The Oscars: 2008

by James Evans

The Oscars contenders this year are pretty much a joke for the most part, so I have no clue what is going to win this year.

Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire is the one that deserves to win this year. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon are both good, but not Best Picture material. Milk is okay to be on the list but The Reader is simply one of the worst movies of the year, and I cannot understand how this happened. The Dark Knight should have been up there instead. (Winner: Slumdog Millionaire)

Actor
I really want Mickey Rourke to win. He was great and the movie was terrific. Sean Penn and Frank Langella are both worthy, but Brad Pitt was just okay in Benjamin Button. Richard Jenkins is a good actor and it’s nice to see him recognized. (Winner: Sean Penn)

Actress
I love Meryl Streep, and she was good in Doubt, but I think the best performance this year was from Melissa Leo for Frozen River, and I’m so glad she was nominated even if she won’t win. No, they want to give it to Kate Winslet for a terrible movie (The Reader). Anne Hathaway was good in a not-so-great movie (Rachel Getting Married). And then we come to Angelina Jolie in Changeling. Another awful movie, and her performance was not that great. Watch the scenes where she is waking up to her alarm. She really needed some coaching in those scenes. (Winner: Kate Winslet)

Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger deserves it and not because he died. He simply was incredible in the best performance of the year. Robert Downey, Jr. and Philip Seymour Hoffman are both worthy, but Josh Brolin in Milk wasn’t a fully developed character. He should have been nominated for W instead. And who cares about Michael Shannon. (Winner: Heath Ledger)

Supporting Actress
I hated My Cousin Vinny but Marisa Tomei deserves it this time around for The Wrestler. I would be okay if Viola Davis won though. And Penelope Cruz was great in Woody Allen’s one good movie of the year out of the two he made (Vicky Christina Barcelona). Amy Adams and Taraji Henson I’m fine with being nominated but their performances were not stand-outs. (Winner: Penelope Cruz)

Director
Well, Christopher Nolan should have been nominated for The Dark Knight but since he wasn’t I would love to see Danny Boyle win for the second best film of the year. David Fincher has a good eye and Benjamin Button looks great, but it is lacking substance. I hate Ron Howard but I liked Frost/Nixon. I just don’t think he did anything special enough that makes him worthy of a nomination. Gus Van Sant I would be okay with winning for Milk. He did a great job of using real footage, and the movie was really good. I can’t even talk about Stephen Daldry for The Reader. (Winner: Danny Boyle)

Documentary
I have not seen all of these movies, but I had to mention Man on Wire. It simply was the best movie of 2008 and if you haven’t seen it yet then stop reading this and go rent it. Or just buy it. (Winner: Man on Wire)

Original Screenplay
Wall-E was okay. I love Mike Leigh and Happy Go Lucky was a fun movie. Frozen River was hard to watch but it was great, and Milk was well written. I think for originality it should go to In Bruges. Brutal but terrific film and on my top ten list for 2008. (Winner: Milk)

Adapted Screenplay
Again I would have to go with Slumdog since I want it to win Best Picture. Doubt and Frost/Nixon are worthy, but Benjamin Button is not and, again, I just want The Reader to go away. (Winner: Slumdog Millionaire)

Film Editing
This is always a strange category. How do you tell exactly? Well, I think Milk did a great job with the use of old footage at times so I would give it to them. Slumdog’s storytelling in flashbacks was well done, too. Benjamin and Frost/Nixon were okay and The Dark Knight was well done. (Winner: Slumdog Millionaire)

Animated Feature
Well, with only three of them, this is an easy one. Bolt was good but really doesn’t deserve to be nominated. Kung Fu Panda was more fun than Wall-E but the visuals alone in Wall-E make it the best of the year. (Winner: Wall-E)

Visual Effects
When you have The Dark Knight and Iron Man in this category, how is it that Benjamin Button is the one that deserves to win? Even though I didn’t think that much of the movie, the special effects are simply incredible. (Winner: Benjamin Button)

Cinematography & Art Direction – And Throw in Sound Mixing and Editing too!
These have to go to The Dark Knight and you will especially agree with me if you saw it in IMAX. If you didn’t, you really missed out. (Winners: Slumdog Millionaire, Cinematography; Benjamin Button, Art Direction; Slumdog Millionaire, Sound Mixing; The Dark Knight, Sound Editing)

Costume Design
Who cares. I didn’t even see The Duchess, but I’m sure there were a ton of big dresses that had to be made by someone. (Winner: The Duchess)

Makeup
Another one I don’t care about but Benjamin Button obviously used a lot of makeup on Brad. Just not as much as they did on Ron Perlman in Hellboy II. (Winner: Benjamin Button)

Original Score
I have to go with Slumdog Millionaire again. It really sets the tone for the film and when there are so many changes in tone, they did a great job. (Winner: Slumdog Millionaire)

Original Song
“Down to Earth” by Peter Gabriel in Wall-E? Don’t remember it. “Jai Ho” and “O…Saya” from Slumdog? Well, I am not humming them all day, but I do remember them fondly from a great movie. (Winner: “Jai Ho”)

The Oscars: 2007

by James Evans

ACTOR – LEADING
George Clooney – Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones – In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises

I do believe this will go to Daniel Day-Lewis, although I wouldn’t mind an upset if George Clooney won. Tommy Lee Jones was great, but the movie didn’t do well and the ending was too much. Johnny Depp shouldn’t even be on the list and Emile Hirsch should be up there for Into the Wild instead.

Winner: Daniel Day Lewis

ACTOR – SUPPORTING
Casey Affleck – Jesse James
Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
Hal Holbrook – Into the Wild
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War
Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton

My personal pick would be Hal Holbrook and not just because he’s old. His performance was so good and he has never been recognized for his work. Javier is certainly worthy, and I will have no problem when he wins. Missing from the list is Josh Brolin also for No Country for Old Men.

Winner: Javier Bardem

ACTRESS – LEADING
Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth
Julie Christie – Away From Her
Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney – The Savages
Ellen Page - Juno

I didn’t see La Vie en Rose and I wasn’t that impressed with Away From Her. Nobody thought Cate would get nominated for the sequel that tanked. Laura Linney is always so good, but I want Ellen Page to win. Missing from the list would be Amy Adams for Enchanted. Might seem like a strange choice, but she did such a good job of playing a Disney Princess and I dare anyone to try it.

Winner: Marion Cotillard

ACTRESS – SUPPORTING
Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There
Ruby Dee – American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan – Atonement
Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Tough category. My favorite would be Amy Ryan. Tilda and Saoirse are both worthy. Not that she was bad, but Ruby Dee was nominated for her age. Cate should take this one home and deservedly so. Except that the woman who really should win was not even nominated. Catherine Keener in Into the Wild was the best performance all year.

Winner: Tilda Swinton

ANIMATED FEATURE
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surfs Up

Surfs Up? Really? At least Shrek 47 didn’t get a nomination. You really should see Persepolis which should have been nominated for Best Foreign Film. The animation here is amazing, but Ratatouille will probably win, which is fine. It’s a great movie.

Winner: Ratatouille

DIRECTING
Julian Schnabel – Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman – Juno
Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton
Joel and Ethan Coen – No Country
P.T. Anderson – There Will Be Blood

Joel and Ethan should win. P.T. and Tony both deserve the nomination. I have not seen Diving Bell, although I plan to now. Juno was great, but Jason should be out and Sean Penn should be in for Into the Wild. I would have liked it if Todd Haynes had been recognized for I’m Not There.

Winner: Joel and Ethan Coen

SCREENPLAY – ADAPTED
Atonement
Away From Her
Diving Bell
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

The Coens should take this one home as well. Again, missing would be Into the Wild.

Winner: No Country for Old Men

SCREENPLAY – ORIGINAL
Juno
Lars and the Real Girl
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
The Savages

Diablo Cody has all the hype behind her and I loved Juno. I was happy to see Ratatouille get nominated since animated films are usually overlooked. I think a missing movie here would have to be Superbad, which was funny and had a heart and how could you not recognize how original the screenplay was for I’m Not There even though it was inspired by Bob Dylan.

Winner: Juno

BEST PICTURE
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

It should be all love for the Coens and No Country for Old Men. Michael Clayton was a close second for my favorite film of the year, and Juno and There Will Be Blood I am good with being on the list. Atonement was a bad made-for-TV movie, and I can’t believe it is up here. In its place should be Into the Wild. It’s strange because I didn’t even put this in my top 10, but now I am reconsidering that decision. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much I liked it. I was blinded by how stupid the main character is, but that shouldn’t stop me from appreciating the movie. Another one missing is I’m Not There which was the most interesting and unique film of the year.

Winner: No Country for Old Men