more random winners & such

My personal winners for directing and acting, 1950-1979. I'll come back and do the rest later. Very subject to change...

1950
Best Director: Billy Wilder for Sunset Boulevard
Best Actor: William Holden for Sunset Boulevard
Best Actress: Bette Davis for All About Eve
Best Supporting Actor: George Sanders for All About Eve
Best Supporting Actress: Teresa Wright for The Men

1951
Best Director: Elia Kazan for A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Actor: Marlon Brando for A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Actress: Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Supporting Actor: Karl Malden in A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Supporting Actress: Kim Hunter in A Streetcar Named Desire
(hey...the year is empty acting-wise besides Streetcar)

1952
Best Director: Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly for Singin' in the Rain
Best Actor: Carlo Battisti for Umberto D.
Best Actress: Bette Davis for The Star
Best Supporting Actor: Richard Burton for My Cousin Rachel
Best Supporting Actress: Fay Compton for The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice

1953
Best Director: Yasujiro Ozu for Tokyo Story
Best Actor: William Holden for Stalag 17
Best Actress: Audrey Hepburn for Roman Holiday
Best Supporting Actor: Otto Preminger for Stalag 17
Best Supporting Actress: Grace Kelly for Mogambo

1954
Best Director: Alfred Hitchcock for Rear Window
Best Actor: Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront
Best Actress: Judy Garland for A Star Is Born
Best Supporting Actor: William Holden for Sabrina
Best Supporting Actress: Eva Marie Sant for On the Waterfront

1955
Best Director: Robert Aldrich for Kiss Me Deadly
Best Actor: Robert Mitchum for Night of the Hunter
Best Actress: Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo
Best Supporting Actor: Jack Lemmon for Mister Roberts
Best Supporting Actress: Katie Johnson for The Ladykillers

1956
Best Director: John Ford for The Searchers
Best Actor: John Wayne for The Searchers
Best Actress: Ingrid Bergman for Anastasia
Best Supporting Actor: Eli Wallach for Baby Doll
Best Supporting Actress: Mercedes McCambridge for Giant

1957
Best Director: Ingmar Bergman for The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries
Best Actor: Alec Guinness for Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Actress: Joanne Woodward for Three Faces of Eve
Best Supporting Actor: Henry Fonda for 12 Angry Men
Best Supporting Actress: Isuzu Yamada for Throne of Blood

1958
Best Director: Alfred Hitchcock for Vertigo
Best Actor: Sidney Poitier for The Defiant Ones
Best Actress: Elizabeth Taylor for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Best Supporting Actor: Burl Ives for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Best Supporting Actress: Kim Novak for Vertigo

1959
Best Director: Billy Wilder for Some Like It Hot
Best Actor: Jack Lemmon for Some Like It Hot
Best Actress: Marilyn Monroe for Some Like It Hot
Best Supporting Actor: George C. Scott for Anatomy of a Murder
Best Supporting Actress: Juanita Moore for Imitation of Life

1960
Best Director: Alfred Hitchcock for Psycho
Best Actor: Anthony Perkins for Psycho
Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine for The Apartment
Best Supporting Actor: Peter Ustinov for Spartacus
Best Supporting Actress: Janet Leigh for Psycho

1961
Best Director: Alain Resnais for Last Year at Marienbad
Best Actor: Maximilian Schell for Judgment at Nuremberg
Best Actress: Audrey Hepburn for Breakfast at Tiffany's
Best Supporting Actor: Montgomery Clift for Judgment at Nuremberg
Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno for West Side Story

1962
Best Director: David Lean for Lawrence of Arabia
Best Actor: Jack Lemmon for Days of Wine and Roses
Best Actress: Bette Davis for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Best Supporting Actor: Peter Sellers for Lolita
Best Supporting Actress: Angela Lansbury for The Manchurian Candidate

1963
Best Director: Federico Fellini for 8 1/2
Best Actor: Paul Newman for Hud
Best Actress: Natalie Wood for Love with the Proper Stranger
Best Supporting Actor: Melvyn Douglas for Hud
Best Supporting Actress: Claudia Cardinale for 8 1/2

1964
Best Director: Stanley Kubrick for Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Best Actor: Michael Caine for Zulu
Best Actress: Anne Bancroft for The Pumpkin Eater
Best Supporting Actor: Peter Sellers for Dr. Strangelove...
Best Supporting Actress: Agnes Moorehead for Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

1965
Best Director: Roman Polanski for Repulsion
Best Actor: Rod Steiger for The Pawnbroker
Best Actress: Julie Christie for Repulsion
Best Supporting Actor: Oskar Werner for The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Smith for Othello

1966
Best Director: Ingmar Bergman for Persona
Best Actor: Richard Burton for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Best Actress: Elizabeth Taylor for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Best Supporting Actor: George Segal for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave for Blow-up

1967
Best Director: Mike Nichols for The Graduate
Best Actor: Paul Newman for Cool Hand Luke
Best Actress: Catherine Deneuve for Belle du jour
Best Supporting Actor: George Kennedy for Cool Hand Luke
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Bancroft for The Graduate

1968
Best Director: Stanley Kubrick for 2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Actor: Peter O'Toole for The Lion in Winter
Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter
Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Hopkins for The Lion in Winter
Best Supporting Actress: Ruth Gordon for Rosemary's Baby

1969
Best Director: John Schlesinger for Midnight Cowboy (happy b-day and RIP)
Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman for Midnight Cowboy
Best Actress: Jane Fonda for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Best Supporting Actor: Gig Young for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Best Supporting Actress: Susannah York for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

1970
Best Director: Robert Altman for M*A*S*H
Best Actor: George C. Scott for Patton
Best Actress: Glenda Jackson for Women in Love
Best Supporting Actor: John Mills for Ryan's Daughter
Best Supporting Actress: Karen Black for Five Easy Pieces

1971
Best Director: William Friedkin for The French Connection
Best Actor: Gene Hackman for The French Connection
Best Actress: Jane Fonda for Klute
Best Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges for The Last Picture Show
Best Supporting Actress: Cloris Leachman for The Last Picture Show

1972
Best Director: Frances Ford Coppola for The Godfather
Best Actor: Klaus Kinski for Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Best Actress: Liv Ullmann for The Emigrants
Best Supporting Actor: Marlon Brando for The Godfather
Best Supporting Actress: Jeannie Berlin for The Heartbreak Kid

1973
Best Director: William Friedkin for The Exorcist
Best Actor: Marlon Brando for Last Tango in Paris
Best Actress: Liv Ullmann for Scenes from a Marriage
Best Supporting Actor: Robert DeNiro for Mean Streets
Best Supporting Actress: Linda Blair for The Exorcist

1974
Best Director: Frances Ford Coppola for The Conversation and The Godfather Part II
Best Actor: Al Pacino for The Godfather Part II (ridiculously good year)
Best Actress: Gena Rowlands for A Woman Under the Influence
Best Supporting Actor: Robert DeNiro for The Godfather Part II
Best Supporting Actress: Madeline Kahn for Blazing Saddles

1975
Best Director: Peter Weir for Picnic at Hanging Rock
Best Actor: Jack Nicholson for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
Best Actress: Isabelle Adjani for The History of Adele H.
Best Supporting Actor: Chris Sarandon for Dog Day Afternoon
Best Supporting Actress: Louise Fletcher in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

1976
Best Director: Martin Scorsese for Taxi Driver
Best Actor: Robert DeNiro for Taxi Driver
Best Actress: Faye Dunaway for Network
Best Supporting Actor: Lawrence Olivier for Marathon Man
Best Supporting Actress: Jodie Foster for Taxi Driver

1977
Best Director: Woody Allen for Annie Hall
Best Actor: Richard Burton for Equus
Best Actress: Diane Keaton for Annie Hall
Best Supporting Actor: Alec Guinness for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Best Supporting Actress: Sissy Spacek for 3 Women

1978
Best Director: Terrence Malick for Days of Heaven
Best Actor: Robert DeNiro for The Deer Hunter (geez so many Pulpys.)
Best Actress: Ingrid Bergman for Autumn Sonata
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken for The Deer Hunter
Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Smith for California Suite

1979
Best Director: Frances Ford Coppola for Apocalypse Now
Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman for Kramer vs. Kramer
Best Actress: Sally Field for Norma Rae
Best Supporting Actor: Melvyn Douglas for Being There
Best Supporting Actress: Meryl Streep for Kramer vs. Kramer

I'll be back later/eventually to do 1980-present...

the other categories i sort of care about

yawn.

Best Cinematography
My ranking:
1. Children of Men
2. The Illusionist
3. The Black Dahlia
4. Pan's Labyrinth
5. The Prestige
Will win: Children of Men (or maybe Pan's Labyrinth if they really really like it.)
Snubbed: The Fountain, Curse of the Golden Flower, The Good German, Marie-Antoinette, The Departed, The Painted Veil, Babel, Miami Vice, Three Times

Best Art Direction
My ranking:
1. Pan's Labyrinth
2. The Prestige
3. Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest
4. Dreamgirls
5. The Good Shepherd
Will win: Dreamgirls (maybe PotC, and though I hate this movie and would love to see it walk away empty-handed it's not undeserved)
Snubbed: The Science of Sleep, CHILDREN OF MEN WTF WHY IS THE ACADEMY ON CRACK, Marie-Antoinette, The Black Dahlia, The Painted Veil, The Curse of the Golden Flower, The Fountain, Fur

Best Costume Design
My ranking:
1. Marie-Antoinette
2. The Devil Wears Prada
3. Dreamgirls
4. Curse of the Golden Flower
5. The Queen
Will win: Dreamgirls (but ALL OF THESE rock!!!)
Snubbed: The Painted Veil, The Prestige, The Black Dahlia, Volver

Best Score
My ranking:
1. The Good German
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. Notes on a Scandal
4. The Queen
5. Babel (Gustavo, you're making me hate you.)
Will win: Pan's Labyrinth (?)
Snubbed: THE FOUNTAIN IS THE ACADEMY ON CRACK AGAIN??!!!, The Painted Veil, Volver, The Black Dahlia, Little Children, Brick

best screenplays?

Best Original Screenplay
My ranking:
1. Little Miss Sunshine
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. Letters from Iwo Jima (YAY PAUL HAGGIS!)
4. The Queen
5. Babel
Who will win: Little Miss Sunshine unless The Queen has a lot more support than we thought.
Snubbed: Volver, Stranger than Fiction, Inside Man, Half Nelson.

Best Adapted Screenplay
My ranking:
1. The Departed
2. Children of Men
3. Borat
4. Little Children
5. Notes on a Scandal
Who will win: The Departed !!!! But all of these are awesome
Snubbed: The Painted Veil, The Prestige, Dreamgirls

in honor of live free or die hard...

...actors and actresses I would list among my favorites that many may question me about:
Clive Owen
Kevin Spacey
Jeffrey Wright (not many may question me, but many will go "who's that")
Samuel L. Jackson
Tom Hanks
Russell Crowe
Tom Cruise
BRUCE WILLIS!!
Steve Carell
Vince Vaughn
Scarlett Johansson
Sarah Jessica Parker
Reese Witherspoon (though at this point, if you still doubt her...)
Gwyneth Paltrow

...bored. must. find. something. to. do.

so, this is hilarious.

(watching the actual acceptance speech is not necessary to enjoy this video. also, i'm sorry, i really don't like the dixie chicks' music. man, was "crazy" robbed.)
a. what the hell is he on?
b. why the hell is he at the grammys anyway?
c. he really should stick to directing movies. he's awesome at that. talking, not so much.
d. "aaaaage aaaaaaaaaaaighty!!!!"
e. "you're beautiful! james blunt!" what is he, adam sandler?
f. tony bennett doesn't even look uncomfortable. good for him.
g. oh christ, is that paris hilton in the audience?
h. "CRAAAAAAAAZYYYYYYY!!!!!"
i. seriously, could his forehead be any bigger?

Best Director

Analyzing: Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
My rank among the nominees: 3rd
Pros: He's Clint Eastwood. The movie had more support than we thought. Flags of Our Fathers.
Cons: Not even nominated for the DGA. He may be Clint Eastwood, but will they really want to reward him for a third time? Film was small. No precursors. Not Martin Scorsese.
Any chance of winning?: I like how immediately after the nominations came out everyone was like "OMG WE UNDERESTIMATED HIM!!!!! HE'S TOTALLY WINNING AGAIN!!!" Anyway, he's, yeah, probably not.

Analyzing: Stephen Frears, The Queen
My rank among the nominees: 5th
Pros: The film is well-respected and the director is too. A couple of precursors.
Cons: Not Martin Scorsese. Hasn't gotten any attention at all.
Any chance of winning?: Nope.

Analyzing: Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu, Babel
My rank among the nominees: 4th
Pros: The film got a lot of Oscar support. It's the year of the "three amigos" (him, del Toro, and Cuarón).
Cons: Not Martin Scorsese. No precursors. Divisive directors (notice I didn't say auteurs) can sometimes get in, but hardly ever win.
Any chance of winning?: If they go Babel crazy, maaaybe...but it's very very doubtful.

Analyzing: Paul Greengrass, United 93
My rank among the nominees: 2nd
Pros: Glowing reviews. May be a way to reward the best-reviewed film of the year. Some precursor support.
Cons: Lone director. Not famous/acclaimed enough. No DGA nod. No Globe nod. The film has very little other Oscar support. Not Martin Scorsese.
Any chance of winning?: There's a chance, but it's a teeny little one...

Analyzing: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
My rank among the nominees: 1st
Pros: Arguably the best director working today, and inarguably an incredibly influential legend, has no Oscar, and the sense that his snubs were embarassing. Most precursor awards, including, especially, the DGA and Globe.
Cons: Scorsese v. Eastwood, Round 2 - remember what happened the first time? (Then again, Marty wasn't the extreme frontrunner for The Aviator like he is for The Departed.) The Departed only has one Oscar nomination - less support than we thought?
Any chance of winning?: Hell yes. It's finally Marty's year!!

Analyzing: Best Director as a whole
Who will win: Martin Scorsese! Now I can get the feeling they snubbed him for Gangs of New York or The Aviator because they were waiting for something like this. :D
Who should win: Martin Scorsese...not only because he deserves it after so many years but because of his utterly fantastic job on The Departed.
Unlucky 6th placer: It was probably the Little Miss Sunshine duo (or Bill Condon for Dreamgirls, but Little Miss Sunshine had far more support in the more majorish categories)...I still don't really get what people see in the directing of that film, but okay.
Snubbed: Of the movies that Oscar showed significant support to, Alfonso Cuarón for Children of Men, Bill Condon for Dreamgirls, and Guillermo del Toro for Pan's Labyrinth. For the movies they didn't, Sofia Coppola for Marie-Antoinette, Darren Aronofsky for The Fountain, Spike Lee for Inside Man, and Christopher Nolan for The Prestige.
Random cool fact about this category: Um...

surging along. Best Supporting Actress

well, I don't have any homework (and clearly no dates HA), and all my friends do, so...
(sorry about the lack of "tags" for this post. blogger was being silly)

Analyzing: Adriana Barraza, Babel
My rank among the nominees: 4th
How'd she get nominated: Great reviews/performance + Babel support
Pros: Support for Babel. Sympathetic role.
Cons: Not famous. Not Jennifer Hudson. Vote splitting with Rinko.
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: No.

Analyzing: Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
My rank among the nominees: 5th
How'd she get nominated: Cate Blanchett
Pros: The movie has support. Juicy undebtably lead role. Critics awards.
Cons: Just won here 2 years ago (undeservedly, may I add bitchily). Not Jennifer Hudson.
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: A teeny chance, but no, not really.

Analyzing: Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
My rank among the nominees: 3rd
How'd she get nominated: Adorable, easy-to-support role in a Best Picture contender.
Pros: See "how'd she get nominated." People hate voting against cute little kids.
Cons: Not Jennifer Hudson. No critics awards other than breakthrough stuff. Couldn't even get nominated at the Globes.
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: Yes, but it's not very big...

Analyzing: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
My rank among the nominees: 1st
How'd she get nominated: "And I Am Telling You..."
Pros: See "how'd she get nominated." Dreamgirls support - you know they did like it (but not as much as we all thought). Tremendous audience reaction to her (when I saw it, the person behind me kept going "UH HUH GIRL"). American Idol reject - a triumph over failure. Hyperbolic reviews and a virtual year of hype. The most critics awards in this category.
Cons: Backlash. That ridiculous question, "since when is good singing good acting?" (Since musical theater has been around and people have had to interpret roles, idiots)
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: Ummm...no duh

Analyzing: Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
My rank among the nominees: 2nd
How'd she get nominated: Baity role
Pros: Baity role. Babel support. Great reviews/critical support. Critics awards.
Cons: Not Jennifer Hudson. Vote splitting with Barraza.
Basically, does she have a chance of winning?: Eh. Teeny but not really.

Analyzing: Best Supporting Actress as a whole
Who will win: Jennifer Hudson. Um...yeah.
Who should win: Jennifer. Now is when I quote the people sitting behind me at Dreamgirls and say UH HUH GIRL.
Unlucky sixth placer: Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada. Hahahahhahaaaaa!!!
Snubbed: I would have loved to see Catherine O'Hara here for For Your Consideration and Toni Collette for Little Miss Sunshine, out of those with any hype/precursors at all. As far as those without any, I loved Mia Kirshner in The Black Dahlia, Shareeka Epps in Half Nelson, Claire Hope-Ashitey in Children of Men, Kerry Washington in Last King of Scotland, Emma Thompson in Stranger than Fiction (yeah her hype died.), Vera Farmiga in Running Scared...
Random cool fact about this category: Well, uh, it has no Emily Blunt in it. That's pretty awesome.

I'm on a roll! Best Supporting Actor

Analyzing: Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
My rank among the nominees: 4th
How'd he get nominated?: He's got a good role (drug addict! cursin' grandpa!) in an Oscar-supported film.
Pros: A very respected actor who never won an Oscar. AMPAS may go Little Miss Sunshine-crazy.
Cons: Not the frontrunner. I'm still not exactly sure what the hell made him better than Carell or Kinnear, and my guess is many others aren't either. No precursor awards.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Yes, but it's ridiculous that people are predicting him now just because he won the BAFTA. Jake Gyllenhaal won the BAFTA last year when he was clearly the best in his category, and he still couldn't win at the Oscars.

Analyzing: Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
My rank among the nominees: 2nd
How'd he get nominated: Critical approval + Kate Winslet's pre-ordained place in the Best Actress race
Pros: Comeback kid. The fact that he could get nominated for this role (and virtually unseen movie) alone is telling. Critical raves. Critics awards.
Cons: Not the frontrunner at all - many weren't even sure if he'd get in. Movie is tiny. Role is (really) unsympathetic.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Only if there's some crazy vote splitting.

Analyzing: Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
My rank among the nominees: 5th
How'd he get nominated: Baity role! Man-tears!
Pros: The kind of role AMPAS loves. Critics awards, including NBR. The movie clearly had more support from AMPAS than we thought.
Cons: Performance often dismissed as just "running and screaming" (it's not, but it's the least of the nominees anyway). Most didn't think he was going to even be nominated.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Again, only if there's some crazy vote splitting.

Analyzing: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
My rank among the nominees: 1st
How'd he get nominated: Comeback kid in a flashy, scene-stealing role in a Best Picture frontrunner (well, we all thought it was, anyway.)!
Pros: See "how'd he get nominated." Scene-stealing = shades of Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago. Relatively baity role (drug addict!). Globe, SAG, and critics awards.
Cons: Backlash - both against him and Dreamgirls in general. Norbit...though it made an assload of money so it wasn't really an embarassment.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Yup. A big one, too.

Analyzing: Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
My rank among the nominees: 3rd
How'd he get nominated: "Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself."
Pros: Support for The Departed. That dialogue! Comeback kid, sorta.
Cons: Um, there's no way he was the best performance in The Departed. He was a surprise nominee - most of these don't win. Still the perception of him as "Marky Mark."
Basically, any chance of winning?: If there's vote splitting between Arkin and Murphy, he's the most likely to benefit (more than Hounsou or Haley). However, it's not all that likely...but it is likely. I guess.

Analyzing: Best Supporting Actor as a whole
Who will win: I'm predicting Eddie Murphy, but Alan Arkin could get this too. And a lot of people are predicting Mark Wahlberg as well, but I just don't see it...
Who should win: For me, Eddie is the true standout in this category.
Unlucky 6th placer: Jack Nicholson for The Departed, but I hardly think he cried to himself about it.
Snubbed: With such an up-in-the-air category, I'm kinda ticked by the fact that boring performances like Arkin and Hounsou got in here. I would have preferred, out of anyone with any hype at all, Sheen in The Queen, Carell in Little Miss Sunshine (the best member of the cast is the only one without any sort of awards nomination? ridiculous), Affleck in Hollywoodland, the aforementioned Nicholson, and even the poor neglected Baldwin in the same movie. Among those with no chance, I enjoyed Caine in both his outings this year (Children of Men and The Prestige), Doug Jones and Sergio Lopez in Pan's Labyrinth, and Robert Downey Jr. in A Scanner Darkly. But, of course, my heart belongs to Clive Owen in Inside Man.
Random cool fact about this category: Um... Djimon Hounsou and Mark Wahlberg are really hot?

Best Actress

Analyzing: Penelope Cruz, Volver
My rank among the nominees: 4th
How'd she get nominated?: Hype building for almost a year combined with the result.
Pros: The fact that she could get in with a subtitled film that didn't get other Academy support says a lot. She's hot.
Cons: They clearly didn't love the film since it was snubbed like all hell. Subtitled. "Oscar winner, Penelope Cruz?" Not Helen Mirren.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Nope. She's coming in dead last here.

Analyzing: Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
My rank among the nominees: 2nd
How'd she get nominated?: She's Judi Dench.
Pros: Judi Dench. Amazing performance backed up by reviews. Film got support from nominations (Blanchett, Score, Adapted Screenplay).
Cons: Not Helen Mirren. Already has an Oscar.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Nope.

Analyzing: Helen Mirren, The Queen
My rank among the nominees: 5th
How'd she get nominated?: A talented actress with no Oscar playing a real-life famous person in a Best Picture nominee prestige pic, backed up by glowing reviews?!
Pros: Virtually every damn critics award. Everyone loves her and recognizes her amazing talent but she's Oscarless. She's in a biopic. Rave, rave, rave reviews.
Cons: Um...backlash? This would have been a bigger factor already, like with Julianne Moore in 2002 with Far from Heaven. A whole bunch of critics awards, and then the Globes came and BAM! Nicole took over.
Basically, any chance of winning?: All the other nominees here have "not Helen Mirren" in their cons section for a reason.

Analyzing: Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
My rank among the nominees: 1st
How'd she get nominated?: Meryl effin' Streep
Pros: Everyone wants to see Meryl win another Oscar...she hasn't since '83! The only American in this category. People have been talking about her non-stop since this movie came out.
Cons: Not Helen Mirren. The movie is fluffy and didn't have much other Oscar support (if she got Blunt in with her, she might have a slightly better chance).
Basically, any chance of winning?: Nope. But she's coming in (a distant) second.

Analyzing: Kate Winslet, Little Children
My rank among the nominees: 3rd
How'd she get nominated?: Kate Winslet. 5 nominations at 31?! They clearly do like her.
Pros: As I just said, 5 nominations must mean they like her, especially in stuff like Little Children which played in like one teeny little hidden theater in LA for half a week and certainly didn't get out there with an FYC campaign. At the beginning of this year, she was considered the frontrunner.
Cons: Not Helen Mirren. Teensy tiny little film.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Nope. Not Helen Mirren.

Analyzing: Best Actress as a whole
Who will win: OH GOD THIS IS SO HARD. Um...just kidding. Helen Mirren has this all sewn (sown?) up.
Who should win: Okay, I know I ranked these ladies, but it might as well be a tie. Almost always, the categories have at least one nominee that makes me go "eh" or "ugh!" Here, not at all. They might as well all be the winners! It's just a shame that in such an amazing year for actresses, the same name kept coming up.
Unlucky sixth placer: Probably Maggie Gyllenhaal in Sherrybaby...but who can tell with this year? Nobody else ever got mentioned besides these five. Ahaaaa.
Snubbed: Many people. Among the most notable/ones I liked the most, Naomi Watts in The Painted Veil, Cate Blanchett in The Good German, Laura Dern in Inland Empire, and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Sherrybaby.
Random cool fact about this category: Meryl Streep has the most nominations ever and Kate Winslet has the most nominations ever for someone her age.

moving on to Best Actor

Analyzing: Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
My rank among the nominees: 5th
How'd he get nominated?: Baity role in a "message" film
Pros: He's got The Departed helping him. He's a huge celebrity - and AMPAS does love famous.
Cons: There is no way this performance is as good as his in The Departed (I fully believe that Leo in The Departed got more votes than Ryan Gosling at least). No precursors.
Basically, any chance of winning?: No. If it was his Departed performance, though...

Analyzing: Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
My rank among the nominees: 1st
How'd he get nominated: Purely because of his amazing performance - the film is tiny and came out a while ago, and I don't remember any great FYC campaign for it.
Pros: If enough people saw the movie to vote for him here, how can they not say it's one of the best performances of the year? Got a bunch of "breakthrough" awards.
Cons: Movie was ridiculously small.
Basically, any chance of winning?: No...but as I said, if enough people saw the film to vote for him for a nomination, who's to say they're not going to vote for him for the win? It's still Whitaker's.

Analyzing: Peter O'Toole, Venus
My rank among the nominees: 3rd
How'd he get nominated: Peter O'Toole.
Pros: Peter O'Toole...has yet to win a competitive Oscar. Though he may not have the critics or precursors, think 1986 with Bob Hoskins in Mona Lisa and Paul Newman in The Color of Money.
Cons: No precursors - all taken by Forest Whitaker, his main competitor. I know he's not feeling well and all, but his continued absence at every awards show simply doesn't look good. Film was teeeeeny.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Yes, and a bigger chance than most people think... but I still believe this will go to Whitaker. Then again, after predicting O'Toole again and again and again, $10 says here, where it really counts, I am wrong. =/

Analyzing: Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
My rank among the nominees: 4th
How'd he get nominated: Baity role - when comedians get serious they often love it
Pros: The film made money, probably due to him. Like Leo, super-famous and well-liked.
Cons: Beyond the nomination, he's gotten no traction. No precursors.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Probably not unless Whitaker and O'Toole are really close and split votes.

Analyzing: Forest Whitaker, Last King of Scotland
My rank among the nominees: 2nd
How'd he get nominated: Acclaimed biopic role
Pros: Virtually every precursor award. Critics have been pushing him forever. Sense of past snubs (maybe).
Cons: It's his first nomination, not his eighth. Super awkward acceptance speeches - the guy's shy.
Basically, any chance of winning?: You bet your ass.

Analyzing: Best Actor as a whole
Who will win: Forest Whitaker. It is hard to argue with every precursor award, and the Academy is not as sentimental as they were in the 1980s. Still, I will not be shocked at all if they call Peter O'Toole's name. If his film were bigger, I think he'd be as big a lock as Whitaker here.
Who should win: Ryan Gosling, but Forest was superb as well.
Unlucky sixth placer: As I said, I think Leo in The Departed got more votes than Ryan...but I guess Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat.
Should have been nominated: People with Oscar traction - Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat, Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed. People with no Oscar traction - Hugh Jackman in The Fountain, Clive Owen in Children of Men, Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, Patrick Wilson in Little Children, Heath Ledger in Candy, Jude Law in Breaking and Entering, Ken Watanabe in Letters from Iwo Jima, etc...
Random cool fact: This is the first time in um...a really long time (I think since 1927/1928) that no Best Actor nominees come from Best Picture nominees.

oscars, again

I'm going to start talking in depth about the Oscars in the categories I care about (this basically means I don't have to guess shit like Documentary Short and Sound FX and stuff). Yay. Right now, I'll talk about Best Picture...

Analyzing: Babel
My grade: B-
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: It's a modern message film, carrying over from last year's trend.
Pros: People have been calling it "international Crash" and they sure as hell liked the one from last year. It won the Golden Globe for Best Drama. The people who love it really love it. It's got the most nominations out of all the films nominated for Best Picture.
Cons: The people who hate it really hate it. Though it's not impossible, I can't see it winning any of its other categories. Outside of the Globe, no major precursor awards.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Its hype seems to have gone down since the Globes...it seems to have turned into The Departed vs. Little Miss Sunshine. Still, it's not implausible.

Analyzing: The Departed
My grade: A+
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: A massive hit, both with audiences and critics.
Pros: Like I said, a big hit with both audiences and critics. Made a ton of money.
Cons: Might be too violent for the Academy. Scorsese doesn't exactly have a great track record with them. Mark Wahlberg is its only acting nominee = less support than we think?
Basically, any chance of winning?: Yes.

Analyzing: Letters from Iwo Jima
My grade: A-
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: Clint Eastwood.
Pros: Clint Eastwood. WWII drama. Flags of Our Fathers. Extremely critically acclaimed.
Cons: It's subtitled and made very little money.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Probably not. Eastwood is enough to get it in, but probably not enough to give it the win, like Eastwood's last superb movie, Mystic River.

Analyzing: Little Miss Sunshine
My grade: B+
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: Feel-good indie underdog.
Pros: It's hard to root against it, and it's got really enthusiastic fans.
Cons: It's got really enthusiastic and overly vicious haters as well. Sideways was a feel-good indie underdog too, and it got lost in Eastwood v. Scorsese, Round 1 hmmm. May have won the PGA and SAG, but it couldn't win the bigger award - the Golden Globe. Summer release.
Basically, any chance of winning?: Yup, and a pretty high one, too. People really like this movie.

Analyzing: The Queen
My grade: C/C+
How'd it get nominated, mainly?: Helen Mirren.
Pros: Helen Mirren. Smart, critically-acclaimed contemporary drama. Oscar does love their Brits.
Cons: If Little Miss Sunshine is the Sideways of this year, then The Queen is its Capote...
Basically, any chance of winning?: Probably not, but if there's some severe vote-splitting...

Analyzing: Best Picture as a whole
Who will win: It's tough to call...but right now, I guess I'll go for Little Miss Sunshine. If last year taught us anything, it's that, well, anything can happen.
Who should win: The Departed, but it, along with Letters from Iwo Jima and Little Miss Sunshine, are excellent films.
Unlucky 6th placer: Poor Dreamgirls. Not only was I predicting it to get in, once it got in, I was going to predict it to win. Ooops.
Should have been nominated: Among things the Oscars clearly liked, Dreamgirls, Children of Men, and Pan's Labyrinth. Among things they probably didn't, Volver, Marie-Antoinette, The Fountain, Borat, and Inside Man, just to name a few films.
Random cool fact about this category: The Queen is the shortest nominee in length and The Departed is the longest...but when watching them, I felt exactly the opposite. =/

Oh, and happy Valentine's Day! Watch Love Actually.

fabulous movies out on dvd today

pick up: marie-antoinette and the departed, respectively #8 and 1 (!) on my list of top 10 films of 2006. they're both superb but in very different ways. also, half nelson is out today, a just-miss for my top 10. ryan gosling is amazing, and easily the best of the nominated actors. shareeka epps, tina holmes, anthony mackie...also great.

also: infernal affairs, on which the departed is based. um...to be honest, i've never seen any of them, so i guess i should be first on line to buy those, huh?

Best Supporting Actor.

ignore the suit.
focus on the brilliance.

Okay, so um, where are the great Supporting Actor peformances of the new millennium? Though I love my choice for the best Supporting Actor of the new millennium (Tim Robbins in Mystic River - suck itttt), I doubt he'd even make #10 on my list of the Best Supporting Actors of the 1990s. It's true, this has hindsight helping me, but think about all the incredible supporting male performances we'd had by the beginning of 1997: all the Glengarry Glen Ross boys, Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction, Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List, Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects (and Se7en - which I haven't seen, and quite frankly, which I refuse to see), Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, Edward Norton in Primal Fear and The People vs. Larry Flynt, Gene Hackman in Unforgiven, Leonardo DiCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, Jack Lemmon in Short Cuts, Martin Landau in Ed Wood, Sean Penn in Carlito's Way, Don Cheadle in Devil in a Blue Dress...

though, if you're willing to deem the movie eligible, Jeffrey Wright and Al Pacino in Angels in America could easily go toe-to-toe with any of those performances...

happy birthday Darren Aronofsky!

you are a fucking genius. pi was dumb and pretentious, but showed a lot of ambition which i always appreciate. requiem for a dream just blew me away. it's not the most rewatchable of films (to say the least), but you should see it. and as for the fountain...well...see it. it's a remarkably profound and beautiful meditation on life and death.

The Life of David Gale

Wow, what an awful movie. I think you know a movie's bad when Kate Winslet is in way over her head, and you can tell. D

...that said. It's Kevin Spacey's best post-American Beauty offering (not that that says much, so let me rephrase it: save Superman Returns, it's his only notable post-American Beauty offering), and Laura Linney is just fantastic as always. 2003 was a great year for supporting actresses and Linney gets nominated (if I allowed for multiple performances in one award, she would get the win for this, Love Actually, and Mystic River combined). I'd nominate Kevin as well...I think.

BAFTA craziness

Dear BAFTAs,

Grrr. You gave The Queen Best Picture (it was predictable though) and Best Director to anyone that is not Marty (okay, so did I, but Aronofsky never had a chance in awards circles...and yes, Greengrass did a great job). Your screenplay wins confuse me and you gave Alan Arkin the freaking award?!

Still, I will let you live. You gave Children of Men Best Cinematography and Art Direction, which it certainly deserves. J-Hud got Best Supporting Actress from you. And, most importantly, despite two nominations, you didn't give Emily Blunt anything. Thanks!

Sort of love, me

music videos

...because i can't think of anything else to post. and the number one rule of blogging: never be afraid to be boring. i read these people going on and on and on and on, etc, on their blogs, about how hard it is to be a blogger. dude, who the hell else are you doing it for, besides yourself? it's a fucking blog, not a proust novel (except that reference made me think of little miss sunshine and smile). my postings may be frequent and suck, but i'd rather have that than a brilliant post, but only post once every month or something. that's so dumb. umm...anyway

FAVORITE: "weapon of choice" fatboy slim
LEAST FAVORITE: "black hole sun" um...i think it's soundgarden? & "look what you've done" jet (i don't like music videos that scare the crap outta me)

in honor of joe pesci

"you motherfucker! i had him, i almost had him. you stutterin' prick ya!"
happy birthday to the creator of one of cinema's most vivid characters (why do we not have good supporting male roles in the 2000s?). and mia farrow! and ziyi zhang too i guess.

happy birthday jack lemmon!!!

(edit: DAMMIT, there was an adorable little picture but now it's not working.)

r.i.p. to one of my very favorite actors. watch glengarry glen ross and then the apartment to see two totally different sides of his genius.

oh and john williams!!! 40 oscar nominations speaks for itself. the man's a genius. and yes, he still is today. check out his scores to munich and memoirs of a geisha if you doubt me.

also, last night, my friends and i had a dance party to this song. it's kind of a terrible song but i dare you not to get it stuck in your head.
edit: the video's not working any more. (this entry is falling apart on me) youtube "still not a player..." yeahhh 7th grade style.

cuz all i ask for is instant pleasure

apparently there is a movie called two drifters that concerns, if i may quote one review, "how gay men and straight women often compete for the same objects of lust."

um...holy shit. the synopsis makes it sound kind of boring but still i have to see this movie.

i don't want to write my essay so

...my most anticipated 2007 movies in no particular order. hopefully it will be a fantastic year.

• grindhouse - quentin tarantino has yet to make a bad movie. i can't say the same for robert rodriguez but sin city gave me a lot of faith. and seriously, LOOK. AT. THE. POSTERS. rose mcgowan with a machine gun for a leg!!!

• my blueberry nights - look at the director. look at the cast. how can this not be the best film ever made.

• there will be blood - p.t. anderson hearts the saw 2 tagline

• charlie wilson's war - based on the cast, the plot, and the release date, could this be any more oscarbaity?? still. mike nichols. he don't make crap.

• margot at the wedding - go nicole!!

• evening - ridiculously brilliant cast

• i'm not there - totally fucking fascinating-sounding

• the golden age - cate blanchett is meh but she was great in elizabeth but honestly who really cares if cate blanchett is in something when CLIVE OWEN is!!!

• spider-man 3 - even with 25082085 villains and new characters or whatever i still have faith in sam raimi.

• 300 - it could be the new sin city + gerard butler

• 28 weeks later - 28 days later was awesome (it's my #10 for '03 if you're not counting angels in america). i really hope this doesn't suck; danny boyle did a great job and this got some random new director.

• american gangster - it could really suck or it could be AMAZING

• evan almighty - i, um, really liked bruce almighty. stop looking at me like that!! steve carell YAY.

• live free or die hard - i have a new bruce willis obsession. what? he's hot. don't judge.

• shrek 3 - i absolutely love the first two even though it is soooo very trendy not to. hopefully this one will be no different.

• youth without youth - does anyone know if this actually is this year? if so. omg. coppola.


not looking forward to at all:
• pirates of the carribbean: at world's end - though at least the series'll be over
• sweeney todd - grrr. one of my very favorite musicals was supposed to be directed by the amazing sam mendes and star russell crowe, if you believe rumors. instead, it's being directed by tim fucking burton and starring johnny fucking depp and helena bonham-fucking-carter. in case you couldn't figure that out, those aren't good "fucking"s either. if this is awesome, i'll be the first to admit it, but i bet it sucks.
• hairspray - god i hope musicals don't die again this year. this looks really, really uninspired, based on stills. but i do love what the director said, something along the lines of: "i know what i'm doing. i'm not christopher columbus directing rent"
• southland tales - much like how my blueberry nights can't be anything but the best movie ever made, this can't be anything but the worst movie ever made.
• harry potter and the order of the pheonix - my absolute least favorite of the books being directed by not-alfonso-cuaron. ugh.

my name is dalton russell.

probably the best opening to a film ever (yeah i'm biased). spike lee is a genius.
sorry for "doubting" you clive. you definitely win best supporting actor for me this year.

something disturbing i've noticed lately

...mark wahlberg? is HOT!

they shoot pictures, don't they?

...so they recently updated their list of the top 250 films of the new millennium, and i figured i'd show my grades for the movies i've seen (gosh i'm bored). oh, and also, read the little blurb they have for half nelson. it's hilarious. it's like, "now, whenever there's a movie that involves race in some way, we have to go out of our way to find some way to insult crash!!! YES!!!" and no, i'm not really a hard grader. and yes, i have changed some grades from ones i put on the blog already. oh well. and yes, i know there are going to be cineasts sniggering all over my D for inland empire and my F for gerry and me you and everyone we know and yet my A-s for crash and cold mountain, and for that, i'm very sorry. i wasn't aware i was allowed to have different taste and opinions from you all.

1. In the Mood for Love A
2. Muholland Dr. B
3. Far from Heaven A-
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind A+
6. Sideways A-
7. Lost in Translation A+
8. A History of Violence A
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring B+
10. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon A-
11. Y tu mama tambien A
12. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King B
13. Spirited Away A
14. Talk to Her A
15. Million Dollar Baby B+
16. Before Sunset A-
17. Memento A-
18. Ghost World C-
19. Adaptation. A-
20. The Queen C+
21. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers B-
22. United 93 B+
23. The Squid and the Whale A-/B+
24. The Departed A+
25. American Splendor C-
26. The Royal Tenenbaums B
27. You Can Count on Me A
28. Mystic River A/A+
29. 2046 B-
30. Punch-Drunk Love B-
31. Moulin Rouge! A
32. In the Bedroom A
33. Brokeback Mountain (haha it's only #33) B-
34. Dancer in the Dark B/B-
35. Capturing the Friedmans A
36. Grizzly Man A/A-
37. The Incredibles B
38. Kings and Queen B
39. About Schmidt B
40. Waking Life C+
41. Almost Famous C-
42. Cache B
43. The Pianist B-
44. Finding Nemo A-
46. The Aviator B+
47. AI: Artificial Intelligence B
48. The House of Mirth B+
49. Donnie Darko C-
50. Traffic A
51. Letters from Iwo Jima A-
52. Requiem for a Dream A
53. Dogville A-
54. Borat A
56. Pan's Labyrinth A-
57. Vera Drake B+
58. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner C-
59. Half Nelson A-
60. Good Night, and Good Luck. B+
61. Shrek A (shut up)
62. City of God A-
63. L'Enfant B+
64. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World B
67. Munich B+
68. Elephant B-
70. The Fog of War A
71. Children of Men A/A+ OMG WHY IS THIS NOT HIGHER.
72. Amelie C-
73. Gosford Park A-
74. Amores Perros A-
75. Capote B+
77. Bad Education A
78. House of Flying Daggers B+
81. The Triplets of Belleville B-
82. The Piano Teacher B-
84. Volver A (geez I have an Almodovar fetish.)
86. Wonder Boys A-
87. Sexy Beast A-
89. Kill Bill, Vol. 1 A
90. Inland Empire D
91. Kinsey A- (mmhmm motherfuckers)
93. Gangs of New York C+ (oh, Marty.)
94. Fat Girl D+
96. In America B
99. Erin Brockovich B
100. Little Miss Sunshine B+
101. Spellbound A-
102. Bloody Sunday B
104. Maria Full of Grace B+
105. Last Days D
107. Fahrenheit 9/11 B
108. Kill Bill, Vol. 2 A
109. The Hours B/B+
111. Hotel Rwanda B+
112. Hero B+
113. Chicago A (WHY is this not top 100. GRRRRR)
114. Bowling for Columbine B
115. Together B
116. School of Rock B
119. 21 Grams C-
120. George Washington A-
121. High Fidelity C+
122. A Prairie Home Companion B+
123. Chicken Run B+
127. Flags of Our Fathers C+
128. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit A-
129. demonlover D-
132. The Deep End D+
134. Monsters, Inc. B+
136. Paradise Now B-
137. O Brother, Where Art Thou? B+
138. Spider B
139. About a Boy B
140. Before Night Falls B
141. King Kong C-
142. Gladiator B+
143. Black Hawk Down C-
144. Billy Elliot B
145. Collateral B+
149. Morvern Callar B+
151. Under the Sand B
156. The Five Obstructions C+
157. Monsoon Wedding B+
159. Minority Report A
161. The Man Who Wasn't There B-
162. Three Times B-
163. Syriana B-
164. The New World B-
165. Faithless B
169. Me and You and Everyone We Know F
171. Shattered Glass B+
172. Mysterious Skin B-
173. 25th Hour A (this should be whoah higher, as well.)
174. Broken Flowers B
175. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou B+
176. Chuck & Buck C+
177. Match Point B/B+
179. Brick B
180. Ray C+
181. Lovely and Amazing A-
182. The Motorcycle Diaries B
183. I Heart Huckabees B
184. Cold Mountain A-
186. Junebug B
187. A Scanner Darkly C-
188. Time of the Wolf B+
190. Crash A-
191. Spider-Man B+
192. The Station Agent B
194. Kung Fu Hustle B
195. Spider-Man 2 A-, and way more acclaimed than its prequel
197. Dirty Pretty Things B-
198. Ali B
201. Shaun of the Dead B+
202. The Barbarian Invasions B+
204. The Others B
205. Hedwig and the Angry Inch C- (oh, John Cameron Mitchell. I so want to like your movies, because they're always so ambitious. But then they are always huge freaking messes.)
206. Bamboozled B-
208. Gerry F
209. Solaris C+
211. Bad Santa C
212. Inside Man A (Bamboozled is over this? Uh. Okay.)
213. Little Children B+
214. Babel B-
215. The Quiet American B
216. Casino Royale A-
220. The Constant Gardener A-
221. The Descent B/B+
223. Whale Rider B
224. A Beautiful Mind B-
225. Touching the Void B
226. Thirteen Conversations about One Thing C-
227. Bus 174 D+
229. State and Main B-
230. An Inconvenient Truth B
231. A Very Long Engagement B
235. A Mighty Wind B-
239. Lantana A
240. 8 Mile C- (?!?!?! this list seems to be really hard for any sort of new movies to get on it. there is no way even the divisive films of this year, like the fountain and marie-antoinette, were somehow less praised than this...)
244. The 40-Year-Old Virgin C+
245. The Sea Inside B
246. Howl's Moving Castle B
247. Quills B+
248. The Saddest Music in the World D

films that dropped off the list:
American Psycho B
My Summer of Love C+
Oldboy C+
Pride and Prejudice A-/A
Darwin's Nightmare B
Igby Goes Down D+
With a Friend Like Harry... C-
The Devil's Backbone C+
Sunshine State C+
Closer B-
Catch Me If You Can A-
House of Sand and Fog C+
War of the Worlds C+
Angels in America A+++++++++ (this should be #1, not falling off the list. idiots)

a BRILLIANT day for birthdays

i love the lovely laura linney (she's actually my second favorite actress). if you don't...what's wrong with you?!?! she has literally never been bad, even in crap like the life of david gale. check out the truman show, you can count on me (!!), mystic river, love actually, p.s., kinsey, or the squid and the whale, to name the most notable performances, for more brilliance. and yes, i liked her in mystic river...you got a problem with that? i cannot wait for jindabyne, the savages, and the nanny diaries (laura + scarlett!!!!! ...and alicia keys who i hate.)


CHRISTOPHER GUEST. please ignore for your consideration and watch waiting for guffman (one of the funniest movies ever) and best in show (also up there), among the many other brilliant movies he has contributed to: this is spinal tap, the princess bride...


you'd be very hard-pressed to find a director that is better at mixing what a majority of people want to see and his own artistic goals than michael mann. mostly every time out, i am shocked by how good his movies are. some seem to think miami vice is a masterpiece and modern antonini (?! usually these people have really pretentious taste.)... i don't, but it's worth a look anyway. as are, of course, heat, the insider, and collateral (just to name three great movies).


will someone please tell me why michael sheen looks like a serial killer in every picture of him on google image search? anyway, he's great in the queen (like, maybe better-than-mirren great) and i hope he gets lots more work in the future. he deserves better than blood diamond and kingdom of heaven and underworld, people!!

finishing things off. '06

and just to reiterate: i change my mind a lot. for instance, the repeated viewing of 25th hour in one of my classes has made me realize i was crazy to have philip seymour hoffman in 10th place for that year in that category; he should actually be in first place. oh, self. who can figure me out?

Best Picture
1. The Departed
2. Children of Men
3. The Fountain
4. Inside Man
5. Dreamgirls
6. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America...
7. Volver
8. Marie-Antoinette
9. Letters from Iwo Jima
10. Pan's Labyrinth

Best Director
1. Darren Aronofsky for The Fountain
2. Martin Scorsese for The Departed
3. Alfonso Cuaron for Children of Men
4. Sofia Coppola for Marie-Antoinette
5. Paul Greengrass for United 93
6. Bill Condon for Dreamgirls
7. Spike Lee for Inside Man (#4 if you're including When the Levees Broke as well)
8. Guillermo del Toro for Pan's Labyrinth
9. Christopher Nolan for The Prestige
10. Clint Eastwood for Letters from Iwo Jima (and Flags of Our Fathers)

Best Actor
1. Hugh Jackman in The Fountain
2. Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson
3. Forrest Whittaker in Last King of Scotland
4. Clive Owen in Children of Men (<3333)
5. Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America...
6. Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
7. Matt Damon in The Departed
8. Daniel Craig in Casino Royale
9. Patrick Wilson in Little Children
10. Heath Ledger in Candy
Ooh...except for Whittaker, this is like a top 10 of extraordinarily good-looking men. I make good choices sometimes. ;)

Best Actress
1. Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada
2. Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal
3. Kate Winslet in Little Children
4. Penelope Cruz in Volver
5. Laura Dern in Inland Empire
6. Naomi Watts in The Painted Veil
7. Helen Mirren in The Queen (OMG calm down people.)
8. Catherine O'Hara in For Your Consideration
9. Maggie Gyllenhaal in Sherrybaby
10. Cate Blanchett in The Good German

Best Supporting Actor
1. Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls
2. Doug Jones in Pan's Labyrinth
3. Michael Sheen in The Queen
4. Steve Carell in Little Miss Sunshine
5. Clive Owen in Inside Man (<333. I AM ALLOWED MY BIASES DAMMIT)
6. Michael Caine in Children of Men
7. Ben Affleck for Hollywoodland
8. Jackie Earle Haley for Little Children
9. Jack Nicholson for The Departed
10. Sergio Lopez for Pan's Labyrinth
(please note: in The Departed, Baldwin >>>>>> Wahlberg)

Best Supporting Actress
1. Mia Kirshner in The Black Dahlia
2. Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls (um when will people realize she wasn't just singing. When you sing for musical theater, you interpret a song!)
3. Shareeka Epps in Half Nelson (...category fraud.)
4. Claire Hope-Ashitey in Children of Men
5. Rinko Kikuchi in Babel
6. Toni Collette in Little Miss Sunshinse
7. Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine
8. Kerry Washington in The Last King of Scotland
9. Emma Thompson in Stranger than Fiction
10. Vera Farmiga in Running Scared

Best Screenplay
1. The Departed
2. Little Children
3. Children of Men
4. Volver
5. Little Miss Sunshine
6. The Painted Veil
7. Stranger than Fiction
8. Inside Man
9. Half Nelson
10. The Prestige

...I should do some major project next. Hmmm.

I saw Epic Movie.

it was not bad.

and by "not bad," I mean "not quite as bad as Date Movie." D

2004

2004 was a great year. It gave us unquestionably the best film of the new millennium, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (it's not my favorite film of the new millennium...but it's up there). In fact, that film might just be the best picture of the entire 99-06 period. If not, it's up there with American Beauty, Lost in Translation, the Kill Bill opus, and the other masterpieces this time period has offered.

Best Picture
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Kill Bill, Vol. 2
3. Sideways
4. Kinsey *
5. Dogville
6. Spider-Man 2
7. Bad Education
8. Before Sunset
9. Mean Girls
10. Collateral

Best Director
1. Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill, Vol. 2
2. Michael Gondry for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Mike Leigh for Vera Drake
4. Lars Von Trier for Dogville
5. Martin Scorsese for The Aviator
6. Zhang Yimou for Hero and House of Flying Daggers
7. Alfonso Cuaron for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
8. Michael Mann for Collateral
9. Sam Raimi for Spider-Man 2
10. Alexander Payne for Sideways

Best Actor (tremendous year, one of the best ever for lead male acting)
1. Clive Owen in Closer (<3333. Best male performance of the new millennium)
2. Paul Giamatti in Sideways
3. Jamie Foxx in Ray (totally amazing and deserving of his Oscar win)
4. Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda
5. Jeff Bridges in The Door in the Floor
6. Kevin Bacon in The Woodsman
7. Gael Garcia Bernal in Bad Education
8. Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
9. Liam Neeson in Kinsey
10. Christian Bale in The Machinist
(seriously. what a ridiculously strong year)

Best Actress (also very very strong)
1. Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Nicole Kidman in Dogville
3. Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, Vol. 2
4. Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake
5. Nicole Kidman in Birth
6. Laura Linney in P.S...
7. Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full of Grace
8. Julie Delpy in Before Sunset
9. Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30 (shut it)
10. Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls (doubly shut it)

Best Supporting Actor
1. Jude Law in I Heart Huckabees
2. Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby (OMG I LIKE THE OSCAR WINNER! I MUST BE SHAMED!)
3. David Carradine in Kill Bill, Vol. 2
4. Thomas Haden Church in Sideways
5. Peter Sarsgaard in Kinsey
6. Paul Bettany in Dogville
7. Liev Schrieber in The Manchurian Candidate
8. Tom Wilkinson in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
9. Topher Grace in In Good Company
10. Antonio Banderas in Shrek 2

Best Supporting Actress
1. Virginia Madsen in Sideways
2. Natalie Portman in Garden State (her role in Closer is not supporting; she's #12 for the lead ladies)
3. Laura Linney in Kinsey
4. Darryl Hannah in Kill Bill, Vol. 2
5. Kirsten Dunst in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6. Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls
7. Cate Blanchett in Coffee and Cigarettes (yes, she was better here, and undeserving of her Oscar)
8. Lily Tomlin in I Heart Huckabees
9. Meryl Streep in The Manchurian Candidate
10. Sandra Oh in Sideways

Best Screenplay
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Kill Bill, Vol. 2
3. Sideways
4. Kinsey *
5. Before Sunset
6. Mean Girls
7. Dogville
8. I Heart Huckabees
9. Bad Education
10. Closer

* Yes, Kinsey. Probably the most underrated film of the entire new millennium. It's flawlessly acted, very funny and smart, and I dunno. Most biopics, even those with greater acclaim from this very year (I'm looking at you Ray and Finding Neverland!), weren't interesting. This one was. Maybe the subject matter helped? I dunno. All I know is I think it's a great movie, and probably the best biopic that's the typical big, sprawling, someone's-entire-life-in-two-and-a-half-hours, Oscarbait type (as opposed to Raging Bull, Amadeus, and Marie-Antoinette, more slice-of-life biopics).

2001

2001 was a pretty darn good year...I like my top 10 a lot. It's super idiosyncratic, and probably closer to a "favorites" list than a "best" list, but I did hate/dislike a lot of the critics' darlings of this year (Ghost World, Amelie, Donnie Darko...).

Best Picture
1. Moulin Rouge!
2. In the Bedroom
3. Lantana
4. Gosford Park
5. In the Mood for Love
6. Shrek (it's become trendy to hate this movie, but I will always love it)
7. Memento
8. Zoolander (!) (it was my favorite movie until like...last year, when I started seriously wathcing movies. I can't help it.)
9. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
10. Bridget Jones' Diary

Best Director
1. Baz Lurhmann for Moulin Rouge!
2. David Lynch for Mulholland Dr.
3. Robert Altman for Gosford Park
4. Wong Kar Wai for In the Mood for Love
5. Stephen Spielberg for AI: Artificial Intelligence
6. Christopher Nolan for Memento
7. Todd Field for In the Bedroom
8. Alejandro Amenábar for The Others
9. Peter Jackson for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
10. Wes Anderson for The Royal Tenenbaums

Best Actor (GREAT year, and I stand by my #1 100%)
1. Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind
2. Tom Wilkinson in In the Bedroom
3. Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge!
4. Denzel Washington in Training Day
5. Haley Joel Osment in AI: Artificial Intelligence
6. Tony Leung in In the Mood for Love
7. Jake Gyllenhaal in Donnie Darko
8. Anthony LaPaglia in Lantana
9. Eric Bana in Chopper
10. Jack Nicholson in The Pledge

Best Actress
1. Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr.
2. Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!
3. Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones' Diary (one of the best comedic performances maybe ever)
4. Charlotte Rampling in Under the Sand
5. Nicole Kidman in The Others
6. Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love
7. Lena Endre in Faithless
8. Sissy Spacek in In the Bedroom
9. Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde
10. Brooke Smith in Series 7: The Contenders

Best Supporting Actor
1. Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast
2. Ian McKellen in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. Steve Buscemi in Ghost World
4. Jim Broadbent in Moulin Rouge!
5. Jude Law in AI: Artificial Intelligence
6. Brian Cox in L.I.E.
7. Jim Broadbent in Iris
8. Tony Shaloub in The Man Who Wasn't There
9. Owen Wilson in The Royal Tenenbaums
10. Justin Theroux in Mulholland Dr.

Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly belongs nowhere near this list)
1. Kate Winslet in Iris
2. Marisa Tomei in In the Bedroom
3. Laura Elena Harring in Mulholland Dr.
4. Gwyneth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums
5. Helen Mirren in Gosford Park
6. Kerry Armstrong in Lantana
7. Maggie Smith in Gosford Park
8. Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World
9. Uma Thurman in Tape
10. Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky

Best Screenplay
1. Lantana
2. In the Bedroom
3. Gosford Park
4. Memento
5. Shrek
6. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. Together
8. Mulholland Dr.
9. Sexy Beast
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

You probably haven't seen or maybe even heard of Lantana...and that's silly. Go see it now.

here i go again. '99

'99 was pretty damn fantastic, maybe the best year of the 99-06 time period. it's not every year you get movies as life-affirmingly brilliant as american beauty and magnolia and films as uproariously daring and hilarious as south park: bigger, longer, and uncut and election and being john malkovich (which doesn't even make my top 10 list!)

Best Picture
1. American Beauty
2. Magnolia
3. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
4. Election
5. Fight Club
6. The Talented Mr. Ripley
7. Toy Story 2
8. All About My Mother
9. The Insider
10. Titus

Best Director
1. Sam Mendes for American Beauty
2. P.T. Anderson for Magnolia
3. David Fincher for Fight Club
4. Michael Mann for The Insider
5. Spike Jonze for Being John Malkovich
6. Anthony Minghella for The Talented Mr. Ripley
7. David Lynch for The Straight Story
8. Kevin Smith for Dogma
9. Pedro Almodovar for All About My Mother
10. M. Night Shamaylan for The Sixth Sense

Best Actor
1. Kevin Spacey in American Beauty (period. Best performance of the '90s easy.)
2. Russell Crowe in The Insider
3. Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense
4. Richard Farnsworth in The Straight Story
5. Jim Broadbent in Topsy-Turvy
6. Edward Norton in Fight Club
7. Sean Penn in Sweet and Lowdown
8. Terrence Stamp in The Limey
9. Brad Pitt in Fight Club
10. Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley

Best Actress
1. Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry
2. Kate Winslet in Holy Smoke!
3. Reese Witherspoon in Election
4. Julianne Moore in The End of the Affair
5. Cecilia Roth in All About My Mother
6. Annette Bening in American Beauty
7. Elodie Bouchez in The Dreamlife of Angels
8. Franka Potente in Run Lola Run
9. Heather Donahue in The Blair Witch Project
10. Janet McTeer in Tumbleweeds

Best Supporting Actor
1. Tom Cruise in Magnolia
2. Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley
3. John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich
4. Peter Sarsgaard in Boys Don't Cry
5. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Magnolia
6. Alan Rickman in Dogma
7. Christopher Plummer in The Insider
8. Wes Bentley in American Beauty
9. Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Talented Mr. Ripley
10. Jason Robards in Magnolia

Best Supporting Actress
1. Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut (the only Oscar she's ever deserved, but I'd nominate her a whole hell of a lot)
2. Toni Collette in The Sixth Sense
3. Lara Belmont in The War Zone
4. Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich
5. Melora Walters in Magnolia (oddly enough, she appealed to me far more than Julianne, who's my #11...)
6. Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich
7. Chloe Sevigny in Boys Don't Cry (I hate Chloe, but she was really good here.)
8. Sarah Polley in Go
9. Mena Suvari in American Beauty (OWNED Thora Birch)
10. Jessica Lange in Titus

Best Screenplay
1. American Beauty
2. Election
3. Being John Malkovich
4. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
5. Fight Club
6. All About My Mother
7. The Talented Mr. Ripley
8. Three Kings
9. Go
10. The Sixth Sense

only 01, 04, and 06 to go? I kind of rule sometimes.

2003

figure i might as well get the "bad" years out of the way...but i don't actually think 2003 was that bad (only the third-worst of the new millennium, after 2000 and 2005). also note, i am including the hbo miniseries angels in america, the single best film in the time frame 99-06. also, 2003 had the godly lost in translation as well as mystic river, which still blows me away (shut it), and the first half of quentin tarantino's kill bill masterpiece.

Best Picture
1. Angels in America
2. Lost in Translation
3. Mystic River
4. Kill Bill, Vol. 1
5. City of God
6. Love Actually (shut it)
7. Cold Mountain (shut it...again)
8. Girl with a Pearl Earring
9. thirteen
10. Finding Nemo

Best Director
1. Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation
2. Mike Nichols for Angels in America
3. Peter Jackson for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (this is more of a cumulative award, to be honest, because I felt bad snubbing him)
4. Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill, Vol. 1
5. Gus Von Sant for Elephant (and to a much lesser extent the awful Gerry)
6. Clint Eastwood for Mystic River
7. Fernando Meirelles for City of God
8. Robert Altman for The Company
9. Andrew Jarecki for Capturing the Friedmans
10. Danny Boyle for 28 Days Later...

Best Actor
1. Bill Murray in Lost in Translation
2. Justin Kirk in Angels in America
3. Sean Penn in Mystic River
4. Jude Law in Cold Mountain
5. Ben Kingsley in House of Sand and Fog
6. Hayden Christensen in Shattered Glass
7. Sean Penn in 21 Grams
8. Chiwetel Ejiofor in Dirty Pretty Things
9. Russell Crowe in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
10. Robert Downey Jr. in The Singing Detective

Best Actress
1. Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, Vol. 1
2. Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation
3. Charlize Theron in Monster
4. Evan Rachel Wood in thirteen
5. Scarlett Johansson in Girl with a Pearl Earring
6. Zooey Deschanel in All the Real Girls
7. Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give
8. Gwyneth Paltrow in Sylvia
9. Jennifer Connelly in House of Sand and Fog
10. Meg Ryan in In the Cut

Best Supporting Actor
1. Jeffrey Wright in Angels in America
2. Al Pacino in Angels in America
3. Tim Robbins in Mystic River
4. Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass
5. Bill Nighy in Love Actually
6. Kevin Bacon in Mystic River
7. Alec Baldwin in The Cooler
8. Patrick Wilson in Angels in America
9. Hugh Grant in Love Actually
10. Ben Shenkman in Angels in America

Best Supporting Actress
1. Meryl Streep in Angels in America
2. Mary-Louise Parker in Angels in America
3. Renee Zellweger in Cold Mountain (totally deserving of her Oscar)
4. Patricia Clarkson in The Station Agent
5. Holly Hunter in thirteen
6. Marcia Gay Harden in Mystic River
7. Lucy Liu in Kill Bill, Vol. 1
8. Miranda Richardson in Spider
9. Emma Thompson in Love Actually
10. Emma Thompson in Angels in America

Best Screenplay
1. Lost in Translation
2. Kill Bill, Vol. 1
3. Angels in America
4. Mystic River
5. Love Actually
6. City of God
7. Cold Mountain
8. The Barbarian Invasions
9. The Station Agent
10. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

mmm-hmm.

2000

2000. Another bad year cuz I might as well get 'em done with.

Best Picture
1. Requiem for a Dream
2. You Can Count on Me
3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
4. Traffic
5. Best in Show
6. The House of Mirth
7. Wonder Boys
8. Gladiator
9. George Washington
10. Amores Perros (Iñárritu's best, and it's not even close)

Best Director
1. Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2. Darren Aronofsky for Requiem for a Dream
3. Steven Soderbergh for Traffic and Erin Brockovich
4. Ridley Scott for Gladiator
5. Lars von Trier for Dancer in the Dark
6. Kenneth Lonergan for You Can Count on Me
7. Mary Harron for American Psycho
8. Alejandro Gonzales Iñárritu for Amores Perros
9. David Gordon Green for George Washington
10. Sofia Coppola for The Virgin Suicides

Best Actor
1. Christian Bale in American Psycho
2. Billy Crudup in Jesus' Son
3. Clive Owen in Croupier (Cliiiiive. <3)
4. Russell Crowe in Gladiator (I'll defend him to the death)
5. Tom Hanks in Cast Away (him too)
6. Javier Bardem in Before Night Falls
7. Michael Douglas in Wonder Boys
8. Ed Harris in Pollock
9. Jamie Bell in Billy Elliot
10. Geoffrey Rush in Quills

Best Actress (quality-wise excellent, quantity-wise pretty shitty...I can't think of anyone other than these 9 that I'd really want to nominate)
1. Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream
2. Laura Linney in You Can Count on Me
3. Renee Zellweger in Nurse Betty
4. Gillian Anderson in The House of Mirth
5. Cate Blanchett in The Gift
6. Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich (no, she didn't deserve the Oscar but it's hardly embarassing to say the least)
7. Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath
8. Michelle Rodriguez in Girlfight
9. Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Michelle...?)

Best Supporting Actor
1. Mark Ruffalo in You Can Count on Me (not supporting. Ignore this.)
2. Benicio del Toro in Traffic
3. Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire
4. Jeffrey Wright in Shaft (!!!)
5. Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator
6. Albert Finney in Erin Brockovich
7. Morgan Freeman in Nurse Betty
8. Ian Holm in Joe Gould's Secret
9. Michael Douglas in Traffic
10. Tobey Maguire in Wonder Boys

Best Supporting Actress
1. Jennifer Connelly in Requiem for a Dream (years later, still standing as the best performance of the new millennium...and I don't even like Jennifer Connelly)
2. Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock
3. Samantha Morton in Jesus' Son
4. Kate Winslet in Quills
5. Ziyi Zhang in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
6. Parker Posey in Best in Show
7. Catherine Deneuve in Dancer in the Dark
8. Laura Linney in The House of Mirth
9. Kirsten Dunst in The Virgin Suicides
10. Frances McDormand in Almost Famous

Best Screenplay
1. You Can Count on Me
2. American Psycho
3. The House of Mirth
4. Requiem for a Dream
5. Nurse Betty
6. Traffic
7. Amores Perros
8. Billy Elliot
9. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
10. George Washington

Please note, all: Almost Famous blows, except the acting...and even there, Patrick Fugit was sooo dull and Kate Hudson wildly overpraised. Still, everyone else pretty much rocked. Maybe I'm just mad because of how they used "Tiny Dancer" (yes, I love Elton John, now let's move the fuck on)... oh. and if you asked me to see any of these movies again or Chocolat, I'd probably say Chocolat. Yeah, it's only deserving of a C+ movie-wise, but it's warm and adorable...and keep in mind, this is from someone who hates Johnny Depp (GASP!) and who just kind of half-shrugs when she hears Juliette Binoche's name (GASP!).

well then.

I guess I'll do 2005 next, since it is easily the worst of all the years I'll cover in this teeny little series (99-06). A decent year for lead actors and supporting actresses, but sooo empty otherwise.

Best Picture
1. A History of Violence (would be at about #9 or 8 for 2006.)
2. Crash (shut the fuck up, it's a fantastic movie...but no it wouldn't make my top 10 this year)
3. The Constant Gardener
4. The Squid and the Whale
5. Pride and Prejudice
6. Grizzly Man
7. Sin City
8. Munich
9. Wedding Crashers
10. Good Night, and Good Luck.

Best Director
1. David Cronenberg for A History of Violence
2. Michael Haneke for Cache
3. Paul Haggis for Crash (!)
4. Fernando Meirelles for The Constant Gardener
5. Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, and Quentin Tarantino for Sin City
6. George Clooney for Good Night, and Good Luck.
7. Werner Herzog for Grizzly Man
8. Stephen Spielberg for Munich
9. Terrence Malick for The New World
10. Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (seeeeee)

Best Actor
1. Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
2. Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence
3. Ralph Fiennes in The Constant Gardener
4. David Strathairn in Good Night, and Good Luck.
5. Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain (definitely NOT supporting)
6. Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
7. Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin
8. Jake Gyllenhaal in Jarhead
9. Bill Murray in Broken Flowers
10. Robert Downey Jr. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Best Actress (soooo weak, I love Reese but she'd be like #10 or thereabouts for '06)
1. Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line
2. Q'Orianka Kilcher in The New World
3. Gwyneth Paltrow in Proof
4. Embeth Davidtz in Junebug (OWNED her highly overrated Oscar-nominated costar)
5. Claire Danes in Shopgirl
6. Joan Allen in Yes (she was embarassing in The Upside of Anger)
7. Rachel McAdams in Red Eye
8. Nathalie Press in My Summer of Love (and not Emily Blunt!)
9. Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice (totally deserved her Oscar nomination)
10. Toni Collette in In Her Shoes

Best Supporting Actor
1. Michael Pena in Crash
2. Mickey Rourke in Sin City
3. Matt Dillon in Crash
4. Clifton Collins Jr. in Capote
5. Jeff Daniels in The Squid and the Whale
6. George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck. (should've gotten nominated for this)
7. Clive Owen in Sin City
8. Jesse L. Martin in Rent
9. Matt Damon in Syriana
10. Kevin Costner in The Upside of Anger (way better than Joan Allen)

Best Supporting Actress
1. Maria Bello in A History of Violence
2. Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener
3. Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain
4. Laura Linney in The Squid and the Whale
5. Rosario Dawson in Rent
6. Ziyi Zhang in 2046
7. Scarlett Johansson in Match Point
8. Gong Li in Memoirs of a Geisha
9. Maggie Gyllenhaal in Happy Endings
10. Isla Fisher in Wedding Crashers
...aaaand Amy Adams didn't really impress me that much.

Best Screenplay
1. A History of Violence
2. The Constant Gardener
3. Crash
4. The Squid and the Whale
5. Good Night, and Good Luck.
6. Match Point
7. Munich
8. Capote
9. Jarhead
10. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

...and that's that. God, what a lame year.

YAY!

who wants to live in new york?
who wants the worry, the noise, the dirt, the heat?
who wants the garbage cans clanging in the street?
suddenly i do.

So today I learned that in my Cultures of the US Class, we are not in fact watching the awful Kids but the sublime 25th Hour, Spike Lee's best movie ever...so, I will start my top-10-in-random-categories-for-every-year, but with 2002 since that masterpiece will be playing a large part here. then, with the years, i will work backwards/forwards/in random order.

Best Picture
1. Chicago
2. 25th Hour
3. Minority Report
4. Y tu mama también
5. Talk to Her
6. Adaptation.
7. Far from Heaven
8. Morvern Callar
9. Spirited Away
10. Spider-Man

Best Director
1. Spike Lee for 25th Hour
2. Rob Marshall for Chicago
3. Spike Jonze for Adaptation.
4. Pedro Almodovar for Talk to Her
5. Stephen Spielberg for Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can
6. Alfonso Cuaron for Y tu mama también
7. Todd Haynes for Far from Heaven
8. Alexander Payne for About Schmidt
9. P.T. Anderson for Punch-Drunk Love
10. Lynne Ramsay for Morvern Callar

Best Actor (strong year)
1. Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt
2. Campbell Scott in Roger Dodger
3. Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York
4. Nicolas Cage in Adaptation.
5. Edward Norton in 25th Hour
6. Naseeruddin Shah in Monsoon Wedding
7. Adrien Brody in The Pianist
8. Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can
9. James Nesbitt in Bloody Sunday
10. Hugh Grant in About a Boy

Best Actress
1. Julianne Moore in Far from Heaven (take note, fanboys: the only Oscar she ever deserved)
2. Samantha Morton in Morvern Callar
3. Diane Lane in Unfaithful
4. Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher
5. Nicole Kidman in The Hours
6. Maggie Gyllenhaal in Secretary
7. Meryl Streep in The Hours
8. Renee Zellweger in Chicago
9. Catherine Keener in Lovely and Amazing
10. Julianne Moore in The Hours

Best Supporting Actor
1. Chris Cooper in Adaptation.
2. Paul Newman in Road to Perdition
3. Dennis Quaid in Far from Heaven
4. Barry Pepper in 25th Hour
5. Christopher Walken in Catch Me If You Can
6. Andy Serkis in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
7. Brian Cox in 25th Hour
8. Stephen Dillane in The Hours
9. Benoit Magimel in The Piano Teacher
10. Philip Seymour Hoffman in 25th Hour

Best Supporting Actress
1. Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago
2. Meryl Streep in Adaptation.
3. Samantha Morton in Minority Report
4. Michelle Pfieffer in White Oleander
5. Edie Falco in Sunshine State
6. Patricia Clarkson in Far from Heaven
7. Emily Mortimer in Lovely and Amazing
8. Bebe Neuwirth in Tadpole
9. Emily Watson in Punch-Drunk Love
10. Toni Collette in About a Boy

Best Screenplays
1. 25th Hour
2. Talk to Her
3. Adaptation.
4. Y tu mama también
5. Spirited Away
6. About Schmidt
7. The Hours
8. Far from Heaven
9. Chicago
10. Lovely and Amazing

It was a pretty darn good year. Unfortunately, every single category at the Oscars, be it Best Picture, Best Art Direction, or Best Documentary Short, had the unfortunate effect of nominating Chicago, The Pianist, Gangs of New York, The Hours, and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Zzz... Ranking those:
1. Chicago (A)
2. The Hours (B/B+)
3. The Pianist (B-)
4. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (B-)
5. Gangs of New York (C+...Scorsese's worst? Still a terribly fascinating mess.)
And I just realized 25th Hour was completely snubbed. EW. That's way worse than Julianne Moore not winning the Oscar...

Next up, unless I get distracted again: some other year!

bored...

here are my awards of 2006 with oscar nominees in their categories eliminated:

Best Picture
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America...
Children of Men *
Dreamgirls
The Fountain
Inside Man

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky for The Fountain *
Bill Condon for Dreamgirls
Sofia Coppola for Marie-Antoinette
Alfonso Cuaron for Children of Men
Spike Lee for Inside Man and When the Levees Broke

Best Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America...
Matt Damon for The Departed
Leonardo DiCaprio for The Departed (or Daniel Craig for Casino Royale if it's illegal)
Hugh Jackman for The Fountain *
Clive Owen for Children of Men

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett for The Good German
Laura Dern for Inland Empire *
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Sherrybaby
Catherine O'Hara for For Your Consideration
Naomi Watts for The Painted Veil

Best Supporting Actor
Michael Caine for Children of Men
Steve Carell for Little Miss Sunshine
Doug Jones for Pan's Labyrinth *
Clive Owen for Inside Man
Michael Sheen for The Queen

Best Supporting Actress
Toni Collette for Little Miss Sunshine
Shareeka Epps for Half Nelson
Mia Kirshner for The Black Dahlia *
Emma Thompson for Stranger than Fiction
Kerry Washington for The Last King of Scotland

I'm boring.