Oscar Watch!
Even though I have not seen most of the movies nominated for this year's Academy Awards (damn my stupid career!), I thought I would share whom I would like to win, not necessarily based on the performances, but rather on personal inclinations.
Best Actor:
Here I have to go with Heath Ledger. I actually saw Brokeback Mountain, thought it was great, thought he was especially great. For someone who starred in 10 Things I Hate About You and Casanova, you've got to give him props. My second pick would be Philip Seymour Hoffman, even though I haven't seen Capote, as he's generally great in everything. I think for Academy voters it probably comes down to which people think is harder - to nail an outlandish personality like Capote's, or to portray a quiet character as vividly as Ledger.
Best Supporting Actor:
The only performances here I've seen are Hurt's and Gyllenhaal's. I wouldn't pick Jake, although Brokeback Mountain is one of my favorites of the year. He just wasn't as convincing as Ledger when it came to the aging of his character. There was no sense of world-weariness or maturity about him as his character grew older - it was more like, "Dude, Jake has a mustache now! He must be old!" I liked William Hurt in A History of Violence, but, come on. He was in it for ten minutes. I'm not sure that should count. He was really good, though. So, for purely personal reasons, I'm going to pick Matt Dillon in Crash. He was forced to be in the Herbie the Love Bug remake, people. Third banana, behind Lindsey Lohan and a freakin' car. He deserves it.
Best Actress:
I've only seen Walk the Line out of these, and I thought Reese was great. I'm sure Felicity Huffman rocked the casbah, but I also think it's easy to give the award to the showiest performance. So, Reese it is.
Best Supporting Actress:
Here I've actually seen 3 out of the 5 movies - Brokeback, The Constant Gardener and Junebug. Michelle Williams was excellent, but Amy Adams was a revelation. She took a character that could have easily been a stereotype and made her complicated. Her character is so sweet, she could have come off as saccharine or just plain uninteresting, but it was fantastic. Plus, the role ran the gamut from comedy to drama, and it really blew me away. I have to say that I think the roles for the women in this category were much more interesting and deeper than the ones in the Leading Actress category. Kind of depressing, but maybe a sign of things to come?
Best Director and Best Picture:
Ang Lee and Brokeback Mountain. I think this was just a great movie. I liked that it was a small story with expansive visuals. Just well done all around, and I've never understood how someone can win Best Director while someone else wins Best Picture, so I have to put the two together.
So, those are my purely irrational thoughts on the topic. Anyone else have a different view, or you know, actually seen some of the other films?
Best Actor:
Here I have to go with Heath Ledger. I actually saw Brokeback Mountain, thought it was great, thought he was especially great. For someone who starred in 10 Things I Hate About You and Casanova, you've got to give him props. My second pick would be Philip Seymour Hoffman, even though I haven't seen Capote, as he's generally great in everything. I think for Academy voters it probably comes down to which people think is harder - to nail an outlandish personality like Capote's, or to portray a quiet character as vividly as Ledger.
Best Supporting Actor:
The only performances here I've seen are Hurt's and Gyllenhaal's. I wouldn't pick Jake, although Brokeback Mountain is one of my favorites of the year. He just wasn't as convincing as Ledger when it came to the aging of his character. There was no sense of world-weariness or maturity about him as his character grew older - it was more like, "Dude, Jake has a mustache now! He must be old!" I liked William Hurt in A History of Violence, but, come on. He was in it for ten minutes. I'm not sure that should count. He was really good, though. So, for purely personal reasons, I'm going to pick Matt Dillon in Crash. He was forced to be in the Herbie the Love Bug remake, people. Third banana, behind Lindsey Lohan and a freakin' car. He deserves it.
Best Actress:
I've only seen Walk the Line out of these, and I thought Reese was great. I'm sure Felicity Huffman rocked the casbah, but I also think it's easy to give the award to the showiest performance. So, Reese it is.
Best Supporting Actress:
Here I've actually seen 3 out of the 5 movies - Brokeback, The Constant Gardener and Junebug. Michelle Williams was excellent, but Amy Adams was a revelation. She took a character that could have easily been a stereotype and made her complicated. Her character is so sweet, she could have come off as saccharine or just plain uninteresting, but it was fantastic. Plus, the role ran the gamut from comedy to drama, and it really blew me away. I have to say that I think the roles for the women in this category were much more interesting and deeper than the ones in the Leading Actress category. Kind of depressing, but maybe a sign of things to come?
Best Director and Best Picture:
Ang Lee and Brokeback Mountain. I think this was just a great movie. I liked that it was a small story with expansive visuals. Just well done all around, and I've never understood how someone can win Best Director while someone else wins Best Picture, so I have to put the two together.
So, those are my purely irrational thoughts on the topic. Anyone else have a different view, or you know, actually seen some of the other films?