Moviepie.com's Slice: Oscars 2003 - Moviepie's Picks and Predictions

OSCARS 2003: Picks and Predictions

Who Should Win, Who Will Win, and Who Was Left Out

[February 19, 2004] - by Linda

Check out the full list of nominees (and winners!) at: Oscar Nominations 2003, and read our post-awards Best and Worst of the Oscars.

BEST PICTURE:

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit

I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy as much as the next geek. It is sweeping, romantic, tragic, and looks fantastic (and I'm not just talking about the cast). Though I personally think Return of the King was the weakest of the three films when you judge it as a stand-alone movie, everyone knows that it is being judged not as an independent movie, but as the capper on a grand 10+ hour epic. And heck, that epic should be recognized. This way I can also make a feeble attempt to keep Lost in Translation, my personal fave of the year, to myself.

Who should win: LOTR: Return of the King
Who will win: LOTR: Return of the King
Who was left out: Finding Nemo, one of the best of the year, animated or not.

BEST DIRECTOR:

Fernando Meirelles, City of God
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation
Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Clint Eastwood, Mystic River

Let me just say this: GOOD FOR YOU, Sofia Coppola!!! Strange to have so much attention, simply because she is only the third woman ever (and first American woman) to be nominated for this award. But heck, check out her lovely, moving, quietly original Lost in Translation—it is a very personal movie. But Lost will prove to be too subtle in a year of Big Pictures though. You all know that it has been coming for three years... Just hand the award to Peter Jackson.

Who should win: Peter Jackson
Who will win: Peter Jackson
Who was left out: Alejandro González Ińárritu, for the complex and multi-layered 21 Grams

BEST ACTOR:

Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog
Jude Law, Cold Mountain
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
Sean Penn, Mystic River

Jude's movie wasn't that great, and the truth is that he was better in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Ben Kingsley won before, and his movie got split reviews. That leaves three great performances left, making this a fun race to watch. Johnny Depp was a hilarious delight in Pirates, but the film is considered a summer popcorn crowdpleaser (and I don't think a drunk pirate has ever won before). Bill Murray got the nomination he greatly deserved as the sad, lost, washed up, yet still funny comic actor Bob Harris in the fabulous Lost in Translation. But it is probably Sean Penn's award to lose. His role is more showy as a grieving father bent on revenge, and the statue would also acknowlege his equally excellent work in this year's 21 Grams.

Who should win: Sean Penn
Who will win: Sean Penn
Who was left out: Tom Cruise, The Last Samurai, if only because he so strongly campaigned to be on the list (waaah-haaaa!).

BEST ACTRESS:

Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider
Diane Keaton, Something’s Gotta Give
Samantha Morton, In America
Charlize Theron, Monster
Naomi Watts, 21 Grams

Diane Keaton is a sentimental favorite, and considered "brave" for flashing some skin in Something's Gotta Give. Naomi Watts is "brave" for going all to hell and looking like a crackhead in 21 Grams. Samantha Morton was a surprise in a sweet film that no one saw. And heck, how about little Keisha Castle-Hughes' nomination-from-nowhere for the festival-favorite Whale Rider? She deserves huge accolades for her speech scene alone. But for the love of Oscar, just hand the award to Charlize Theron NOW. Her performance in Monster was simply astonishing.

Who should win: Charlize Theron
Who will win: Charlize Theron
Who was left out: Scarlett Johansson, Lost in Translation, because Bill Murray's Bob Harris was only half the story

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Alec Baldwin, The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou, In America
Tim Robbins, Mystic River
Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai

The Supporting category once again proves to be a fine race. I have to admit that I have not seen The Cooler (a nomination for Baldwin acknowledges the snub for his equally cutthroat role in Glengarry Glen Ross so many years ago), and The Last Samurai (everyone I know who saw this raved about Ken Watanabe completely stealing the movie from Tom Cruise, so good for him!). Djimon Hounsou was very good in In America, but the race is more likely between Tim Robbins and Benicio Del Toro. As far as Mystic River, I have to admit it took about half the movie to get past Robbins' seemingly exaggerated marble-mouthed, stoop-figured caricature of Dave, but he got me by the end. But in my book, Benicio Del Toro was razor-sharp and scarily believable from the start in 21 Grams.

Who should win: Benicio Del Toro
Who will win: Tim Robbins
Who was left out: Bobby Cannavale, The Station Agent, whose character was wonderfully goofy, annoying, cocky, funny, and sweet.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog
Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River
Holly Hunter, Thirteen
Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain

Shoreh Aghdashloo in House of Sand and Fog

Ohhhh... this is a tough category. I love tough categories, because no matter who wins, they deserve it. Patricia Clarkson is a fabulous actress, but her film was small, and c'mon, you have to admit she was better in High Art. I haven't seen Thirteen, but heard Holly Hunter was great. Renée Zellweger was a scene-stealer, livening up the otherwise dull Cold Mountain. She has sympathy on her side for losing the past couple years for Best Actress, so her time has come. If it were up to me though, I'd give it to either Shohreh Aghdashloo or Marcia Gay Harden, who both broke my heart in their respective movies as tragic wives who shoulder the suffering of their husbands.

Who should win: Shoreh Aghdashloo
Who will win: Renee Zellweger
Who was left out: Emma Thompson for Love Actually, a movie that I didn't really like, but she was so good that I was just happy to have her back on the screen again.

BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL):

The Barbarian Invasions
Dirty Pretty Things
Finding Nemo
In America
Lost in Translation

Sentiment will definitely flow in the direction of In America, a family project (written by Jim Sheridan and his daughters Naomi and Kristin) that was based partly on a sad true story. Lost in Translation was more about mood than dialogue. I didn't see Dirty Pretty Things (though I heard it was great), and Barbarian Invasions was indeed talky, but in the most obnoxious way. But what movie was I quoting lines from all year? It was Finding Nemo that make me ink from laughing so hard at its clever screenplay.

Who should win: Finding Nemo
Who will win: In America
Who was left out: A Mighty Wind, if only for the line about model trains (you know what I mean if you've seen it).

BEST SCREENPLAY (ADAPTATION):

American Splendor
City of God
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Mystic River
Seabiscuit

LOTR: ROTK was an action-driven movie, rather than screenplay-driven, though it must have been a bitch to adapt from Tolkein's wordy tome. They may try to give it to Mystic River, but that is a film remembered for its acting, rather than its screenplay. So give it to American Splendor, which was strange, entirely original, and most importantly full of great dialogue.

Who should win: American Splendor
Who will win: Mystic River
Who was left out: Master and Commander, for taking two novels, cramming them into one story, and still pleasing the series' rabid fans.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:

Brother Bear
Finding Nemo
The Triplets of Belleville

Arrrgh! ARRRGH! Watch me claw at myself in misery for having to choose from two of my top three movies of the year: Finding Nemo and Triplets of Belleville. Both are fantastic movies, and in my eyes are Best Picture quality, animation or no. But as Finding Nemo filled my heart with happiness all year, I lean ever-so-slightly towards the little clown fish. Oh, and screw Disney—Rock on, Pixar!

Who should win: Finding Nemo
Who will win: Finding Nemo
Who was left out: Who cares? The two movies that deserved to be nominated are here, and that's all that matters!

Home | Currently Playing | For Rent | Links | "Get to know us!"

FREE counter and Web statistics from sitetracker.com