Any thoughts or predictions. I can't make any now since I'm at work, but I will later.

My Picks

Performance by Male Actor in Leading Role: Joaquin Phoenix
Actor in Supporting Role: Jake Gyllenhaal
Actress in Leading Role: Reese Witherspoon
actress in supporting Role: -
Animated Movie: TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE
Art Direction: Memoirs of a Geisha
Cinematography: Memoirs of a Geisha
Custom Design: Memoirs of a Geisha
Direction: -
Documentary: March of the Penguins
Short Subject Documentary: -
Film Editing : WALK THE LINE!
Foreign Language: -
Music (Original Score) - Memoirs of a Geisha
Original Song - HUSTLE AND FLOW!
Motion Picture of Year: -
Animated Short: -
Live Action Short: -
Sound Editing: War of the Worlds
Sound Mixing: Walk the Line
Visual Effects: King Kong
Adapted Screenplay: -
Original Screenplay: -

yes, i love Memoirs of a Geisha.. i'm still 3/4s through the book... and i loved Walk The Line.. lol

^ As good as Joaqin was in Walk the Line, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is going to get it. Hoffman has been winning everything this awards season.

Supporting I'm undecided about. Jake isn't going to get it even though I really really want him to. And Paul Giamatti pulled an upset on Sunday when he won the SAG award in that category. My money's on Jake or George.

Lead Actress goes to Felicity Huffman though it's a close call between her and Reese.

Michelle Williams should get the Supporting Actress but that one's probably going to go to Rachel Weisz. Rachel's been winning everything she's up for.

Best Picture goes to Brokeback as well as Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Cinematography goes to The New World.

Documentary goes to Murderball.

danggg. memoirs has 6 nom.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

My heart breaks for Heath Ledger, it really does. This should be *his* year. I saw Capote and Hoffman was genius as usual, but this has academy's darling written all over it. Bummer.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - SYRIANA

Tough call. Paul Giamatti is an amazing character actor. I haven't seen Syriana, but I've heard nothing but brillant about Clooney's performance. It's a toss up (especially since Clooney won the Globe and Giamatti got the SAG).

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA

This is the catagory (and selection) that irritates me the most. I'm sorry, but what in the world is Keira Knightley being nominated for? No offense and Pride and Prejudice was a lovely film, but I think they were grasping at straws for this nod. Witherspoon might win by default (she sang her own songs, cried on cue, yada yada), but I'm hoping Huffman snags the Oscar.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

My choice? Michelle Williams. Consider her roots. This is Dawson Creek generation. But her performance was powerful. She visibly held back so much emotion (which is harder to do than cry - at least, that's how I felt when I was acting for a while).

The odds are in favor for Weiss though since she won both the Golden Globe and the SAG Award. You never know - maybe there will be an upset.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE

I've only seen one of these films. (My vote will always be with Mr. Burton though =) )

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

I really hope Ang Lee gets it this year. This is the guy that can go from directing The Ice Storm to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. He fell on his ass (The Hulk) but really came back into full swing with Brokeback Mountain.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Bet you can't guess which movie I'd like to win. ;)

We'll shall see though. =)

brokeback mountain and syriana were the two most overrated movies in 2005

brokeback mountain runs off a gimmick, and syriana forgot to be entertaining.

lol.. i never saw brokeback mountain because... i just never heard of it until it got overrated.... i just never saw any promos of it or anything so when i finally heard of it.. it was like... a long while after it came out...

and i'm big on movies too.. so idk..

but yeah.. i didn't watch any movies this month *gasp* i saw 5 movies in december


*view my movie list on the left column on my myspace*

Hi. Please don't think I'm being disrespectful, but what gimmick is Brokeback Mountain running off of exactly? For that matter, how are the two films you mentioned overrated? I don't know, I guess I understand overrated differently than some do, which is fine because differences in tastes and opinions make the world go 'round. Again - I hope you don't think I'm trying to start a debate, I was just curious as to how you came to those conclusions.

Steven, are you saying Brokeback is overrated because it got so much media hype?

And even if it is "overrated," the performances in it were absolutely phenomenal.

Umm.. something about two gay cowboys? i think that was the concept that drew movie goers to the movie lol.. if movie was about a heterosexual couple then it would be above average/very good at best. syriana was just, how do i put this, umm boring. contrary to the movie Traffic, syriana was confusing and the characters didnt tie in to each other that much as in traffic. i have never seen such a movie as Syriana where more than half the audiance left the movie halfway throughout the movie. it is also one of those movies where you need substantial background information or need to watch the movie multiple times to understand. also, unlike Traffic, where you get a background on most of the characters, syriana jumps to the conclusion much too quickly not allowing you to understand or connect to the characters. maybe its just me. i dont think so though, seeing how half the movie theater walked out and how syriana suddenly plummetted from the top movies. i think crash > syriana in terms of movies with that particular directing style

hope that helps you understand why i feel that way


yes, im not saying it was poorly acted, on the contrary it was quite good, but just like 2pac and Biggie, it didn't and will never live up to the hype.. above average at best.. overrated to me does not necesary mean "bad", but instead i feel it didnt deserve the rave reviews that critics gave it..

That explains it nicely, thank you. :) (Although I will disagree with you regarding a homosexual couple being used a gimmick ;) )

Also - I'll oblige myself in a moment of off topic to say that Traffic really was an amazing film.

Yeah, but like you said the gimmick was only a gimmick because that's what the media portrayed it to be.

Don't forget Crash. Crash sold out its characters, and worked by guilt tripping an audience into believe that the on-screen racism and stereotyping wasn't only real, but not contrived. Crash was a joke. Brokeback Mountain would never have even seen the door steps of the Academy without the love interest being same sex. I heard Syriana was... uhhmm? Boring?

The Academy blows.

^ Then who/what would you suggest for nominations?

hey i actually enjoyed crash, sure it wasnt the most realistic, but the acting was good and we actually got to connect and feel with the characters, something that didnt happen in Syriana

best a - i think heath will actually take it.
best sa - the academy wil want to give something to crash, it will go to matt dillon
best actress - almost certainyl felicity huffman, although charilize theron was excellent. much as i love her, keira knightly is out of her lead
best s actress - rachel weisz. almost more certain than felicity huffman

best picture will be brokeback mountain

Just for the record, american cinema really blew in 2005.

Films that should be up for nominations:
Sin City - Cinematography, Costume Design, Adapted Screen, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Male (Del Toro)
Grizzly Man - Best Documentary Feature, Best Original Score
Jarhead - Best Supporting Male (Chris Cooper)
History of Violence - Adapted Screen, Best Director
Broken Flowers - Best Male Role (Bill Murray), Best Picture, Best Director, Original Screen,
The Aristocrats - Best Documentary Feature
Me and You and Everyone We Know - Best Director, Best Picture, Original Screen, Cinematography
Oldboy - Best Foreign Film
Nobody Knows - Best Foreign Film

I could probably keep going. However, I would definately get rid of Brokeback for best picture, as well as Crash for nearly anything. Crash I think was such a joke that to even be nominated is an insult to cinema. Crash may work in some "Best Role" choices though, as well as Brokeback.

The more I look at it all, the less and less I enjoyed 2005 as a year of film.

The Aristocrats was funny but I don't think it's Oscar worthy. Besides, the Academy would never honor a film that consists of a bunch of scatological jokes. But then again they did nominate South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut for Best Song. Eh.

I think The Corpse Bride was really good for an animation movie, better than Wallace and Gromit.

You're probably right. But, I don't really consider the Academy as much of an honor any longer. That they completly ignore films like Sin City, Me and You and Everyone We Know, and Broken Flowers speaks volumes to their "dispassionate taste."

Like, Titanic? Puhhhhh-lease.

I agree. They put up poor nominees.

Brokeback Mountain should definitely win Achievement in Cinematography. All the shots were amazing.

Also needless and meaningless. Some of the scenery was great, sure, but some of those angles and camera movements were bombastic. It's called d**k directing. Something you won't find in classic cinema, where photography held economy.

Look, I think Sin City is a genius film, I really do (I'm also a long time reader of Frank Miller's by the way). But I think that calling the direction in Brokeback Mountain "d**k directing" is both uninspired and trite. Obviously you don't care for the film. Fine. Don't care for the film. However, until you are able to stand behind the camera and create what Ang Lee has, leave the "d**k directing" commentary out the door. Seriously. Unless you have some suggestions as to how to make the film better. Seems to me, all you really care to do is bash the film. I'd also be interested in what someone who is so apparently insightful as yourself would consider "classic cinema." (Eraserhead perhaps? Because you seriously need to revisit David Lynch's directorial repertoire if that is the case).

As as sidenote - I am quite aware that the Academy and its nominations are more of a political vehicle than an artistic notion of importance. That doesn't mean that all films that are nominated are sh*t films. It is quite possible to be recognized in that arena AND have talent (The Corpse Bride, for example, which seems to appease certain audiences but is far far from being Tim Burton's best effort).

I appreciate that.

If I'm going to be a critic here, I don't need to offer up alternative suggestions as to how the film could have turned out to be a masterpiece. Nor do I need to have gotten behind a camera and created something on a proportional budget with equally successful actors and crew. This is my taste, and my opinions of the art of cinema and film. I'm simply being a critic at this point.

You flatter me so!



But, when refering to "classic cinema" I was simply addressing the Golden Age of Cinema. You know, back during the Studio System and such. Eraserhead, as being released in 1977, hardly classifies as classic cinema. Heck, not even The Elephant Man. I was speaking more of the films released during the early 1920's up to the beginning of the 1950's. Films like Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Lady From Shanghai, and It's a Wonderful Life.

Aside from films that prided themselves on a style-over-substance doctrine in early cinema, such as the experimental Russian classic Man with the Movie Camera by director Dziga Vertov, most classic cinema is punctuated by seamless, complimented, and thoughtful photography and editing. Orson Welles may have been one of the first American directors to allow the camera to become a character itself, on screen. With Citizen Kane, Welles took an unprecedant amount of creative control. The result was something that had not been seen out of the studio system, a film with a camera that is alive and vibrant. This was revolutionary. However, the camera did not deny the plot. Despite its new life, the camera still payed its tribute to the drama, actors, and plot. Never going as far as to become a distracting entity.

At one point, it has felt as if the goal of dramatic film had become to fool the audience into believing that they were not even watching a movie.

This is the photographic economy I was speaking of.

Jumping back to the Lynch comment. I do rather enjoy Eraserhead as a surrealist demonstartion, however Blue Velvet is by far my favorite work by Mr. Lynch.

I'm glad that you are familiar, it seems that more should be.

Well, we feel exactly the same way about the Academy, pretty much. Although, I respect an earlier Academy more, I do understand that many films and persons being recognized under the Academy do indeed have much talent, passion, and worth. However, I do believe that a handful do not have nearly as much as those select few. Also, I did not see Corpse Bride, because I thought it a waste of my time after the monsterous disapointment that was Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Shame onto even the great Danny Elfman). Quite possibly the worst film I have ever had the displeasure to see in theaters. And, I saw Mortal Kombat 2 in theaters.

One last thing.
Ahem, The Hulk.