I've seen all the movies in each category unless otherwise noted.
Supporting Actor:
GEORGE CLOONEY in "Syriana," Matt Dillon in "Crash," Paul Giamatti in "Cinderella Man," Jake Gyllenhaal in "Brokeback Mountain," William Hurt in "A History of Violence"
I would have given this award to Jake Gyllenhaal, if only because I feel bad for him after Jimmy Kimmel noted, "Neither Heath Ledger nor Jake Gyllenhaal won their awards, so apparently they made out for no reason at all."
In all seriousness I thought he did a good job and deserved the win over Clooney. Looking over the other nominees I think this may have been the strongest field.
Supporting Actress:
RACHEL WEISZ in "The Constant Gardener," Amy Adams in "Junebug," Catherine Keener in "Capote," Frances McDormand in "North Country," Michelle Williams in "Brokeback Mountain"
I didn't see Gardener or Junebug. In fact I'm fairly certain I've never even heard of Junebug. I like Rachel Weisz so if I ever see Gardener I might vote for her retroactively. For now, I'll vote for Michelle Williams. Call it a most improved award.
Actor:
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN in "Capote," Terrence Howard in "Hustle & Flow," Heath Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain," Joaquin Phoenix in "Walk the Line," David Strathairn in "Good Night, and Good Luck"
I didn't see Hustle and Flow, but Hoffman is great and I'm glad he won.
Actress:
REESE WITHERSPOON in "Walk the Line," Judi Dench in "Mrs. Henderson Presents," Felicity Huffman in "Transamerica," Keira Knightley in "Pride & Prejudice," Charlize Theron in "North Country"
I only saw Walk the Line and North Country. If and when I see Transamerica I may cast a retroactive vote for Huffman, but for now I'll agree with the Academy's choice on this one.
Director:
ANG LEE for "Brokeback Mountain," George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Paul Haggis for "Crash," Bennett Miller for "Capote," Steven Spielberg for "Munich"
If anything I would say Ang Lee held back the potential greatness of Brokeback, so he should be punished not rewarded. I guess I'd give this award to Spielberg just because we know he's good. It was just a weak year for movies.
Picture:
"CRASH," "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Munich"
I would have voted for Brokeback Mountain. My primary requirement for best picture is that it should be memorable. Everyone is talking about Brokeback, and most people aren't saying it was bad, just that the romance could have been more convincing.
The problem with Crash is it's forgettable. I remember enjoying it, but I don't remember everything that happens, and I don't remember thinking it was that great at the time.
I think my runner-up would be Munich. Capote was good too but once you give the best actor award to Hoffman that's really all the recognition it deserves. Good Night was good but ultimately forgettable.
All around a forgettable year. Hopefully next year will be better!
7 comments:
I think the only reason people are talking about Brokeback Mtn so much is the fact that it is about two gay cowboys. Quite a difference from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Im sure Clint Eastwood is rolling over in his grave...oh wait - he might still be alive.
As for Crash (the only one I saw), I enjoyed it a lot....but then it ended abruptly. There were too many stories going on to just have a two hour movie. This should have been Crash I with Crash II and III to wrap things up.
I saw:
Munich
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Syriana
Cinderella Man
North Country
Walk the Line
I am about to watch Hustle & Flow - it's really uncomfortable to watch at first. Terrence Howard will win an Oscar someday, he's fantastic.
I have a different opinion re: Crash, and the Best Supporting Actor. Crash really resonated with me, especially that scene with Matt Dillon pulling Thandie Newton out of the burning car. It really tied everything together for me, that even racism isn't the easiest thing to define. I really think he deserved an Oscar for that performance, and that Crash deserved the Best Picture.
Best Supporting:
Rachel Weisz was hot, but her acting wasn't exceptional. I'd have to say, from the clips they showed, that Amy Adams & Michelle Williams got robbed.
Best Actor:
Philip Seymour Hoffman, again, looking at the clips and not the movie, looked convincing, and probably deserved it.
Best Actress:
Reese Witherspoon is sweet and nice...but her role as June Carter Cash really wasn't a stretch, until you factor in that she didn't think she could sing. I'm calling her bullshit on this one. She knew. And that's what sent her over the top, because her acting was good, not great. She knew that if it looked like it was a stretch for her to sing, that they'd vote for her. She's that cunning. The daughter of a doctor & lawyer. Sharp as a tack.
In contrast, Felicity Huffman had to play a MAN, who was converting into a WOMAN. This category was absolute horseshit.
Best Director:
Ang Lee is the world's worst director. I've never seen a movie that he's directed that I liked. He took an automatic, hit-it-out-of-the-park movie franchise (The Hulk), worth in upwards of 800MM if done right (see: Spiderman), and RUINED IT. Why? Because he's not a good director.
You're right, Spielberg deserved another Oscar for Munich. We are all spoiled because of him, there isn't a greater director in the world, with the possible exception of Martin Scorsese.
wait, wait, wait - Felicity Huffman ISNT a man?!
I never saw Brokeback. I was commenting on how terrible Ang Lee is. I'll blog about it, I've wasted enough of poor Bob's space in here...
Brokeback was a success. I wouldn't say he fucked it up. What I said was he "held back the potential greatness." By that I mean the movie could have been made better through the intangibles that a good director brings - the character interaction and what is communicated without dialogue. Speaking of dialogue I thought the screenwriting (which also won an Oscar) could have been better. Basically they started out with a great story and didn't do it justice.
There's a great article that talks about the Crash v. Brokeback debate here.
I didn't blog about it, no time today. Bottom line, Ang Lee's only good movie (in America) was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I think he lacks American cultural perspective, and because of that his movies fall short of expectations.
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