It’s going to a be a little hard for me to make Oscar predictions at this point. I haven’t been able to see as many movies as I would have liked to because of added responsibilities I’ve willingly taken on.
It’s going to a be a little hard for me to make Oscar predictions at this point. I haven’t been able to see as many movies as I would have liked to because of added responsibilities I’ve willingly taken on. But that doesn’t mean I’ve lightened up on my obsession with Oscar.
I can comment on the careers of actors and on the performances that I have seen and between now and when the Oscars air on Sunday, Feb. 25, I would have seen as many of the movies as I can.
I was up bright and early Tuesday morning, watching the announcements made by Oscar-nominated actress Salma Hayek and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis. Some were shoe-ins and some were surprises.
Let’s talk about the Top 6.
For best actor, I totally called Will Smith on his portrayal of Chris Gardner in “The Pursuit of Happyness.” Though he nearly brought me to tears, he faces tough competition from Forest Whitaker, who is considered the front-runner.
Ryan Gosling’s nomination for “Half Nelson” as a teacher addicted to crack isn’t too much of a surprise. With the surge he’s been getting in the last couple of weeks, it’s almost like the Academy was hinting at it. A sleeper surprise has happened before. Remember when Adrian Brody won for “The Pianist?”
Long-time nominee, no-time winner Peter O’Toole also picked up a nomination for “Venus,” his eighth.
But the biggest surprise for me was Leonardo DiCaprio. The surprise wasn’t so much that he was nominated, but what he was nominated for. My guess would’ve have been for his work as an undercover cop in “The Departed” and not his role as a smuggler in “Blood Diamond.” He was stellar in “The Departed” — a very interesting pick for sure.
For best actress, I’ve always been a fan of Kate Winslet. I loved her in “Heavenly Creatures,” “Hamlet” and “Finding Neverland.” She’s just so great. I’m glad to see her nominated as an adultress in “Little Children.” She has a way of acting, but not acting (if that makes any sense). I’m pulling for her because she’s already been nominated four times (this is her fifth) and I hate seeing someone being nominated so many times and not win (Peter O’Toole, Julianne Moore, Martin Scorsese … more on him later.)
Speaking of a lady with many nominations, the incredible Meryl Streep was nominated for portraying the boss from hell in “The Devil Wears Prada.” If anyone remembers my review of this movie, I loved her in it. She’s now been nominated for Oscar 14 times and has won twice. She’s already got the Golden Globe for it, but she faces serious competition from front-runner Helen Mirren.
Mirren’s performance in “The Queen” is quite possibly the most talked-about performance of them all.
The problem is finding a theater playing the movie. How many of us are able to fly over to the Varsity Theater in Honolulu to see it? Streep even mentioned in her Golden Globe acceptance speech that one of the reasons so many people loved her performance is because so many theaters were playing the movie.
Indie films like “The Queen” don’t have the luxury and exposure of playing everywhere. Lucky enough for Oscar voters though, they get sent DVD copies of the movies.
Judi Dench (“Notes on a Scandal”) and Penelope Cruz (“Volver”) are what I call “nice-to-be-nominated” actresses. You know they’re not going to win, but it’s nice that the academy recognized them.
The supporting categories are drop-dead giveaways. Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” blows all of her fellow nominees out of the water. Sure she’s up against Cate Blanchett (“Notes on a Scandal”), 10-year-old Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) and Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza (“Babel),” but barring some big shocker, Hudson’s got it in the bag.
So, too, does Eddie Murphy. I’ve said it before: If he doesn’t get the Oscar for his work in “Dreamgirls,” I will personally make one for him. He’ll just have to come here and get it.
The way I see it, the only people who can take votes away from him are Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” and Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children.” I consider Alan Arkin and Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond”) long shots.
Bringing it back to Scorsese, five times he has been nominated for best director, and five times he has been passed over. As I said, I hate for people to be nominated so many times and not win. Scorsese is an example of that.
Yes, I feel bad because he’s directed some great movies. It’s just that every year he’s been nominated, there’s been the one film that has been just better. Remember in 2002 when he lost for “Gangs of New York?” Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” was just better. In 2004, he was nominated for “The Aviator,” but Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby” was just better.
This is Scorsese’s sixth nomination. Robert Altman was also nominated six times and never won, but was finally awarded an honorary Oscar in 2005.
Scorsese is up against Eastwood again, this time for “Letters from Iwo Jima.” This could be the year the academy finally awards Scorsese, but I can’t be sure.
Out of all the categories, this one is the hardest. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarrito for “Babel,” Stephen Frears for “The Queen” and Paul Greengrass for “United 93” all have a strong support base. I’d want Scorsese to win because he’s earned it and not because he’s due.
As far as best picture is concerned, I might be the only one who’s not surprised “Dreamgirls” didn’t get a nod. Of all the musicals that have won the Oscar for best picture (“Sound of Music,” My Fair Lady” and “Chicago), “Dreamgirls” just didn’t cut it. I loved the movie, yes, but that doesn’t mean it was of the same caliber as the three mentioned above. Hudson and Murphy were great, but they don’t make up the whole entire movie. The music was great, but that doesn’t make the movie great as a whole either.
It leads all films with eight nominations, but I have no arguments with the five films that did receive best picture nods — “Babel,” “The Departed,” “Letters from Iwo Jima,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and “The Queen.”
For those of you who don’t care about the Oscars, I’ll have you know that it is the second most-watched event in television. Only the Super Bowl gets more viewers.
The ceremony will be broadcast in Hawai‘i on a tape delay on Feb. 25. Ellen Degeneres hosts for the first time.
We’ll have predictions the weekend prior to the broadcast.
• Lanaly Cabalo, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
