
Listen To: Your Hands (Together)
Moves
Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk

3. Treats (Sleigh Bells)
Not only one of the best albums of the year, but definitely one of the best new artists of the year. The sound of the album is fresh, exciting and nothing short of phenomenal. This is perfect for blasting out of your stereo, driving on a summer day. This is one of the loudest albums of the year and hopefully it's loud enough to get the attention it so richly deserves. It's a bold and fantastic debut here. Hopefully they'll be around for a long, long time - if we're lucky.
Listen To: Infinity Guitar.
Crown On The Ground
Tell 'Em

2. Suburbs (Arcade Fire)
On their third album, Arcade Fire proves that the old saying "third time is a charm" holds true. This is the best album from this indie rock group, proving just as engaging and captivating as the previous two outings. Arcade Fire's debut Funeral was an audacious debut, shooting right out of the gate and while they lost their footing slightly with their sophomore debut Neon Bible, there is no doubt that they've found their footing and voice once again in this stunning musical examination of the ideal American dream. No doubt at all that you should listen to and appreciate this album at your earliest opportunity.
Listen To: Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Empty Room
Suburban War

1. Fang Island (Fang Island)
Fang Island describes their sound as "every high-fiving everyone" and that is exactly what you'll want to do after listening to this groups first full-length album. There are so many words to describe this album, but all of them are positive. It's just an amazing accomplishment and an even better album. Just pure mind-blowing and ear-pleasing awesomeness. The album starts off with fireworks (literally), which is to say this album starts off with a bang and is an indication of how epic this album is. Plus, the album ends with fireworks as well, so that you can put it on repeat and just listen to it over and over. Trust me - you'll never want to leave Fang Island.
Listen To: Daisy
Dream Of Dreams
The Illinois

And that it's, folks. Those are my top five albums for the year. If you enjoyed any of these albums that I've recommended (and I can't recommend them more highly), please go to your local or online retailer as soon as possible to purchase these. Pure auditory awesomeness. Don't miss out!

Until next time, stay classy!

The Boy Scouts Would Be Disappointed

-The Boy Scouts Would Be Disappointed-
-(But the Zombies Delighted)-

Some of you might know that I'm very kinda concerned about the impending zombie apocalypse. I have the Zombie Survival Guide and always take it with me on a trip. You never know when it might come in handy. According to my parents - never.

Late last year, there was a headline about a Zombie Satellite. It had me momentarily excited as I clicked on the link as I thought that perhaps the government was finally taking the zombie threat seriously and had dedicated a satellite to track them. As you might guess, not so much.

My brother and I, one fateful summer where I was actually motivated, worked out. My brother prepared me on different training techniques to help fight off zombies and worked on running a lot, which trust me, will come in handy if zombies come around. Thank you, hermano, for attempting to keep me prepared for World War Z.

Since that time, I have not kept up with that same level of diligence. I should, as Professor Moody is so fond of saying in the Harry Potter series, maintained "Constant Vigilance!". Unfortunately, I haven't.

I realized this as we started to have what newscasters are labeling as a "blizzard" here in Illinois, with some news organizations suggesting we might have two feet of snow or more. I'm not a big fan of snow, but I am just a little bit excited about the possibility of a snow day, which I haven't had in years. Even at my most recent job, they never closed and I lived right across the street, so I would be the one called in when everybody else called off. So, fingers and toes crossed for a snow day.

In the meantime, being the amazing son that I am, I called my parents to make sure they were okay since Indiana is also having some "adverse weather conditions". We began to discuss the weather and the conversation turned to what would happen if the electricity went out. Did I have candles? Enough food items that I could eat without the use of a stove or microwave? Did I have a flashlight? Did I have enough blankets? Did I have a first aid kit?

The answer to all of those, on my end, was surprisingly "no.". At this point, I came a shocking realization.

Not only was I not prepared if the power went out, but -dramatic pause-

-My parents are more prepared for the zombie apocalypse than I am!-

Which is obviously unacceptable and indeed, sad.

Not to say a candle is going to solve your zombie problem by any means. In fact, lighting a zombie on fire is not going to do you much good at all. Blinding them with a flashlight or throwing a blanket over them won't help you much either, though with any of these, you might be able to distract them long enough to run away. The number one rule of Zombieland is cardio. Don't forget that lesson.

But, the important lesson, I think, to take away from this entire situation is all about being prepared. Once I can get out of my house again, then I will make it my mission to be more prepared. Not just for the zombie apocalypse or in the event of electricity going out, but in general. So, please, if you think of anything I should need to help with being prepared for an emergency, ranging from the basic, such as the electricity going out or extreme, such as a velociraptor attack or any other situation you can imagine, please feel free to share.

Same goes for everybody else out there who reads this blog (all three of you), it's important to be prepared. It's equally important for us to help one another to be prepared, because as Shaun (Simon Pegg) says in the film Shaun of the Dead,: "As Bertrand Russell once said, "The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation."

However, as he so also so eloquently states in the same film, "As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team.."

Words to live by.

Spider-Man + Calvin & Hobbes = Awesomeness!

Anybody that knows me should know that two of my favorite things in the whole wide world are Spider-Man & Calvin & Hobbes. Here, in this fantastic display by Mark Pelligrini and Timothy Lim, they managed to combine the two in a masterful - dare I say classic - display of awesomess. Thanks to both of them for this!!! Click here for a larger version.

It'd be even more funny if it weren't describing and summarizing actual storylines that our friendly neighborhood wall-crawler has been through in the past few years. It's pretty awkward.

Yep - Spider-Man has dealt with clones (far too often.)

It's true - Aunt May (or a genetically-altered actress) has managed to be "killed" several times.

As much as it pains me to say this - Spider-Man did sell his & MJ's marriage to the devil.

Pardon me while I throw up - but yes, Satan did "magically" erase everybody's memories after Spider-Man revealed his identity during the events of Marvel's Civil War - in exchange for the previously mentioned marriage.

I'm embarrassed to even acknowledge it.

What I will acknowledge is this cartoon strip's absolute brilliance and hilarity!

It's still awkward but hilarious. Seriously, the fact it summarizes (and satirizes) events in such a clever fashion actually makes it more funny. This is the best thing I've seen on the net in a while and I just had to share it with you all. Hopefully you enjoy! Any comments on this epic bit display of artwork, feel free to share once you're done laughing. I haven't been able to wipe the smile off of my face yet. Just too awesome for words. Until next time, excelsior!!!

P.S. - This post was written while listening to the song Spider-Man, track eight (8) off of Spiderman: Rock Reflections of a Superhero, a musical re-telling of the events surrounding Peter Parker's transformation into Spider-Man and the events following, complete with a few catchy numbers, a few eye-rolling numbers and some narration by the one and only Stan Lee! It has to be heard to be believed! The back cover alone is worth the price of purchase. Yes, ladies and gentleman, that is Captain America, playing the tambourine. I must have this!

The World Is New

Actually, the world isn't new. My laptop, however, is.

It seems like only last year that I bought a brand new laptop computer, if you recall my previous blog post, and unfortunately, it was only last year. Thanks to hindsight, it's obvious that it was a mistake. What might be the mistake? I bought a Compaq computer during a too-good-to-be-true sale at Wal-Mart. Well, you know the old saying about Compaq? Take the C, the A, and the P from Compaq - remove the O, M and the Q - add an R - and you have crap. Crude, but then again, it's an old saying.

And that's my final word on Compaq. Well, actually, the word I'm searching for.... I can't say because there's preschool toys present. (Bonus points if you know what that's from!).

Seriously, with the laptop, came a one year warranty. Almost immediately after the one year warranty, the troubles started. A whole host of errors one after the other. At first, I thought they were small and I tried to fix them on my own. At first, it appeared that my fixes worked but after a week, it was apparent that was not the case. Once my laptop was basically a giant, expensive, semi-working paperweight, I took it into Best Buy to have the Geek Squad take a look at it. (If only it was a Buy More...) Didn't take long for them to declare my hard drive pretty much...dead. And like a bad Mastercard commercial, they started to list the cost of repairing it...

Replacing Your Hard Drive: $49.95 (plus tax)
A New Hard Drive: $80
A New Operating System: $120
Your New Laptop Dying Two Weeks After Your Warranty Has Expired: Priceless.

With tax and other assorted prices that would be added on, it would be almost as much as the price of a brand new laptop. But, I still thought about it. The laptop still worked, albeit a little bit slower and with a fair amount of errors. I figured I could use it for a little longer, but fate (and the poor construction of a Compaq laptop) had other plans. Later that night, like Tom Hanks in Castaway, I discovered fire.

Specifically, on my couch as the power cord to the laptop had burst into flames. It had started to spark and then burst into a flame. A small flame - not like a huge wildfire or anything, but fire nonetheless. Enough to make a small scorch mark on my couch cushions, but thankfully that was all. A quick removal of the power cord and the emptying of a bottle of water onto my couch cushion made Smokey the Bear proud, even if we weren't in a forest at all. I think just the whole fire prevention thing should've made him pretty pleased.

And so, I took that as a sign that it was time to go laptop hunting. Once again, I considered all of the options (even contemplating a switch to Apple), but in the end was discovering that many of the more inexpensive laptops were Compaq again, which I had vowed not to do. Never again. I had to decide whether to accept a substandard laptop or perhaps I would have to go a bit outside of my price range to have a laptop that might be more than a one-year rental. Thankfully, not too far outside of my price range was a beautiful Gateway laptop (to be exact this Gateway laptop.) And so far, so good.

This time around, I have a much, much better warranty. (Check back with me in a year though) And hopefully much, much more blogging. (Check back with me in a few days to find out though). Until then, stay classy!

P.S. - And if you're wondering (probably aren't) where the title of the blog post came from, it's the title of a song from the 90's ska band Save Ferris (themselves inspired by the classic 80's film Ferris Bueller's Day off) and if you're at all interested, here is the music video to listen to: The World Is New.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

-Should I Stay Or Should I Go-

While this may be the title of a classic song by punk rockers The Clash, it was easily one of the easiest decisions I've ever made. For all of those who have been following at home, you should know by now that the city to win the sweepstakes for well, me, was the metropolis of Peoria, Illinois. I know, I know. It's not any closer to my friends in Ohio or family in Ohio, but it does get me away from Walgreen's and into the until recently seemingly unattainable world of professionalism. In March, I had a job interview at a place called the Bowen Center in Indiana and had what I thought was a great job interview. (I was to learn, later, that it was only a pretty good interview). Initially, I was like the little boy in this video here on the right but weeks later, when I finally realized they had decided to head in yet another direction, I was more like the little boy in about 12-15 seconds into the video.

Absolutely devastated. For a few short weeks, I was under the hope that I was leaving Walgreen's and then, that hope was cruelly ripped away. With under a month now until I needed to make the decision on renewing my lease there at my current address, prospects seemed slim. I would have to make a decision here soon and at the lowest point of my despair, I considered just taking my savings to travel around for the summer to make a pancake tour of America (which would be a tour of the United States to discover the best pancake places in the United States), an idea which was not really embraced by my family or friends. Or even me, for that matter. I'm not even that big of a fan of pancakes in the first place. But, I'll just claim temporary insanity on that score. After taking a day off to recover, I set out to start applying once more.

Before, I applied exclusively to other states closer to family such as Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and even New York. But, now it appears that I would need to apply to Illinois as well. Apparently, that's what I should've been doing all along. Within days of applying to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, I had an appointment for an interview. The interview was with the Adoption team supervisor and the Foster Care Supervisor. I won't bore you with all the details of the interview, but throughout the interview, it was very clear that I was wanted in Foster Care and Adoption Services. There was a brief tug of war and Foster Care was victorious. From there, they went over what I'd be doing at this job, taking me on a grand tour of where I'd be working, had me meet several team members and showed me what a great interview would be.

It was virtually a lock, but it's not official until they make the job offer. And after one, long, agonizing week, they did. Not to let it get missed here in this paragraph like the moment where Frodo throws the ring into Mount Doom (it's a quick moment in the Return Of The King. Shockingly short, in my opinion but I digress), I was officially hired by Lutheran Social Services of Illinois! That's a bingo!

And now, it was time to say farewell to Walgreen's and to Kankakee. No hard feelings either way. In fact, I was pretty impressed by the support from everybody there. The people there were simply amazing and although I probably won't miss the job very much, I will certainly miss my co-workers and managers and staff. But, it's on to a new adventure. Continuing with the the Lord of the Rings from earlier, let us “Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

Except now I know for the moment, where I'll be swept off to and now, dear reader, so do you. Off to Peoria, Illinois.

Away We Go!

-82nd Academy Awards Review-

-82nd Academy Awards Review-

It's the day after the Academy Awards and just like sports fan are gathered around the water cooler in heated debate and discussion after the Super Bowl, it's time to discuss what is Hollywood's version, the Oscars, so named for the statuettes that are given to the award winners. It was quite a night, filled with some surprises and plenty of moments that weren't so surprising, but pleasant anyway. This certainly won't be a full review, but just a few quick and general thoughts regarding the Oscars.

First of all, let's discuss the big award of the night. I don't know what I expected from the Academy, the same academy who ignored "Star Wars" in favor of "Annie Hall", which is a good movie but certainly years later, which film is remembered better? I think that'll be the case here. Avatar is a film that I expect will be remembered very strongly, as long as they don't overdo it as they did the case with Star Wars (those prequels...*shakes head sadly*) and seeing as how most people didn't see the Hurt Locker before it came out, I doubt that'll change too much, despite the big Oscar win. I think it'll definitely get an Oscar bump after winning, but let's not take anything away from the Hurt Locker at all, even if it wasn't my personal vote for movie of the year (neither was Avatar). Hurt Locker was a film that realistically explored the difficult issue of the Iraq War filled with a number of amazing performances throughout the movie, from its taut and tense opening sequence to its gripping conclusion. Definitely worth watching. But, I was hoping, against all odds, to see a different movie rewarded on Oscar night. Up In The Air was a great film. But, lots of great films win best picture and lots of great films don't.

I have to admit I didn't enjoy the comedy stylings of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, who trust me, I usually enjoy, but last night, I was not impressed at all. One such comedy bit featured banter such as -
Steve Martin: I really enjoyed the Hangover.
Alec Baldwin: Me too. Four guys who can't remember anything after a night of binge drinking.
Steve Martin (repeats): I really enjoyed the Hangover.
Get it? See what they did there? It earned a chuckle, but that's about it which summed up their performance pretty much. I was pleased to see that the Hangover at least got a mention during Oscar time as comedies are generally ignored when it comes to the Academy Awards. Comedians are good enough to host the Oscars, but not to be nominated for the actual awards. Not to say that the Hangover deserved to be nominated, but it's good to see something other than drama get a mention there.

Which also brings me to the fact that they did a tribute to horror movies. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see this as horror movies have been a staple of the movie industry for years, but get absolutely no recognition come Oscar time. It was interesting to see that Kristen Stewart mentioned that horror films have had no presence for about 37 years, but in the Oscar Montage to horror, they clearly show scenes from Silence of the Lambs, which swept the Oscar Awards in the early 90's. So, is Silence of the Lambs a horror movie? It's a question certainly worth asking, but glad to see horror films which have helped out the industry and its stars for years.

I was also really glad to see a tribute to John Hughes, the seminal director of such classics as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Pretty In Pink", "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "The Breakfast Club" and so many others. Getting to see some of the moments in the montage reminded me of how much I loved those movies and how much they had an impact on me. To this day, some of those are still some of my favorite movies and ones I love introducing to people who have (for some unknown reason) yet to see them. Seeing Molly Ringwald at the Oscars was definitely a highlight for me.

Another highlight for me was seeing Up's wonderful score from Micheal Giacchino get rewarded with Micheal Giacchino finally getting the award after doing so much amazing composing work over the years. This year in particular, he not only composed the score for "Up", but also for "Star Trek", giving him the honor of composing for two of the year's biggest blockbusters. I first noticed Micheal Giacchino as he composed the music for one of my favorite shows of all time, "Alias", and then continued his collaborations with J.J. Abrams to also help score another one of my favorite shows "Lost". I'm glad to see him finally starting to see the recognition he deserves.

While Micheal Giacchino got to score two of the biggest blockbusters of the year, Sandra Bullock had the dubious honor of being nominated for Best Actress of the Year at the Oscar Ceremony and Worst Actress of the Year at the Razzies (which honors the worst in cinema each year), winning both of them, for 'The Blind Side" and "All About Steve" respectfully. I think Sandra will deal with it though as she showed a great deal of class in accepting both awards, although it's the one acting category that I was least sure of as I had a friend recently make a great recommendation for the actress in "Precious" to receive the Oscar, whereas I've heard a number of rave reviews for the other actresses involved. I'll have to reserve my opinion until I've seen all of the films. I've seen enough of "All About Steve" to know she deserved that one though.

I have yet to see Crazy Heart, but I certainly can't be any more happy to see the award go to Jeff Bridges to receive his first Academy Award win after his previous four nominations. When it comes to the Oscars, it's hard to tell whether this is for this particular film or in recognition of the years of excellent acting he's given us. Either way, you can't deny he deserves it. It was such a joy to watch his acceptance speech, which was filled with his natural exuberance that has always made him so fun to watch on screen, probably setting an Oscar record for the uses of the word "man" in his acceptance speech. Definitely somebody worthy to respect in Hollywood as he has shown that you can deliver amazing on-screen performances consistently, remaining married in a loving relationship while raising your kids and not becoming constant tabloid fodder. Congratulations Jeff Bridges. The dude abides.

From the opening award where Christoph Waltz got his much-deserved Supporting Oscar nomination by creating one of the great villains on screen and gave a really great opening accepting speech as well, setting the stage for a great Oscars which including such momentous moments such as seeing Kathryn Bigelow become the first female director to win the Oscar for Best Director. Although I didn't enjoy Barbara Streisand setting up as she said "Tonight we could have the first woman to win the prize, the first African American to win the prize or the man who brought together the biggest grossing movie in box office history" and then completely made no mention of the other two nominees, who were certainly very deserving of their nominations in Jason Reitman and Quentin Tarantino.

However, the night was filled with too many good moments to let any small things spoil it. I really enjoyed the tributes to each of the individual nominees for the best actor awards as you could tell they really had a lot of respect for the person they were championing and got to set up their personal road to this award. I mean, Gadboury Sidibhe took a day offschool, pursued her dream and is nominated for one of the biggest awards in the industry. Pretty amazing stuff.

Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to the Oscars for giving us another Academy Awards to showcase films and performances that deserve to be recognized. Although it will take some time for all of the award winners to be out on DVD, especially some of the documentaries and short films, I'm certainly glad that we have such a show designed to highlight them.

But, that wraps up another great year of film with a ceremony that was too long as always but very enjoyable. However, with the film industry, the wonderful thing is that unlike sports, there is no off-season. A film that is released next week could be a nominee next year, so keep watch for what should be another great year in cinema. Until then, stay classy.

Academy Award Predictions (No. 1)

-Academy Award Predictions-
-(No. 1)-

Well, the day is finally here. And no, I'm not just talking about the second trailer for Iron Man 2, which will make its debut on the Jimmy Kimmel Show and no doubt online shortly after. Keep an eye out for that, which will build up the anticipation for what will no doubt be summer's biggest movie. However, the debut of that trailer will be after the night's other big event, which is the 82nd Academy Award ceremony.

As described by Frank Capra, "The Oscar is the most valuable, but least expensive, item of world-wide public relations ever invented by any industry." It's a symbol of amazing achievement in the world of film and certainly an occasion to celebrate every year if you follow movies, though for whatever reason, we don't get off work the next day for it. No doubt that'll change someday as it becomes a nationally recognized holiday for recognizing excellence in the world of movies. Although this probably should've gone up earlier, it's been a busy week and honestly, I'm just adding my own predictions to an already overwhelmingly crowded field of predictions. However, I really enjoy trying to predict the Oscars and so I'm happy to make my choices here.

Now, I won't be picking in every category, because in some categories, such as Best Costume (seeing as how I haven't seen any of the films nominated), likewise with Documentary Short and others. I'll be putting down my honest prediction as to who I think will win and I'll also, just for the sake of fun, adding my own prediction as to who I think should win. I certainly won't be the most informed candidate because I didn't get a chance to see all of the movies in theatres and some of them have yet to arrive on DVD, but I have seen a majority of the films nominated for Best Picture and the performances within, so I feel pretty good about my choices tonight, which are, for your consideration:

Writing (Best Original Screenplay)
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"The Messenger"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"
Who Will Win: "The Hurt Locker".
Who Should Win: Personally, my vote goes to Inglorious Basterds.

Costume design

"Bright Star"
"Coco Before Chanel"
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
"Nine"
"The Young Victoria"

Writing (Best Adapted Screenplay)

"District 9"
"An Education"
"In the Loop"
"Precious"
"Up in the Air"
Who Will Win: "Up In The Air"
Who Should Win: "Up In The Air". Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner have written a very excellent script, dealing with a very pressing issue today, in a very impressive manner that deserves recognition.

Best foreign-language film

"Ajami"
"El Secreto de Sus Ojos"
"The Milk of Sorrow"
"Un Prophète"
"The White Ribbon"

Visual Effects
"Avatar"
"District 9"
"Star Trek"
Who Will Win: Avatar
Who Should Win: Avatar. There is literally no reason in the world why Avatar will not take this home. All due respect to Star Trek and District 9, the best graphics all year belonged to Avatar and they should take this one home easily.

Sound Mixing
"Avatar"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Star Trek"
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
Who Will Win: Hurt Locker
Who Should Win: Avatar

Documentary short

"China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province"
"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner"
"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant"
"Music by Prudence"
"Rabbit à la Berlin"

Best documentary feature

"Burma VJ"
"The Cove"
"Food, Inc."
"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers"
"Which Way Home"

Sound Editing
"Avatar"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Star Trek"
"Up"
Who Will Win: Avatar
Who Should Win: Avatar

Art Direction
"Avatar"
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
"Nine"
"Sherlock Holmes"
"The Young Victoria"
Who Will Win: Avatar
Who Should Win: Avatar

Short film, animated

"French Toast"
"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty"
"The Lady and the Reaper"
"Logorama"
"A Matter of Loaf and Death"

Short film, live action

"The Door"
"Instead of Abracadabra"
"Kavi"
"Miracle Fish"
"The New Tenants"

Best Film Editing
"Avatar"
"District 9"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious"
Who Will Win: Avatar
Who Should Win: Avatar

Best Cinematography

"Avatar"
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"The White Ribbon"
Who Will Win: Hurt Locker
Who Should Win: Inglorious Basterds.

Best Original Song
"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog"
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog"
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36"
"Take it All" from "Nine"
"The Weary Kind (Theme from "Crazy Heart") from "Crazy Heart"
Who Will Win: "The Weary Kind (Theme from "Crazy Heart") from "Crazy Heart"
Who Should Win: After listening to all of the choices today, I have "The Weary Kind (Theme from "Crazy Heart") from "Crazy Heart" as my pick too.

Best Original Score
"Avatar"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Sherlock Holmes"
"Up"
Who Will Win: "Avatar"
Who Should Win: "Up". Out of all the film scores released this year, it's Micheal Giacchino's score that is both heartfelt and whimsical that should take home the prize.

Make-Up
"Il Divo"
"Star Trek"
"The Young Victoria"

Best Animated Feature
"Up"
"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"The Secret of Kells"
Who Will Win: "Up"
Who Should Win: I will take a moment here to discuss one of the bigger Oscar snubs this year in mentioning that the latest release from Hayao Miyazaki wasn't nominated with "Ponyo". Let me just make it simple for you, Academy - any year that Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli release a film, just nominate it. It's going to be in the top five animated features released that year. But, even it had been nominated, I still would've voted for Up. Just a great, great film that is rightfully nominated not just here, but in the running for Best Picture overall. If "Up" won Best Picture, I would be very happy.

Best Director

Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"
Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
James Cameron, "Avatar"
Lee Daniels, "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"
Who Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow
Who Should Win: Kathryn Bigelow. Look for Kathryn Bigelow to become the first woman to take home the best directing honors. It's about time.

Best Supporting Actress
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique, "Precious"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"
Who Will Win: Mo'Nique.
Who Should Win: Having not seen all of the contenders this year, I don't really feel qualified to offer my opinion but Anna Kendrick has my vote out of the ones that I've seen.

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"
Who Will Win: Christoph Waltz
Who Should Win: Christoph Waltz was one of the best actors you'll see on screen this year, creating a memorable character from the beginning of Inglorious Basterds to the very end. I can't imagine anybody else getting this award.

Best Actress
Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"
Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Who Will Win: Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side".
Who Should Win: I've heard amazing reviews for Carey Mulligan, but having not seen that film, I'll say the award will go to Sandra Bullock. Why? Because they can't give it to Meryl Streep again.

Best Actor
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"
Who Will Win: Jeff Bridges
Who Should Win:Jeff Bridges. Jeremy Renner did a great job in the Hurt Locker, it's hard to pick against Morgan Freeman's portrayal of Nelson Mandela, I've heard rave reviews of Colin Firth's performance and I really would love to see George Clooney pick up an award for his role, which I really do think is one of the best of the year. However, Jeff Bridges has been nominated so many times before that I doubt the Academy will pass him over again and nor should they. From what I've heard, an amazing performance.

Best Picture
This is clearly the biggest award of the night and it's going to be different this year as instead of the usual five, there are ten films to select from this year, which allows for not only the big blockbuster movie to get in but also some smaller films that might not have received recognition before. This rule change occurred in response due to the fact that the Dark Knight was inexplicably left out of the Best Picture race last year, resulting in some of the lowest ratings in history as feel-good movie Slumdog Millionaire won it instead. Slumdog Millionaire was a deserving winner, though. Who should win this year? If you've been noticing my selections throughout the blog, you'll see that I definitely think more of "Avatar" than I do of "Hurt Locker". While both are very good films, I enjoyed Avatar more, despite it being not the most original movie in the world, it was in a word: awesome. But, despite it being the highest grossing film of the year, one that obviously stroke a chord with audiences around the world, does that mean it deserves to be labeled the best? Let's not forget that that atrocity committed to film Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen was one of the biggest box office movies of last year, so box office success has little to do with whether it's one of the year's best. Which of these following films should have the right to place "Winner Of Best Picture" on their DVD in the future, to declare themselves the best in this years to come?
Nominees:
"Avatar"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
"Up in the Air"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Up"
"The Blind Side"
"District 9"
"An Education"
"A Serious Man"
Who Will Win: Avatar. I really think that the Academy will recognize Avatar this year and not just the geek in me speaking.
Who Should Win: Realistically, it's a two horse race. Avatar has swept a number of film awards though lately it's been the Hurt Locker gaining the most momentum in recent award shows, placing it as the front runner. My personal vote has the two front runners canceling themselves out and allowing "Up In The Air", one of my favorite films of the past year to gain the prize. However, I'll be very happy if (and hopefully when) Avatar takes home the top prize, finally giving science fiction movies a well deserved win in the Best Picture category. Then, with fantasy films getting their due with "Lord of the Rings" and science fiction hopefully this year, we can work hard towards getting a superhero film as best picture. One day...

Until then of course, it should still be a very exciting show at the 82nd Academy Awards. The only thing it'll be missing is Stan Lee, who makes a very compelling case for his own Oscar award in this video here. Stan Lee deserves an Oscar. Watch that video and see whether you don't agree. But for now, go enjoy the culmination of another great year of film and then check out the Iron Man 2 trailer after the show to see what, in my mind, should hopefully be a front runner for the Oscars in 2011.

P.S. - It could happen.