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CINEMA SEEN - "Oscar-rizing 2009!" By William Margold So this is what all the hours in dank movie theaters consuming enormous amounts of rarely fresh popcorn and swallowing gallons of odd tasting lemonade during 2008 have come down to: predicting the Oscar winners in the six major Academy Award categories. Now I must search my heart and my mind and play them against each other so that by the time that I’ve made my "predictions"---my soul is content. That I’m not spending any more space on this introduction should suggest to you that I’m taking my "predictions" about what and who will happen on Sunday evening February 22---much more seriously this year---which of course, should suggest to you that I am deranged, deluded, and demented, for taking anything associated with "predicting the Oscars" seriously in the first place. BEST ACTRESS---Perhaps the easiest of all categories to "predict" because the only contender worth a damn is the lovely lady pictured here in the bathtub---KATE WINSLET---for her eloquently understated work in the effectively thought provoking "The Reader." Her lackluster and non-threatening competition includes unremarkable turns by an annoying Anne Hathaway (in the even more annoying "Rachel Getting Married), a sluggish Angelina Jolie (in the Clint East-"wooden" "Changeling"), a woeful Melissa Leo (in the yawn-and-squirm-inducing "Frozen River"), and a strident Meryl Streep (in the about as shocking as finding a mouse in the communion wafer box "Doubt"). BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS---Easily the least interesting category this year, but PENELOPE CRUZ as the fiery Maria Elena in Woody Allen’s quirky "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" stands a couple of lovely shoulders above the rest. Penelope’s four also-rans include a dismal Amy Adams and an unmoving Viola Davis (both from the aforementioned dullard "Doubt"), an ordinary Taraji P. Henson (from the odd but oddly uninvolving "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") and a sullen Marisa Tomei (from the unconvincing "The Wrestler"). BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR---Quickly eliminating Philip Seymour Hoffman for his tepid turn in the dubious "Doubt"...biding farewell to Michael Shannon who might have been a stronger contender if he had had more scenes in the routine "Revolutionary Road"...and admitting that Josh Brolin was appropriately unnerving, and delivered the best performance of all the cast members (as Dan White) in "Milk"---it comes down to my favorite character etching of 2008...the perceptively hilarious Robert Downey Jr. (whose colorful immersion into acting added considerable shine to an already glowing "Tropic Thunder")---and the late Heath Ledger (who maximized malevolence during his warped romp as The Joker so much that it diminished the overall effect of "The Dark Knight"). A tie between Downey Jr. and Ledger would be great...but Academy Award ties are even rarer than Detroit Lions winning seasons, so sardonically, because fate dealt him the Death card, I must go with HEATH LEDGER. BEST ACTOR---Richard Jenkins (as an overwhelmed everyman) was nice in "The Visitor" and of course, nice guys don’t usually finish first. Brad Pitt was intriguing but was also a victim of way too much "movie magic" in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Mickey Rourke was more caricature than character as "The Wrestler." Sean Penn was too saintly, and I felt he only skimmed the surface in "Milk." So my "prediction" here is FRANK LANGELLA (in "Frost/Nixon") who made the role of the Watergate weary Richard Nixon an all-consuming, sense shattering, emotionally exhausting experience that was equal parts pathetic and empathetic, supremely tinged with commanding bravado. I rank Mr. Langella’s moments as Nixon with what Burt Lancaster brought to the screen as "Elmer Gantry." And when you think about it...what politician isn’t a con man? And what rabble-rousing speech to the masses isn’t a revival meeting? BEST DIRECTOR---Stephan Daldry dawdles during "The Reader." Gus Van Sant doesn’t manage to make "Milk" boil over with either meaning...or tension. David Fincher had way too much to work with and didn’t deliver enough, or paradoxically might have had too little to work with, and delivered too much during "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Ron Howard did his job admirably and made "Frost/Nixon" thoroughly compelling. But DANNY BOYLE answered every question put to him, and created a genuine cinematic surprise in the process with his "Slumdog Millionaire." BEST PICTURE---"The Reader" was adequately uncomforting but really amounted to one great performance (by Ms. Winslet). "Milk" was timely (considering the foolish fate of Prop. 8), and made us care...just not enough. The living life backwards gimmick of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was simply too curious for its own good. "Frost/Nixon" was history in a very neat package...perhaps a little too neat. Therefore...SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, with its magnetic theme of life being a gritty as well as a gossamer web of questions and answers kept me fascinated throughout the India-based drama. (Readers of last week’s column might remember that I ran a picture of "Slumdog" as part of the artwork for what [or whom] I said I wouldn’t be "predicting" to win. However, after reconsidering the situation, and because I already lose enough being a Detroit Lions fan...I decided to at least try and ease my pain here. Remember that I said, "I’m taking this Oscar predicting business very seriously.") end NOTE: Originally published in LA Xpress, February 19, 2009 issue. |