OSCAR BUZZ 2011!

So many moves have come out between when I did my review for The Help!  I saw the brutal, fantastic Warrior, the excellently well-done perfectly cast Moneyball & the less-than-satisfactory In Time.  I can honestly tell you that 2 out of those 3 will mostly likely be featured in the Academy's latest gaggle of nominations.  They've been having controversy lately, but ultimately I'm happy with the change from Eddie Murphy to the always reliable Billy Crystal.  One of the monkeys from Rise of the Planet of the Apes could do a better job than the Franco/Hathaway disaster that was the 2010 Oscars.

So without further ado here are my predictions for the best picture nominees of 2011.  Recent buzz has definitely changed my decisions:  * indicates my choice for Best Picture.

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (10):
  1. Moneyball (Perfect casting.  I know for sure Pitt will at least get a nod.)
  2. The Descendants (It's gotten tons of buzz, but it might fizzle out like Clooney's 2009 Up in the Air)
  3. War Horse*
  4. The Help (the underdog, but it so deserves the spot)
  5. Shame
  6. The Iron Lady 
  7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Pott-heads can only hope)
  8. Drive
  9. Beginners
  10. Midnight in Paris (a small hit that could hopefully translate into at least some Oscar nods)
I can't predict yet on acting categories except the following:
BEST ACTOR: Brad Pitt (Moneyball), George Clooney (The Descendants)
BEST ACTRESS: Viola Davis (The Help), Glenn Close (Albert Noobs)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Nick Nolte (Warrior)

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