Gerald Cooperberg
02-24-2008, 09:00 AM
Somebody prove me wrong:
Supporting Actress:
Will Win: I think that Ruby Dee will be a surprise winner here for American Gangster.
Should Win: Tilda Swinton got the least glamorous role in Michael Clayton and turned in a shockingly squirmy, unsettling performance.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: Catherine Keener's role as the motherly hippie in Into the Wild was so perfectly suited that it seemed that any other actress in the part would probably have been playing... Catherine Keener.
Supporting Actor:
Will Win: Javier Bardem created an instantly iconic movie villain with his deeply disturbing performance (and hairstyle) in No Country for Old Men.
Should Win: Turns out that Casey Affleck is a real actor. The interplay between Brad Pitt's brooding Jesse James and his queasy Bob Ford is fascinating to watch in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: I sorta felt like Bardem's was the leading role in No Country for Old Men, but in a film filled with pitch-perfect performances, I thought that Tommy Lee Jones quietly conflicted sheriff stood out most.
Best Actress:
Will Win: Julie Christie gave a delicate, nuanced performance as a woman slowly losing grip on her memories in Away From Her.
Should Win: It's hard for me to believe that anyone who saw Marion Cotillard's alternately brassy and brittle performance in La Vie en Rose wouldn't vote for her here; perhaps, though, not many have.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: Cotillard, easily. Her transformative performance is startling.
Best Actor:
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood by some distance. Hard to believe that he didn't receive this award for Gangs of New York.
Should Win: Tommy Lee Jones again gives a quietly devastating performance in the commercial flop In the Valley of Elah.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: I think that Affleck's is a leading role in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford as well. I mean, his name's in the title of the film!
Adapted Screenplay:
Will Win: Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country for Old Men is as much responsible for the tone of the film as the Coen brothers' vision, and they did a great job bringing his aesthetic to the screen.
Should Win: No Country for Old Men, methinks, although Joe Wright's brilliant adaptation of Atonement was probably harder to pull off.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: No Country for Old Men.
Original Screenplay:
Will Win: Diablo Cody's smarmy Juno script, no doubt. It didn't resonate with me but the whipcrack, irony-laden dialogue is a sure bet to garner this award.
Should Win: Tony Gilroy's smart script for Michael Clayton elevates it above standard-issue thriller fare (disclosure: I didn't see Ratatouille but heard it was very good).
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: The sweet film Once never takes an easy or expected turn and never feels anything less than authentic.
Best Director:
Will Win: I think that No Country for Old Men will take the evening, including a deserved nod for the filmmakers, Joel and Ethan Coen.
Should Win: Julian Schnabel brought an impossible story to the screen with aplomb in The Diving Bell & the Butterfly, but even his achievement pales next to the Coen brothers' most bleakly brilliant film since Blood Simple.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: Andrew Dominik makes a different kind of western with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, at once audacious and introspective. I call it a toss-up between Dominik and the Coens.
Best Picture:
Will Win: No Country for Old Men.
Should Win: No Country for Old Men.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars:
<i><s>No Country For Old Men.</i></s> Nahh... today I feel like it's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Outguess me, folks!
-Coop
Supporting Actress:
Will Win: I think that Ruby Dee will be a surprise winner here for American Gangster.
Should Win: Tilda Swinton got the least glamorous role in Michael Clayton and turned in a shockingly squirmy, unsettling performance.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: Catherine Keener's role as the motherly hippie in Into the Wild was so perfectly suited that it seemed that any other actress in the part would probably have been playing... Catherine Keener.
Supporting Actor:
Will Win: Javier Bardem created an instantly iconic movie villain with his deeply disturbing performance (and hairstyle) in No Country for Old Men.
Should Win: Turns out that Casey Affleck is a real actor. The interplay between Brad Pitt's brooding Jesse James and his queasy Bob Ford is fascinating to watch in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: I sorta felt like Bardem's was the leading role in No Country for Old Men, but in a film filled with pitch-perfect performances, I thought that Tommy Lee Jones quietly conflicted sheriff stood out most.
Best Actress:
Will Win: Julie Christie gave a delicate, nuanced performance as a woman slowly losing grip on her memories in Away From Her.
Should Win: It's hard for me to believe that anyone who saw Marion Cotillard's alternately brassy and brittle performance in La Vie en Rose wouldn't vote for her here; perhaps, though, not many have.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: Cotillard, easily. Her transformative performance is startling.
Best Actor:
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood by some distance. Hard to believe that he didn't receive this award for Gangs of New York.
Should Win: Tommy Lee Jones again gives a quietly devastating performance in the commercial flop In the Valley of Elah.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: I think that Affleck's is a leading role in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford as well. I mean, his name's in the title of the film!
Adapted Screenplay:
Will Win: Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country for Old Men is as much responsible for the tone of the film as the Coen brothers' vision, and they did a great job bringing his aesthetic to the screen.
Should Win: No Country for Old Men, methinks, although Joe Wright's brilliant adaptation of Atonement was probably harder to pull off.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: No Country for Old Men.
Original Screenplay:
Will Win: Diablo Cody's smarmy Juno script, no doubt. It didn't resonate with me but the whipcrack, irony-laden dialogue is a sure bet to garner this award.
Should Win: Tony Gilroy's smart script for Michael Clayton elevates it above standard-issue thriller fare (disclosure: I didn't see Ratatouille but heard it was very good).
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: The sweet film Once never takes an easy or expected turn and never feels anything less than authentic.
Best Director:
Will Win: I think that No Country for Old Men will take the evening, including a deserved nod for the filmmakers, Joel and Ethan Coen.
Should Win: Julian Schnabel brought an impossible story to the screen with aplomb in The Diving Bell & the Butterfly, but even his achievement pales next to the Coen brothers' most bleakly brilliant film since Blood Simple.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars: Andrew Dominik makes a different kind of western with The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, at once audacious and introspective. I call it a toss-up between Dominik and the Coens.
Best Picture:
Will Win: No Country for Old Men.
Should Win: No Country for Old Men.
If I Was Giving Out Oscars:
<i><s>No Country For Old Men.</i></s> Nahh... today I feel like it's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Outguess me, folks!
-Coop