Jack's Labyrinth

Hey everyone!  Welcome to "And The Nominees Are," aka Jack's 9th Annual Academy Award Nomination write-up.  SO 2006 of me to set up a blog, I know.  This year is another first for me, as I am "reporting" to you from lovely New Haven, CT.  It was really strange watching the nominations from the 8th floor in a corporate park in Shelton, CT instead of in the Lower Lobby at 2101 L Street with Michelle DePass again.

Anywho, lots of news to share this time around, so let's get to the nominations.  This year's nominees are more diverse than ever - has the Academy finally learned to spread the wealth OR is As usual, we have a few snubs, some shockers, and then my opinion on who should win and who will win.  Take these with a grain of salt, ladies and gays - the world hasn't even had 24 hours to process that Jack Nicholson wasn't nominated yet to start figuring out who will actually take these home in just a little over 4 weeks.  One quick plug - see "Pan's Labyrinth," my personal pic for best film this year.  LOVED it like I loved "Labyrinth" with David Bowie and Jennifer Connolly back in the mid-80's (which I suspect probably holds up about as well as "Grease 2" and "The Beastmaster," other 80's films that I loved back in the day).  Without further adieu....

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Adriana Barraza, Babel
• Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
• Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
• Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
• Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

For perhaps the first time ever, the Supporting Actress category is going to be easier to predict than Best Supporting Actor.  I'm going from least likely to win to most likely, so I'll start with Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza.  Look - "Babel" was good, and Rinko and Adriana both turned in excellent performances, but we're never going to see either again.  In third place, we have little Abigail Breslin.  She definitely rode the "Little Miss Sunshine" wave to a nomination, though Hwood does love a precocious ingenue (think previous winners Tatum O'Neal and Anna Paquin).  Anyway, Breslin is good in this very fun movie, however how is it possible that she is an Oscar nominee before creepy talented Dakota Fanning?

That leaves just two, and Cate Blanchett is a distant second at best, though you can't totally count out the categories only previous nominee.  While I loved "Notes on a Scandal," it really could have been on Lifetime and starred Tori Spelling and Jacqueline Bisset.  So yes, the movie is saved by Blanchett (and fellow nominee Judi Dench), however even her fine work cannot outshine Jennifer Hudson.

Yes, Jennifer Hudson has this award in the bag.  She is in the most nominated film (though it was snubbed for ALL major awards), she outperformed more established stars like Jamie Foxx and Beyonce, AND she was freakin' awesome in this one.  Best performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" since Rajeev Ramchand's incandescent "charity" drag performance at Chaos 5 or so years ago.  Seriously, people clapped in the movie theater as if La Hudson could hear their praise for her gut wrenching performance from North Haven, CT.  Not sure if this is happening in real cities, or if (more likely) the people in North Haven are just insane. 

Will Win AND Should Win:  Jennifer Hudson

Snubbed:  Toni Collette, "Little Miss Sunshine." - I just can't help myself.  I can find a reason for her to win an Oscar every year.  In all seriousness, I would probably trade Shareeka Epps' arresting performance in "Half Nelson" for either one of the Babel women.

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
• Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
• Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
• Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
• Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

This one is much tighter, though there is a front runner.  After him, it's kind of a crap shoot - like trying to figure out if Paula Abdul is drunk, overdosing on prescription meds, or just an idiot.  I'll take my best shot here.

Fifth place goes to Alan Arkin, last nominated in the 60's.  I keep thinking he's the same person as Alan Alda, but my sources have confirmed that they are indeed their own human beings.  He was wonderful in "Little Miss Sunshine," and although his character's legacy lives on through the end of the film, his role is simply not big enough to warrant a win.  Fourth place goes to, sorry about the juxtaposition of words here, Jackie Earle Haley's comeback of the year performance as a sex offender in "Little Children."  This guy is a poster child for all that went wrong in the 70's - considered a sex symbol at the time, he could now play the title role in "Nosferatu" without makeup.  Gobsmackingly hideous.

The leaves us with three and it's starting to get tough.  I'm giving third most likely to win to Djimon Hounsou, for his gripping work in "Blood Diamond."  If you've seen this film, you would probably agree that he outperformed Leonardo by leaps and bounds.  Truly great stuff - I look forward to seeing a lot more from him, but I unfortunately don't think this is his year.  In second place, I'll go with Marky Mark - even an Academy Award will not get me to refer to him by his real name.  Interesting nomination here - while I agree with the voters, most thought that Jack Nicholson and/or Matt Damon would see a nomination for their work in "The Departed" and that Marky Mark would get snubbed.  Anyway, I thought Wahlberg was excellent in this film, and he does have an outside chance of winning if the voters want to reward Scorsese like they did when Cate Blanchett won for "The Aviator."

That leaves us with Eddie Murphy.  And seriously - who would have ever thought that Eddie Murphy would be the leading contender for an Academy Award?  I'm not commenting on his talent, but rather on his "normal" roles (comedies, and lately family films) AND on his selection (um, "Pluto Nash" anyone?  How about that whole "ride" for the tranny hooker?).  Anyway, he switched it up this time around and was really amazing in "Dreamgirls."  Good enough for a Will Win, but what about a Should Win?  Let's see...

Will Win - Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"

Should Win - Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond" - electrifying work, ladies and gents.

Snubbed:  Some are going to say that Brad Pitt was snubbed for his role in "Babel," but he was just Ok in my opinion.  I'd prefer to trade Alan Alda-Arkin for his "Little Miss Sunshine" co-star Steve Carell, or maybe for James McAvoy from "The Last King of Scotland," and keep the rest of the nominees

Actor in a Leading Role

• Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
• Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
• Peter O'Toole, Venus
• Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
• Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Sorry - I know "Best Actress" should come next but I thought I'd save it for a little longer because it is, as usual, my favorite category.  So what do we have here?  One long shot, 2 outside chances, one formidable challenger, and the clear-cut fav.

The long shot is Ryan Gosling from "Half Nelson," a movie that just about no one saw.  Don't let the lack of box office fool you though - Gosling was awesome in this movie.  Unfortunately, he just about no shot.  Tied for third, and with a long distance possibility for each, are Leonardo DiCaprio and Will Smith - both previously nominated. While I have only seen one of their films ("Blood Diamond"), neither has the sort of "showy" role that normally takes home an Oscar.  Furthermore, I personally found DiCaprio's South African "accent" to be somewhere between Lindsay Lohan and 1995 era Robert Downey Jr. on the official Jack Martins Trainwreck scale.

Nipping at Forest Whitaker's well-deserved front runner heels is Peter O'Toole for "Venus."  I'm not going to pretend that I've seen this one, or that I will go to see it before the big night, for what we have here is a pity nomination for an old guy way past his prime.  Think along the lines of the old bag from "Titanic"'s nomination back in 1997.  (Side note - I was surprised to see on imdb.com that Gloria Stuart is still indeed with us.  Apparently she will be turning 97 this year.  Wow.  In other news, her "Titanic" character is listed as "Old Rose," as if there was any confusion as to exactly which Rose she portrayed.  As in, "Did Kate Winslet play Old Rose, or was that Gloria Stuart?  Guess I better go to imdb.com for clarification on this one...")

So yes, Forest Whitaker is going to win for his breathtaking work in "The Last King of Scotland."  The manner in which he makes us believe that Idi Amin, responsible for the deaths of more than 300,000 fellow Ugandans in the 70's, is actually a "good" guy for much of this film - despite what we know to be the truth - is astounding.  Clear a space on your mantel, Forest.

Will Win AND Should Win - Forest Whitaker (though I was THIS CLOSE to putting Ryan Gosling in as my "should win," and I would probably have voted for him if I was a member of the Academy).

Snubbed:  Leonardo was better in "The Departed" than "Blood Diamond," but he could only be nominated for one.  I bet he got enough votes for two nominations but just got more for "Blood Diamond" (hence Gosling's "surprise" nomination).  Otherwise, and especially compared to the women (for once!) a relatively weak field.

Actress in a Leading Role

• Penélope Cruz, Volver
• Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
• Helen Mirren, The Queen
• Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
• Kate Winslet, Little Children

Like the Best Actor category, one of these ladies has won virtually every pre-Oscar award thus far.  And yes, she was good.  Despite her great work, my fingers are crossed that there will be a Brokeback repeat (ie, front runner wins everything EXCEPT for the big one...freakin' "Crash" continues to ruin my life) so that one of my favorites can sneak in for the win.

Let's start off with the least seasoned chica, Penelope Cruz.  Penelope, I will admit to having fun at your expense over the course of the last 7 or so years.  Furthermore, I do have to say that your work in "Volver," much like your performance from another Pedro Almodovar film, "All About my Mother," is indeed award nomination worthy.  JUST STICK TO ENGLISH.  Either way, no award for you.

Fourth place goes to Kate Winslet - her FIFTH nomination at age 31 (makes you feel like a loser - eh?).  Seriously - that's three more nominations (and one less win) than Meryl Streep had at the same point in her life.  When is this woman going to be feted for her accomplishments?  Anywho, she was excellent in this one - James thinks she should get the award just for sleeping with a rather attractive Patrick Wilson in the film.  I think her nipples alone are deserving of some sort of recognition - they're HUGE.  Sadly, not many caught this one, so much like her character in the film, she is screwed once again.  Love her 4-ever anyway - seriously, she is officially in my Julianne Moore/Toni Collette/Laura Linney club, which means she'll never win anything.

That leaves us with one of the most established top three Best Actress contender list ever.  Seriously - these ladies have been winning awards since Winslet and Cruz were babies, and continue to turn in work that is award worthy.  Dench comes in third, if only because the film is like Justin Timberlake - entertaining, but no substance.  A distant second is Meryl Streep in "Devil Wears Prada."  I can't think of another word for this performance besides delicious.  Seriously - gayest role of the year in the second gayest film ("Dreamgirls" takes the tiara for #1 gayest, especially now due to it's "tragic" snub in the main categories).

Helen Mirren is therefore the top contender for this year.  Look - I actually enjoyed "The Queen" and found her performance to be dead-on.  My issue, much like my previous criticisms of Jamie Foxx in "Ray" and even Philip Seymour-Hoffman in "Capote" is that what we have here is a great impression of a real person.  Unlike Whitaker's Idi Amin, I just don't feel like Mirren rose above the obvious to effectively make this role her own...rather, than bring a new facet to a very familiar face, I'm supposed to be impressed at how close to the real thing she was.  I'm never going to find that Academy Award-worthy - they do it every week on "SNL" and no one gives them an Emmy for it.

Will Win - Helen Mirren, "The Queen"

Should Win - Kate Winslet's nipples, er Kate Winslet, "Little Children"

Snubbed:  Honestly, I like all five nominees here.  I'm certainly not going to advocate for Beyonce ("Dreamgirls"), Annette Benning ("Running With Scissors").  Instead, I'll go way out there to praise the work of Catherine O'Hara in "For Your Consideration" (an ok film with EXCELLENT work from O'Hara) and young Ivana Baquero in "Pan's Labyrinth" (amazing first big role for a 12 year old from Barcelona).

Ok - just about through here people - even I'm bored with myself at this point!  I'll keep the next two categories quick, and we'll digest them at the same time, as they should go hand in hand anyway.

Motion Picture of the Year

• Babel
• The Departed
• Letters from Iwo Jima
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Queen

Director 

• Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
• Martin Scorsese, The Departed
• Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
• Stephen Frears, The Queen
• Paul Greengrass, United 93

Quickly now people...let's move.  First of all, movies nominated for Best Picture without a nomination for Best Director ("Little Miss Sunshine") do NOT win.  It always amazed me that this happens, as if "Little Miss Sunshine" just directed itself.  Likewise, Paul Greengrass doesn't have a prayer, based on the lack of a nomination for "United 93."

So assuming that the winner of Best Director will then go on to see his film win Best Film, let's go through.  Stephen Frears and "The Queen" are long shots in their categories.  Like "Notes on a Scandal," this one is really about the acting rather than than the film.  I'm going to give Eastwood and "Letter from Iwo Jima" a solid third place showing, with an asterisk as the film may just gather steam over the course of the next couple of weeks.  The Academy rightfully loves Eastwood as a director, loves WWII, and may just fall in love with a truly original take (for a U.S. made film, anyway) on the war from a Japanese perspective.

Overall second place goes to Iñárritu and "Babel," though I think the film has a better shot at the big one than it's director.  Personally, I didn't find anything arresting about this film - considering the wave of multi-story, multi-character, backwards and forwards in time films we have seen since Tarrantino's "Pulp Fiction" 12 years ago, I just didn't find much in this film to be new.  Sure, the message it TRIES to go for is noble, but it just isn't novel.

That leaves us with Scorsese and "The Departed."  Sure, Scorsese deserves an Academy Award.  Quite frankly, I did not enjoy "The Departed" and could not discern a single unique directorial contribution from him in this film.  At the same time, I can't find another nominee more deserving for his work in this list of five (once , so give it to him this year so that Leonardo can stop his whining about this already.

Will Win - "The Departed" and Scorsese, with "Babel" is currently a close second for Best Film.

Should Win - Honestly?  None of these are as deserving as the directors and films in my snubbed listing below.

Snubbed:  By far the biggest snub, in my opinion, is Guillermo del Toro and "Pan's Labyrinth."  Perhaps the combination of a foreign language film and a very odd subject matter did this one in, but it is such an amazing film that it should have been recognized.  At least it has a good shot at Best Foreign Film, especially considering the snub for "Volver" in that category.  The more obvious snub was Bill Condon and "Dreamgirls" - guess all that early buzz didn't translate for you, Billy Boy.  Otherwise, though we had a lot of good films this year, we had few "great ones" - I'd rank "Pan's Labyrinth" up there with the best from years past and not much else.

Phew - that's it from me for now.  I bet a lot of you have a lot of movies to catch up on, so go check some of these out.  Aside from "Pan's Labyrinth," check out some of my other recommendations in a previous post below.

Happy viewing everyone - and thanks for reading.  Check back in the night after the big show for my next official posting.  I just may have some thought between now and then, so don't be a stranger...

Jack

Comments

[Kristin Pontarelli]

Jack,

Great job as always! I too am always rooting for Toni Collette! I've been a fan since Muriel's wedding!