"Close only counts in horse grenades"

It turns out I majorly jinxed myself yesterday. After being able to find and download all of the foreign nominated pictures, I thought I was golden for the remainder of my films. Of course, never underestimate the obscure nature of documentaries. I was unable to find Chasing Ice (nominated for Best Original Song) and The Gatekeepers (Best Documentary Feature). According to my friend Kerry though, if I listen to the nominated song for two hours straight, I am fine. Therefore, I am going to be one film short (but really two). A little bit of a let down since I am so close but I can't believe how close I actually got this year! Oh well, on with the festivities!

During the four hours of fashion, inevitable musical numbers and awards, I would suggest the always entertaining drinking games for those 21 and up. You can also see who is the most insightful Swami with their Oscar ballots or who has the best dumb luck with bingo.

Now for the food. I'll provide you with as many recipes as I actually have. Some I just come up with off the top of my head.

• For drinks, I'll be making Prosecco with a splash of pomegranate-blueberry juice and a few fresh blueberries tossed in as well. 
• Appetizers will consist of healthy spinach dip, brie and apple crescent rolls, Parmesan-tossed popcorn (self-explanatory), Lemon Sabra hummus with mini-pita rounds and prosciutto, goat cheese and honey crostinis (making this one up as I go). 
• Dessert will be my most pathetic effort: berry-topped, box-made brownies. I had all intentions of making tuxedo strawberries but according to my local grocery man, this week's batch of strawberries were no good due to the cold weather. 

I'll be sure to post pictures tomorrow to let everyone know how this turned out.

In the interest of space and your attention span, you can check out my final ballot here. This is based on who I think the academy will vote for but not necessarily my favorites. For anyone interested, I will also be live tweeting again, @paigehowarth, including snarky retweets from my friend Kerry and updates on the winners.

Thanks again for reading along with my this year. Fingers crossed for better luck next year!

Final score: 50 watched, 2 unwatched

The Final Countdown

It's been a while since I've post which you most likely thought that I had given up on my lofty quest. ALAS! You are quite mistaken. I actually only have nine films left as of this morning but haven't had the time/have been watching the movies/been too lazy to post. Mea culpa. Here are some of predictions for the categories that I've finished including how I think the Academy will vote and what I personally think should win:

Best Actor:
Academy and Myself - Is this really a question any more? Daniel Day Lewis will and should trot off the stage on Sunday night with his third statue for Lincoln, a first in Oscar history. Bradley Cooper was great in Silver Linings Playbook and I deeply encourage further non-fratboy acting on his part but DDL was perfection.

Best Supporting Actor:
Academy - This is a tough category but I think that it will go to Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln. Christoph has won more recently so I think they'll hand it to Jones.
Myself - Doesn't mean I agree with that sentiment. I would choose Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained. The role was tailor-made for him and suits him very well. Plus Tommy Lee is a grumpy cat:

Best Documentary Short:
Academy - Inocente is the front-runner in this category. For those who don't feel like reading the synopsis, it deals with a young female artist who is homeless but keeps a generally optimistic outlook on life. The Academy loves their can-do attitudes!
Myself - While I did really like Inocente, I hysterically cried my way through Mondays at Racine, centered around two Long Island women who open up their beauty parlor one day a week to women going through chemotherapy.

Best Animated Short:
Academy and Myself - I would say that Pixar's Paperman has this one in the bag. If you still haven't seen this retro love story, it's still available on Hulu. The only other film that might sneak up on is Adam and Eve, a hand-drawn beauty about Adam's first pet and was made as a side projector from a Disney animator.

Best Live Action Short:
Academy and Myself - Let me start by saying that I think this is the toughest shorts category aka my guess could be completely off base. I've read several articles and I think that everyone has different feelings about the frontrunner. When I first watched the films, I thought Death of a Shadow not only had a unique story but amazing cinematography. That being said, Asad was made with all Somalian refugee cast (which reads as Oscar bait) and Curfew is both lighthearted but deals with extremely complex emotions. Definitely a rough category!

If you would like to completely immerse yourself in Oscar mania, here is Nate Silver's statistical analysis, complements of my lovely math-geek boyfriend, or a supercut of every Best Picture winner in 4 minutes.. Or you can also giggle by checking out which animals the nominees look like. Or the Between Two Ferns: Oscar Buzz Edition Part 1 and Part 2. Or my favorite activity in the whole wide world, make fun of Anne Hathaway.

Be back tomorrow with my final predictions for all the categories and hosting ideas for your party!

43 down, 9 to go!!