by Mary Burgan
Mary the Borderstan Movie Fan shares her Oscar Picks in advance of Sunday’s 82nd Academy Awards. Normally, her column runs every two weeks and previous reviews are listed at the end.
Best Picture
I’ve already posted my picks for best picture in a comment in my special column last week. They are, in order of preference: Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Precious, Up in the Air and The Blind Side.
Best Director
I would rank best director picks differently: The Hurt Locker first, then Precious, Avatar and Up in the Air. I suspect that The Hurt Locker will actually get the Oscar for best picture through sympathy with its director who did a lot with a little, whereas Avatar did a lot with a lot. But for me, Avatar should take the prize for its imaginative rendering of another world in Pandora, though not for its simplistic version of evil in its good versus evil plot.
Ten Nominees is Five Too Many
I believe that five nominees is enough, but this year the Motion Picture Academy raised the number to 10 in an effort to publicize more movies. Of the remaining five, I would go for An Education, and then, in order of preference, Up, A Serious Man, and District Nine. I haven’t seen Inglorious Basterds, partly because I haven’t had time, but mainly because I can’t associate myself with Quentin Tarantino’s gory sensibility. He thinks the “eeeuw” factor is entertainment; I think it’s sadism.
