Movie notes for a Tuesday

So Oscar nominations are out and I have a few things to say about that. I'll hit some of the major categories and some of the ones that I like particularly. And, yes, I plan to comment on movies that I have not seen.

Visual Effects: How do you choose between Chronic(what)cles of Narnia,, King Kong and War of the Worlds? Well, you dump the movie with Tom Cruise, then dump the LotR ripoff and you end up with King Kong winning.

Documentary: Although I really liked March of the Penguins, I think I would like to see Murderball win because it was more original and interesting. However, this seems to be the year of the penguin, so I think that'll probably win. Other nominees: Darwin's Nightmare, Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room, Street Fight.

Original Song: usually an award to a terrible song, but I did see Hustle and Flow. "Its Hard Out Here for a Pimp" was not only a good song (in the view of this middle class white boy), but was the centerpiece of the movie. I hope it wins over Dolly Parton especially.

Cinematography: This is one of my favorite categories because I always consider how a movie looks when I see it. One of the all-time biggest rip-offs in this category was when Rushmore lost to Saving Private Ryan. That was a great movie, but I thought that they often relied on the slo-mo action scene. However, I think 2nd place would have been good for SPR if THE FREAKING IDIOTS AT THE ACADEMY HAD EVEN NOMINATED RUSHMORE!!! I thought that Rushmore was a great looking movie and it seemed like every shot was thought out in great detail. Anyways, this year I think the favorites should be Batman Begins and Good Night and Good Luck. Yeah, I know Brokeback Mountain is also a favorite, but is it really that hard to make nature look good? Plus, it will win every other award, so let's throw someone else a bone here.

Animated Feature Film: Note that there are no generic Disney/Pixar computer graphic-only movies in the category this year. Nick Park movies are always great and Wallace and Gromit should win this one. Other nominees: Howl's Moving Castle and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.

Original Screenplay: I think Good Luck and Good Night is a deserved winner in this category, but I thought Squid and the Whale was also well written. Other nominees: Crash, Match Point, Syriana

Adapted Screenplay: probably Brokeback Mountain, but I really don't care much for this category.

Director: I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain and don't plan on seeing it. Its a chick flick in my opinion. However, Ang Lee is all the talk here and will probably win. Good Night and Good Luck is the only movie I saw in this category, and would also be a deserved winner. Spielberg has enough awards so I don't see him winning. Other nominees: Bennett Miller for Capote and Paul Haggis for Crash.

Supporting Actress: I saw none of these movies and only know one of the actresses so I won't say anything. I just didn't want anybody to think I was sexist because I ditched this category.

Supp. Actor: I saw none of these movies either, but Jake Gyllenhall is in Brokeback Mountain so he's probably the favorite. I don't see Matt Dillon (Crash) ever winning an Oscar, so he's out. Other nominees: Clooney for Syriana, Giamatti for Cinderella Man (he gets my vote because he's in the same limited looks category as me), William Hurt for A History of Violence.

Best Actress: If Judy Dench was in Wedding Crashers they would have nominated her. I think they just need to give her lifetime achievement and let other people win. This is where I think Walk the Line will get its honor. Did I just suggest that Reese Witherspoon will win an Oscar? I guess I did. Other nominees: Felicity Huffman for TransAmerica, Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice (she gets the hot chick vote), and Charlize Theron for North County.

Best Actor: This is probably the hardest one to pick. These were all great performances. OK, I only saw 3 of the 5, but P.S. Hoffman looked like he did a good job in the trailer and everyone else says Heath Ledger was great in Brokeback. However, I think this will be another Walk the Line category. I'm not sure that I have ever bought into a character in a movie as much as Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Johnny Cash. However, David Strathairn was out-of-this-world good in Good Night and Good Luck and although Terence Howard has to have the greatest odds against him, he was soooooooo good in Hustle & Flow. Again, TOUGH choice. Although I picked Phoenix, there's a good chance it'll be Heath Ledger, but he should be ineligible since he was in Brothers Grimm and Knight's Tale.

Best Picture: I saw Good Night and Good Luck, but none of the others. I have to be honest and say that I know Brokeback will win, but Good Night and Good Luck was REALLY good. Munich doesn't stand a chance here, nor does Crash. Again, Capote's trailer looked good and it deserves the nomination. What about Walk the Line? Not even nominated? I heard a reviewer this morning say that the actual making of the movie was not that good, which I guess I can understand.

In the end, I will have to see Brokeback Mountain just so I can legitimately say that Good Night and Good Luck got ripped off when it loses, but there is nothing about this movie that interests me. And its got nothing to do with being a homophobe, I just don't dig romance movies. For some reason I just think that this movie is more hype than quality, but I guess I can't say that fairly until I see it.