Movieline Predicts Sunday's Winners with Our Complete Oscar Ballot

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Coraline

Fantastic Mr. Fox

The Princess and the Frog

The Secret of Kells

Up

Will Win: It's Pixar's visual and emotional masterpiece Up for the win.

Dark Horse: But Fantastic Mr. Fox was a truly magical moment in filmmaking, period, for 2009. Let's just say there won't be any groans around Movieline HQ should Wes Anderson take the stage in an ill-fitting corduroy tuxedo. -SA

BEST ART DIRECTION

Avatar

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Nine

Sherlock Holmes

The Young Victoria

Will Win: Avatar had to create an entire world from scratch. If the art direction weren't the most persuasive of the year, the whole film would fall apart.

Dark Horse: The Young Victoria is the kind of film that often takes home this type of award. For the Avatar-wary traditionalist, it could be a vote-stealer. -KB

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Avatar

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

The White Ribbon

Will Win: Christian Berger took the cinematographer's guild trophy for his strikingly monochromatic The White Ribbon. Scribble his name onto your ballot with confidence.

Dark Horse: BAFTA winner Barry Ackroyd, meanwhile, is a strong choice for the beige-and-white canvas of The Hurt Locker. -SA

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Bright Star

Coco Before Chanel

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Nine

The Young Victoria

Will Win: Sandy Powell has taken this award twice before, and The Young Victoria is exactly the movie to give her a third win.

Dark Horse: We'd love to give it to Bright Star, since costumes are integral to the lead character, or Parnassus, simply for its modern-day verve, but Nine pulled in more eyeballs and outfitted more dancing extras. -KB

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Burma VJ

The Cove

Food, Inc.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

Which Way Home

Will Win: The Cove is a barn-burner reminiscent of last year's Man on Wire, with the extra benefit of political and environmental edge in a category that An Inconvenient Truth once triumphed in.

Dark Horse: Food, Inc. could be a challenger here, but a voter inclined to that film is probably also going to be a fan of the more buzz-worthy Cove. -KB

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

Music by Prudence

Rabbit à la Berlin

Will Win: China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province is this category's tear-jerker, and that always helps.

Dark Horse: If voters want to reward homegrown relevance, The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant does the job. -KB

BEST EDITING

Avatar

District 9

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

Will Win: The Hurt Locker won the A.C.E. Eddie Award from its guild, and it has two unbeatable elements: a Best Picture nomination, an a tightly edited action theme.

Dark Horse: Of course, so does Avatar. -KB

BEST MAKEUP

Il Divo

Star Trek

The Young Victoria

Will Win: Star Trek is the easy standout here.

Dark Horse: Again, The Young Victoria is a tech threat that can't be wholly counted out. There's just something about those costume dramas... -KB

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Avatar

Fantastic Mr. Fox

The Hurt Locker

Sherlock Holmes

Up

Will Win: Michael Giacchino is a master at what he does, and though his Up score isn't necessarily his best, he's accrued enough industry love to make run for it here. A stray few Lost-addicted voters who love Giacchino's music on that series may tip the scales.

Dark Horse: If the award was for Most Score, Hans Zimmer's Sherlock Holmes would take it simply for being so loud and distinctive. Still, Oscar regular James Horner poses the biggest threat with his work on Avatar. -KB

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Almost There," The Princess and the Frog

"Down in New Orleans," The Princess and the Frog

"Loin de Paname," Paris 36

"Take it All," Nine

"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)," Crazy Heart

Will Win: **"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)"** has a story, and a compelling cowboy to tell it. We're still bummed Ryan Bingham won't get his moment on a spotlit stool in front of an audience of a billion, but he's the one to beat.

Dark Horse: For some reason, Randy Newman is to Academy members what Lady Gaga is to gay men. Let's pick one at random: "Almost There." -SA

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

French Roast

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty

The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)

Logorama

A Matter of Loaf and Death

Will Win: You do not bet against A Matter of Loaf and Death director Nick Park, whose Wallace & Gromit shorts might as well be handed Oscars as soon as they're finished. The only time Park loses is when he's nominated against himself.

Dark Horse: The stylish Logorama has dazzled wherever it's gone. It doesn't have the heart this category usually requires, but Loaf sort of has that covered, right? -KB

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT

The Door

Instead of Abracadabra

Kavi

Miracle Fish

The New Tenants

Will Win: It never hurts to be a fun comedy when your competition is grim (that's why comedies sell for bucketloads at Sundance), so we agree with Vulture's Bilge Ebiri that Instead of Abracadabra could have the pleasant aftertaste needed to stand out here.

Dark Horse: Still, if viewers want grim, there's always The Door. Chernobyl! Sadness! Oscar? -KB

BEST SOUND EDITING

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Star Trek

Up

Will Win: Even though it was largely heralded for being a masterpiece for the eyes, Avatar's domination of the technical categories should spill over into this category as well.

Dark Horse: Don't rule out Star Trek, however, still considered by people in the field field to have been a stellar example of the state-of-the-art in their craft. -SA

BEST SOUND MIXING

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Star Trek

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Will Win: The taking of those sound effects and blending with dialogue and music into a cohesive aural palette is the sound mixer's job, and we hand it to Avatar's lush tropical ecosystem infiltrated by malevolent technology.

Dark Horse: Again, if anyone can tackle the 'Tar, it's Star Trek, the year's other masterful sci-fi blockbuster. -SA

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avatar

District 9

Star Trek

Will Win: Yeah. Avatar. Next?

Dark Horse: Mo'nique. No -- just kidding. A Star Trek win would probably upset Cameron more than a Best Picture or Director loss. So why not! Bring it on. -SA

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