Those loyal readers, hi Mom, have probably been wondering where in the world I have been since I haven’t posted anything of late. Well you know what, the Oscars are this weekend so I had better get my selections in print before it looses relevancy. Plus, there is really nothing in the theaters right now that I am willing to spend $10 on so things have been pretty quiet on the review front. I expect that to change any week now.
The Oscars cap off a surprisingly robust year for artsy pictures. I know it is my responsibility to see as many films as possible and I generally try to avoid the bad ones but I have to admit that a lot of the time I think that these artsy award winning pictures are snoozers and I end up bored out of my mind and irritated at the waste of time. But I must admit that this year was a very good year for artistic films that really entertained. Of course if you look at this year’s award nominees box office compared to last year’s I may have been the only person to go see these movies, but it was a quality year none the less.
First and foremost is Brokeback Mountain which I was somewhat hesitant to see because of the film material and the buzz that surrounded the film. But I must admit that I wasn’t disappointed. The film was beautiful and well developed and the characters were interesting. This was a hard film to classify but it didn’t matter because it was a well made film from script to cinematography to acting to directing. It wasn’t overdone or self important, it was just everything that it could be. The same could not be said for Munich which was a self aggrandizing film that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be an action film of bombs and fleeing cars or a film about five guys sitting around a table talking. That one seemed far longer and drawn out than the roller coaster escapism of King Kong. Crash was another film that I didn’t expect to be as good as it was. Films with overly heavy casts of stars often lose their focus but this one was well paced to keep all of the diverse character present by using stereotypes not to define the characters but to break down the characters. Capote on the other hand was a much smaller film in scope focusing with laser like intensity on its title character and showing the slow orbit of others around this legendary character. I wasn’t impressed with Capote at first, those who keep tabs note that I am admitting that I changed my rating on the film. But the film lingers, it makes you want to read In Cold Blood and it makes you ask tough questions about why some people turn out well and others don’t. It was really after watching Munich that I was able to appreciate how well Capote focused on character motivation and developed it instead of cramming it down the viewers’ throats. Syriana flew high but its complex narrative and heavy subject matter were more alienating than the better organized Crash.
So here are my comments on the nominees and the eventual winners of the 78th Academy Awards.
Performance by an actor in a leading role
I think this one is fairly straightforward (no pun intended). Philip Seymour Hoffman has cleaned up this awards season for his magnetic performance as the writer Truman Capote in the biopic Capote. The rest of the films were great and so were the performances, but this is really a one horse race.
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
I know that this one has been split. George Clooney seemed surprised to win the Golden Globe and Paul Giamatti has taken home his fair share of hardware. Voters expect to see George Clooney take home at least one award and it is here that he has the best shot.
Performance by an actress in a leading role
This is generally a fairly weak category here the race comes down to the two Golden Globe winners Felicity Huffman for Transamerica and Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line. The Oscars are a little more old-fashioned than the Globes and they tend to frown on successful films. I think that they will give the award to Felicity Huffman for her portrayal as a trans-gendered man expecting that Reese Witherspoon will have another award worthy performance in a year or two.
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
There has been a lot of talk about Amy Adams’ nomination for the unheard of Junebug but most likely the very pregnant Rachel Weisz will win yet another award for her role in The Constant Gardener. Hopefully she won’t pull a Catherine Zeta Jones and have to wander to the bathroom when her category is presented.
Best animated feature film of the year
The biggest landslide category by far this award will go hands down to Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Again Aardman’s Nick Park turns a few blobs of clay into a warm and droll drama about a man and his dog. It is interesting to note that in this heyday of computer animation two out of three of the nominated films are done the old fashioned way of stop motion and the third is hand drawn. It just goes to show that story and substance, not computer trickery, are the keys to quality films.
Achievement in art direction
This is a hard one to pick because the artistry ranges from black and white smoky 1950s to modern day fantasy realms and everywhere in between. I thought that both King Kong and Memoirs of a Geisha were beautiful but I don’t know anymore where the set and art direction end and the technical fields begin. I can’t help but chose King Kong for its magical look at 1930s New York.
Achievement in cinematography
I’ll say it right off of the bat. I am really surprised that Star Wars Episode III was not nominated in the technical categories. I thought that the cinematography and the editing and the sound and visual effects for the lava fight at the end of the film were notable. I guess I am the only one. The cinematography nods are for more artistic films except for the summer blockbuster Batman Begins. Most likely this award will go to Memoirs of a Geisha because it involved colorful foreign costumes and beautiful women which trump ninjas, mountains, newscasters, and tribesmen any day.
Achievement in costume design
See comments above. Costume design is generally all about the period pieces. In Memoirs of a Geisha there are numerous lush and colorful fabrics to draw the eyes and pens of voters.
Achievement in directing
I think it is interesting that the nominees for best director are exactly the same as those for best picture. This makes to point moot that most who are nominated for one and not the other rarely win. Of course this also means that what we have seen so far in the awards season is a bit different than what we are seeing here. For one Peter Jackson is notably missing for his work on King Kong as is David Cronenberg for A History of Violence and Woody Allen for Match Point. Of course none of this matters because Ang Lee will march to the stage for his deft touch at bringing Brokeback Mountain to the screen. Brokeback could have been an unqualified disaster and instead it is a beautiful film that defies categorization. The academy will take note of this achievement, unfortunately so too will the Hollywood machine. Expect to see a field of films delving into some of the same subjects late next year.
Best Documentary Feature
Many of the best documentaries this year are not eligible for this award because of the arcane rules surrounding qualification. But of those remaining there is the mega-hit March of the Penguins and a few more traditional small market documentaries. I’ll pick Darwin’s Nightmare but there isn’t any reason.
Best documentary short subject
Another category I know nothing about, the Oscars are full of them.
I’ll pick A Note of Triumph just because.
Achievement in film editing
Again, I’m not sure what the criteria was this year for some of these categories as there are some notable omissions. Most of the films under editing have several non-technical nominations apiece which is somewhat unusual. I’d have to pick Crash for film editing because of the way the pieces of story were woven together and the actual crash scenes were so disorienting.
Best foreign language film of the year
Paradise Now was the Golden Globe winner and looks like the clear frontrunner in this category.
Achievement in makeup
It again becomes difficult to figure out where the makeup ends and the computer animation begins. I would not have considered The Chronicles of Narnia for this category because most of its characters are computer generated. I would have added Harry Potter for the indelible face of Mad-Eye Moody in its place. I’d have to give this one to Star Wars for turning Hayden Christensen into a crispy critter.
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (original score)
I learned from the Globes never to bet against John Williams, especially when he is nominated twice. Memoirs of a Geisha won for best original score in the Globes against a rather different crowd. Only Gustavo Santaolalla’s score for Brokeback Mountain was also nominated for both awards.
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (original song)
Interestingly there are only three nominees this year which helps simplify things and keep the show running tight since Beyonce will only have to sing three songs. Just kidding, but it does cut down on the musical performances of the night. The Academy likes to show its edge in this category, remember Eminem’s Oscar, so they will probably pick Hustle & Flow’s
Related posts:
- Oscar Review 2006
- Golden Globe Picks 2006
- Golden Globes Review 2006
- Oscar Nominations 2004
- Part IV Fall Movie Preview - December
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