Another year of movies has passed and we gear up once again to see who will take top honours at this years Academy Awards Ceremony (aka the Oscars).
Looking at the nominations, I was surprised to see that “Dreamgirls” and “Blood Diamond” did not receive best picture and best director nominations. I also felt that Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon deserved some recognition for their work on “The Departed". Well, enough of why nots, lets look at the contenders and determine who would mostly like win and who I really would like to see win.
Best Picture will probably go to “Babel”. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s multi-narrative drama has scooped most of the major awards and is set to take the golden statue as well. I would like to see Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” win the award. (Other nominees are “Letters from Iwo Jima”, “Little Miss Sunshine” and “The Queen”).
Best Director will probably go to Clint Eastwood as the voters seem to have a hard on for him. It would be a shame if he gets it. Martin Scorsese definitely deservers an Oscar trophy in his showcase but “The Departed” is not his best work. “Goodfellas”, “Taxi Driver” and “Casino” were far superior films but maybe the academy gives him a sympathy vote and he takes the coveted award.
Best Actor will probably go to Forest Whitaker for his work as Idi Amin Dada in “The last King of Scotland”. It must have been a real challenge playing the man who once gave himself the title His Excellency President for Life, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in general and Uganda in particular”. I think Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of an ex-Rhodesian militant turned smuggler in “Blood Diamond” is one of his strongest performances to date. He might just cause an upset and take the statuette home. (Other nominees include Will Smith, Ryan Gosling and Peter O’Toole).
Best Actress will probably go to Helen Mirren for her fine portrayal of the Queen. Penelope Cruz might be her strongest competitor for her role in “Volver” I would like to see Kate Winslet get the award for her tour de force performance in “Little Children” (other nominees include Meryl Streep and Dame Judi Dench).
Best Supporting Actor will probably go to Eddie Murphy or Djimon Hounsou which I can’t complain about. They both gave excellent performance and deserve the award equally, however a part of me would like to see Marky Mark Wahlberg get it. I have always though that the ex-model and “bad” rapper could not act until witnessing his performance in “The Departed”. It was brilliant as he even upstaged his supporting stars. (other nominees include Alan Arkin and Jackie Earle Hayley).
Best Supporting Actress will probably go to young Jennifer Hudson for her dynamic performance in “Dreamgirls” I can’t argue with that. (Other nominees include Adriana Barraza, Cate Blanchett, little Abigail Breslin, and Rinko Kikuchi).
“Blood Diamond”, “Apocalypto” and “Pirates of the Caribbean 2” will fight over all the technical awards while “Cars” will win out against “Happy Feet” and “Monster House” in the Best Animated Film category, even though I think “Monster house” is a much better film. Either way, its gonna be a helluva night. So get ready for Ellen DeGeneres hosting her first Oscars and wait in anticipation to see who will take home the little gold man.
Me
