A Look into My Oscars Crystal Ball

Let's take a look into my crystal ball for some last minute Oscar nominations. 

Best Picture

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

After Babel received the gold at the Globes, it is the odds-on favorite for the Oscar.  However, the votes may sway to The Departed; it is jam-packed with violent grit, stellar performances, and masterful direction.  The Departed is by far the finest Scorsese picture since Goodfellas (which was nominated for the same honor in 1991). 

Don’t be shocked if The Queen storms the stage to collect the award; it is an upright motion-picture that might have enough muster to win over those who cast the ballots.  Letters loses any potential steam with the possession of subtitles, while Little Miss Sunshine gained more traction than warranted since its theatrical release.  But, its buildup may play a factor.  While Sunshine is a good, cute film, it is no Best Picture — award or not.

The one film that is unmistakably absent is Children of Men.  For reasons unknown, voters failed to notice the picture’s allegorical brilliance.  Oh yeah, and Dreamgirls is a bigger better film than half of the nominees.  At the end of the day, look for the heavily-themed Babel to win big, The Departed to rightfully take the cake, or Sunshine to shock viewers with an unjustified upset.

Probable Academy Pick:  Babel
Probable Upset:  The Departed  

Best Director

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

In this category, Scorsese is an absolute lock.  Although he was robbed in prior years, this year, Scorsese has hit the ball out of the park — with no hope of an outfielder reaching over the fence to pull his hopes back into play. 

Eastwood recently took home the golden guy for Million Dollar Baby — not that this year’s direction doesn’t warrant another win.  Yet, with a nomination, the Academy has already given Eastwood enough credit.  With his orchestration of Mirren, Frears earns his nomination, and with his fine documentary style of United 93, Greengrass is the dark horse.  All-in-all, it is Iñárritu who holds the most promising chance to deprive the master Martin yet again; on the other hand, be prepared for the Mafia Don to leave satisfied and finally fulfilled.

Probable Academy Pick:  Martin Scorsese
Probable Upset:  Alejandro González Iñárritu

Best Actor

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

Leo DiCaprio deserves to take home this statue.  Conversely, this honor should stem from a film in which he was not nominated (The Departed).  Despite DiCaprio’s snub, Will Smith shines like never before (even in comparison to Ali), although some attribute his stellar acting to the presence of his son in the supporting role.  Gosling’s turn is commendable, but not as widespread and well-known as the other options.  In his old age, Peter O’Toole is by far the potential upset, but Whitaker is heavily favored.  In general, it will take more than sentiment and old age for someone to upset the Last King they call Forest.

Article Author: Brandon Valentine

Brandon Valentine is a film critic from Hershey, PA. Aside from possessing the last name “Valentine” and living in “the Sweetest Place on Earth,” Brandon was also born on Valentine’s Day. That’s right, a Valentine born on Valentine’s Day. …

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