The Oscar List Rant
Jan. 31st, 2006 12:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityvixenShould be a short rant again this year because again I have not seen even one-half of the films nominated. But I'll do my best:
Best Picture:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich
Frankly, no matter how good Philip Seymour Hoffman might be in Capote, there's no way the film will carry to win the prize. Munich I feel comfortable with saying is not the issue-movie to take the statue, nor is Crash. I have seen the latter film, and I think Crash, while provacative at points, is too utterly predictable and too experimental to really touch at the issues of racism both overt and subtle. Which leaves Brokeback Mountain and Good Night, and Good Luck. Despite the hype for Brokeback, I think the scary real-life connection of Good Night, and Good Luck makes it the better draw. Also, in a category utterly dominated by independent films, Good Night, and Good Luck is the more independent of the two, and the less controversial. Oscar likes controversy--Hello, Michael Moore, have an Oscar--but I doubt they'll push it that far.
Director:
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller, Capote
Paul Haggis, Crash
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Steven Spielberg, Munich
Not even a question but Ang Lee's got this one. Clooney is a first-timer, as is Paul Haggis, so they get the 'honor just to be nominated' non-award. Spielberg's been past his prime a while now, and, again, Capote hasn't gotten enough attention to the way it was crafted to make waves. Instead, Ang Lee has gotten oodles of directorial kudos for Brokeback Mountain, to the point that the already poignant story supposedly would lose most of its steam were it not for the decisions made by director and cinematographer (so let's hope they both win).
Actor: (enough of this 'leading role' bs)
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck
I'm amazed Terrence Howard got a nom for a film that looked and sounded like the most debasing, degrading thing ever, and not for his character (which, if it were, would make the nom make more sense, 'cause of pathos). Heath Ledger was supposed to be fantastic in Brokeback, and Joaquin Phoenix has an Oscar tradition of rewarding imitations in his favor with Walk the Line, but I don't think either cowboy will win. Instead, it's up to the other two imitations of real people, and in this I am taking a wild stab in the dark and saying it will go to Hoffman. I would prefer it to go to David Strathairn as I find his acting style less grating and self-aggrandizing than Hoffman's, but it hasn't made the same splash. Score one for Capote.
Actress:
Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Keira Knightly, Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
MY BLINDING HATRED MAKES ME OUTRAGED AT NEARLY HALF THIS LIST. One, Charlize doesn't deserve and Oscar for chasing a role in a movie 'guaranteed' to get her an Oscar. I can't stand it when there aren't enough good roles written for women in modern cinema so they toss the Oscar noms at people who made supposedbly Oscar-calibre movies because they have extras to go around.
If Keira Knightly wins for Pride & Prejudice, I buy a DVD gun and slice her to pieces with my A&E boxset. That strumpet can sit on her ass with her undeserved Oscar nom and piss me off for that much, but so help me if she wins...
Ahem. Reese annoys me, but my real reason for turning her aside is the fact that Walk the Line didn't find anything extraordinary to do with her, nor was she that extraordinary. Maybe I should see more than the trailer to make that claim, but I doubt it. When you're in a pic with someone who so absorbs the lead character, it's hard to measure up--she'll be overlooked, trust me. I can't even recognize the film Judi Dench was in, but past wins will hurt her, and Felicity Huffman's Transamerica role really is too ground-breaking to be ignored. THAT is the kind of role we should be opening for women in film, one that lets them explore beyond the background prejudices against 'women in men's roles' or 'finding happiness with or without men.'
Supporting Actor:
George Clooney, Syriana
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt, A History of Violence
A History of Violence got one acting nom? Go figure. Must be the story then. It won't win, nor will Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man. George Clooney's role in Syriana hardly seemed to read as notable, so he's out, and between Matt Dillon, lost among the ensemble in Crash and Jake Gyllenhaal, well, there isn't a competition. I personally loathed Matt Dillon's character in Crash, but I think he did a good job with it. I doubt it matches up, though, so Brokeback's got this one in the bag.
Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain
Not even a competition. See my rant above for why North Country should and will win NOTHING. See notes above for why, against Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener probably doesn't stand much of a chance. Amy Adams is who again? Yeah, that leaves Rachel Weisz to challenge Michelle Williams, and, much as I hated her stupid face forever from the three minutes of Dawson's Creek that I subjected myself to, Michelle's got it. This is a disturbing trend, former trash-TV stars winning Oscars. Wake me up when the Power Rangers accept the award for best ensemble cast, will you?
Other things worth mentioning: oh look, almost no big-blockbuster movies got anything. They get token items (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory being nominated for costuming makes me giggle; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for art direction makes me go "huh?"), but they are largely ignored. Shame. No offense to the indies, but people don't want to go to the movies for 'thinking' pictures all the goddamned time. If this indepedent takeover holds sway, I'm never going to see any movie before May or after August in the theaters--for real, I think the only movie I saw in the fall was Harry Potter.
Go Wallace and Gromit for best animated film! Woo for not hearing of a single one of the foreign films for N years running! As long as Pride & Prejudice doesn't give Keira Knightly an Oscar, I don't really care what else anything wins, and I mean that.
Best Picture:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich
Frankly, no matter how good Philip Seymour Hoffman might be in Capote, there's no way the film will carry to win the prize. Munich I feel comfortable with saying is not the issue-movie to take the statue, nor is Crash. I have seen the latter film, and I think Crash, while provacative at points, is too utterly predictable and too experimental to really touch at the issues of racism both overt and subtle. Which leaves Brokeback Mountain and Good Night, and Good Luck. Despite the hype for Brokeback, I think the scary real-life connection of Good Night, and Good Luck makes it the better draw. Also, in a category utterly dominated by independent films, Good Night, and Good Luck is the more independent of the two, and the less controversial. Oscar likes controversy--Hello, Michael Moore, have an Oscar--but I doubt they'll push it that far.
Director:
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller, Capote
Paul Haggis, Crash
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Steven Spielberg, Munich
Not even a question but Ang Lee's got this one. Clooney is a first-timer, as is Paul Haggis, so they get the 'honor just to be nominated' non-award. Spielberg's been past his prime a while now, and, again, Capote hasn't gotten enough attention to the way it was crafted to make waves. Instead, Ang Lee has gotten oodles of directorial kudos for Brokeback Mountain, to the point that the already poignant story supposedly would lose most of its steam were it not for the decisions made by director and cinematographer (so let's hope they both win).
Actor: (enough of this 'leading role' bs)
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck
I'm amazed Terrence Howard got a nom for a film that looked and sounded like the most debasing, degrading thing ever, and not for his character (which, if it were, would make the nom make more sense, 'cause of pathos). Heath Ledger was supposed to be fantastic in Brokeback, and Joaquin Phoenix has an Oscar tradition of rewarding imitations in his favor with Walk the Line, but I don't think either cowboy will win. Instead, it's up to the other two imitations of real people, and in this I am taking a wild stab in the dark and saying it will go to Hoffman. I would prefer it to go to David Strathairn as I find his acting style less grating and self-aggrandizing than Hoffman's, but it hasn't made the same splash. Score one for Capote.
Actress:
Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Keira Knightly, Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
MY BLINDING HATRED MAKES ME OUTRAGED AT NEARLY HALF THIS LIST. One, Charlize doesn't deserve and Oscar for chasing a role in a movie 'guaranteed' to get her an Oscar. I can't stand it when there aren't enough good roles written for women in modern cinema so they toss the Oscar noms at people who made supposedbly Oscar-calibre movies because they have extras to go around.
If Keira Knightly wins for Pride & Prejudice, I buy a DVD gun and slice her to pieces with my A&E boxset. That strumpet can sit on her ass with her undeserved Oscar nom and piss me off for that much, but so help me if she wins...
Ahem. Reese annoys me, but my real reason for turning her aside is the fact that Walk the Line didn't find anything extraordinary to do with her, nor was she that extraordinary. Maybe I should see more than the trailer to make that claim, but I doubt it. When you're in a pic with someone who so absorbs the lead character, it's hard to measure up--she'll be overlooked, trust me. I can't even recognize the film Judi Dench was in, but past wins will hurt her, and Felicity Huffman's Transamerica role really is too ground-breaking to be ignored. THAT is the kind of role we should be opening for women in film, one that lets them explore beyond the background prejudices against 'women in men's roles' or 'finding happiness with or without men.'
Supporting Actor:
George Clooney, Syriana
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt, A History of Violence
A History of Violence got one acting nom? Go figure. Must be the story then. It won't win, nor will Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man. George Clooney's role in Syriana hardly seemed to read as notable, so he's out, and between Matt Dillon, lost among the ensemble in Crash and Jake Gyllenhaal, well, there isn't a competition. I personally loathed Matt Dillon's character in Crash, but I think he did a good job with it. I doubt it matches up, though, so Brokeback's got this one in the bag.
Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain
Not even a competition. See my rant above for why North Country should and will win NOTHING. See notes above for why, against Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener probably doesn't stand much of a chance. Amy Adams is who again? Yeah, that leaves Rachel Weisz to challenge Michelle Williams, and, much as I hated her stupid face forever from the three minutes of Dawson's Creek that I subjected myself to, Michelle's got it. This is a disturbing trend, former trash-TV stars winning Oscars. Wake me up when the Power Rangers accept the award for best ensemble cast, will you?
Other things worth mentioning: oh look, almost no big-blockbuster movies got anything. They get token items (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory being nominated for costuming makes me giggle; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for art direction makes me go "huh?"), but they are largely ignored. Shame. No offense to the indies, but people don't want to go to the movies for 'thinking' pictures all the goddamned time. If this indepedent takeover holds sway, I'm never going to see any movie before May or after August in the theaters--for real, I think the only movie I saw in the fall was Harry Potter.
Go Wallace and Gromit for best animated film! Woo for not hearing of a single one of the foreign films for N years running! As long as Pride & Prejudice doesn't give Keira Knightly an Oscar, I don't really care what else anything wins, and I mean that.
