Last year I correctly predicted 12 of 20 winners. Hopefully I do better this year. I have made predictions in 21 of the categories this time, only excluding the short subjects.  Once again, I also present by personal votes.

Actor in a Leading Role

Prediction: Colin Firth in The King’s Speech

Personal Pick: James Franco in 127 Hours

Actor in a Supporting Role

Prediction: Christian Bale in The Fighter

Personal Pick: John Hawkes in Winter’s Bone

Actress in a Leading Role

Prediction: Natalie Portman in Black Swan

Personal Pick: Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right

Actress in a Supporting Role

Prediction: Melissa Leo in The Fighter

Personal Pick: Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit

Best Animated Feature Film

Prediction: Toy Story 3: Lee Unkrich

Personal Pick: How to Train Your Dragon: Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois

Art Direction

Prediction: The King’s Speech: Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr

Personal Pick: Inception: Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat

Cinematography

Prediction: True Grit: Roger Deakins

Personal Pick: The Social Network: Jeff Cronenweth

Costume Design

Prediction: The King’s Speech: Jenny Beavan

Personal Pick: True Grit: Mary Zophres

Directing

Prediction: The King’s Speech: Tom Hooper

Personal Pick: The Social Network: David Fincher

Documentary (Feature)

Prediction: Inside Job: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

Personal Pick: Exit Through the Gift Shop: Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz

Film Editing

Prediction: The Fighter: Pamela Martin

Personal Pick: 127 Hours: Jon Harris

Foreign Language Film

Prediction: Biutiful: Mexico

Personal Pick: No Opinion

Makeup

Prediction: The Wolfman: Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Personal Pick: No Opinion

Music (Original Score)

Prediction: The King’s Speech: Alexandre Desplat

Personal Pick: The Social Network: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Music (Original Song)

Prediction: “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3: Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Personal Pick: “I See the Light” from Tangled: Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Glenn Slater

Best Picture

Prediction: The King’s Speech: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers

Personal Pick: The Social Network: Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Cean Chaffin, Producers

Sound Editing

Prediction: Inception: Richard King

Personal Pick: Inception: Richard King

Sound Mixing

Prediction: Inception: Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick

Personal Pick: The Social Network: Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten

Visual Effects

Prediction: Inception: Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb

Personal Pick: Inception: Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Prediction: The Social Network: Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

Personal Pick: The Social Network: Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Prediction: The King’s Speech, Screenplay by David Seidler

Personal Pick: Inception: Written by Christopher Nolan

A Single Man is perhaps the most beautiful mediocre movie I’ve ever seen. It is shot with such care and attention to detail, each frame fit for the finest fashion magazine. Unfortunately, the film is poorly paced, and for the most part, it is a wandering mess.  It tries to get us into the head of central character George (Colin Firth), but it distances us with its chic style. The ‘60s have never seemed so stale and artificial.

The movie follows a day in the life of George, who has just lost his lover and partner in life, Jim (Matthew Goode). The now-single English professor looks in the mirror at the beginning of the day and tells himself, “Just get through the goddamn day.” Colin Firth is certainly deserving of the Oscar nomination for his nuanced performance.  In fact, he may be reason alone to see this otherwise disappointing movie. One shot of Firth, slowly processing the news of his lover’s death with his face subtly trembling, is absolutely heart-wrenching.

What follows is a free-flowing take on George’s life after Jim. Unfortunately, the film’s structure (or lack thereof) is distracting. Slow motion shots and close-ups are overused, not meant to enhance our understanding of the story as much as they are meant to make the movie pretty. Director Tom Ford has an acute sense of what looks great on a big screen, but he does not tastefully use images to communicate ideas.

The most unfortunate aspect of the film is the characterization of George, an underdeveloped character whose sexuality insultingly becomes his defining trait at times. Consider his inability to take his eyes of shirtless male students playing tennis while another professor talks about Cold War politics. Like the camera that objectifies the sweaty bodies of these young men, the movie often turns George into a one-dimensional homosexual. In a sense, the characters can be as shallow as the look of the film itself.

But then there is Julianne Moore as George’s lonely friend Charley.  It is a stunning performance, criminally underappreciated this award season. Charley is a beautiful woman, but like George, she struggles to find peace with herself.  Because Moore manages to have fun with this role, she is a highlight in this otherwise overly controlled movie.  Her Charley lights up the screen when she lets loose and starts dancing in her living room.

And there is also the ending. The movie ends on such an absolutely gorgeous note, calling into question much of the staleness that comes before it. It is a challenging moment in a movie that is sometimes too polished and safe in spite of its potentially provocative material. It left me rethinking my thoughts on the movie until that point.  Ultimately, the movie is deeply flawed, but perhaps a second viewing might change my mind.