David Garcia
Staff Writer
Is it cheating to give Oscar opinions after the ceremony? Maybe. Still, the Academy deserves some love (and a bit of hate) for its choices this year. Continue reading The 2015 Oscars: Good Calls & Bad Calls
Tag Archives: Oscars
Handing Out Oscars for Drama-Filled NBA Season
Things are starting to get interesting in the NBA. Carmelo Anthony finally got his wish, the Utah Jazz took a preemptive strike and traded star point guard Deron Williams and the Celtics may have cost themselves a shot at the title by trading enforcer and beloved teammate Kendrick Perkins. Needless to say, the trade deadline was full of drama, the perfect appetizer for the dramatic main course- the playoff run. Thankfully we have a way to rate and award drama through the Academy Awards. In honor of the bald, golden statue I’m dishing out awards for the NBA’s top performers and masterpieces.
Best Actor Award for the League’s MVP: Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose has been carrying the Bulls all season long through the team’s adversities ( lack of a dependable shooting guard and the injuries to Boozer and Noah) like a great actor carries a movie despite a clash with a director. Rose’s performance isn’t honored because he is carrying a bad team, the Bulls are among the best in the league, it is because without him, the Bulls would be an 8th seed at best. He does it all, sets the tone on defense while also completely controlling the offense. No one means more to their team than Rose does, not even LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, Rose has been that good so far this season.
Best Director for Coach of the Year: Tom Thibodeau
Just like the King’s Speech, the top two awards come from the same movie or in this case, the same team. The long time assistant coach finally got his chance to lead a team this season and he is excelling in his new role. In his first year as head coach Thibodeau has Chicago 2 games back of his former team, the Boston Celtics for 1st place in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls have a 40-17 record and are looking like a dangerous playoff team. Not bad for Thibodeau’s first picture.
Best Picture for the team that everyone should fear: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have been the best team in the NBA all season and they have no signs of slowing down. San Antonio is like one of those movies that comes out of the blue and wins best picture, no one though the Spurs would be this good this year. Usually the Spurs coast through the early part of the regular season before going on a late season run but not this year. Poppovich has changed his offensive strategy in a drastic way; this is no longer your boring, slow-paced, half-court offense. The Spurs push the ball up court, rely more on Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and bomb threes with regularity. Just like everyone watches the top pictures after the Oscars, people should start watching this team before the playoffs come and go.
Best Screenplay for the season’s most dramatic moment: Detroit Piston Mutiny
Has there ever been a weirder story about a team turning against its head coach? I’m sure there has been but nothing in recent memory. The drama started last week when seven Pistons boycotted a team shoot around leading to a suspension for each player involved. Things got even more mutinous last Friday when the players sitting on the bench laughed at coach John Kuester after he was ejected from a game, yikes. Things could get much uglier; but at least it’s an entertaining story.
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Who Will Take Home the Gold? Kunze’s Oscar Picks
So it’s that time of year again when tensions run high and bets are made over who will win the big awards like best picture, actor and screenplay in the 2010 Oscars. As a film studies student and a movie buff, these are my predictions for the big winners this year.
Probably the hardest category to guess this year is Best Picture. With Cameron’s Avatar breaking box office and special effects records, it is hard to not see the award going to sci-fi wizard. However, his ex-wife Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) did pick up the Director Guild’s Top Prize, becoming the first woman to do so. My predictions: Cameron for Best Picture, Bigelow for Best Director. Cameron has been wondering for weeks what line he’ll quote from Avatar when he grabs another gold boy. However, instead of the classic Titanic line, “I’m the King of the world,” he’ll probably yell out “Eywa has heard you” or “I see you.”
For Best Actress, I’m placing my money on the amazing and emotional performance by newcomer, Gabourey Sidibe (Precious). Having met her in person, I can say she is one of the most intelligent actresses of her generation. On the other hand, Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia) has so many Oscars she’s started using them to hold up unstable furniture. Give it to the new girl. She impressed me when I found out she corrected her director with Italian translations on set.
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) has been snubbed by the Academy on four nomination occasions. Having portrayed a number of great memorable roles throughout the past two decades including The Dude (The Big Lebowski) and Max Klein (Fearless). The only other contender that might rob him of his much-deserved Oscar would be Colin Firth for his subtlety sad performance in A Single Man. As for Best Supporting Actor, Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) already has his Oscar in the mail for playing a trilingual Nazi traitor. The Best Supporting Actress award will most likely go to Mo’nique (Precious) for her strong role as an abusive urban mother. Even though Mo didn’t do any publicity for the film, her acting stands out much more than the other nominees. Plus, how can she lose when Oprah has her back?
As for the writing awards, I predict Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) will grab Original Screenplay for his fictional satire about WWII Nazi scalpers and Adapted Screenplay will go to Precious’ Geoffrey Fletcher for tackling the difficult subject matter. This must have been an especially challenging project to adapt for Fletcher considering the novel is written in broken English and stream of consciousness. It should also be noted that the author, who was initially very skeptical of having her novel turned into a movie, cried during the first screening.
Finally, I foresee the Oscar for Best Documentary going to The Cove, perhaps the most important film of the year. The movie follows a group of activists, led by renown dolphin trainer and Flipper star, Ric O’Barry as they attempt to infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health. If people only knew what was really in their sushi!
If you’re interested in watching the Academy Awards, they air March 7 at 5 pm on ABC. There will also be a party March 7 at 5 PM at Pedro Arrupe Hall (6th Ave and Anza). There will be prizes, free pizza, popcorn, and cookies. Be sure to throw on a gown or a tux, it’s time to dress your best.
The Winners List:
Best Picture – Avatar
Best Director – Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Best Actor – Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
Best Supporting Actor – Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Best Actress – Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Best Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique (Precious)
Best Foreign Film – The White Ribbon, Germany
Best Animated Film – Up
Art Direction – Avatar
Cinematography – The Hurt Locker
Costume Design – The Young Victoria
Best Documentary – The Cove
Film Editing – Avatar
Makeup – Star Trek
Best Original Score – Avatar
Best Original Song – “The Weary Kind” (Crazy Heart)
Sound Editing – Avatar
Sound Mixing – Avatar
Best Visual Effects – Avatar
Best Adapted Screenplay – Precious
Best Original Screenplay – Inglourious Basterds
