Academy Awards — Interesting Races

The Academy Awards are on Sunday night, and while I'll have my full picks on Sunday, I thought I'd look at some other interesting races today in preparation for the big day.

Best Director:

This is an interesting battle that comes down to a few different styles. Two of the nominees are being recognized for their artistic achievement. Woody Allen stepped out of his typical comfort zone to deliver a little something different with "Midnight in Paris." In the same way, Terrance Malick delivered the most original of this year's nominees with "Tree of Life." On the flip side, Alexander Payne delivered perhaps his best movie with "The Descendants" and Martin Scorsese showed his softer side with "Hugo." But all four of them will likely lose out to Michel Hazanavicius and his work on "The Artist." It's hard to compare these films, based on their styles, but certainly several of them have to be considered artistic achievements due in large part to direction. I think you could make a case for each of them winning, which is what makes this one of the most fascinating director's races in years.

Best Animated Feature:

The shock here wasn't who was nominated, but the fact that "The Adventures of Tintin," which won the Golden Globe, was snubbed. This wasn't a great year for commercial animation, which "Cars 2" failing to find critical applause for Pixar. That means that in this strange race a couple very commercial films — "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Puss in Boots," both sequels or spin-offs, will be battling the strange "Rango." Look for "Rango" to win, but doubtless this is not a great year for animation.

Best Cinematography:

And here we have the best chance for "Tree of Life" to win an award. Whether you liked, or even understood, the story or not, you can't fault this film's visuals. There are some beautifully shot films in this category, but few had as hard a task as Emmanuel Lubezki on "Tree of Life."

Best Original Screenplay:

Some interesting nominees here, including foreign film "A Separation," the indie darling "Margin Call," and the Best Picture favorite, "The Artist." But it's Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" that seems to stand out. Like the film or not (I liked it, but not for Best Picture), it was creative, different, and had an interesting message.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

This is, perhaps, the most loaded category in this year's awards. Among the contending scripts are the ones for the films "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo," "Moneyball," "The Descendants," "Hugo," and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." Look for Payne and writing partners Nat Faxon and Jim Rash to get the call here for the beautiful work done in crafting the story for "The Descendants."