Well, needless to say, I am very disappointed in the Academy for giving crap like The Departed the Oscar for Best Picture.  Don’t get me wrong, The Departed was spectacularly acted, but it wasn’t anywhere close to deserving of the highest award.  Of all the eligible films I saw last year, I can think of at least 18 films that were beyond a doubt more deserving.  Now, I understand that trying to judge art is entirely subjective, and that just because a film wins an Oscar does not make it better than another film (and vice versa), but the Oscars have always been very important to me.  I’m not entirely sure why, but I have a deep personal connection to them, and have for as long as I can remember.  I can’t recall ever having missed any of the ceremonies, though I cannot recall when I first started watching.  I don’t think it’s the glamour, the celebrities, the jokes or any of those things that make it so endearing to me.  I think, for me, it’s the fact that it is taking one of the things I love the most, and celebrating it as fully as possible.  Sure, there are mistakes and biases inherent in the awards themselves, but for me Oscar Night is a night not about specific films but about cinema as a whole.  It’s a night for me to justify my love for film to myself.  I love it when the films that have meant so much to me win awards because it shows that I’m not out of my mind, and that I’m attached to something of value, instead of to useless fluff.  It shows to me that movies aren’t just about shoveling handfuls of popcorn in your mouth (by the way, check out the most awesome Strong Bad E-mail Ever!) or about escaping from reality or having fun.  Movies are our dreams (so says Scorsese) and they at least mean more to me than just that.  I don’t go to all these movies because I’m bored on the weekends, or because I’m a loser, or whatever, I go because they speak to me, they teach me, they make me think, they make me feel, they show me things that I’d otherwise never get a chance to see.  What I love about the Oscars is that they acknowledge this, the hard work and the effort that goes into an art form that can do all those things, and still entertain and enthrall, and can mean so many different things to so many different people the world over.  It’s a big part of my dream to be a director someday.  Not necessarily winning or even being nominated, but just being a part of it all.

So I get disappointed when they choose to award a film like The Departed, which had no purpose or reason behind it except to show that people are ugly to themselves and to one another.  While this is a worthwhile subject to explore, there was no why behind it, it didn’t matter why the people acted the way they do, or what they can do to change or make things better, it just simply showed that they were that way.  It lacked everything that gives movies more depth than just a simple still picture.

Other than The Departed, however, I was fairly pleased with the award winners.  I only got 13/24 correct from my predictions, the same tally as last year, though I only got 5 out of the big 8 correct this year.  I was wrong about both awards The Departed won, and was wonderfully surprised by Alan Arkin’s win for Little Miss Sunshine.  I still would have given the award to Eddie Murphy, but I think Arkin was fantastic as well.  I was happy for Scorsese, even if I didn’t agree, and was thrilled with the wins by Mirren and Hudson, both of whom shined out brightly above the rest.  I also think it’s great for the Academy to show that singing and acting are not mutually exclusive.

I was also surprised by Pan’s Labyrinth, which won several awards I didn’t think it would, and lost what I thought was a sure bet because of publicity alone for Best Foreign Language Film.  Melissa Ethridge’s win for Best Song also shocked me, and I was pleased that they didn’t bow to Dreamgirls just because of its 3 nominations.

I thought Ellen Degenerous did a good job hosting.  She was calm and sweet and warm and everything I hoped she would be.  Most people will be saying that it wasn’t funny enough, but I think it was very classy, and I’ll take funny over classy any day.  Besides, they managed to work in an AWESOME Snakes on a Plane joke, and it doesn’t get any better than that (the contortionist/interpretive dance people were a perfect addition, and I hope they come back next year).  I enjoyed the sound effects choir, and all of the film montages except the Michael Mann one about America, because it was pretty pointless.  I was happy to see Al Gore pop up many times, and be funny and charming and moving in his acceptance speech.  I also loved the moments of Coppola, Speilberg and Lucas on stage together, and it just reminds me what a shame it is that Lucas has never won an Oscar.  Those three are the ones I measure all others by, and if I ever get to live my dream, they’re the ones I’m going to measure myself by.

Overall I’d give the night a solid B+.  It ran a bit too long, and had some superfluous bits, but was very classy, and the award winners were good overall, just brought down by the Best Picture disappointment.  But still, I’m already counting down the days to the 80^th awards show, which promises to be a big deal, I’m sure.

So I finally managed to see Letters from Iwo Jima, less than 24 hours before the Oscars, and it certainly now has me rooting for it.  I made some last minute changes to my previous post, though I changed no predictions.  I did change my personal pick for Sound Editing, and I changed my comments for Best Director and Best Motion Picture.  It was a truly phenomenal film, and has once and for all proved to me how enormously skilled Clint Eastwood is (I also watched Unforgiven yesterday, one of his two Best Director wins so far).  It’s a shame that most of the voters had probably not even seen this film before voting, so it won’t stand much of a chance in the major categories.  I still give it an A+ though.

(On a side note, I’m a bit Japanese’d out.  I watched all 3.5 hours of the legendary Seven Samurai, and then I proceeded to the theater to see the 2.5 hour Letters from Iwo Jima, both of which are in Japanese with English subtitles.  You’d think I’d be able to speak Japanese after all that… or not.  Whew.)

With the Academy Awards fast approaching (Sunday night), I figured it was time for me to offer up my opinions, picks, and predictions.  Last year I correctly predicted 13 out of the 24 winners, and 6 out of the 8 winners in the major categories (acting, picture, director, and screenwriting).  I’m now going to give you my breakdown of the categories. For each category I have my prediction of who will win (the nominees can be found here), and my pick if I could choose from any film eligible, whether nominated or not. So without further ado.

Best Documentary, Features:
Prediction: An Inconvenient Truth
My Pick: An Inconvenient Truth

I was pretty angry that Shut Up & Sing wasn’t nominated.  It’s not my pick, but I definitely think it deserves the nomination.

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year:
Prediction: Happy Feet
My Pick: Happy Feet

This is a tough call.  I think Happy Feet was deeper and therefore got more attention, but it did not get the overwhelmingly good reviews that Cars did.  Plus the Academy has a Pixar bias (The Incredibles, Finding Nemo)

Best Achievement in Visual Effects:
Prediction: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
My Pick: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song:
Prediction: “Listen” – Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler, Anne Previn; Dreamgirls
My Pick: “Life is a Highway” – Rascall Flatts; Cars
I definitely don’t understand why three of the nominees are from Dreamgirls, which is not an original musical.  I understand “Listen” was an excuse for Beyonce to get to show off in the movie, and the other two are nice, but it just doesn’t make much sense.  None of the songs nominated from Dreamgirls made nearly the impression that the original songs did, and nominating them just because they’re from a musical seems lame.  Or maybe it’s just an excuse to keep a country group from performing at the Oscars (just kidding).

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score:
Prediction: Gustavo Santaolalla; Babel
My Pick: Bill Conti; Rocky Balboa

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Published or Produced:
Prediction: Children of Men
My Pick: A Prairie Home Compaion

So at first I was extremely pissed that Borat got a nomination.  It’s such trash that to name it among these other outstanding films is insulting and enraging.  Then I realized the irony of it.  For a movie that claims to be almost completely improvised and claims to show real people giving their real opinions, it has to have had a significant portion pre-scripted (as the testimonials following its release have attested to), which completely undermines its credibility as a revealing faux-documentary which exposes the true views of Americans.  Though, I’m probably just reading into this what I want, so I can allow myself to watch an awards show that nominated Borat for anything.  But I love irony.

Best Achievement in Directing:
Prediction: Martin Scorsese; The Departed
My Pick: Robert Altman; A Prairie Home Companion

I’m sure this will be Scorsese’s year.  The Departed was well directed in spurts, but overall was lacking.  Part of that is due to the script and we can’t completely fault Scorsese for that.  However, I don’t think he deserves this unofficial lifetime achievement award.  After all, it’s supposed to be the best directing in 2006 and biases shouldn’t come into play.  Of the nominees, it should either be Eastwood or Greengrass, both of whom took a story and made it into art of the highest quality.  They made people feel more than just shock, fright or revulsion, unlike Scorsese.  There is a reason Eastwood already has two awards in this category, and Greengrass took an impossible film and made it spectacular.  Even Frears deserves the award over Scorsese, with his subtlety and grace.  I’m sorry, but I think even the best Scorsese is overrated, and this isn’t anywhere close to the best Scorsese.  Unfortunately, I still think he’ll win.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Prediction: Jennifer Hudson; Dreamgirls
My Pick: Jennifer Hudson; Dreamgirls

If you had taken Hudson’s performance of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” and put it in anything else whatsoever, including Borat, she would still deserve the nomination and the win.  And the rest of her performance in Dreamgirls is just as phenominal

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Prediction: Eddie Murphy; Dreamgirls
My Pick: Eddie Murphy; Dreamgirls

Yes, that’s not a mistake.  Perennial fat-suit wearing funnyman Eddie Murphy deserves to win for his both flashy and haunting performance in Dreamgirls.  Besides the outlandish performances and personality he showed, the heart-wrenching scene where he silently waits for all of his friends to leave the room before shooting up shows why he deserves this award.  (And if they ever have a Best Animated Performance award, they will need to go back in time to award it for his role as Donkey in Shrek.)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Prediction: Helen Mirren; The Queen
My Pick: Helen Mirren; The Queen
Surest bet this year, and the most deserved.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Prediction: Forest Whitaker; The Last King of Scotland
My Pick: Sylvester Stallone; Rocky Balboa

Of the nominees in this category, the only film I saw was The Pursuit of Happyness.  So while it may be unrealistic, Stallone’s performance showed that actors do get better with age, even if it takes 4 movies in a series and 21 years between such wonderful performances.

Best Picture:
Prediction: Little Miss Sunshine
My Pick: A Prairie Home Companion

I’ve made no secret about how I think A Prairie Home Companion was by far the greatest film of 2006.  The surprise here is the prediction of Little Miss Sunshine for Best Picture.  I know I’m predicting a major upset here, but I have my reasoning.  The Departed, despite Scorsese’s predicted win, is just too violent and has a story too overblown and difficult to identify with to be a major contender.  The Queen, while wonderful and understated, is too British and doesn’t pack enough punch or resonance in America for voters to mark it down for the win.  Babel (which I did not like) has a good premise and some strong performances, but is not so much of a film as a thesis on the interconnectedness of man.  It has some major plot holes and just feels too contrived.  While this type of film does appeal to the Academy, with its large and ethnically diverse cast and sprawling locations, I just don’t think it is the sort of film that people will remember 20 years down the road.  I loved Letters from Iwo Jima and I think it is an immensly deserving film, far, far better than Babel and The Departed, but I was only able to see it less than 24 hours before the awards ceremony which shows its distribution problems.  The vast concensus seems to be that it has little chance, because most of the voters have probably not seen it.  It is a unique and interesting film, wonderfully shot as only Eastwood is capable of, and beautifully acted.  However, I do not think it has much of a chance, which is a shame.  So I’m going with Little Miss Sunshine, the dark “independent” comedy that everyone could find a way to identify with.  Bitingly funny, warmly touching, and all around enjoyable, it has the emotional punch to make voters think twice before marking their ballot for something bigger and flashier.  It was the one film of these five that people seemed to want to see again and again, something that made them feel good, and important, and special.  It’s been either 7 or 8 years since a comedy won (depending on whether you consider American Beauty a comedy.  I don’t, so I go with Shakespeare in Love from 8 years back) and I think with the world the way it is, another comedy is due.

So, what do you think?  Disagree with any of my predictions or picks?  Or agree?  The Oscars are Sunday, and afterwards I’ll post my score and my thoughts on the event and the awards for those interested.  Have a great Oscar Week.