My Oscar Picks

Well, I've seen 35 movies. Not bad. Here are the nominees for each category, with my pick from those nominees as well as my ideal choice, if I'd prefer something that wasn't nominated. By the way, the titles are in quotes rather than italics because that's how they are on the official site for some reason.

Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees: Demián Bichir in "A Better Life," George Clooney in "The Descendants," Jean Dujardin in "The Artist," Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"
I've Seen: All except A Better Life.
My Pick: Oldman.
My Ideal Pick: Oldman. Seriously. He was incredible. I would have nominated Daniel Craig for Dragon Tattoo, though.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn", Jonah Hill in "Moneyball", Nick Nolte in "Warrior", Christopher Plummer in "Beginners", Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
I've Seen: My Week with Marilyn, Moneyball, Beginners
My Pick: Christopher Plummer. I wasn't wild about Beginners, but he was great.
My Ideal Pick: Still Plummer, but for Dragon Tattoo, instead. Ooh, but I would have nominated Benedict Cumberbatch for Tinker Tailor, too.

Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees: Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs", Viola Davis in "The Help", Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady", Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"
I've Seen: All except Iron Lady.
My Pick: Williams, though it's close between her and Rooney.
My Ideal Pick: Williams was great, but so was Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre.

Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees: Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist", Jessica Chastain in "The Help", Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids", Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs", Octavia Spencer in "The Help"
I've Seen: All except Bridesmaids.
My Pick: Um, I guess Chastain.
My Ideal Pick: Shailene Woodley for The Descendants.

Animated Feature Film
Nominees: "A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, "Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, "Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson, "Puss in Boots" Chris Miller, "Rango" Gore Verbinski
I've Seen: Only Puss in Boots.
My Pick: Enh, it was fine, I guess. But the preview I saw for Chico & Rita makes me think that would have been my pick, had it been released anywhere near me.
My Ideal Pick: Tintin.

Art Direction
Nominees: "The Artist", "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2", "Hugo", "Midnight in Paris", "War Horse"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: Harry Potter.
My Ideal Pick: Maybe The Tree of Life.

Cinematography
Nominees: "The Artist", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "Hugo", "The Tree of Life", "War Horse"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: The Tree of Life.

Costume Design
Nominees: "Anonymous", "The Artist", "Hugo", "Jane Eyre", "W.E."
I've Seen: The Artist, Hugo, Jane Eyre.
My Pick: Jane Eyre.

Directing
Nominees: "The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius, "The Descendants" Alexander Payne, "Hugo" Martin Scorsese, "Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen, "The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: Terrence Malick.
My Ideal Pick: Tomas Alfredson for Tinker Tailor.

Documentary (Feature)
Nominees: "Hell and Back Again", "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front", "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory", "Pina", "Undefeated"
I've Seen: Paradise Lost 3 and Pina.
My Pick: Paradise Lost 3, though I really want to see Undefeated.

Documentary (Short Subject)
Nominees: "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement", "God Is the Bigger Elvis", "Incident in New Baghdad", "Saving Face", "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"
I've Seen: All except God Is the Bigger Elvis.
My Pick: Saving Face.

Film Editing
Nominees: "The Artist", "The Descendants", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "Hugo", "Moneyball"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: Dragon Tattoo.
My Ideal Pick: Tinker Tailor.

Foreign Language Film
Nominees: "Bullhead", "Footnote", "In Darkness", "Monsieur Lazhar", "A Separation"
I've Seen: A Separation.
My Pick: It's the only one I've seen, but A Separation was REALLY good.

Makeup
Nominees: "Albert Nobbs", "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2", "The Iron Lady"
I've Seen: Albert Nobbs and Harry Potter.
My Pick: Harry Potter.

Music (Original Score)
Nominees: "The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams, "The Artist" Ludovic Bource, "Hugo" Howard Shore, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias, "War Horse" John Williams
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: Tinker Tailor.
My Ideal Pick: Tinker Tailor, though I would have nominated Dragon Tattoo as well.

Music (Original Song)
Nominees: "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets", "Real in Rio" from "Rio"
I've Seen: The Muppets.
My Pick: "Man or Muppet."
My Ideal Pick: "Life's a Happy Song" from The Muppets.

Best Picture
Nominees: "The Artist", "The Descendants", "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close", "The Help", "Hugo", "Midnight in Paris", "Moneyball", "The Tree of Life", "War Horse"
I've Seen: All except Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.
My Pick: Tree of Life.
My Ideal Pick: Tinker Tailor, and I would have nominated A Separation, Dragon Tattoo, and Jane Eyre over most of the other nominees.

Short Film (Animated)
Nominees: "Dimanche/Sunday", "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore", "La Luna", "A Morning Stroll", "Wild Life"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: A Morning Stroll.

Short Film (Live Action)
Nominees: "Pentecost", "Raju", "The Shore", "Time Freak", "Tuba Atlantic"
I've Seen: All.
My Pick: The Shore, though it was hard for me to decide between that and Pentecost.

Sound Editing
Nominees: "Drive", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "Hugo", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", "War Horse"
I've Seen: Dragon Tattoo, Hugo, and War Horse.
My Pick: War Horse.

Sound Mixing
Nominees: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "Hugo", "Moneyball", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", "War Horse"
I've Seen: All except Transformers.
My Pick: Dragon Tattoo.

Visual Effects
Nominees: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2", "Hugo", "Real Steel", "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
I've Seen: Harry Potter and Hugo.
My Pick: Harry Potter.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Nominees: "The Descendants", "Hugo", "The Ides of March", "Moneyball", "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
I've Seen: All except Ides of March.
My Pick: Tinker Tailor.
My Ideal Pick: Tinker Tailor, though I would have nominated Jane Eyre as well.

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Nominees: "The Artist", "Bridesmaids", "Margin Call", "Midnight in Paris", "A Separation"
I've Seen: The Artist, Midnight in Paris, A Separation.
My Pick: A Separation.