By Jackson Santy ’13
THE ROUNDUP

The time has come, and the long awaited nominations for this year’s Academy Awards are in.

This year’s ballot is filled with an abundance of riveting films that did not fail to impress. Critics are setting their sights for the big names this year (The King’s Speech specifically) but I think differently.

Feb. 27 will be a night of the unexpected, names average movie fans may have never heard may be called up to receive their golden statuette.

Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3

The warmhearted final chapter of this memorable saga proves to be another example of Pixar’s sheer brilliance.

The two other films to be nominated in this category (How to Train Your Dragon and The Illusionist) come nowhere close to the excellence of TS3.

The odds are certainly in the favor of the film, considering that Pixar has won this award for the past three years. There is no doubt that number four is soon on the way.

All technical awards: Inception

This one pretty much goes without saying. The film was a visual masterpiece, astonishing its audiences with sound effects that would make Michael Bay run crying to his mother.

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams in The Fighter

Although I would love to see 14 Hailee Steinfeld win for her Hollywood debut in True Grit, we all know that’s too good to be true.

This is Amy Adams’ third nomination for best supporting actress, however she had never won. But this year, she has her eyes on the prize.

Best Actress: Natalie Portman in Black Swan

This was a particularly difficult one to determine; this year was filled with many spectacular leading ladies.

Jennifer Lawrence delivered a bone-chilling performance in the relatively unknown film Winter’s Bone, as well as Nicole Kidman’s emotionally gripping performance in Rabbit Hole.

However, this year all signs point to Natalie Portman in her riveting tour-de-force portrayal of a schizophrenic, self-mutilating ballerina.

Best Actor: Colin Firth in The King’s Speech

I had to succumb to The King’s Speech bandwagon this time.

Firth gave a performance that towered over all the other gentlemen in the category.

This is Firth’s second nomination in a row for best actor (A Single Man), and his performance almost guarantees him a win.

Best Picture: Black Swan

It has been a long awaited day for a Darren Aronosky masterpiece to be nominated for an Oscar.

This is the first Aronosky (The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream) film to be nominated for an Oscar and I believe this year first time’s a charm.

The movie was superior on all cylinders: the acting was prolific, the art direction was dazzling and the film itself was stupendous, leaving its audience in awe.