_+_++_+__

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men (2007)
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)
Hal Holbrook for Into the Wild (2007)
Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton (2007)

Who should win: Javier Bardem
Who will win: Javier Bardem

No Contest. Javier Bardems performance was eerily haunting and the brilliant character should result in him taking the Oscar…Bardem was born to play this role Also take the time to check out some of his earlier films..fabulous!!!

Best Actor

George Clooney for Michael Clayton (2007)
Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood (2007)
Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Tommy Lee Jones for In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises (2007)

Who should win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Who will win: Daniel Day-Lewis

One of the most memorable on screen performances of recent times… Guaranteed winner here as well

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett for I’m Not There. (2007)
Ruby Dee for American Gangster (2007)
Saoirse Ronan for Atonement (2007)
Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton (2007)

Who should win: Tilda Swinton
Who will win: Cate Blanchett

Tilda Swinton represented ‘EVIL’ brilliantly but Cate Blanchett also had a nice showing

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Julie Christie for Away from Her (2006)
Marion Cotillard for Môme, La (2007)
Laura Linney for The Savages (2007)
Ellen Page for Juno (2007)

Who should win: Marion Cotillard
Who will win: Julie Christie

Julie Christie seems to be the talk of the town in this category… personally I thought this film and her role were decent but nothing “Special!!!”

Best Foreign Language Film

Fälscher, Die (2007) (Austria)
Beaufort (2007) (Israel)
Mongol (2007) (Kazakhstan)
Katyn (2007) (Poland)
12 (2007) (Russia)

Who should win:?!?
Who will win:?!?

I’m a big foreign film buff but I had not even heard of any of these titles until their nominations were announced…. when were these released???

For one of the finest foreign films of 2007 see next category below

Best Adapted Screenplay

Atonement (2007): Christopher Hampton
Away from Her (2006): Sarah Polley
Scaphandre et le papillon, Le (2007): Ronald Harwood
No Country for Old Men (2007): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood (2007): Paul Thomas Anderson

Who should win: Le Scaphandre et le papillon
(AKA The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
Who will win: Le Scaphandre et le papillon

One of the most moving/inspirational projects that I can recall…..I did not see this in time for it to be included in MY TOP 10 FILMS OF 2007 but it definitely is one of the best from last year

Why was this brilliant film not included in the Best foreign/Best picture is beyond me. Go see this film ASAP

Best Original Screenplay

Juno (2007): Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl (2007): Nancy Oliver
Michael Clayton (2007): Tony Gilroy
Ratatouille (2007): Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco
The Savages (2007): Tamara Jenkins

Who should win: Michael Clayton
Who will win: Juno

Michael Clayton was a bold and daring film
This brilliant screenplay needs to be rewarded but the conservative academy will not vote for this serious film

Best Film Score

Atonement (2007): Dario Marianelli
The Kite Runner (2007): Alberto Iglesias
Michael Clayton (2007): James Newton Howard
Ratatouille (2007): Michael Giacchino
3:10 to Yuma (2007): Marco Beltrami

Who should win: 3:10 to Yuma composed by Marco Beltrami
Who will win: Atonement composed by Dario Marianelli

See my Top 5 film Scores from 2007

Best Documentary

No End in Sight (2007): Charles Ferguson, Audrey
Marrs
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime
Experience (2007): Richard Robbins
Sicko (2007): Michael Moore, Meghan O’Hara
Taxi to the Dark Side (2007): Alex Gibney, Eva Orner
War Dance (2007): Andrea Nix, Sean Fine

Who should win: Sicko
Who will win: Sicko

Excellent Doc by the infamous Michael Moore… more people need to see this..even if you aren’t a Moore fan, give this film a chance and be truly moved by the TRUTH

Best Animated Feature

Persepolis (2007): Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
Ratatouille (2007): Brad Bird
Surf’s Up (2007): Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

Who should win: Ratatouille
Who will win: Ratatouille

Ratatouille Was an utterly incredible cinematic experience(Yes, you truly missed out if you didn’t see it on the big screen!!) Truly a gem for the ages..This was the best animation project since Beauty & The Best... and those who appreciated that classic will love this as well …

The other 2 nominated titles we also good.. so check them out if you haven’t already. Oh and I highly recommend Brad Birds previous films

Best Director

Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood (2007)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men (2007)
Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton (2007)
Jason Reitman for Juno (2007)
Julian Schnabel for Le Scaphandre et le papillon (2007)

Who should win: Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton
Who will win: Julian Schnabel for Le scaphandre et le papillon

I really really hope that Butterfly comes through as the winner…

Best Picture

Atonement (2007): Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster
Juno (2007): Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick, Russell Smith
Michael Clayton (2007): Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox, Kerry Orent
No Country for Old Men (2007): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
There Will Be Blood (2007): Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar

Who should win: No Country for Old Men
Who will win: No Country for Old Men

Simply put NO COUNTRY is by far the best film of 07 deserves to win…and it should…unless The Violent nature of the film puts off a lot voters…But The Brilliant The Departed came through last year so there is hope..

My personal ratings for the nominated titles

No Country for Old Men 10/10

Michael Clayton 9.5/10

Atonement 9/10

There Will Be Blood 8/10

Juno 8/10

Thoughts??Comments??Predictions???

We had lots of fun comparing our picks last year so I wanted to share similar predictions for the academy awards once again

I have viewed most of the ‘big players’ involved and will follow the popular consent on the ones I have not seen yet..

Many of the films nominated were mentioned in my best/worst of 2006 list

BEST ACTOR

Leonardo DiCaprio Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling Half Nelson
Peter O’Toole Venus
Will Smith The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker The Last King of Scotland

Who should win: Forest Whitaker
Who will win: Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker’s great performance was so real that it was “scary”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Alan Arkin Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley Little Children
Djimon Hounsou Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg The Departed

Who should win: Eddie Murphy
Who will win: Eddie Murphy

I was watching Eddie Murphy’s RAW last week and thought of his career and how far he has come since his early stand up comedy days. After all the ups and downs in Hollywood here he is

BEST ACTRESS

Penelope Cruz Volver
Judi Dench Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren The Queen
Meryl Streep The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet Little Children

Who should win: Helen Mirren
Who will win: Helen Mirren

It appears the race in this category was over before it even started as Helen Mirren has been the clear fav for months… The film didn’t do anything for me but her performance was solid

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Adriana Barraza Babel
Cate Blanchett Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi Babel

Who should win: Cate Blanchett
Who will win: Jennifer Hudson

This category is wide open

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Queen

Who should win: Pan’s Labyrinth
Who will win: Babel

As much as I hated IT I guess the Academy has to throw Babel a bone umm I mean Oscar :)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Borat: Cultural Learnings of
America for Make Benefit
Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal

Who should win: The Departed
Who will win: The Departed

Note to all film buffs still insisting that Infernal Affairs was superior to The Departed… get over it!!!!!!! In regards to the “similarities” between the 2 films… well, you see they have this term called a remake where the production team buys the rights to the original and makes it themselves

The brilliance of The Departed will be validated with this win

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Who should win: NONE OF THE ABOVE
Who will win: Cars

This was a SAD year for animated films

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

After The Wedding (Denmark)
Days of Glory (Algeria)
The Lives of Others (Germany)
Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico)
WATER (Canada)

Who should win: WATER
Who will win: Pan’s Labyrinth

I like Water…ok I meant > I really really really like this film(see HERE , HERE and HERE )

Pan’s Labyrinth is an excellent film but IMHO WATER is on a whole different level of cinema. Labyrinth did extremely well at the box office as it was released in thousands of screens across North America where as WATER only received limited release in only a few markets. Labyrinth received much praise from many respected critics and appeared in 100+ top 10 lists where as WATER was not even reviewed by most. So as you can see, Labyrinth clearly got more exposure and its overwhelming popularity (with the academy voters too!?) should make it the winner this year

I will be seeing Days of Glory and The Lives of Others next month and really looking forward to both films

ART DIRECTION

Dreamgirls
The Good Shepherd
Pan’s Labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man’s Chest
The Prestige

Who should win: Pan’s Labyrinth
Who will win: Pan’s Labyrinth

A visual delight> This film was simply brilliant.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Black Dahlia
Children of Men
The Illusionist
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Prestige

Who should win: Children of Men
Who will win: Children of Men

The splendid cinematography made this one of the finest films of 06

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Deliver Us from Evil
An Inconvenient Truth
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country

Who should win: An Inconvenient Truth
Who will win: An Inconvenient Truth

A sure bet to come through as the winner

Very professional presentation by a man dedicated to the cause… A hard punch in the gut that we all needed oh so badly

See it ASAP!!!

ORIGINAL SCORE

Babel Gustavo Santaolalla
The Good German Thomas Newman
Notes on a Scandal Philip Glass
Pan’s Labyrinth Javier Navarrete
The Queen Alexandre Desplat

Who should win: The Good German
Who will win: Pan’s Labyrinth

The best music (score) category doesn’t refer to the best soundtrack, but, according to Rule 16, to a “substantial body of music in the form of original dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.”

So that explains why they screw up this category each and every year!! actually it doesn’t… :(

Philip Glass also may be the one rewarded..

BEST DIRECTOR

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Babel
Martin Scorsese The Departed
Clint Eastwood Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears The Queen
Paul Greengrass United 93

Who should win: Martin Scorsese
Who will win: Martin Scorsese

It’s about time!!!!!!!!!

BEST PICTURE

Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Who should win: The Departed
Who will win: Little Miss Sunshine

The Departed is by far the best picture of 2006 but it’s too “graphic” for most voting members.. So that would bring up my next favorite “Letters From Iwo Jima” But Clint has been rewarded recently so that leaves us “Little Miss Sunshine” This sweetheart indie film won everyones hearts and may come through. Personally I don’t think it was that “special”. Babel and The Queen didn’t even deserve the nominations for best picture and I would be disappointed if either one of them went on to win.

One Particular film that I feel got snubbed in this category was “Children Of Men”. Although I didn’t see it in time to include it in My top 10 list this project was truly magnificent!

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