Unbiased Reviews by Real People
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Unbiased Reviews by Real People
And the Oscar Goes To...Mar 6, 2001 (Updated Mar 8, 2001) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line It's going to be a battle worthy of a Roman epic, but in the end, a little film with a big heart just might make the final grade. It's that time again, folks. Yes indeedy. Time to call up a group of your best friends, grab the popcorn and whatever else floats your boat, sit down, hush everyone up, then wait for people to scream out in unison when the upsets occur. No, I'm not talking about the Super Bowl. I'm talking about the Academy Awards, for God's sake! In my circle (mostly entertainers and film buffs), this is truly the event that defines the year in movies. Whether or not the awards go to the right recipients (the verdict is still out on whether SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE really deserved the statue over SAVING PRIVATE RYAN) isn't really the issue. What's at stake is Hollywood's image. Each year we tune in to find out what those out there working in the Dream Factory think about each other's work. Or so we hope. Popularity contest? Maybe. But in most cases, it's an accurate reflection of Hollywood. This year's nominees are a diverse group, to be sure. Many have complained about those left behind: Bjork's stunning work in DANCER IN THE DARK, Catherine Zeta Jones' powerful turn in TRAFFIC, Bruce Greenwood's stellar show as JFK in 13 DAYS, both of Michael Douglas' leading roles in TRAFFIC and WONDER BOYS, and a discouraging pass on major nominations for ALMOST FAMOUS. Some want to know why on earth did a movie like CHOCOLAT, which received less-than-favorable reviews, get singled out above WONDER BOYS, the critically lauded Michael Douglas film that was released twice in 2000, the second time being simply for Oscar consideration. It would have been nice to have seen Bjork nominated, and I would definitely have placed money on a nomination for Bruce Greenwood, but it's too late to second-guess now, so let's move ahead. Here, then, are my predictions for this year's winners. BEST ACTOR Russell Crowe, GLADIATOR Javier Bardem, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS Tom Hanks, CAST AWAY Ed Harris, POLLOCK Geoffrey Rush, QUILLS Okay, let's start with Tom Hanks in CAST AWAY. He was excellent -- again! It should pretty much go without saying that Hanks is indeed one of our finest American actors to date, bringing solidarity to every role he tackles. He deserves kudos galore for his amazing performance in CAST AWAY, but let's be real here. This guy is going to have many more chances to win in his career, and he probably will, so let's let the edge go to somebody else. Unless the Academy pulls a William Hurt on us, Bardem won't get it for playing gay in BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, despite critical raves for a revelatory and daring performance. Indie underdogs Harris and Rush will cancel each other out. This leaves Rusell Crowe as the big contender. And let's face it; the guy deserves it. He took a role that is usually one-dimensional (the historical macho hero) and brought both emotional complexity and poignant restraint to it, adding depth to a film that could have easily been another over-hyped epic in the grand tradition of BRAVEHEART. Whereas actors like Mel Gibson turn roles such as these into vanity projects, Crowe projected nothing but sincerity and a genuine admiration for the craft of acting. Let's hear it for the boy. WHO SHOULD WIN: Russell Crowe WHO WILL WIN: Russell Crowe BEST ACTRESS Joan Allen, THE CONTENDER Juliette Binoche, CHOCOLAT Ellen Burstyn, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM Laura Linney, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME Julia Roberts, ERIN BROKOVICH As a longtime admirer of the underrated Joan Allen, I'm overjoyed to see her nominated for her flawless turn in THE CONTENDER. However, this is (yet again) not her turn to win. CHOCOLAT wasn't taken seriously enough to give any kind of edge to Binoche, and while Linney's steely turn in YOU CAN COUNT ON ME is that film's backbone, the odds are stacked against her for reasons outside of her control (Do the initials J.R. mean anything to you?). Burstyn's critically acclaimed performance as a pill-addled housewife is just the kind of performance that would win in any other year, but I think we all know what this particular category is going to boil down to. This award belongs to Julia Roberts, whose sly turn in ERIN BROKOVICH is the kind of performance that has previously been celebrated with wins from the likes of Sally Field and Meryl Streep. Roberts dug deep to deliver the kind of performance we all knew she had buried deep within her somewhere, one full of confidence, grace and nuance, and she should be honored for it. WHO SHOULD WIN: Julia Roberts WHO WILL WIN: Julia Roberts BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Joaquin Phoenix, GLADIATOR Jeff Bridges, THE CONTENDER Willem Dafoe, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE Benicio Del Toro, TRAFFIC Albert Finney, ERIN BROKOVICH Last year, this was the toughest race in the whole night. Unfortunately the award went to Michael Caine when it ultimately should have gone to Tom Cruise for his brilliant and career-reinventing turn in MAGNOLIA. Early buzz had Albert Finney an early favorite for this year, and the Academy certainly loves to honor the old-timers when there's a tough call to make. Well, let me make it for them. Finney was great in BROKOVICH, but does he deserve the award? Some might say yes, but after seeing Benicio Del Toro's solid performance in TRAFFIC, I'm hard-pressed to hand the gold over to Finney after all. Dafoe was exceptional in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, but art films never get the recognition they deserve come Oscar time and Jeff Bridges was good in THE CONTENDER, but not good enough to win. Besides, if anyone deserved to be nominated in this field from THE CONTENDER, it was Gary Oldman. Many have predicted that Joaquin Phoenix is Finney's main competition, but I must be one of the very few people who found his performance as the villain in GLADIATOR to be just a little TOO over-the-top and showy. So, what's my final verdict? WHO SHOULD WIN: Benicio Del Toro WHO WILL WIN: Albert Finney BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Judi Dench, CHOCOLAT Marcia Gay Harden, POLLOCK Kate Hudson, ALMOST FAMOUS Frances McDormand, ALMOST FAMOUS Julie Walters, BILLY ELLIOT Hmmmm... now this is a tough one. While all the performances in this category are Oscar-worthy, let's take care of the easy ones right away. Julie Walters and Marcia Gay Harden don't have enough momentum behind their films to garner them wins, and Judi Dench's turn in CHOCOLAT is the kind of role she's been playing to perfection for years. The real toss-up is between Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand. With a FARGO win in McDormand's recent past, I'm giving the edge here to Hudson, mostly because Hollywood loves to see the spawn of other Oscar winners win. Hudson's mom Goldie took home this same award; this time is daughter's turn. Not to mention the fact that young nubile ingenues always snag this one (Mira Sorvino in MIGHTY APHRODITE, Marisa Tomei in MY COUSIN VINNY). Mark my words. Besides, Hudson's performance was full of Hollywood Magic. The girl's got it in her blood. Talent, that is. WHO SHOULD WIN: Kate Hudson WHO WILL WIN: Kate Hudson BEST DIRECTOR Stephen Daldry, BILLY ELLIOT Ang Lee, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON Ridley Scott, GLADIATOR Steven Soderbergh, TRAFFIC Steven Soderbergh, ERIN BROKOVICH Okay, let's get rid of Stephen Daldry right off the bat. BILLY ELLIOT might be a feel-good movie, but the guy doesn't stand a chance in hell in this race. He's lucky to be nominated in such company. Ridley Scott deserves much applause for directing to Russell Crowe to perfection in GLADIATOR, but let's face it, the director's Oscar almost always goes to someone who made a "serious" movie, and GLADIATOR is still just a glorified popcorn flick at best. Ang Lee could repeat his Golden Globe upset by sneaking up on Soderbergh's double nomination and taking this one home, but I doubt it, especially since CROUCHING TIGER... is the favorite to win Best Foreign Film. It's a brilliant movie, but I just don't see Lee beating out Soderbergh on both counts. So, does Steven get it for making Julia shine in ERIN BROKOVICH, or does he take it home for keeping an even hand over the best ensemble cast all year in TRAFFIC? Well, let's hope that the academy makes the right choice and gives it to the right movie. WHO SHOULD WIN: Steven Soderbergh, TRAFFIC WHO WILL WIN: Steven Soderbergh, TRAFFIC CINEMATOGRAPHY CROUCHING TIGHER, HIDDEN DRAGON GLADIATOR MALENA O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? THE PATRIOT THE PATRIOT looked great, that's for sure, and GLADIATOR had the kind of big-screen epic look that usually dominates in this category. And if a GLADIATOR sweeps is in the air as some have predicted, it just might take it, but I'm giving the edge to the film that really deserves it. WHO SHOULD WIN: CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON WHO WILL WIN: CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON ART DIRECTION CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON GLADIATOR HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS QUILLS VATEL CROUCHING TIGER... is gorgeous to look at, with its sweeping vistas and sumptuous costumes, and GLADIATOR was rich with historical flair, but I'd have to go with the showiest of the bunch here, which would be THE GRINCH. The movie stank of ridiculous comedic pomp that all but bastardized the sweetly sentimental original, but its art direction was dead on. WHO SHOULD WIN: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS WHO WILL WIN: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS FILM EDITING ALMOST FAMOUS CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON GLADIATOR TRAFFIC WONDER BOYS This one is not hard to predict. With Soderbergh doing his own editing, he infused TRAFFIC with the kind of edgy cinema je ne sais quois that hasn't been seen in ages. Everything else pales in comparison. WHO SHOULD WIN: TRAFFIC WHO WILL WIN: TRAFFIC BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY ALMOST FAMOUS BILLY ELLIOT ERIN BROKOVICH GLADIATOR YOU CAN COUNT ON ME GLADIATOR? Come on. The script was hardly a masterpiece of human emotion or originality, and BILLY ELLIOT has that "little film" jinx against it. YOU CAN COUNT ON ME is the dark horse here, with one of the year's best screenplays behind it. But I'm betting the big fight takes place between ERIN BROKOVICH and ALMOST FAMOUS. Since ALMOST FAMOUS was shut out of all other major awards, this will be its consolation prize. But I wouldn't be surprised if the momentum behind ERIN BROKOVICH steals it a victory here as well. This one is a toss-up for me. WHO SHOULD WIN: ALMOST FAMOUS WHO WILL WIN: ALMOST FAMOUS BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY CHOCOLAT CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? TRAFFIC WONDER BOYS The Coen Brothers did not fair well with O BROTHER, so I doubt it makes much of an impact on Oscar night. CHOCOLAT will widely be recognized as the night's throw-away contender. That leaves three major players here. CROUCHING TIGER's buzz is high overall, but it's going to take a Taiwanese miracle from the movie to beat out the other two. With TRAFFIC a winner for Director, it has an edge here as well, not to mention it's an exceptionally well-written movie. But, as with ALMOST FAMOUS, WONDER BOYS was shut out of the majors, and I bet it gets some recognition here. Hollywood loves consolation prizes, just to make it look like they got it right. WHO SHOULD WIN: TRAFFIC WHO WILL WIN: WONDER BOYS BEST ORIGINAL SCORE CHOCOLAT CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON MALENA GLADIATOR THE PATRIOT While I would love to see Tan Dun recognized for his excellent work on CROUCHING TIGER, I see Hans Zimmer taking this one. Don't you agree? WHO SHOULD WIN: Tan Dun, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON WHO WILL WIN: Hans Zimmer, GLADIATOR BEST PICTURE CHOCOLAT CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON ERIN BROKOVICH GLADIATOR TRAFFIC And here we go. What does it all come down to? That's right. By the time the fourth hour rolls around, it will most likely be time for the Best Picture award. Well, we can only hope. Hehe. First things first, let's get CHOCOLAT out of the picture right away. Miramax and their big-time promotional campaign robbed both WONDER BOYS and THIRTEEEN DAYS of a nomination here, so I have no lost love for a movie about the healing powers of a sweet tooth. The other four movies are all major contenders in this category. So let's pick them apart. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON probably has a lock on Best Foreign Film (unless the critically acclaimed YI-YI causes an upset), and it's not often that a foreign film takes top honors, so let's say goodbye to that one. TRAFFIC is going to snag it for Direction (and might have a chance on Best Adapted Screenplay), but the film wasn't the hit it was predicted to be. GLADIATOR was a huge hit, the kind of hit that has won this category before (BRAVEHEART, most notably). The thing is, big movies like this one hardly ever deserve the award (BRAVEHEART, most notably) and while GLADIATOR certainly ranks among last year's best movies, I have a hard time singling it out over what I think was last year's most inspirational and uplifting film, Steven Soderbergh's ERIN BROKOVICH. The movie is the kind of stand-up-and-cheer flick that shows people how much control they have over own destinies, and is full of warmth, humor and lots of heart. It flat out deserves the award. WHO SHOULD WIN: ERIN BROKOVICH WHO WILL WIN: ERIN BROKOVICH So there you have it. My predictions. Will I be wrong, or will I emerge victorious? One never knows, but for whatever it's worth, I think I'm on to something here.  |
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by johnenfield
by cdm72
by topreviewerman by tommy_lop
