Academy Awards - My Annual Predictions

Growing older, watching time marching by, one can only sit and find amusement at how certain rituals and customs are performed purely for the sake of performing them. I really wish I could utilize the word 'perfunctory' somewhere in the above sentence, an impossible task it would seem since my writing skills have diminished somewhat from general lack of practice.

In any case, my annual Oscar predictions have fallen in the above perfunctory ritual, serving me neither pleasure in presenting my analysis nor grief in having lost a once much loved past time.

Here goes -

Best Director

1. Darren Arofonsky - Black Swan
2. David Fincher - Social Network -- Winner
3. Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
4. David O'Russell - The Fighter
5. Christopher Nolan - Inception

Best Movie (Assuming Academy is still going with hare brained scheme of nominating 10 movies....)

1. The King's Speech
2. Social Network -- Winner
3. The Fighter
4. Inception
5. Toy Story III
6. Black Swan
7. 127 Hours
8. Blue Valentine
9. The Winter's Bone
10. The Kids are alright

Possible sneaker(s)- True Grit


Best Actor

1. Colin Firth - King's Speech -- Winner
2. Jesse Eisenberg - Social Network
3. James Franco - 127 Hours
4. Ryan Gosling - Blue Valentine
5. Kevin Spacey - Casino Jack

Possible sneakers - Javier Bardem (Biutiful); Mark Wahlberg (Fighter); Jeff Bridges (True Grit); Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version)

Best Actress

1. Natalie Portman - Black Swan -- Get your speech ready.
2. Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
3. Annette Bening - The Kids are Alright
4. Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine
5. Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone

Possible sneakers - Julianne Moore - The Kids are Alright

Best Supporting Actor

1. Christian Bale - The Fighter -- Winner
2. Geoffrey Rush - King's Speech
3. Andrew Garfield - Social Network
4. Jeremy Renner - The Town
5. Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are alright)

Possible sneaker(s) - Matt Damon (True grit), Jim Broadbent - Another Year

Best Supporting Actress

1. Melissa Leo - The Fighter -- Close.
2. Helena Bonham Carter - King's Speech
3. Amy Adams - The Fighter
4. Barbara Hershey - Black Swan
5. Hailee Steinfield - True Grit

Possible sneaker(s) - Mila Kunis (Black Swan), Jackie Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

Best Screenplay (Adapted)

1. Social Network -- Winner
2. The King's Speech
3. The Ghost Writer
4. True Grit
5. 127 Hours

Possible sneaker(s)- The Town

Best Screenplay (Original)

1. Black Swan
2. Biutiful
3. Another Year
4. Inception -- Winner
5. Fighter

Possible sneaker(s) - Somewhere, Blue Valentine