The Pop Pirate

Off To the Races (Part II)

As the Awards Season continues to build toward the big night, let's continue on with my humble thoughts on Oscar contenders in some of the major categories.

Best Actor is a tough category for me to gauge, since the probable winner (if the preliminary awards are any indication), Phillip Seymour Hoffman, is from a movie I haven't yet seen, Capote. I also have not seen this year's biggest surprise nomination- Terrance Howard in Hustle and Flow. That being said, I did enjoy all of the nominated performances I did actually witness. David Strathrairn was brilliant in portraying Edward R. Murrow's righteous indignation bubbling under the surface of smooth professionalism. Joaquin Phoenix beautifully captured the passion and instability of a young rocker (and Johnny Cash was a rocker, no matter what genre you classify his music into). My favorite male performance this year, however, was Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. Mr. Ledger communicated Enis's conflicted soul with unbelievable stillness and reticence. In many ways, the movie's success as a story hinged on the audience's sympathy toward Enis, and Mr. Ledger invited that sympathy so subtly that you probably won't even notice it until you're sobbing into your popcorn napkins.

The big award of the night is, of course, the Best Picture category. This category can bring a beautiful small film to the masses- would you have heard of The English Patient, otherwise? And it can bring artistic legitimacy to the biggest of blockbusters, like Titanic and Return of the King. This year, it will certainly be the former, since the combined five nominees have grossed less than $200 million combined. For my money, Good Night, and Good Luck was too dispassionate and measured to become a true classic. Munich suffered too greatly from the overhandedness discussed in my last post to make it to the podium at the end of the night. Again, I didn't see Capote, but my understanding is that the movie is more amazing due to the amazing portrayal of the title character than about the story. I loved Crash. It was an ambitious, heartfelt, thought provoking film that will certainly live in my DVD collection, but it wasn't even nominated for Best Picture at the Globes. Maybe it's too touchy feely for the Hollywood types, but it's up there for me. Even though I loved Crash, I think one film this year is even more deserving of the top prize next weekend. That is, of course, Brokeback Mountain. Everything in this film was executed flawlessly. From the locations, to the casting, to the acting, to the script to the costumes. Perfectly done. This is a small movie that has something to say (about forbidden love, not at all about homosexuality, incidentally), and it says it eloquently.

Next week I'll give my picks (without so much yapping) for the minor categories for those of you playing along at home...

posted by Jeff @ 6:14 PM