Moviepie Home
Currently in Theaters
Video / DVD
Moviepie Musings
Cool Links
Get to Know Us!
Archives:
Slice
Film Festivals
E-mail us!
OSCARS 2005: Picks and Predictions
Who Should Win, Who Will Win, and Who Was Left Out
[February 20, 2006] - by Linda
Check out the full list of nominees (and eventual winners!) of Oscar Nominations 2005. Plus we'll have our awards-show wrap-up after the Oscars on March 5th.BEST PICTURE:
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
MUNICH
The little pony that had been leading this race since, oh I don't know, it was on the festival circuit is Ang Lee's gorgeous and restrained western Brokeback Mountain (no gay cowboys jokes here ... how yesterday). Good Night, and Good Luck and Capote are two indie movies with small box office, and will probably get their awards in other categories. Munich stumbled at the starting line, with Spielberg's lack of promotion that ended up biting its box office in the butt. Crash is the only contender that could be a spoiler for the cowboys, with its excellent ensemble of actors and explosive themes. But the award is going to go to the movie that still has people talking, and thusly made more of a cultural impact than any of the other nominees.
Who should win: Brokeback Mountain
Who will win: Brokeback Mountain
Who was left out: None of the nominated movies were on my Top Ten for the year, but the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line sure was. I'm sure I wasn't the only one surprised not to see it in this category!
BEST DIRECTOR:
Ang Lee - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Bennett Miller - CAPOTE
Paul Haggis - CRASH
George Clooney - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
Steven Spielberg - MUNICH
This is the first time in years that the Best Pictures and Best Directors were a 5-for-5 match. No one has to pout about the unfairness of a Best Picture "directing itself" (an annual complaint). Bennett Miller, Paul Haggis, and George Clooney are all first-time nominees, and are I'm sure just thrilled to be there. That leaves it down to Steven Spielberg (his Munich was widely considered daring and controversial) and Ang Lee (who is widely respected for his deft hand at every genre he touches). As in most years, I'm sure this prize will be a match with Best Picture, so it goes to Lee. I just hope that Julia Roberts presents his prize, like she inadvertantly did for Lee's Golden Globe for directing Crouching Tiger. She'll probably still try to announce Steven Soderbergh as the winner out of defiance!
Who should win: Ang Lee
Who will win: Ang Lee
Who was left out: Let's think outside the box for a moment. This category is always so male-dominated. What about recognizing Miranda July, whose Me and You and Everyone We Know was the debut of an exciting new talent?
BEST ACTOR:
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE
Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
Unlike every critic on the planet, I wasn't all gaga over Heath Ledger's mush-mouthed performance in Brokeback Mountain. Sorry. In fact I feel a little guilty. Terrence Howard should get the Man of the Year award for appearing in seemingly every movie, and impressing in every one. David Strathairn has been around for a long time doing excellent work (like several of the nominees, for that matter), so his nomination is his award. Joaquin was great as Johnny Cash, but you have to admit that Reese's June Carter stole Walk the Line. That leaves the guy who seems to have a lot of momentum the last few weeks. Philip Seymour Hoffman has been on everyone's radar for years now, and his weird, lispy and affected performance as the complicated and manipulative Truman Capote will walk away with this prize.
Who should win: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Who will win: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Who was left out: I know I wasn't the only one who thought this, but Jeff Daniels' performance as a washed-up pompous writer in The Squid and the Whale was a revelation.
BEST ACTRESS:
Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE
This is simply a two-woman race. Judi Dench phoned in her performance to Mrs. Henderson Presents, and still got a nomination. Charlize was quite good in North Country, but she got the award a couple years ago, so won't be getting another this time around. Keira Knightley? Too young. That leaves the two women that have been raking in prizes left and right for their performances as June Carter Cash, and a pre-op transsexual, repectively. You couldn't really have two more different performances, but I'd like to think that Reese's Witherspoon's June and Felicity Huffman's Bree might be friends if they met in a southern diner. Reese brought soul to her movie, and Felicity brought an astonishing amount of heart to hers. Heck, this is a tough one!
Who should win: TIE: Reese Witherspoon or Felicity Huffman, I'd be happy with both!
Who will win: Reese Witherspoon
Who was left out: Once again, voters were scrambling to fill five slots from Hollywood films. Forget her lead role in Memoirs of a Geisha, Zhang Ziyi was heartbreaking as a prostitute in love in 1960s Hong Kong in 2046.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
George Clooney - SYRIANA
Matt Dillon - CRASH
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
It is kind of baffling that Jake Gyllenhaal, who was pretty much in his entire movie, and William Hurt, who had a total of 10 minutes of screen time in his, are in the same category. Ahh... the politics of the Oscars! Neither of those two are front runners in this race. Paul Giamatti gets one of Cinderella Man's few nominations, and he could be a spoiler—Oscar voters feel guilty about not nominating him for better roles in Sideways and American Splendor. But most likely it will be down to Matt Dillon for being a standout in a movie full of outstanding performances (Crash), and George Clooney, who had a great year in front of, and behind the camera. Oscar will probably give Clooney one award, this one, and let him go home a happy man.
Who should win: Matt Dillon
Who will win: George Clooney
Who was left out: I'm surprised as anyone to be saying this, but a standout in the super-stylish (and super-violent) ensemble Sin City was none other than... Mickey Rourke?!?! Return to form, or total fluke, he was perfect for his role as a thug with a heart.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Amy Adams - JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE
Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Catherine Keener is an indie favorite, but will probably be remembered more for her goofy role in The 40-Year-Old Virgin this year. In North Country, Frances McDormand effortlessly stole every scene she was in... but she already has an Oscar on her shelf for another Minnesota character. Really, this category is a close one between three contenders: Maybe Michelle Williams will get the prize if Heath is passed up. Maybe Amy Adams wonderful wide-eyed pregnant woman in Junebug will sneak the prize if enough people see it. But most likely Rachel Weisz, who already has a shelf-full of awards for her role as the sassy, intelligent and trouble-making Tessa Quayle in The Constant Gardener, will run away with another one.
Who should win: Rachel Weisz
Who will win: Rachel Weisz
Who was left out: Funny enough, Catherine Keener, for her charming, sexy Trish in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL):
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
MATCH POINT
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
SYRIANA
This would be the perfect way for the Academy to recognized Paul Haggis' Crash, if the film doesn't get any other awards. Syriana was dense an "important" film, but audiences got confused. Match Point got Woody Allen back in good graces with the critics, but it wasn't really embraced by audiences. People may think that Good Night, and Good Luck wrote itself, with all of its historical footage. But personally I liked The Squid and the Whale—just the right combo of smart and wit, with a little bit of melancholy. But I think I was the only one who saw the movie!
Who should win: The Squid and the Whale
Who will win: Crash
Who was left out: Once again, comedy is ignored. Missing? The 40-Year-Old Virgin's laugh-out-loud screenplay.
BEST SCREENPLAY (ADAPTATION):
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
MUNICH
The could be a way for David Cronenberg's popular A History of Violence to get an award, but it is not much of a front-runner. Munich may be too controversial, once again. Capote sounds like it was a labor of love, but the Academy will probably give it the much flashier Best Actor award instead. I think this will probably go to Brokeback, which impressively fleshed out a feature film from a short story. But I'd love to see it go to The Constant Gardener. In its DVD extras, author John Le Carré even said he was impressed with what his complex book morphed into on screen. It would be great to see this rich and surprisingly moving thriller get recognized.
Who should win: The Constant Gardener
Who will win: Brokeback Mountain
Who was left out: So, there's this old book called Pride & Prejudice, and I heard last time they made it, it was six hours long. Impressive that they figured out to whittle the story down, and still make it delightful!
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
What sort of cruel, cruel fate makes me choose from Hayao Miyazaki's wonderous Howl's Moving Castle, and Aardman Animation's long-awaited feature-length Wallace and Gromit film? Cruel, I tell you! Heck, and in any other year, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride would be a shoo-in, with its puppet-like stop-motion characters and clever Danny Elfman tunes. (I wring my hands and bite my lip on this one...)
Who should win: Howl's Moving Castle
Who will win: Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Who was left out: For the first time ever, there are no wasted nominations here! The Academy is right-on for once!
Home | Currently Playing | For Rent | Links | "Get to know us!"
©2006
Moviepie e-mail us
