The Oscars: Lesser-Known Categories and Winning Performances

With all the commotion of the big categories like best picture and best foreign animated short, a lot of categories got thrown by the wayside. The Oscar show is only twelve hours long, so they naturally have to cut some categories out of the telecast. Unfortunately, that means that many talented actors and behind-the-scenes workers are left out of the festivities.

Here are some awards that are typically overlooked:

Best Non-Pixar Animated Film: The Princess and the Frog

This is like asking who came in second to Usain Bolt. The Princess and the Frog was a good movie, but unfortunately came out at the same time that the Pixar company is making movies. It really was about time a non Pixar animated film was recognized.

Best Film You Didn't See: Avatar

This is a new category this year. The Academy realized that in the past, big budget studios have dominated the awards and they wanted to recognize achievements by smaller budget movies. The art house flick Avatar grossed a pedestrian $700 million (domestically) and was largely ignored by critics. So if you get a chance and happen to find an indie movie theatre, give Avatar a try.

Achievement in the Psychological Thriller Category: Hotel for Dogs

Starting with its cryptic title, Hotel for Dogs has a million twists and turns. It forces the audience to keep guessing and asking questions like, “What's going to happen next?” and “Would the health department actually allow a hotel for dogs?”

Best Supporting Animated Animal: Simon in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Heading into the awards there was a lot of buzz around Kevin, the bird from Up. However, in a slight upset Alvin edged him out. The academy made the right choice. There was so much emotional depth in his portrayal. Alvin really forced the audience to empathize with his plight. It was almost reminiscent of young Olivier or Rafiki from The Lion King.

Best Film Not to Be Nominated For Best Picture: My Bloody Valentine 3-D

This year the Academy could only nominate fifty movies for best picture. As such, a lot of gems got overlooked, most notably My Bloody Valentine 3-D. The film was a throwback to classic Hitchcock. What was particularly great was the scene where it felt like a pick-axe was thrown at the audience. It undoubtedly will change the future of cinema.

Best Slow-Motion Running: Megan Fox in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

In films nowadays directors often employ the technique of the slow-motion run. It is very difficult to execute this correctly. The scene has to be shot and then slowed down. Visionary director Michael Bay did this perfectly in Transformers. The audience really got the sense that Megan Fox was running slowly. Very, very slowly.

The Like OMG It Was So Totally Good Award: The Twilight Saga: A New Moon

For those unfamiliar with the Like OMG award, it is the only Oscar voted on by the teenage members of the Academy. In the end this was a three horse race between the eventual winner, Young Victoria, and A Single Man. The voters appreciated the complexity of the art direction of Young Victoria, and thought Colin Firth artfully showed the inherent conflict within his character's life. Ultimately what got Twilight the award though was its character development. And that scene where Taylor Lautner took his shirt off.

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