Page 16 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & II • February 23, 2011 Movie reviewer makes Academy Award predictions by Dennis Seuling Measured against previous years, 2010 was a fairly good year for movies. Many of the best films were released late in the year, a long-standing tradition of Hollywood studios and independents. On Feb. 27, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will bestow its 83rd Academy Awards in a lavish TV special. Following are this critic’s predictions for the winners in each major category. The Supporting Actress nominees are Amy Adams for “The Fighter,” Helena Bonham Carter for “The King’s Speech,” Melissa Leo for “The Fighter,” Hallee Steinfeld for “True Grit,” and Jacki Weaver for “Animal Kingdom.” Rule out Weaver, who played the matriarch of a family of criminals; the film came and went quickly, and she had only one strong scene. Carter was fine as the wife of George VI, but Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are the acting heavyweights in that picture. Adams was cast against type as the tough-talking girlfriend of fighter Micky Ward, but never really convinced that she was the product of working-class Boston. Hallee Steinfeld was amazing as the 14-year-old girl determined to bring her father’s murderer to justice. In another year, she might have snagged the Oscar. However, Leo’s portrayal as Ward’s mother and manager was a revelation. She sold the role perfectly and contributed to the stark tone of the film. Leo will win the Oscar. The Supporting Actor category is the closest thing to a sure shot this year. The nominees include Christian Bale for “The Fighter,” John Hawkes for “Winter’s Bone,” Jeremy Renner for “The Town,” Mark Ruffalo for “The Kids Are All Right,” and Geoffrey Rush for “The King’s Speech.” Eliminate Hawkes because “Winter’s Bone” failed to achieve the box office success of the other nominees and its subject matter might be too grim for academy voters. Ruffalo is good, but was overshadowed by his female costars, Annette Bening and Julianne Moore. Renner is in a movie that didn’t get a lot of nominations, and that might factor against his chances. Though Rush turns in his finest work since 1996’s “Shine,” this is Bale’s year. Though his Dicky Eklund a loser in many ways, he elicits sympathy and sparkles in a movie filled with first-rate performances. Bale will win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. The Best Actress nominees are Annette Bening for “The Kids Are All Right,” Nicole Kidman for “Rabbit Hole,” Jennifer Lawrence for “Winter’s Bone,” Natalie Portman for “Black Swan,” and Michelle Williams for “Blue Valentine.” Bening and Portman both turned in such extraordinary work that the others can be discounted. Because her performance is an outstanding combination of talent and a wide range of emotion in a deeply involving once-in-a-lifetime role, Portman will take home the Oscar. Best Actor nominees include Javier Bardem for “Biutiful,” Jeff Bridges for “True Grit,” Jesse Eisenberg for “The Social Network,” Colin Firth for “The King’s Speech,” and James Franco for “127 Hours.” Bardem is the long shot, since his film played in limited release. Bridges won last year for “Crazy Heart,” and I think it’s too soon for a second Oscar. Franco holds the viewer’s attention in what is essentially a one-man movie (though other actors appear briefly), but the subject matter of a man trapped for more than five days in the desert, a boulder pinning him to a mountain crevice, will be tough going for academy voters. 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