OSCAR Predictions - Despite the fact that I will Still Boycott!

[kirkmusic]

Yeah, Letters is my least favorite of the 5.  I'm seeing it again today (I'm seeing 4 of the 5 movies at Embarcadero today; Letters, Queen, Venus, and Painted Veil  ) to maybe catch something I missed.

The Pitt/Blanchet story was my favorite part of Babel.  What I noticed about the dialogue was that it was so spare.  Everything important was said between the lines.  Cate Blanchet kicks ass.

Lynne - Deliver Us From Evil is the only documentary I've ever seen that I wished was longer because I wanted to know more.  If I hadn't already seen the presentation that Al Gore makes in An Inconvenient Truth it might have had more of an impact on me.  The latter is gonna get the Oscar but I'm pulling for the former having not seen the other 3 nominees, because I can't imagine anything being better than the former.

[chefjudy]

  

Actress:  Mirren will get it.  None of these nominees really jumped out at me with the acting skill displayed, so I'm going to root for Penelope Cruz for having the most engaging presense in her role. (Update 2/2: Saw The Queen again and I take it back.  Mirren was pretty great.)

I just saw The Queen this past weekend and it is very good - definitely worth watching.  Helen Mirren owns that movie and so became Elizabeth II - but what seemed to resonate with me was not what she said, rather what she didn't say - a gesture here, a nod or even a glance or glare, she made the Queen seem human and even a little soft, but also brittle and haughty - I have not seen any of the other women in their nominated roles, so I won't say this is the best of the lot, but it sure was great!

wish I had time to see all of the nominees as I am such a movie buff - oh well, there is always cable

[Eire1978]

I saw the nominations for Best Original Score and that Thomas Newman is nominated for The Good German... why not for Little Children? The music he wrote for Little Children is so much better!!
And he should have won for American Beauty and Road to Perdition btw.

Who agrees/disagrees?

[ednbarby]

I haven't seen Little Children yet, unfortunately.  But I don't remember the music from The Good German, so it can't have been that good. 

I do remember the music from American Beauty and The Road to Perdition vaguely and I definitely remember liking it, so it surprises me it wasn't nominated.

But then again, not much those numbnuts do surprises me much these days.

[Lynne]

Watching Pan's L, reminded me of watching Brokeback Mountain for the first time.  It is very brutal and honest and not what I expected.  It requires a thinking mind and a heart to enjoy it.  What a treasure from Mexico.

I saw Pan's Labyrinth yesterday and completely understand what you're saying here, Adrian.  I was expecting it to be much more violent than it was (based on some other reviews here or in another thread, I think).  But the editing seemed to cut appropriately so that it did not get to me the way graphic violence usually does. 

What a beautiful blend of fantasy and realism!  It left me believing both were true, if that makes any sense, and strangely uplifted.     

[Eire1978]

"I do remember the music from American Beauty and The Road to Perdition vaguely and I definitely remember liking it, so it surprises me it wasn't nominated"

He was nominated for both but unfortunately he didn't win.

[Lynne]

Lynne - Deliver Us From Evil is the only documentary I've ever seen that I wished was longer because I wanted to know more.

I'll put this one on my list, Kirk - best I can tell, it's nowhere nearby, not even Atlanta, right now.  Thanks for the recommendation!

[oilgun]

 
I just saw The Queen this past weekend and it is very good - definitely worth watching.  Helen Mirren owns that movie and so became Elizabeth II - but what seemed to resonate with me was not what she said, rather what she didn't say - a gesture here, a nod or even a glance or glare, she made the Queen seem human and even a little soft, but also brittle and haughty - I have not seen any of the other women in their nominated roles, so I won't say this is the best of the lot, but it sure was great!

I finally saw The Queen as well and Helen Mirren certainly deserves to win, she was amazing!  She does communicate so much with just a look or gesture.  A pleasure to watch.  However, the film's BP nomination is a bit harder to defend.  Because it was filled with so many impersonators I found it difficult to take seriously.  I kept wondering who was going to play Elton John, lol!  The performances were all excellent, I'm not blaming the acting,  maybe it's Frears non-descript style that made it feel a bit like a TV movie, albeit an excellent one.

[ednbarby]

I agree, oilgun.  The one that threw me off the most was the bloke who played Prince Charles.  Hell, I look more like Prince Charles than that guy did.  It's like he got the Queen and Blair spot-on but then decided to blow off the rest.

One thing I especially liked about his direction, though, was that he never really showed William or Harry - they were always shown ducking into a room somewhere from behind.  I appreciated that he didn't resort to manipulating his audience by showing the sad little boys.

[Lynne]

I finally saw THE DEPARTED.  Whew!  What a ride!

Wahlberg, Damon, and DiCaprio - they all were excellent, but Wahlberg really stood above it all - go Marky!  Nicholson was his usual amazing self, of course.  I liked the plot a whole lot - quite complex and twisted and good.  It was very violent, though - don't take any kiddies! - makes PAN'S LABYRINTH look rated G in comparison.

I also appreciated the performance of Boston, my adopted hometown.  I like it when the location is, in essence, its own character.  This is frequently true for movies set in LA.  The various locations in BABEL were vital and perfectly cast.  And BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN obviously could not have occurred anywhere except 1963 Wyoming.

-Lynne