2001 Oscars Revisited

What a great year for movies. This has been the most difficult year that I’ve done yet. I could have expanded the nominations to 10 in just about every category.

BEST PICTURE
MINE	THEIRS
Black Hawk Down	A Beautiful Mind
In the Bedroom	Gosford Park
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship	In the Bedroom
of the Ring	Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship
The Royal Tenenbaums	of the Ring
Y Tu Mama Tambien	Moulin Rouge!

I could have expanded this category well beyond 10. Here are some great ones not listed above: Amelie, The Deep End, Ghost World, Gosford Park, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Heist, Iris, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Memento, Monsters Inc., Mulholland Dr., Sexy Beast, and Waking Life. Then there’s Ocean’s Eleven which has a high rewatchability factor. Despite not loving Donnie Darko, Moulin Rouge, The Others, Training Day, or Vanilla Sky, they have all stuck with me for different reasons. There are also two horribly reviewed movies that still make me laugh: Pootie Tang and Wet Hot American Summer. Of course this is also the year of Pearl Harbor which is like a black hole that could undermine the entire year.

I’m a big fan of movies that say a lot with silence and long lingering shots. It’s probably a reaction to the over abundance of MTV-style editing and action sequences in movies today. In the Bedroom is a perfect example of this personal affection of mine.

If you look at the 5 movies nominated for Academy Awards you’ll notice I didn’t mention A Beautiful Mind, the actual winner of Best Picture. The movie is not a bad one. I just don’t care for it. I’m not one that thinks a movie about a real person needs to be 100% factual. That’s what documentaries are for. However, I do believe that even if you whitewash someone’s life for the screen you should still capture the essence of it. I won’t go into all the stuff about John Nash that is not in the movie, but here are the only impressions I got about Nash from watching the movie. 1. Wow, that guy is shy. 2. Wow, that guy is smart. 3. Wow, that guy has a hot wife. 4. Wow that guy is crazy.

BEST DIRECTOR
MINE	THEIRS
Todd Field, In the Bedroom	Robert Altman, Gosford Park
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings	Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind
David Lynch, Mulholland Dr.	Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings
Christopher Nolan, Memento	David Lynch, Mulholland Dr.
Ridley Scott, Black Hawk Down	Ridley Scott, Black Hawk Down

Again, this could go to anyone of these guys. I’m going with Todd Field though.

BEST ACTOR
MINE	THEIRS
Gene Hackman, The Royal	Russel Crowe, A Beautiful Mind
Tenenbaums
John Cameron Mitchell, Hedwig	Sean Penn, I Am Sam
and the Angry Inch
Billy Bob Thornton, The Man Who	Will Smith, Ali
Wasn't There
Denzel Washington, Training Day	Denzel Washington, Training Day
Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom	Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom

Great performances all around but I'll agree and go with Denzel because he is Training Day. It’s a mediocre movie without him.

BEST ACTRESS
MINE	THEIRS
Halle Berry, Monster's Ball	Halle Berry, Monster's Ball
Thora Birch, Ghost World	Judi Dench, Iris
Sissy Spacek, In the Bedroom	Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge!
Tilda Swinton, The Deep End	Sissy Spacek, In the Bedroom
Audrey Tautou, Amelie	Renee Zellweger, Bridget Jones's Diary

I hope I’m not holding that tearful acceptance speech against Halle Berry. It would have been half-way tolerable until she thanked her lawyer. That’s not it though. The Deep End is great. Tilda Swinton gives a performance that has made me keep up with everything she’s done since.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
MINE	THEIRS
Michael Badalucco, The Man Who	Jim Broadbent, Iris
Wasn't There	Ethan Hawke, Training Day
Jim Broadbent, Iris	Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
Steve Buscemi, Ghost World	Ian McKellen, The Lord of the Rings
Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast	The Fellowship of the Ring
Ian McKellen, The Lord of the Rings	Jon Voight, Ali

Oh, man. Ben Kingsley can blink his eyes in this movie and scare the shit out of you. He was Gandhi. Who knew?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
MINE	THEIRS
Jennifer Connelly, A Beautiful Mind	Jennifer Connelly, A Beautiful Mind
Anjelica Houston, The Royal	Helen Mirren, Gosford Park
Tenenbaums
Scarlett Johansson, Ghost World	Maggie Smith, Gosford Park
Carrie-Anne Moss, Memento	Marisa Tomei, In the Bedroom
Marisa Tomei, In the Bedroom	Kate Winslet, Iris

First off, notice how many great performances are in Ghost World. Secondly, they should have given this one to Marisa Tomei and then immediately asked her to give her 1992 award for My Cousin Vinny to Judy Davis.

Tom, could you come out of the closet? We have something to tell you.

I wonder who gets to tell Tom Cruise this nugget of information today?

I see an episode of South Park about once every two seasons. That's more than enough for me. I have seen this particular episode of South Park and thought it was kind of funny.

There's plenty of celebrities deserving of ridicule and parody, but for some reason making fun of Tom Cruise seems to provide the most satisfaction. I'm not sure of everyone else's tipping point but for me it's when he called Matt Lauer glib on The Today Show. Let's see him try to pull that shit with Meredith Vieira. That lady has been dealing with Star Jones and Barbara Walters for nine years. She will not have the time nor the patience to listen to some pretty boy Scientologist call her names.

2002 Oscars Revisited

I’m starting back with the Oscars Redux. Today is the movies of 2002. Not an outstanding year for movies but the great ones were really, really great.

BEST PICTURE
MINE	THEIRS
25th Hour	Chicago
Adaptation	Gangs of New York
Chicago	The Hours
City of God	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Spirited Away	The Pianist

Way back in March I mentioned that I was putting City of God in with the 2002 movies because that’s how I have it listed. That’s true but it’s also really convenient. This way I get to say City of God and Lost in Translation were both best of their respective years. If you’ve never seen City of God you really need to. It’s an experience that will get you excited about movies and what they can accomplish.

BEST DIRECTOR
MINE	THEIRS
Spike Jonze, Adaptation	Pedro Almodovar, Talk to Her
Spike Lee, 25th Hour	Stephen Daldry, The Hours
Rob Marshall, Chicago	Rob Marshall, Chicago
Fernando Meirelles, City of God	Roman Polanski, The Pianist
Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away	Martin Scorsese, Gangs of New York

City of God is the complete package. It was shot with hand-held cameras on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Its visual style matches the violent and chaotic lives of the children in the story. Seriously, see it now.

BEST ACTOR
MINE	THEIRS
Adrien Brody, The Pianist	Adrien Brody, The Pianist
Nicolas Cage, Adaptation	Nicolas Cage, Adaptation
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Love Liza	Michael Caine, The Quiet American
Ed Norton, 25th Hour	Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York
Sam Rockwell, Confessions of a	Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt
Dangerous Mind

I was very impressed with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Just going on the strength of this movie and Sam Rockwell’s performance as Chuck Barris, you’ll hope they make more movies about game show hosts. My vote for the next host is Wink Martindale.

BEST ACTRESS
MINE	THEIRS
Jennifer Aniston, Good Girl	Salma Hayek, Frida
Angela Bassett, Sunshine State	Nicole Kidman, The Hours
Maggie Gyllenhall, Secretary	Diane Lane, Unfaithful
Salma Hayek, Frida	Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven
Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven	Renee Zellweger, Chicago

Maggie Gyllenhall plays the role of James Spader’s subservient assistant with a perfect mixture of comedy, authenticity, and restrained sadness.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
MINE	THEIRS
Chris Cooper, Adaptation	Chris Cooper, Adaptation
Willem Dafoe, Auto Focus	Ed Harris, The Hours
Vincnet D'Onofrio, The Salton Sea	Paul Newman, Road to Perdition
Alfred Molina, Frida	John C. Reilly, Chicago
James Spader, Secretary	Christopher Walken, Catch Me If
	You Can

Sure it’s a bit over the top but Vincent D’Onofrio’s Pooh Bear is a frantic and demented mess that is a perfect companion performance to Val Kilmer’s sedated narrator/lead character.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
MINE	THEIRS
Viola Davis, Solaris	Kathy Bates, About Schmidt
Edie Falco, Sunshine State	Queen Latifah, Chicago
Samantha Morton, Minority Report	Julianne Moore, The Hours
Meryl Streep, Adaptation	Meryl Streep, Adaptation
Emily Watson, Punch-Drunk Love	Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago

A few words on Chicago: I loved the movie. I thought it was great in every way but there’s something about musicals that don’t make me immediately think of them as great movies. When done right, like Chicago, they are incredibly entertaining and more fun than a typical summer popcorn movie. But they still have that empty calorie effect and I haven’t seen Chicago since it was in the theatres. I have it on DVD but I don’t think the initial experience will be topped and don’t want to ruin it with another viewing…maybe in a few years. Bygones. Hey, Emily Watson was good in Punch-Drunk Love.