Well, another year of Hollywood back-slappery comes to a close with the granddaddy of all ceremonies, the Academy Awards. Never a way of judging the quality of a movie or performance (Titanic, anyone?), the Oscars never the less brings everyone together for a few hours of faking gratified disappointment.
Occasionally, the Academy does get it right, and those films that truly deserve awards-based recognition get the statuettes. But then, the whole concept of competition in art is a little farcical. Nevertheless, here are the major nominations...
BEST FILM
ATONEMENT
JUNO
MICHAEL CLAYTON
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson- THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Ethan And Joel Coen- NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Tony Gilroy- MICHAEL CLAYTON
Jason Reitman- JUNO
Julian Schnabel- THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
George Clooney- MICHAEL CLAYTON
Daniel Day-Lewis- THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Johnny Depp- SWEENY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Tommy Lee Jones- IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
Viggo Mortensen- EASTERN PROMISES
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Cate Blanchett- ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
Julie Christie- AWAY FROM HER
Marion Cotillard- LA VIE EN ROSE
Laura Linney- THE SAVAGES
Ellen Page- JUNO
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Casey Affleck- THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
Javier Bardem- NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Philip Seymour Hoffman- CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR
Hal Holbrook- INTO THE WILD
Tom Wilkinson- MICHAEL CLAYTON
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett- I'M NOT THERE
Ruby Dee- AMERICAN GANGSTER
Saoirse Ronan- ATONEMENT
Amy Ryan- GONE BABY GONE
Tilda Swinton- MICHAEL CLAYTON
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
PERSEPOLIS
RATATOUILLE
SURF'S UP
So there you have it. The major awards (leaving out Documentary feature, and the shorts). The one thing that really pisses me off about this year is the fact that other than Casey Affleck's nomination, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford is almost completely overlooked, and yet Michael Clayton has garnered so many nominations. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a terrible film. But Brad Pitt's performance was better than Clooney's. Andrew Dominik's direction was far superior to Tony Gilroy's. And it was just a better film. Ditto goes for David Cronnenberg and Eastern Promises. Anyway, February 24th is D-Day for the Oscars. Thoughts, and who should REALLY have won will come then!
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2 comments:
I haven't seen any of those movies, but I wasn't reall expecting to see so many nominations for "Michael Clayton"... the overlookign of "THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD" is quite suspicious indeed.
cheers!
"for a few hours of faking gratified disappointment"
Ha, ha...so true. And then again, who can seriously say that the Oscars are all knowing and always reward the right film? It just can't be done. I mean, in the end they are also limited.
I really don't know why people watch those ceremonies on TV, they are so boring and one-sided since they never give arguments *why* they nominate a particular film.
Though I'm really surprised the "Simpsons movie" wasn't nominated for best animated film.
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