The Queen Departed for Iwo Jima with Little Miss Sunshine, Babeling On and On.

Sorry for that one. That was just sad. But, hey! I feel like Billy Crystal!

Ok. Let’s just get to the point. BEST PICTURE :

Babel

The Departed

Letters From Iwo Jima

Little Miss Sunshine

The Queen

I’ve actually seen three of these now, but I didn’t get to review Little Miss Sunshine. It was fuckin’ awesome. Really, really funny with pretty realistic characters. It’s a bit over the top (who has a grandfather like Alan Arkin?), but still very good. Worth a best picture nom? I dunno. I would have gone with Science Of Sleep or Children Of Men instead. But that’s just me. I was deeply affected by both of those movies.

But let’s get to the one that DEFINITELY doesn’t belong here: Babel. Oh, it’s a good movie, but it’s not THAT fuckin’ good. For a movie where all of the plotlines are supposed to connect, the best one does very little connecting. In fact, the Japanese storyline doesn’t connect until the last line. It’s as if Inarritu got to the end and realized that he forgot to connect Chieko and her dad to the rest of the movie.

So, yeah. Babel shouldn’t be here. Good and well-meaning, but not so great.

Departed is my vote here. It’s Marty’s year. I haven’t seen Iwo Jima or The Queen yet, but I can’t imagine that they’re as good as Martin Scorsese’s return to the genre that made him and that he made. But, if I was a betting man, I would, unfortunately, have to bet on The Queen. Too much buzz going around for that one.

By the way, has ANYONE seen Iwo Jima? I don’t even know if it’s opened here yet.

BEST DIRECTOR :

Babel – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

The Departed – Martin Scoresese

Letters From Iwo Jima – Clint Eastwood

The Queen – Stephen Frears

United 93 – Paul Greengrass

Odd man out, Paul Greengrass, is screwed here. I haven’t seen United 93 and, while I heard it was very well directed, he’s not going to win. One of our 70s boys will take it. And, while I love Clint, he’s won too many already. It’s time for Marty FINALLY FUCKIN’ GET A FUCKING OSCAR!!!! What the fuck has taken these guys so long to decide that Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors who has ever lived? Raging Bull and Goodfellas should have gotten him two already.

So, Marty. Finally. All the way.

BEST ACTOR :

Blood Diamond – Leonardo DiCaprio

Half Nelson – Ryan Gosling

The Last King Of Scotland – Forest Whitaker

The Pursuit Of Happyness – Will Smith

Venus – Peter O’Toole

I really wish I had seen Venus at Telluride this year, but I missed it. And now I’m regretting it every day of my life.

Ok. Maybe not THAT much, but I would have loved to see Peter in another great role. I can’t wait for this one to come out on video so I can finally see it.

And, as much as I would love to see Peter finally win an Oscar, I think Forest has this one. He was fucking amazing as Idi Amin. By turns charming and completely and utterly frightening. I hear that Ryan was great as a rock addicted teacher, but I don’t think he has anything on Forest.

BEST ACTRESS :

The Devil Wears Prada – Meryl Streep

Little Children – Kate Winslet

Notes On A Scandal – Judi Dench

The Queen – Helen Mirren

Volver – Penelope Cruz

So, I think I read somewhere that this is the first year where all five nominees have shown their tits in movies. No, not in the movies that they’re nominated for (who wants to see Judi’s breasts now? She’s an amazing woman, but not in that department…sorry), but in past movies. Weird, huh?

This is a tough one not just because I’ve only seen two of them, but because all five nominees have so much buzz going on around them. It would love it if either Kate or Penelope won. Score one for the hot chicks! But I think this is going to be Helen’s year. Too much said about her portrayal of Elizabeth II just after the death of Princess Diana. Not only does she play a real person, but it’s at a time of strife. She’s got it wrapped up.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR :

Blood Diamond – Djimon Hounsou

The Departed – Mark Wahlberg

Dreamgirls – Eddie Murphy

Little Children – Jackie Earle Haley

Little Miss Sunshine – Alan Arkin

Not only are there two “Little” movies here, but there are four that I’ve seen! I don’t think that’s ever happened in the history of my being cognizant for this category.

And it’s a tough one. While I love Eddie in his role (he was the two truly good things about this rather mediocre movie…the other is in the next category), I don’t think he’ll win. And even though Alan Arkin is great as the foul-mouthed, loving grandfather, he’s not going to win. And Mark Wahlberg’s character might have been good enough to get a possible sequel, but I don’t think his performance was strong enough to win here.

No, this is going to be the year of the Bad News Bears. Jackie has it all the way. His portrayal of an evil, yet sympathetic sex offender of children is enough to win in just about any year. He’s amazing and is going to take it all the way.

Not bad for a guy who hadn’t acted in 13 years.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS :

Babel – Adriana Barraza

Babel – Rinko Kikuchi

Dreamgirls – Jennifer Hudson

Little Miss Sunshine – Abigail Breslin

Notes On A Scandal – Cate Blanchett

Again! I’ve seen four of these! Amazing!! Even more amazing is that four of them are basically newcomers. In fact, the one with the most credits on IMDb of the four is 10 year old Abigail!

But she’s not going to win. Neither is awards darling Cate, although I’m sure she’s amazing.

No, Jennifer Hudson is going to win here. She tore it up in Dreamgirls and was one of two things making this movie worth seeing. She outshined Beyonce and Jaime Foxx at every turn.

Not bad for a chick who lost “American Fuckwit.”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY :

Babel – Guillermo Arriaga

Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo del Toro

Letters From Iwo Jima – Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis

Little Miss Sunshine – Michael Arndt

The Queen – Peter Morgan

Well, I know exactly what I would vote for here: It’s The Bull all the way, baby!

Guillermo del Toro put his heart and soul into Pan’s Labyrinth and it shows. I loved this fuckin’ movie and it needs to win something. Hopefully, it’s this and Best Foreign Film. Little Miss Sunshine was great, but it doesn’t stack up to the greatness that is Pan.

I have a feeling, though, that either Letters or The Queen is going to take this one. Fuck it. There’s still foreign film, Guillermo. You got it.

Where the fuck is Science Of Sleep, by the way? That was SO well written. And not here. Bastards.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Borat – Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips

Children Of Men – Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby

The Departed – William Monahan

Little Children – Todd Field and Tom Perrotta

Notes On A Scandal – Patrick Marber

Another tough one, but I but Little Children will take it. If not, then The Departed will sweep through the Oscars like so many knife-like objects through a butter-like substance.

What I would LOVE to win is Children Of Men. That movie was so well written that it made me believe that we could turn into the world that they were living in…if we weren’t already there. Absolutely perfect.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY :

The Black Dahlia – Vilmos Zsigmond

Children Of Men – Emmanuel Lubezki

The Illusionist – Dick Pope

Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo Navarro

The Prestige – Wally Pfister

I’ve seen three of these (The Illusionist being the third, unreviewed film) and they were all beautifully shot. Children Of Men made me feel like I was in a war zone like no movie since Saving Private Ryan. And Pan’s Labyrinth shot a war in such a fantastical way that it was hard to believe that all wars don’t take place in the middle of a battle for a young girl’s soul.

But I, personally, give the edge here to The Illunsionist. Long-time Mike Leigh cohort, Dick Pope, shot the film like an old silent film complete with nearly sepia tones and shadowed edges. It was perfectly shot for its time period and subject matter. And, while it’s more of an editor’s job than a dp’s, the transitions were perfect, too. They were uneven, shaky irises that sometimes stopped to show us what we should be looking at…just like silent films used to do. The visuals were, besides the two lead performances, the best things about the film.

BEST EDITING :

Babel – Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione

Blood Diamond – Steven Rosenblum

Children Of Men – Alfonso Cuaron and Alex Rodriguez

The Departed – Thelma Schoonmaker

United 93 – Clare Douglas, Richard Pearson and Christopher Rouse

I’m all over Children Of Men for this one. Between making me feel like I was being shot at and keeping the shot going forever, Cuaron and Rodriguez knew exactly how to keep us on the edge of our seats. But I bet United 93 gets it just because it’s a popular and current subject and basically real time. The Academy loves that shit.

BEST ART DIRECTION :

Dreamgirls – John Myhre and Nancy Haigh

The Good Shepherd – Jeannine Claudia Oppewall, Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins

Pan’s Labyrinth – Eugenio Caballero and Pilar Revuelta

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Rick Heinrichs and Cheryl Carasik

The Prestige – Nathan Crowley and Julie Ochipinti

Pan’s has this one locked. The others were good, but Guillermo’s team did an amazing job of mixing real life war horrors with dream-like fantasy horrors. But the Academy may decide that Dreamgirls was better just because it was a musical.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN :

Curse Of The Golden Flower – Chung Man Yee

The Devil Wears Prada – Patricia Field

Dreamgirls – Sharen Davis

Marie Antoinette – Milena Canonero

The Queen – Consolata Boyle

I’ve only seen one of these, but the period movie always wins. That means either Marie Antoinette or Golden Flower. I’m going to say Golden Flower just because nobody seemed to like Marie.

BEST 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

The Good German had a score? I don’t remember that. It was so damn quiet all the time.

I would give this one to Pan’s, too, but I don’t know who’s actually going to win. Probably Babel just because everyone seemed to like the movie a lot.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG :

An Inconvenient Truth – Melissa Etheridge (“I Need To Wake Up”)

Dreamgirls – Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven (“Listen”)

Dreamgirls – Henry Krieger, Siedah Garrett (“Love You I Do”)

Cars – Randy Newman (“Our Town”)

Dreamgirls – Henry Krieger and Willie Reale (“Patience”)

Something from Dreamgirls will probably win.

BEST MAKEUP :

Apocalypto – Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano

Click – Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso

Pan’s Labyrinth – David Marti and Montse Ribe

An Adam Sandler movie is up for an Oscar? Um. What parallel universe did I just slip into?

Ok, so the old makeup was actually really good in Click. (Better than Brokeback Mountain’s, anyway.) But I don’t think it deserves an Oscar.

Nope. Pan again, if only for the dude with no eyes. Guillermo does it again.

BEST SOUND :

Apocalypto – Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara

Blood Diamond – Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock

Dreamgirls – Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie D. Burton

Flags Of Our Fathers – John T. Reitz, David E. Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff

The musical always has to take this one. Dreamgirls has it.

BEST SOUND EDITING :

Apocalypto – Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar

Blood Diamond – Lon Bender

Flags Of Our Fathers – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Letters From Iwo Jima – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – George Watters II and Christopher Boyes

And the war movie has to take this one…um…right. Which one? Nobody really liked Flags, so I say Iwo Jima will take it.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS :

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – John Knoll, Hal T. Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall

Poseidon – Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chas Jarrett and John Frazier

Superman Returns – Mark Stetson, Richard R. Hoover, Neil Corbould and Jon Thum

This is almost a tough one. Pirates or flying boys?

I’m gonna say Superman takes this one. The effects were pretty awesome…and apparently good enough to show again and again in 3-D. Go, Supes!

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE :

Cars

Happy Feet

Monster House

I only saw one of these (Cars) and it wasn’t up to par with the rest of Pixar’s movies. It will probably win, though just because everybody loves Pixar. And, what? You think they’re going to give it to a bunch of dancing, liberal penguins?

Oh. Maybe they will. We’ll see.

BEST FOREIGN FILM :

After The Wedding (Denmark)

Days Of Glory (Algeria)

Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico)

The Lives Of Others (Germany)

Water (Canada)

I’ve heard a lot of great stuff about The Lives Of Others, but Pan’s has this one. It’s actually been nominated in other categories.

Then again, maybe they’ll give all the other awards to it and give The Lives Of Others this one. Dammit. I hope not. Guillermo deserves this one.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE :

Deliver Us From Evil

An Inconvenient Truth

Iraq In Fragments

Jesus Camp

My Country My Country

Hmmm. I wonder…Could it be the one about Global Warming? Could it be the only one that made any money this year? I think so.

Actually, An Inconvenient Truth was pretty amazing and should be viewed by every living human on Earth. The more exposure, the better. Give that mutha an award.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT :

The Blood Of Yingzhou District

Recycled Life

Rehearsing A Dream

Two Hands: The Leon Fleisher Story

I have no idea here. IMDb only has synopses on two of them and Rehearsing A Dream it doesn’t even have an entry for.

If I had to guess, though, I would say Blood because it’s about families in China dealing with AIDS. Recycled Life (about South American families living and working in the most toxic dump in the world) would be a close runner up. But AIDS wins every time.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM :

The Danish Poet

Lifted

The Little Matchgirl

Maestro

No Time For Nuts

Haven’t seen any of these (although one of them is on a DVD that I bought…didn’t know that until just now), but I’m guessing that The Little Matchgirl will take it. It’s Disney doing what they do best: 2D animation of fairy tales. I’m gonna have to take a look at this one.

And I’m sure No Time For Nuts is funny, but we’ve seen Scrat before. He’s hilarious, but not Oscar-worthy.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM :

Binta And The Great Idea

Eramos Pocos

Helmer & Son

The Saviour

West Bank Story

I really have no idea on this one. Maybe the one about the guy who brings his mother-in-law home to take care of his kids when his wife dies. That’s good fodder for Oscars.

So, there you have it. My Oscar predictions. I may be wrong, but for all you know, I may be right.

See you at the party.