Oscar Nominations--2005 (NOW WITH WINNERS!!)

[Pulpmariachi]

So they've been announced and I guess I've beaten Smitty to it this time. These are the guys I'm rooting for, not predicting for a win.

The Oscars are bullshit, but they're FUN bullshit.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE
Terrence Howard - HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix - WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn - GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.

(I'm rooting for Hoffman--all the way!)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - SYRIANA
Matt Dillon - CRASH
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt - A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

(either Clooney or Hurt, both were great, and better than all the rest.)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench - MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman - TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley - PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron - NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE

(No opinion.)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE
Frances McDormand - NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

(Again, I'd root for Keener of Weisz.)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

(Howl...mainly because that's the only one I saw.)

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
PRIDE & PREJUDICE

(Good Night, and Good Luck.)

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
BATMAN BEGINS
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
THE NEW WORLD

(Good Night, and Good Luck.)

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTSPRIDE & PREJUDICE
WALK THE LINE

(Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH

(Steven Spielberg for MUNICH, all the way.)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
MURDERBALL
STREET FIGHT

(Um...didn't see any of these, but for my only Oscar prediction...I think "March of the Penguins" will get it.)

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
THE DEATH OF KEVIN CARTER: CASUALTY OF THE BANG BANG CLUB
GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA
THE MUSHROOM CLUB
A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN

(Not one of these either.)

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
CINDERELLA MAN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
CRASH
MUNICH
WALK THE LINE

(Munich)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
DON'T TELL
JOYEUX NOèL
PARADISE NOW
SOPHIE SCHOLL - THE FINAL DAYS
TSOTSI

(Of the foreign language films I saw, none of them were nominated. So it goes.)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
CINDERELLA MAN
STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH

(Star Wars)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SCORE)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
MUNICH
PRIDE & PREJUDICE

(Munich. You should listen to it if you have the chance. Haunting.)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SONG)
"In the Deep" - CRASH
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - HUSTLE & FLOW
"Travelin' Thru" - TRANSAMERICA

(Dunno.)

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH

(Munich)

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
BADGERED
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION
THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO
9
ONE MAN BAND

()

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
AUSREISSER (THE RUNAWAY)
CASHBACK
THE LAST FARM
OUR TIME IS UP
SIX SHOOTER

(??)

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WAR OF THE WORLDS

(War of the Worlds)


ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
WALK THE LINE
WAR OF THE WORLDS

(War of the Worlds)

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
KING KONG
WAR OF THE WORLDS

(War of the Worlds)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
MUNICH

(Munich)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MATCH POINT
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE
SYRIANA

(Good Night, and Good Luck.)

Okay, there was a few things that I think got overlooked--like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and the fact that it had much better looking special effects than goddamn Narnia. I'm betting "Brokeback" will sweep, though "Munich" definitley deserves everything it gets. In my opinion, of course.

[ZapRowsdower]

First of all, I don't think I've ever been happier with the Oscar nominations than I am this year. Every year, there seems to be a great movie being snubbed by a lesser film. Not this year.

For best actor, I cast my vote to Ledger or Strathairn - I have yet to see Capote, so I can't really comment on Hoffman's performance. I won't complain if he wins either. And Phoenix was great as well - I wouldn't mind if he wins, I just don't think he will.

For best supporting actor, I'm actually glad Hurt got a nomination - he is pretty much made that movie. But my vote, much like at the Golden Globes sticks with Matt Dillon. I wouldn't mind seeing Giamatti, Gyllenhaal or Hurt win it either.

Best Actress - I loved Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice, and I'm glad they remembered Charlize Theron. It would be nice to see Witherspoon win it again, but it's probably gonna go to Felicity Huffman.

Best Supporting Actress - Gotta go with Weisz.

Best Animated Feature - I liked Wallace and Gromit, but I would rather see Howl's Moving Castle or Corpse Bride win this one.

Achievement in Art Direction - Gotta go with King Kong.

Achievement in Cinematography - Memoirs of a Geisha. As I mentioned in my review, the movie was mediocre but every technical aspect of the movie was brilliant.

Costume Design - Some odd nominee choices, so I can't really pick. I'm with Pulp on this one, Willy Wonka's costume was creepy.

Achievement in Directing - I wouldn't mind seeing any of these guys win, but I'm really hoping Spielberg gets the win here.

Best Documentary - I've only seen March of the Penguins. I'm surprised Grizzly Man and the Aristocrats got snubbed, but I guess I gotta go with Penguins.

Film Editing - Munich or Crash.

Makeup - Narnia had the best makeup of the three, I thought.

Original score - This is tough. The simplistic beauty of Brokeback Mountain, the African stylings of the Constant Gardener, the Epic feel of Memoirs of a Geisha, or the haunting music of Munich. Either way, I don't care who wins.

Original song - Crash. In the Deep was a brilliant tune that complemented the ending perfectly.

Best Picture - First of all, let me say how glad I am that they remembered Crash. But my vote goes to Munich. Still, I don't mind watching any of the other movies win.

Sound Editing - Either Kong or War of the Worlds.

Sound Mixing - King Kong, definitely.

Visual Effects - King Kong.

Adapted Screenplay - the one nomination I disagree with: A History of Violence. Again, I hated the screenplay. Any other movie will make a fine win, but I'm pulling for Munich or Brokeback Mountain.

Original Screenplay - I also did not like Syriana very much. But I'm going for Crash, Good Night and Good Luck, or Match Point.

[Heineken Skywalker]

What a joke. WALK THE LINE gets a nomination for Best Costume, but not EPISODE III? Yeah, those were some amazing black suits Joaquin Phoenix was wearing.
And where's SITH's nomination for Visual Effects?
I'll never understand why most categories have five nominees, but some like Visual Effects, Animated Feature and a few others get as few as three. It usually isn't for lack of potential nominees.
This will be the first year in a long, long time where I've actually seen very few of the nominees, so I really don't have too many opinions regarding who should win.
On average I've seen about one of the choices in each category.

[ZapRowsdower]

I'm not so much complaining about Sith's lack of nominations. Its visual effects were excellent at some points, but very weak at others. I'd revoke the nomination as well for that stupid shrieking iguana Obi-Wan was riding.

Although I do admit that for costumes, Walk the Line was an odd choice. Maybe they're nominating it for capturing the time period, but there were better films this year in terms of costume. Revenge of the Sith would be one of them.

[Heineken Skywalker]

They had no problem overlooking some of the more "questionable" effects in KING KONG. And regardlesss, why only three nominees in this category, every year??

iamthesmitty said:

Although I do admit that for costumes, Walk the Line was an odd choice. Maybe they're nominating it for capturing the time period...

Not impressed. They could've walked into any costume rental store in Hollywood and simply rented clothes from that era and none of us would've been any wiser. On the other hand, every costume in SITH has to be created from imagination and fabricated from scratch.
What'd they do on WALK THE LINE? Look at old video footage & photographs of Johnny Cash and say, "Okay, we have to copy this." And I'm not just picking on WALK. I have to scratch my head whenever any movie like this gets a Best Costume Design nomination.

[Bartwald]

heinekenskywalker said:

They had no problem overlooking some of the more "questionable" effects in KING KONG.

Agree with this. Sith should get a nod, too.

I haven't seen many of the nominated films, so I'll only say this: hooray for William Hurt's genius performance in History Of Violence having been noticed!

[Phoenix]

heinekenskywalker said:

This will be the first year in a long, long time where I've actually seen very few of the nominees, so I really don't have too many opinions regarding who should win.
On average I've seen about one of the choices in each category.

I'm in the same boat - I didn't really want to see any of those movies this year. While they may be well made, none of the concepts/story behind them seemed worth my money to see.

I feel 'ho-hum' about most of the nominees.

[Quorthon]

iamthesmitty said:

Visual Effects - King Kong.

W R O N G

Batman Begins and War of the Worlds both had superior special effects to King Kong. For that matter, so did Land of the Dead. But a horror movie will never be nominated for an Oscar of any kind.

[ZapRowsdower]

quorthon said:

iamthesmitty said:

Visual Effects - King Kong.

W R O N G

Batman Begins and War of the Worlds both had superior special effects to King Kong. For that matter, so did Land of the Dead. But a horror movie will never be nominated for an Oscar of any kind.

I don't think there is such a thing as a wrong ( or W R O N G) opinion. And in my opinion, King Kong had superior effects. Especially for the eigth wonder of the world himself. And the dinosaurs were NOT that bad.

And the Exorcist got nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, and WON the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Oh, and the Sixth Sense got a few nominations as well. Horror films CAN receive nominations, but they have to be good enough. And as fun as Land of the Dead was, I don't think it was good enough. Not by a longshot.

[Quorthon]

Still, Kong had inferior special effects to War of the Worlds and Batman Begins.

Kong himself looked great--no doubt, but the Brontosaur-like dinosaurs, the raptor-like dinosaurs, the swamp-creatures at the bottom of the pit, the giant-lizards, and the dude pole-vaulting to the ship were not up to snuff. All inferior to everything in Batman Begins and 95% of War of the Worlds.

Kong should not win for Special Effects. If there was an Oscar for Most Useless Tertiary Characters, Kong would win that. "Now c'mon Jimmy, yah gotta act real hard, or else they'll cut us from da film and it'll only be two hours 'n' forty minutes long!"

But, then, the Oscars are pretty shallow and reward popularity more than anything anyway. Sixth Sense is a very mainstream horror picture, no wonder it received a nomination.

Land of the Dead's special effects were every bit as good as King Kong's, if not better.

[Pulpmariachi]

I'm inclined to agree with Quorthon (welcome back, Q! it's been boring without you!). Kong didn't look good. Batman Begins, War of the Worlds should've been there instead yes. Just like Harry Potter should've been over NARNIA.

But again, the Oscars are bullshit, but fun bullshit.

[Quorthon]

pulpmariachi said:

I'm inclined to agree with Quorthon (welcome back, Q! it's been boring without you!).

Thanks man. Looks like I returned just in time--the Brokeback Mountain Review thread is about two posts away from being hijacked into pointless stupidity.

In case anyone was wondering, I've been clogging up some message boards on IMDB.com, almost starting fights, and then signed up at Game Informer's forum so I now have forums to cater to all my primary, non-family interests: Metal, Movies, Video Games.

Also, I was getting tired of seeing: Last post Today in "blah blah thread" by Quorthon. For every section of this board.

[ZapRowsdower]

To each his own, I guess. I stand by my preference.

[frankenjohn]

quorthon said:

iamthesmitty said:

Visual Effects - King Kong.

W R O N G

Batman Begins and War of the Worlds both had superior special effects to King Kong. For that matter, so did Land of the Dead. But a horror movie will never be nominated for an Oscar of any kind.

American Werewolf in London
The Sixth Sense
Jaws
The Exorcist
The Silence of the Lambs

The list goes on...

[Pulpmariachi]

The Silence of the Lambs isn't a horror film. It's a thriller, isn't it? And isn't The Sixth Sense considered just a thriller too, rather than straight up horror?