Best Picture

Nominees

“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

Who will win?

Paul Johannet: “The Hurt Locker” (A guess, as I’m guilty of having not seen it).
Alex Terrono: It’s down to “The Hurt Locker,” “Avatar” and “Inglourious Basterds,” but “Hurt Locker” will pull out the win in the end.
Davis Sargeant: “The Hurt Locker.”
Andrew Senter: “The Hurt Locker.”
Percy Olsen: “The Hurt Locker.” I feel so unoriginal, but then again, why fight it?

Who should win?

Paul: Rather than who should win, I’ll pitch a controversial who should NOT win: “Avatar.” This visually enchanting behemoth’s financial success has launched James Cameron into the ranks of creative directors completely void of narrative ability. George Lucas was at the initiation ceremony.
Alex: Well, in MY opinion, “Avatar” is a work of cinematic genius. It is beautiful, engaging and creative. “Avatar” for the win!
Davis: Before I saw “The Hurt Locker,” I thought of the war in Iraq as an abstract political issue. This movie should share a shelf with “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “Apocalypse Now” as a compelling examination of emotion in war.
Percy: Look, I don’t know if it’s the best movie the year, but I really, really, really want “Inglourious Basterds” to win. If you just size up the movie based on general traits (World War II epic, maybe a smidge of biopic), then it should win. But clearly, anyone who actually saw the movie will tell you it is so much more than Oscar bait. The more I think about the nominees, the more I want “Inglourious Basterds” to take it.
Andrew: There is a small part of me that wants “The Blind Side” to win. Why? So I can permanently disregard the Oscars and every terrible movie they decide to name “Best Picture” because it is popular. Or has Sandra Bullock in it.

Best Actor

Nominees

Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”

Who will win?

Andrew: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart.”
Alex: Jeff Bridges is on a roll that no one can stop.
Percy: It’s gotta be Jeff Bridges.

Who should win?

Alex: Colin Firth shines in “A Single Man” in an emotion-packed, beautiful performance. Recognize!
Andrew: Jeff Bridges, who transforms what should be a Lifetime “movie of the month” into a memorable story about music and the perils of alcoholism, should take it.
Percy: Not to take anything from Bridges, but George Clooney was absolutely fantastic in “Up in the Air.” I would be incredibly surprised if he wins this year, but then again, I’d also be a little happy.

Best Actress

Nominees

Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”

Who will win?

Alex: Sandra Bullock will no doubt pull this one out. She’s the whole reason the film got nominated for Best Picture, so obviously the Academy loves her. Plus, the movie was the first female-driven film to cross $200 million. She made that happen.
Percy: Did you know that she said she was unhappy with her performance in “The Blind Side”? There should be some stipulation that you have to approve of your performance to win an Academy Award. Unfortunately, there isn’t, and she’ll take it.

Who should win?

Alex: I don’t care what anyone says, Zoe Saldana should win this award for “Avatar.” Even though she didn’t really appear on screen, her performance did, and it knocked my socks off.
Percy: Really, Alex? Zoe? Put your socks back on, this should go to Meryl Streep. Her winning percentage (two wins for 16 nominations) shows that she is consistently underappreciated.
Alex: Underappreciated? Really? 16 nominations later…

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees

Matt Damon, “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”

Who will win?

Paul: Christoph Waltz.
Alex: Without a doubt, Christoph Waltz.
Andrew: Christoph Waltz.
Percy: Agreed, it’s Christoph Waltz. Man, just writing that gave me chills.

Who should win?

Andrew: Waltz gives one of the most riveting and horrifying performances of the year.
Paul: Putting aside the ethical pitfalls of “Inglourious Basterds,” Waltz was brilliant. He colored the sadistic, cunning interrogative approach of Col. Hans Landa. Without sacrificing Landa’s perceptive abilities, Waltz made his character surprisingly inhuman, even for a Nazi.
Percy: Matt Damon really brought the goods in “Invictus”—he should win if the Academy has any sense. Nah, I’m just kidding. Waltz.
Alex: I’m going to go off on a limb and say that Harrelson should win.

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees

Penelope Cruz, “Nine”
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique, “Precious”

Who will win?

Alex: Mo’Nique had this in the bag in September.
(Silence)
Alex: So no one’s going to argue?

Who should win?

Alex: Anna Kendrick really shone through in “Up in the Air.” She was my favorite part of the movie.
(More silence)
Alex: Seriously, guys?

Best Animated Feature

Nominees

“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up”

Who will win?

Paul: “Up.”
Alex: “Up” is a Best Picture nominee, enough said.
Andrew: “Up.”
Percy: “Up,” and it won’t be close.

Who should win?

Paul: “Up.” The film begins with a 15-minute montage of truly beautiful storytelling showing the relationship of Carl and Ellie.
Alex: Pixar can’t go wrong, and “Up” is no exception. It is beautifully made and completely adorable.
Andrew: The best picture nomination says everything.
Percy: But I don’t think we can forget about “The Princess and the Frog.” Yes, “Up” was the better movie, but Disney’s first hand-animated film in years dazzled, while bringing back a flood of childhood memories about “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.” It even made me have an emotional moment (and I’m not keen to admit that.) “Up” deserves it, but wow, that is some tough luck for “The Princess and the Frog.”

So Kevin Smith makes great comedies, but does he make great satires? More on that later. With “Cop Out,” Smith has his biggest budget in six years (well, since “Northeastern Lass”), and what does he do with it? The answer is complicated, so let’s start at the simple end of things. “Cop Out” hired some star power. Tracy Morgan plays a less-than-serious cop named Paul Hodges, and Bruce Willis is the slightly-more-serious cop Jimmy Monroe.

In the words of a tagline, “Their methods are…unconventional.” In the film’s opening minutes, Hodges finds himself chasing a perp while dressed as a giant cellphone, with Monroe just behind the two, driving his dirty car. See, if Monroe were a serious cop, he’d keep his car clean. That’s how you know he’s only slightly more serious than Hodges.

Where does their goofy cop-bad cop dynamic fit in the pantheon of buddy-cop movies? Somewhere between Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan-Owen Wilson. Morgan and Willis are both too goofy to straighten the other one out, just like how we’re told that Chris Tucker is supposed to be the “crazy one” while we watch Jackie Chan smiling and beating up a guy up with his tie.

And now we get to the harder question: What does Smith do with his budget? The answer: you’ll laugh at the movie, but you won’t know why.

When Tracy Morgan drops five f-bombs in 30 seconds, what are we supposed to laugh at? Are we laughing at the lowly criminal he’s interrogating, who gets more scared with every drop of spit that falls on his face? Are we laughing at Tracy Morgan’s character, because we all know that Morgan is crazy enough to think he’s cool enough to drop the f-word at will? Or are we laughing at the entire crime-thriller genre?

I want to assume I was laughing at a satire, because Smith has that “smartest-man-in-the-room” aura, but then again, when has Smith ever made a satire? It’s hard to tell what tone Smith is going for. It’s clearly a comedy, but at what level? Is it being straight with us? Is it ironic? “Cop Out” is unfocused, and the viewer can’t get a bead on the larger picture. One second, Willis will break down because he can’t pay for his daughter’s wedding, and the next he continues his quest for a lost baseball card.

For the sake of simplicity, let’s call it a sloppy satire. That being said, you will probably laugh all the way through. Morgan is funny as usual, but Seann William Scott steals the show as a thrill-seeking, dumb-as-rocks, parkouring criminal. Make sure to stay after the credits.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart star in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” (Kimberley French | Summit Entertainment | MCT)

There’s a six-foot tall cardboard cut-out of Edward Cullen in my younger sister’s bedroom.

It wobbles when she hugs it. She wraps her arms around his shoulders, and one of her hands scrapes his unfinished back. My mom smiles at me from behind the flashing camera, and I turn away.

“Vampires are in now,” my sister informs me. I have to wonder when wizards became “out.” There was a time, six years ago or more, when the two of us would sit as siblings in front of a “Harry Potter” movie. The magic, the creatures— I drank it all in.

“Look at that spell!” I’d exclaim.

“Look at Ron Weasely,” she’d reply. I guess that should have been my first clue. Appreciation on two levels can widen a movie’s appeal, but the hotness factor soon outweighs all else. My friends would soon follow suit.

“Man, I love ‘Wingardium Leviosa,’” I’d tell them.

“I know what you mean,” my friends would reply. “Hermione is so frickin’ hot.” It wasn’t until the fourth movie that I understood what they meant.

But even though my friends could recognize general attractiveness before I could, my younger sister outpaced us by years. When we were freshmen, and my sister was in fourth grade, we were just beginning to Google-image-search Britney Spears on our cell phones, and she already had plans to marry Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day. Yes, Robert Pattinson is younger than Armstrong, so at least she has her eye on someone more in-her-range nowadays, but the movies he stars in are far…sexier than anything Green Day will ever put out.

That’s because Pattinson isn’t just Pattinson; he’s Edward, a sickly-pale vampire with greasy hair and an instinctual urge to suck out all that blood wasting away in your veins. He wants to love, but he can’t. He doesn’t want to fight, but he must. So what does that make him? An animal, inhuman, not worth our attention. And yet, he is constantly in our view. But why?

“He’s hot,” my sister says.

Oh that’s right. Screw everything I just said, because he’s hot, and that’s a true-fact. Edward is the alluring vampire with a six-pack, and his sunken gaze will steal your heart, right after he’s done eating it. And that’s all you need to know about Edward to understand what comes next.

Students at Wash. U. framed their childhood around “Harry Potter,” tales of familial love, of an evil that tests and strengthens friendships and, as always, of “Wingardium Leviosa.” We revered the texts, for they were good to us, and we haven’t forgotten them.

And what does my sister’s age group get from their “Twilight”?

“He’s hot,” my sister reminds me.

They get an experience they’ll quickly forget. Mark your calendar, the new sex-symbol approaches, ready to fill that gap that will empty unceremoniously when Pattinson turns (approximately) 25. The new fling could be a teenage centaur, or maybe even a provocative cell-biologist.

He will be whoever the movie industry decides to dangle as teenage bait, and then it’s “Move aside, Edward; hello, luscious plumber.” So I guess I can’t blame my younger sister for the situation she’s in. It’s the industry’s doing, isn’t it? And as I read “The Prisoner of Azkaban” for the fourth time, I just feel bad that she can’t get out of the cycle.

My sister places a fedora atop Edward’s windblown hair, which frames his pasty face. I turn away, laughing.

“He doesn’t like the sun,” she explains. “Mom, take another picture. Mom! Give me the camera!”

Firefly

There’s a list of shows and movies I’ve been trying to watch since, say, 2001. Number 13 is “The Godfather” (I and II). Number 10 is “The Wire.” Number eight is the last two episodes of “Pushing Daisies.” I did get to cross off “Dr. Strangelove” (number six), the “Let It Be” documentary (nine) and “Synecdoche, New York” (20) over winter break, but only after adding “Bottle Rocket,” “Babel” and “Undeclared.” Basically, this list is going to last me a while, which is both depressing and awesome.

But I did recently start on numero uno on my list o’ dreams: “Firefly.” Podcast listeners, all 48 of them, (shameless plug No. 1: Listen to “The Cadenza Show”) will tell you how much I like this show. I like it a lot (I predicted as much. That’s why it was at the top of my list.)

If there’s one thing I’d compare it to, it would be “Star Wars.” I know what that sounds like, and I don’t want it to look like I’m making this comparison lightly. In my mind, the original three “Star Wars” from the late ’70s and early ’80s are the quintessential space operas. They do not revel in their kooky technologies (for instance, nobody ever says, “Look at that crazy golden robot and his short, rolling friend!”). The characters play it natural, which lets the viewers who are stuck on Earth ease into the atmosphere, which is, let’s be honest here, a little more than kooky. C-3PO’s wires hang out of his belly. The Millennium Falcon isn’t cool because it’s the fastest ship alive. It’s cool because it’s the fastest ship alive, and it looks like a pile of garbage.

I’m not saying that “Firefly” is a space opera. It isn’t, but it looks so nice precisely because it’s covered in grime. If Han Solo is an outlaw from the Old West without a friend in the world (besides Chewy, of course), then “Firefly’s” Mal (Nathan Fillion at his best) is that same bandit with better people skills.

I am three episodes in, but I was hooked in the first 10 minutes. Mal, back when he was known as Captain Reynolds, and his second in command, Zoë, are forced to surrender to an onslaught of soldiers. They are “Browncoats,” and they have just lost the civil war. The camera slows down time as the pair stares with dejected gazes at the winners’ ships, which are finally landing. A moon-faced Browncoat gets shot inches from Captain Reynolds. He does not bat an eye. He only stares.

War is hell. Thankfully, watching this show is not. Will my impressions change? (Not likely, but tune in to the second episode of “The Cadenza Show” to find out! Now ending all shameless plugs.) I never watched “Buffy” or “Dollhouse” when they were on. They are other projects from creator Joss Whedon, and from what I hear, the networks treated them just as badly. It looks like I have more stuff to add to my list.

Drakkar Sauna will be performing in the Gargoyle on Wednesday night. (Courtesy of Drakkar Sauna)

Wednesday is Folk and Blues Night, and Drakkar Sauna and Illinois John Fever will perform. Thursday is the Dance Party and DJ Showcase Part Deux, with Phaseone, DJ Invisible Cola and DJs Neil and Greg taking the stage. Sadat X (of Brand Nubian) and Dudley Perkins perform Friday on Hip-Hop Night. The last night, Wave Night, has three, count’em, three bands going: Boogie Boarder, Darlings and Spelling Bee.

You don’t need me to tell you this, but it’s going to be a blast. Wash. U. kids get in for free; others pay $5. And remember that you have to be 18 or older to board the ride. Otherwise, it’s all systems go, so make sure to check it out. For more information, visit www.kwur.com/blog.

So make the trip. Word is they’ll play a straight set list starting at 10 p.m., if you don’t want to show up too early. It’s the band’s first time in St. Louis, so give them a good show.

They’re pretty cool people, by the way. I got to talk to Little Lisa (bass, vocals) and Adam Blair (vocals, guitar) on the phone yesterday, when I was locked out of my apartment. I was in Kaldi’s at the time, so I didn’t really have much in the way of actually recording the conversation, but I got the sense that a show with Dot Dot Dot would be an entertaining one.

The band formed in early 2007, and were only together a few months when they auditioned for and landed a role on Fox’s “The Next Great American Band,” which was a competition show trying to find…well, you can figure that out. Dot Dot Dot placed fifth, eliminated after playing a cover of Rod Stewart’s “Young Turks.”

The band felt deep, deep despair after losing out…Nah, I’m just kidding. They still had a good time. Little Lisa likened the competition to going to “band camp” for  few months, and they even got to stick around and watch the season finale get filmed.

Since then, it’s all been a “rocket ride,” according to Blair. Maybe a slaphappy rocket ride, if our phone call together taught me anything, but a rocket ride nonetheless. So check out their rendition of “Video Killed the Radio Star” (eat it, Ben Folds!), and check’em out tonight.

Augustana, the band behind “Boston” and “Sweet and Low,” is headlining WUStock on April 10.

The band is bringing its popular show to the Swamp, and bringing attention to a Wash. U. event that has been undervalued in the past.

“[Augustana] are super excited to come to Wash. U.,” C40 Swamp Chair Mike Hsu said, “and we are stoked to be able to get them.”

Earlier in the year, CS40 conducted a survey to see which band students would most like to see at WuSTOCK, and received positive feedback in favor for Augustana. The Swamp Committee then contacted Augustana’s agent, and now the band will be performing on campus.

WuSTOCK comes at the end of spring’s South 40 Week, on Saturday, April 10, from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. While there’s no word yet on what the activities will be this year, if last year’s activities are any indication—a giant hamster ball and a rock climbing wall—this year’s will boast plenty for students to do.

Last year’s WUStock was headlined by The Hush Sound. Numerous student bands including the Jack and Jills, Clive and the Greg, Kevin and Nic Awesome Band.

(Dave Seymour | MCT)

Some people watch the Super Bowl because their teams are fighting for the win. Some people watch the game because their favorite musicians are performing at halftime. Some people watch it to gather together with friends and wings. Here at Cadenza, although some of us watch for those reasons, we really love the commercials. Due to high ratings, Super Bowl ads get great exposure, and as a result the commercials are awesome. Here is our take on most memorable ads from Super Bowl XLIV.

“The Ballad of Gay Tony,” a downloadable expansion pack for “Grand Theft Auto IV” is ranked the top downloadable content of the year. (MCT Campus)

Yes, the protagonist, Luis, doesn’t have much personality to speak of, and yes, the dancing minigame straddles the line between incomprehensibility and not being fun, but in the end, this game is a blast. Literally, because nearly everything you touch in this game comes crashing down in plumes of smoke and fireballs. The explosions are so great that they nearly distract the gamer from the golden helicopter. In this game, anything can happen, and that makes for a great five hours.

“Left 4 Dead 2” has five new campaigns, more than three new types of special infected and a new multiplayer mode. (Valve | MCT Campus)

The sequel to “Left 4 Dead” did have a retail release, but it made the biggest bucks being sold on Steam. Not content with the atmosphere of the first game, the developer, Valve, sets the second one in the South, where the survivors fight infected foes through swamps, carnivals and New Orleans. There really is nothing like that feeling you get when you bash a zombie in the head with a frying pan while listening to “When the Saints Come Marching In.” And despite the wide variety of levels, you always have to cooperate with your teammates, which means you don’t leave anyone behind. It’s “Left 4 Dead,” not “Left 3 Dead,” and don’t you forget it.

3. ‘LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias’

If a “Sonic” game is a roller coaster, then “LostWinds” is a ride on a bicycle. I mean that in a good way. This moody, slow and beautiful platformer is available exclusively through WiiWare. The game strikes a laid-back and spiritual tone that most games would opt to shoot through. It’s not particularly hard, but it is a thinker’s game. The character’s slow running-speed forces the gamer to stop worrying about the goal at the end of the level and start appreciating the scenery and the devious puzzles. A masterpiece that is all too short.

2. ‘World of Goo’

It’s a quirky puzzler with a sense of humor and a story that you’ll actually care about. In short, it’s the perfect puzzle game. The game will never make you laugh out loud, but you will chuckle in your head at the Sign Painter’s witticisms. More importantly, the puzzles, while challenging, are also physics based, which means that no matter how many tries it takes to beat a level, the solution will always make sense. And thankfully, the little gobs of goo always manage to hang together just long enough to reach the goal.

1. ‘Braid’

“Braid” has fun with video game conventions (the princess always seems to be in another castle, doesn’t she?) but make no mistake: this game feels fresh. The game takes the clever concept of rewinding time and expands on it in ways that are too numerous and devious to cover in the 100 words allotted to this entry. The look, the feel, the music: everything in this game is sublime. Plus, the ability to rewind time on the fly means that you’ll never get upset if you die a cheap death.

Imagine that. He had all of “Hamlet” memorized, every line of Wordsworth packed into his brain. And, as I was trudging through his thick prose, I realized that no one nowadays has entire anthologies dedicated to memory, always ready for regurgitation.

It’s not our fault. Currently, poetry just doesn’t have the exposure it once had. In an age when MTV dictates what facets of culture we attend to, music videos have emerged in lieu of written poetry.

So what’s the problem with poetry? Why doesn’t it thrive on cable television? (Another question: Are the poems too good to be on MTV? But more on that later…) The answer to the first two questions: performance. As in, a lack of it. Poetry is thought of as being paper-bound and two-dimensional, in more ways than one. A medium like television emphasizes and actually requires the performance, and there is nothing performative about a white piece of paper with some lines scribbled on it.

That is what makes The Grand Slam so fantastic. It brings poetry to the masses, without distilling the essence or dumbing down the lyrics. If anything, the performances enhance the poet’s tone and message, placing a human touch behind rhymed words. If you thought a poet had to be Emily Dickinson, holed up in her room while her mom sends her sandwiches on a pulley system, The Grand Slam would like to have a few choice words with you.

There are poets living all around us, with words pent up, and without many places to say them. The Grand Slam in the DUC was that place on Friday night. The house was packed; there were enough attendees to warrant an additional live feed of the event in the Fun Room. Students spilled over the railings.

Eruptions of snaps and cheers served as reminders that The Grand Slam isn’t just about the poets: It’s about the audience, too. The poet has to find himself through the poem, but the poet’s self-discovery means nothing if the poet can’t make a connection with the audience. Make no mistake, every poet on Saturday night connected with the audience.

And suddenly it seems silly to have compared a poetry performance to a music video in the first place. The energy in these slams is unmatched and surpasses anything MTV can produce. WUSLAM is new, but more importantly it’s fresh, and you can tell that the Slammers loved it. The Slamily rocked the house.

Correction: The original version stated that the Grand Slam occurred on Saturday. It actually occurred on Friday.