Will win: Martin Scorsese
Should win: Martin Scorsese
Best Actor
- Will Smith
- Ryan Gosling
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Forest Whitaker
- Peter O'Toole
Smith's performance is good, but only good for a nomination, not a win. Gosling's star is definitely rising, but this is not his year, with such strong competition. DiCarprio should have been nominated for The Departed instead. Peter O'Toole is a marvel, and may get enough sentimental votes to win. Forest Whitaker's tour de force performance makes him a front-runner, but many believe his was a supporting role.
Will win: Forest Whitaker
Should win: Peter O'Toole
Best Actress
- Meryl Streep
- Helen Mirren
- Penélope Cruz
- Judi Dench
- Kate Winslet
Meryl Streep is delicious in Prada but it's difficult to win for a comedy, especially with such strong dramatic competition. Cruz's powerful performance is too intimate, plus it's a foreign film. Judi Dench has a juicy role, but I find it too stereotypical and predictable. Kate Winslet is a great actress and her time will come, just not this year. Why? Because Helen Mirren is in the running. There's absolutely nothing negative about Mirren's performance. It was a revelation. Besides, it's about time the wonderful actress gets her crown.
Will win: Helen Mirren
Should win: Helen Mirren
Best Supporting Actor
- Alan Arkin
- Eddie Murphy
- Mark Wahlberg
- Djimon Hounsou
- Jackie Earle Haley
Alan Arkin is hilarious in Little Miss Sunshine, and it's a category in which comedic performances really have a good chance. Eddie Murphy shines in Dreamgirls. It's one of those once-in-a-lifetime role and he did an outstanding job. But would the Academy award someone who also gave us Norbit and Daddy Daycare? Mark Wahlberg has come a long way — he was great in Invincible and he practically stole the scenes from everyone in The Departed, but his role is too small. I'm not sure why Djimon Hounsou is nominated — his over-acting and stock character are underwhelming. Jackie Earle Haley has two things going against him: lack of name recognition plus the smallness of Little Children.
Will win: Alan Arkin
Should win: Eddie Murphy
Best Supporting Actress
- Rinko Kikuchi
- Abigail Breslin
- Jennifer Hudson
- Cate Blanchett
- Adrianna Barraza
Rinko Kikuchi and Adrianna Barraza are both extraordinary, but they're splitting the Babel votes. Abigail Breslin is lovely in Sunshine, but she is very young and she has very strong competition, plus it's a comedic role. Cate Blanchett is excellent in Notes on a Scandal, but her character may alienate voters; besides, she won in the same category two years ago for a much showier role. That leaves Jennifer Hudson. She stole every scene and was the heart and soul of the entire movie. Her triumphant turn from being an American Idol reject to Oscar nominee is inspiring. The only thing against her is that it's her first film role, but that never stopped the Academy before.
Article comments
1 - moonraven
Much as I would like to see more Oscars gathered in by Mexican filmmakers (I have lived in Mexico for about 15 years now), I feel the hype this year has been, more than usual, built on sand.
I saw El laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) last weekend and it was not necessary for me to draw on all those years I worked as a film critic in the States to give it a big NO.
I am interested in the context--post-Civil War persecution of the "losing" Republicans. I saw an excellent documentary a couple years ago at the Quito Documentary Film Festival that featured interviews with survivors, visits to the areas where they had camped out in the mountains, and so forth.
The script for Pan's Labyrinth, unfortunately, presented two hours of one-dimensional characters--especially on the Falangist side. Zero credibility of the supposedly real characters made his specially effected ones superfluous.
I have not been so disappointed in a film in several years.
On the other hand, when I saw "Volver" last May in France, I was very pleasantly surprised. Complex relationships and characters. Black humor that was almost an update of Hitchcock's charming "The Trouble with Harry"--and from a director who irritated me mightily in the past with hysterical posturing and drag queen antics.
If you haven't seen "Volver", give it a shot. And skip by Pan by at least 100 yards.
2 - Ty
"Meryl Streep is delicious in Prada but it's difficult to win for a comedy, especially with such strong dramatic competition"
The biggest reason Streep has no chance is because hers is a SUPPORTING ROLE in the Devil Wears Prada. She should not be up for Best Actress, but rather Best Supporting Actress.
Anne Hathaway is the lead actress in The Devil Wears Prada.
I too also feel Whitaker's role in The Last King of Scotland is a supporting role, but the argument there is a bit fuzzier than Prada.
3 - Ray
I agree that Anne Hathaway was the lead in Prada, but Streep's role is also pivotal -- without her role, there would be no story at all. So I don't have a problem with her being considered as the lead actress. Obviously, there can be more than one lead in any film (for example, both Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen were leads in The Queen). Same with Forest Whitaker. Sometimes, I guess, we can't really determine who is a lead simply by screen time.
4 - Krutic
I can't believe Jack Nicholson wasn't nominated.
5 - Kevin Lee
Moonraven, to each his own.
My views:
Pan's Labyrinth is a beautiful and inspiring film. Without doubt one of the best films I've ever seen. It is worthy of its awards.
Yes, it may be simple, but in it's simplicity lies a complexity that you obviously didn't see.
Also, before you go see a movie, watch an interview from it's creator, that way, with your deficient wisdow, you may grab an inkling as to what the bigger picture is about.