The head to head duel with Avatar that had intensified in recent weeks was finally put to bet on the weekend as the Academy Awards came and went yet again.

The big winner on the night was The Hurt Locker, but it was not all bad news for Avatar with the film still taking out a few gongs on the night.

Here is a look at the winners on the night:

Performance by an actor in a leading role: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
Performance by an actor in a supporting role: Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Performance by an actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Performance by an actress in a supporting role: Mo’Nique in Precious
Best animated feature film of the year: Disney / Pixar’s UP
Achievement in art direction: Avatar
Achievement in cinematography: Avatar
Achievement in costume design: The Young Victoria
Achievement in directing: The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow
Best documentary feature: The Cove
Best documentary short subject: Music by Prudence
Achievement in film editing: The Hurt Locker
Best foreign language film of the year: The Secret in Their Eyes (El
Secreto de Sus Ojos)
Achievement in makeup: Star Trek
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score): Up
Best motion picture of the year: The Hurt Locker
Best animated short film: Logorama
Best live action short film: The New Tenants
Achievement in sound editing: The Hurt Locker
Achievement in sound mixing: The Hurt Locker
Achievement in visual effects: Avatar
Adapted screenplay: Precious
Original screenplay: The Hurt Locker

In terms of Oscar betting for the film of the year, it is a two horse race between both movies, but if you ask the public, the winner is a no brainer with Avatar taking the cake.

But, I like to think otherwise.

The Hurt Locker is a movie made from the script of Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded with a bomb squad.

The movie is predominantly about members of the US Army who tour together and contend with defusing bombs, the threat of insurgency, and the tension that develops among them.

The film was shot in the Middle East, largely Jordan, making for a great visual experience and one that allows the viewers to really relate to the events they are witnessing.

Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty all star in the movie, and take up roles as bomb specialists serving their country.

The major plot climaxes near the end when, with only two days left on their tour, two members of the team are called in to assist in a situation where a man was forced to wander into a military checkpoint with a time-bomb strapped to his chest.

The pair can neither remove the bomb nor disarm it in time, and is forced to flee before the bomb goes off.

Without spoiling the end, The Hurt Locker finishes in an explosive bang and really does deliver viewers an action packed experience definitely worth seeing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhQdJTlo5NI

9/10

Oh, and of course, there are the awards to won too!

Here is a look at the nominees for this years Oscar Awards:

2010 Oscars Nominations List

:

Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
George Clooney – Up In The Air
Colin Firth – A Single Man
Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Matt Damon – Invictus
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Penelope Cruz – Nine
Vera Farmiga – Up In The Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Horse
Anna Kendrick – Up In The Air
Mo’Nique – Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire

Best Director:
James Cameron – Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels – Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire
Jason Reitman – Up In The Air

Best Picture:
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up In The Air

Best Original Screenplay:
Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman – The Messenger
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – A Serious Man
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson & Tom McCarthy – Up
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche – In the Loop
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell – District 9
Geoffrey Fletcher – Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire
Nick Hornby – An Education
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner – Up In The Air

Best Animated Film:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

Best Foreign Language Film:
El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
Un Prophete (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
Ajami (Israel)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru).