Okay, so this isn’t a “review” and I’ve posted my Oscar picks and mentioned the high and low points from the show, but now I have something random to share that I’m very proud of.

For the third year in a row I won the Oscar pool I entered!

WOOOOOO!

That’s right!

And here were my prizes: cash and a chocolate Oscar statue.

Seriously, I felt like the King of the World!

The party I was at had a buy-in poll and I kicked some serious a** thanks to my picks. Look at the food spread!! There were themed dishes like “9 Layer Dip” for District 9 and “Upcakes” (cupcakes) for Up. I’m now spoiled on how to throw a proper party :)

I just wanted to wrap up the Oscars by posting that :) So to make this more of a formal review: the party I attended was awesome!

How did you do on your Oscar picks?

Sunday is the Oscars and in the season of betting and guessing winners, I have made my own official Oscar picks.

Plus, I don’t want to brag but I have won the office Oscar pool the last two years. WOO! But this year, there isn’t a pool so I’m just posting my picks for everyone else for the first time ever.

Drumroll please!

Best Picture:

• Will win: The Hurt Locker
• Should win: Up in the Air/District 9
• Potential upset: The Blind Side

The Hurt Locker has a lot of momentum going into the weekend but I personally think District 9 and Up in the Air were two of the best movies this year. I got a lot of flack for picking The Blind Side for an upset but it’s the little engine that could and seriously, who thought they would even get a Best Picture nomination?

Best Director:

• Will win: Kathryn Bigelow
• Should win: Jason Reitman
• Potential upset: James Cameron

Bigelow has the Director’s Guild bump behind her. That is hardly ever wrong in picking the Best Director. And I liked Avatar but I cannot handle douchy James Cameron’s potential acceptance speech.

Best Actor:

• Will win: Jeff Bridges
• Should win: Colin Firth
• Potential upset: Jeremy Renner

Jeff Bridges really can not lose this. He has all the critical praise and awards behind him, this is the last piece. And for some reason, the Academy hasn’t figured out how/when they’ll award a great overall actor like Colin Firth, but this isn’t his year (again).

Best Actress:

• Will win: Sandra Bullock
• Should win: Meryl Streep
• Potential upset: Meryl Streep

Oh this is a tough one. I liked Meryl more than Sandra but Meryl will always be nominated again and it’s really been Sandra’s year. Now if only shirtless Ryan Reynolds would escort her.

Best Supporting Actor:

• Will win: Chrisoph Waltz
• Should win: Stanley Tucci
• Potential upset: Woody Harrelson

Again, Christoph Waltz is pretty much a shoe-in but Stanley Tucci was truly frightening in the Lovely Bones. But like Colin Firth, the Academy will recognize him down the road, not now.

Best Supporting Actress:

• Will win: Mo’nique
• Should win: Anna Kendrick
• Potential upset: None, I think it’s pretty clear Mo’nique has this in the bag

I don’t even have to think about this one. Mo’nique has it locked up but Anna Kendrick was really great in Up in the Air so I’d love to see her get some attention.

Best Animated Picture:

• Will win: Up
• Should win: Up
• Potential upset: If you saw Up and survived the flood of tears, this is an easy pick

Seriously, did you see Up? Pixar broke my cold, dead inside heart with this movie. It deserves a big sloppy hug.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Will win: Up in the Air
• Should win: District 9
• Potential upset: Entertainment Weekly said Up in the Air is the winner, and I feel good about it.

I’m a big fan of District 9. It was one of my favorites this year and was compelling and frightening at the same time. But the more “everyman” message of Up in the Air will sweep.

Best Original Screenplay:

• Will win: The Hurt Locker
• Should win: Inglourious Bastards
• Potential upset: I think it’s really between these two films. Both are solid choices

I was torn on this one. Inglourious Bastards was really well written but Hurt Locker can’t seem to do anything wrong. It’s a flip of the coin for me.

What about you? Who do you think will or should win? Or whose fashion are you hoping to see?

Yes, it’s Oscar week, which means I’m all a flutter at the upcoming Super Bowl of fashion and glamour. But as much as I enjoy the red carpet, I really try to see as many of the nominated films as I can before the big show.

And in a January issue of my entertainment Bible, Entertainment Weekly, it listed “The 25 Movies You Need to See Before Oscar Night.”

I love a challenge and soon, I started carrying the list with me to the theater so I could check them off.

But two weeks of travel, a constantly changing movie schedule and me without car were big obstacles to over come, could I do it?

The answer: sort of.

Let’s take a look at the list. I starred the movies I haven’t seen yet and bolded my favorites.:

• Up in the Air
• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Precious*
• Inglourious Bastards
• Invictus*
• An Education
• Up
• A Serious Man
• The Messenger*
• Julie & Julia
• A Single Man
• Crazy Heart*
• The Blind Side
• The Last Station*
• Nine
• Star Trek
• District 9
• Fantastic Mr. Fox*
• The Lovely Bones
• (500) Days of Summer
• It’s Complicated
• The Young Victoria
• Bright Star
• The Informant!

I’ve seen 19 of the 25 movies. So I didn’t fully make my goal but got pretty close. I’m planning on seeing Crazy Heart before Sunday and I might go bat sh*t crazy and try to squeeze in a few more but some I can’t see because they’re not on DVD yet.

I won’t lie, I’m a little disappointed I didn’t make my goal, but holy sh*t, seeing 19 of those movies is a pretty wicked accomplishment. And I have seen all of the Best Picture nominess (minus Precious) so that’s a win for me too!

I think I need to be inducted into the Academy so I can make sure to meet next year’s goal :)

What about you? How many movies on this list have you seen? What were our faves?