This is a lame Oscar year. The only thing exciting about it is that they didn't give Scorsese a career achievement Oscar and instead snubbed him one more time for an actor turned director. 3 of the Best Picture nominees are biopics (my least favorite genre), 1 has structure problems and the other is a very good movie that doesn't feel like a Best Picture winner. This is a year where I wish they had the expanded Best Picture field. That way they could have thrown in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Vera Drake and The Incredibles.
You can see my GABBY winners and nominees HERE
Best Picture
You can see my GABBY winners and nominees HERE
Best Picture
5. Finding Neverland - No matter how much you dress up a biopic, it's still a biopic. This is about J.M. Barrie and how he wrote Peter Pan. He is introduced as a bored playwright in a rut but then he meets a group of precocious children that inspires him. He spends a lot of time playing with the children and trying to encourage their imagination. You think for a moment that the film is going to touch on the weird and possibly inappropriate relationship between adult and children but it ultimately abandons that area. Instead we see how he came up with all the characters in Peter Pan. He imagines the boys flying out their bedroom window or he sees their grandmother as Captain Hook and we as the audience are supposed to go, "Oh, that's how he came up with the idea". If you really like Peter Pan, and I have met some people with almost unhealthy obsessions, then you may enjoy this but if not it is the most standard of biopics.
4. The Aviator - More often than not I feel like biopics let your preexisting knowledge of historical events do the heavy lifting in setting up the story. This is a biopic about Howard Hughes and only places 4th because it's directed by Martin Scorsese who was way overdue for an Oscar at this point and it has a very fun visual style. This may have been my least favorite of the 5 nominated films. Leonardo DiCaprio is completely miscast as Hughes, going from barely adequate when Hughes is a young man to downright laughably awful as his character ages. Where Finding Neverland succeeded was it took a man and focused on the part of his life we would care the most about. The most interesting thing about Hughes is probably the end of his life when he became a mentally unstable germaphobe who collected jars of urine. There is a little of that in this movie but the story is mostly about Hughes fighting with rival airline companies and congress and making movies. It's also close to 3 hours of the parts of Hughes's life you don't care about. And like I said, the script uses are knowledge of events to tell the story like when we see Hughes washing his hands and we're supposed to think, "Oh, that's right, he's gonna start collecting his own piss soon".
3. Ray - You could do worse for entertainment but you could certainly do a lot better. Ray is a movie that really only deserved one nomination and that was Best Actor for Jamie Foxx. Since Foxx is so good he tricked the academy into thinking that this movie was something other than a very trope-y biopic. There are so many biopic tropes here that watching the movie makes me want to watch Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story as a palette cleanser. Take for instance the scene where Ray Charles comes up with the song 'Hit The Road Jack' as his mistress is kicking him out of the house then it transitions into him singing the song on stage then it cuts to his manager calling him to tell him the song is number 1 and congratulate him on his Grammy nomination. Wouldn't Ray Charles already know his song was number 1 and that he was nominated for a Grammy. This scene is just there to give the audience pointless exposition.
2. Million Dollar Baby - I gotta give credit where credit is due. At least Million Dollar Baby told a story with a beginning, middle and end. It set up characters, it had a central conflict and that conflict had a resolution. It just never sucked me in. It's a perfectly fine film but not one that will climb to the upper echelons of the Best Picture winners. Clint Eastwood stars as a grizzled old former boxer who runs a gym. He takes a chance on training a girl, she gets injured and the third act becomes about assisted suicide. For some reason it is all narrated by Morgan Freeman. It's never clear why he's telling the story or why he thought it was pertinent to the story to include the moment where he stood up for the mentally retarded kid.
1. Sideways - This is an easy winner for me this year as this is the only movie nominated that I genuinely enjoyed. Million Dollar Baby and Ray were decent but flawed and I have no interest in ever watching The Aviator and Finding Neverland again. This movie on the other hand is downright delightful. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church star as two friends going down to wine country for a bachelor weekend. Church is getting married and has no morality issues about having a sex filled weekend. Giamatti is recently divorced and depressed that he can't get his novel published. The comedy and the story here comes from the characters and if you like the characters then it doesn't matter what the situation is.
For me, the only movie worth voting for is Sideways. Million Dollar Baby is a movie that is just okay but then again Sideways isn't a movie that can compare with the best of the Best Pictures either. So this year is kind of a no-win situation. I remember thinking in 2004 that The Aviator should win just so Scorsese could finally get his Oscar. Here's the directors who beat Scorsese up to this point, Robert Redford, Barry Levinson, Kevin Costner and Roman Polanski (post rape). It's not like he got beaten by the best of the best and he loses here to Clint Eastwood getting his 2nd Oscar in 10 years. So I guess Eastwood is worth 2 Oscars before Scorsese is worth 1. Looking back, it makes perfect sense that Million Dollar Baby won. The Aviator seemd like a forgone conclusion to win. Miramax was positioning it as the front runner before it was released. Then people saw it but at the same time Million Dollar Baby was just expanding. It was the last movie they saw before they voted. Also remember the big news story of 2004 was Terri Schiavo and her family fighting over whether she should be taken off life support so this movie was oddly timely and hit the right political nerve at the time. Honestly I don't care what wins this year but I'm glad Scorsese didn't. Knowing that in 2 years he's gonna make The Departed, it's a good thing they waited. Imagine if The Departed came out and Scorsese already won for the Howard Hughes biopic. Like if he won for The Age Of Innocence and then does Casino. One of those movies is cooler than the other.
Oscar Winner: Million Dollar Baby
Oscar Winner: Million Dollar Baby
My Vote: Sideways
GABBY Winner: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Best Actor
Best Actor
5. Johnny Depp - Finding Neverland - Well, he has an accent, so that's something. Depp plays J.M. Barrie and this is one of the least interesting Johnny Depp performances. In 2003 he had his career renaissance with Captain Jack Sparrow as well as Once Upon A Time In Mexico and he started earning praise for his oddball and eccentric characters. Here he is kinda boring and dull and I kept thinking that another actor may have brought something interesting to the role.
4. Leonardo DiCaprio - The Aviator - Much like Depp, I watched this movie and kept wishing another actor was playing the lead. This is a difficult role and I'm not sure who would be best for it. DiCaprio has to age drastically as Howard Hughes and he pulls off the younger Howard but seems like a high school kid in a play near the end of the film. Leo has a natural likability but seems to spend his whole career avoiding it. Instead of making his characters relatable he hides behind accents and tics that distract more than they engage.
3. Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby - Good old Clint. He doesn't try to put on airs or try accents. Finding the right actor for the part is half of the job and Clint sticks to roles that are perfect for Clint Eastwood to play them. Here he plays a grizzled old boxer who trains Hilary Swank against his own better judgement. He's the best character in the film and I would rather he win before Swank and Morgan Freeman but he got a Best Director Oscar this year so he didn't need to win this.
2. Don Cheadle - Hotel Rwanda - Cheadle plays Paul Rusesabagina in yet another biopic from 2004. This is the real life story of the Rwandan genocide and one guy who used the hotel he was the manager of to hide and protect people. I usually find accents unnecessary and Cheadle's is only slightly distracting but consistent and I'm going to assume accurate. Cheadle is really great here, he commands attention in every scene and does more than just react to atrocities.
1. Jamie Foxx - Ray - This is a performance I wanted to hate. It won like every award so I thought that surely it would be over-hyped by the time I saw it. Then you watch the movie and go, damn the critics were right on the money about this one. Foxx plays Ray Charles and it's more than an impression. He completely inhabits Ray to create a tragic and real character. The only thing wrong with the performance is that he doesn't do his own singing. It is really impressive to see Foxx sitting behind a piano singing and playing like Ray Charles until you take a step back and realize that it is actually the real Ray's voice you're hearing.
Sing your own songs, schming your own schmongs, there was no beating Jamie Foxx this year. Not only was he the best in a less than stellar category but they gave him a supporting nomination to cement it. The only actor I would consider voting for instead would be Paul Giamatti but he got snubbed.
Oscar Winner: Jamie Foxx
Sing your own songs, schming your own schmongs, there was no beating Jamie Foxx this year. Not only was he the best in a less than stellar category but they gave him a supporting nomination to cement it. The only actor I would consider voting for instead would be Paul Giamatti but he got snubbed.
Oscar Winner: Jamie Foxx
My Vote: Jamie Foxx
GABBY Winner: Paul Giamatti for Sideways
Best Actress
Best Actress
5. Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full Of Grace - Foreign performances always land in 5th place and a performance from someone in their first movie does the same. This is a foreign performance from an actress in her first movie. I'm not saying that Moreno's performance as a Colombian drug mule isn't great but she's up against Annette Bening, Kate Winslet and Imelda Staunton. They get theirs first.
4. Annette Bening - Being Julia - Bening has been working on her Oscar story since 1999 and this year gave more fuel to the fire. Eventually she will either play a role that everyone agrees guarantees her the Oscar like Julianne Moore in Still Alice or win for whatever she did that year because the category is weak. Much like Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, the more she loses the more she assures she will win eventually. Here she plays a hammy actress and it's hard to play an over the top actress without seeming like an over the top actress. Bening is fine here but she's been better in better movies and I'd rather she win for something else.
3. Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby - Swank won an Oscar for playing a manly looking hick who dies at the end. Sound familiar?
2. Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake - I'm not a fan of Mike Leigh's work but if I were to recommend one of his films it would probably be this one. I don't hate his movies I just find them slow paced and hard to get through. For some reason I connected with the story of Vera Drake, a kindly old woman who performs illegal abortions free of charge as a service to young women. Most of my enjoyment came directly from Staunton who plays Vera with an incredibly real intensity that just sucks you in.
1. Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - This is my favorite film of the year. I saw this in March of 2004 and every movie I saw after paled in comparison. By the time the end of the year awards season came around I was perplexed as to why this movie was only getting love for its screenplay and Winslet. No nominations for Michel Gondry's visually imaginative direction or Jim Carrey's honest performance or the cinematography, editing or visual effects. But Winslet ended up getting a nomination. Then I watch the movie again and completely understand. Her part is not flashy, in fact the whole point of the movie is to erase her. This is a trippy film but the kind of explain the plot, Jim Carrey is trying to erase Kate Winslet from his memory. The majority of the film takes place during the operation and we are in Jim's head as he tries to save the memories because some of them are good. Winslet and Carrey both have to play multiple levels to their characters. Sometimes they are in the real world, sometimes they are in the memory world and sometimes Kate is just talking how Jim manifests her. It's an incredible performance.
The last time Annette Bening was the front runner she lost to Hilary Swank. This year she was positioned as an actress who has given solid performances for over a decade that has been overlooked. It's a can't win situation, right? No, they give it to Hilary Swank again. Apparently Hilary Swank is worth 2 Oscars before Kate Winslet or Annette Bening are worth 1. I'm voting for Winslet for a couple reasons, the first being that she's in my favorite movie of the year and if I have an opportunity to vote for Eternal Sunshine I'm going to take it. I'm also voting for her because after watching all the movies back to back I was really impressed by her performance. Not only does she play a character that you wouldn't think Kate Winslet would play but she is incredible. She has to play multiple facets of a single character in various parts of her life. There are times when you're not sure which Clementine you're watching but you can always tell that Winslet knows exactly where her character is at all times.
The last time Annette Bening was the front runner she lost to Hilary Swank. This year she was positioned as an actress who has given solid performances for over a decade that has been overlooked. It's a can't win situation, right? No, they give it to Hilary Swank again. Apparently Hilary Swank is worth 2 Oscars before Kate Winslet or Annette Bening are worth 1. I'm voting for Winslet for a couple reasons, the first being that she's in my favorite movie of the year and if I have an opportunity to vote for Eternal Sunshine I'm going to take it. I'm also voting for her because after watching all the movies back to back I was really impressed by her performance. Not only does she play a character that you wouldn't think Kate Winslet would play but she is incredible. She has to play multiple facets of a single character in various parts of her life. There are times when you're not sure which Clementine you're watching but you can always tell that Winslet knows exactly where her character is at all times.
Oscar Winner: Hilary Swank
My Vote: Kate Winslet
GABBY Winner: Kate Winslet
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actor
5. Jamie Foxx - Collateral - This is just complete and utter category fraud. Nobody who saw Collateral would think that Jamie Foxx wasn't anything other than the main character. The movie is his story, he's second billed but that's only because Tom Cruise is the bigger star. There's no way I can vote for this because he's the lead of the film and he's already gonna win an Oscar this year anyway. That being said, Jamie Foxx is really good in this film and the movie is not an "Oscar Movie" in any way. What Foxx does incredibly well in this film is listen. He plays a cabbie who picks up a contract killer and drives him to his hits. Cab drivers make small talk but Foxx actually seems to care what people are talking about.
4. Alan Alda - The Aviator - About an hour and a half into The Aviator Alan Alda shows up as a senator hired to go after Howard Hughes for misappropriating funds. He's best friends with the head of TWA which is Hughes's biggest competitor which causes a conflict of interest. This nomination is why I thought The Aviator was sure to win Best Picture. Alda does practically nothing in this film but got a nomination which can only mean 1 of 2 things. Either The Aviator had huge widespread support (which we found out it didn't) or Alan Alda is just a great actor that the Academy loved. He does what a good actor should do and takes a thankless role and makes it interesting but I could never see why he was singled out.
3. Clive Owen - Closer - This is a movie I didn't care for that much. It is based on an award winning play and it seems like none of the dialogue was changed. Plays and film are two different mediums and what works on stage doesn't always translate to the screen. Also this movie is just about 4 depressed and horrible people so it's by no means a fun watch. Owen is the best part of the film but that's not saying much.
3. Clive Owen - Closer - This is a movie I didn't care for that much. It is based on an award winning play and it seems like none of the dialogue was changed. Plays and film are two different mediums and what works on stage doesn't always translate to the screen. Also this movie is just about 4 depressed and horrible people so it's by no means a fun watch. Owen is the best part of the film but that's not saying much.
2. Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby - The only reason Morgan Freeman places 2nd this year is because he's Morgan Freeman and was way overdue for an Oscar win. He should have won in 1994 for The Shawshank Redemption but instead he waited 10 years and won for playing pretty much the same character. He plays a former boxer who know works at a gym basically mopping the floor and cleaning the toilets. For some reason he also narrates the film. In Shawshank it makes sense because the whole story is told from his perspective, you don't question why he knows anything especially when you get to the end and realize that he met up with Andy who probably told him all the things he wasn't there for. So it's like Red is writing this in his diary and telling us the story. Here, he tells us a story about Clint Eastwood training Hilary Swank and for some reason also includes a subplot about a mentally challenged kid that he helped along the way. How does he know all the information he's telling us? It's never established. My problem with his character has nothing to do with Freeman though, he's as great as he always is but the character is basically just a narrator. There's nothing inherently interesting about him. He seems more like a script device than a human being.
1. Thomas Haden Church - Sideways - This is a no contest decision for me this year because Thomas Haden Church was the only performance I liked of this bunch, excluding Jamie Foxx who is so clearly a lead. Church does something that is hard to pull off. He plays a complete asshole but still makes him likable. It's the weekend before his wedding and he's going to wine country with his buddy to sow some wild oats. In doing so he meets a woman that he thinks he has fallen in love with. He never seems to think about leaving his fiancee or leading two lives, he seems to live only in the present. He likes having sex with this woman and tells her he loves her and that he could be a father to her child but he also doesn't seem to mean anything he says ever. In contrast his friend lives only in the past and the future, questioning every decision he's ever made or ever will make. Church does despicable things the whole movie but in that way where you want to see him fail or succeed. You never dislike him even though he never does anything specifically likable.
I didn't have to think twice about who I was voting for. It's Thomas Haden Church by a wide margin. The only bad thing about that decision would be that the guy from Wings got an Oscar before Morgan Freeman. It would be on par with Kevin Costner beating Martin Scorsese. Still, I gotta vote for the best performance and that's Church. I have no problem with Morgan Freeman winning what can only be called a "Career Achievement Oscar". The only problem is, no matter how good he is in the future it's gonna be hard for him to win another. If you win once for a role that didn't deserve it you have to be incredible to win a 2nd.
Oscar Winner: Morgan Freeman
1. Thomas Haden Church - Sideways - This is a no contest decision for me this year because Thomas Haden Church was the only performance I liked of this bunch, excluding Jamie Foxx who is so clearly a lead. Church does something that is hard to pull off. He plays a complete asshole but still makes him likable. It's the weekend before his wedding and he's going to wine country with his buddy to sow some wild oats. In doing so he meets a woman that he thinks he has fallen in love with. He never seems to think about leaving his fiancee or leading two lives, he seems to live only in the present. He likes having sex with this woman and tells her he loves her and that he could be a father to her child but he also doesn't seem to mean anything he says ever. In contrast his friend lives only in the past and the future, questioning every decision he's ever made or ever will make. Church does despicable things the whole movie but in that way where you want to see him fail or succeed. You never dislike him even though he never does anything specifically likable.
I didn't have to think twice about who I was voting for. It's Thomas Haden Church by a wide margin. The only bad thing about that decision would be that the guy from Wings got an Oscar before Morgan Freeman. It would be on par with Kevin Costner beating Martin Scorsese. Still, I gotta vote for the best performance and that's Church. I have no problem with Morgan Freeman winning what can only be called a "Career Achievement Oscar". The only problem is, no matter how good he is in the future it's gonna be hard for him to win another. If you win once for a role that didn't deserve it you have to be incredible to win a 2nd.
Oscar Winner: Morgan Freeman
My Vote: Thomas Haden Church
GABBY Winner: James Garner for The Notebook
Best Supporting Actress
5. Natalie Portman - Closer - I don't understand this nomination at all. It feels like Natalie Portman is completely miscast for this role. She's a terrific actress, I loved her in Garden State this same year and think she earned her Oscar for Black Swan and continues to give terrific performances. This one though, I have no idea why she got nominated. She seems out of her league and lost in most scenes.
4. Sophie Okonedo - Hotel Rwanda - I'm really glad Sophie got this nomination but there's just no way you can vote for. She's terrific in the film as Paul Rusesabagina's wife who also helps shelter refugees during the Rwandan genocide but the movie follows Don Cheadle's character so much that you tend to forget about her. Also, if anyone was going to win an Oscar for this film it should be Cheadle, having her win seems like a consolation prize.
3. Laura Linney - Kinsey - This is another nomination that is nice that it's included but you can't really vote for it. Kinsey is a biopic starring Liam Neeson as noted sex researcher Alfred Kinsey. Linney plays one of his students who later becomes his wife. At first she doesn't like sex but then she learns that she does and the two of them research together. She's good in the film but if you're gonna single out one performance to award it should probably go to Liam Neeson or even Peter Sarsgaard first. I'm glad Linney was in the mix though and really hope she wins one day.
2. Cate Blanchett - The Aviator - Blanchett plays Katharine Hepburn. Usually I'm not in favor of actors playing actors because instead of creating a character they just do an impression. If someone played Cary Grant in a biopic they would probably play him like Cary Grant played a character even though he probably was never that suave in real life. Blanchett plays Katharine Hepburn how Hepburn would play the character and makes her both a caricature and a character. It's a really fantastic performance and the only reason I'm not voting for her is because I prefer honoring a performance that came from scratch rather than one that relied on an impression. Blanchett nailed this though.
1. Virginia Madsen - Sideways - Madsen plays a waitress at a bar that Paul Giamatti frequents. He has been infatuated with her from afar for quite some time and his horn-dog buddy organizes a double date. They both have a mutual respect for wine and she gives an impassioned speech about the grape. You can tell it's effective from Giamatti's reaction. That could be because Giamatti is a great actor (why wasn't he nominated?).
Honestly, I think most of my decision is based on the fact that Cate Blanchett will always have an opportunity to win an Oscar, in fact she won a 2nd 10 years later and she'll probably win a 3rd one day. This is probably Madsen's only shot and I've always liked her so I'm voting for her. I have no problem with Blanchett winning because the performance is worthy and she's an actress that is good enough to have multiple Oscars.
1. Virginia Madsen - Sideways - Madsen plays a waitress at a bar that Paul Giamatti frequents. He has been infatuated with her from afar for quite some time and his horn-dog buddy organizes a double date. They both have a mutual respect for wine and she gives an impassioned speech about the grape. You can tell it's effective from Giamatti's reaction. That could be because Giamatti is a great actor (why wasn't he nominated?).
Honestly, I think most of my decision is based on the fact that Cate Blanchett will always have an opportunity to win an Oscar, in fact she won a 2nd 10 years later and she'll probably win a 3rd one day. This is probably Madsen's only shot and I've always liked her so I'm voting for her. I have no problem with Blanchett winning because the performance is worthy and she's an actress that is good enough to have multiple Oscars.
Oscar Winner: Cate Blanchett
My Vote: Virginia Madsen
GABBY Winner: Virginia Madsen
Best Director
Clint Eastwood wins his 2nd Best Director Oscar for Million Dollar Baby. In hindsight, knowing that Martin Scorsese is going to win in 2 years it's not the worst decision but if that was the case I would much rather prefer they gave the win to Alexander Payne who made one of the best character driven comedy dramas of recent years. That way Eastwood, Scorsese and Payne would all have Oscars.
Best Original Screenplay/Adapted Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman finally wins an Oscar for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind after getting nominated for Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. This is an instance where the category should be called "Most Original Screenplay" as Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is one of the most inventive movies I've ever seen. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor rightfully win for adapting Sideways for the screen. Their biggest competition was Million Dollar Baby but, like I said, I had problems with that movie's structure. There was really no need for a narrator. Before Sunset would have been a cool winner too but Sideways was the best in the category.
Best Animated Feature Film
Shark Tale is now an Academy Award nominated film. Luckily, the Academy had the good sense to give The Incredibles the win over a worthy Shrek 2.
Best Documentary Feature
The big story in this category this year was Michael Moore taking his film Fahrenheit 9/11, about the ties between the Bush family and those responsible for the September 11th attacks, off the eligibility list because he wanted the movie to get nominated for Best Picture instead. I believe his quote was that it was no fun winning something you already know you're going to win. Instead Born Into Brothels won over the very funny Super Size Me which actually inspired change as McDonald's now displays nutritional information and got rid of some of their more comically larger sizes.
Best Original Score/Original Song
Finding Neverland wins Best Score. I can only assume that they voted for the only Best Picture nominee in the category. The music in Finding Neverland is very beautiful but not that very memorable. It beat out The Village, The Passion Of The Christ, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban and Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events. None of the nominees really jump out as a winner. The same thing can be said about the Best Original Song category which included forgettable songs from The Polar Express, The Chorus and The Phantom Of The Opera. They ultimately gave the win to Al Otro Lado Del Rio from The Motorcycle Diaries over the very fun Counting Crows song Accidentally In Love from Shrek 2.
Best Sound Mixing/Sound Editing
One more reason to prove my theory that musicals almost always win in the sound category. Ray wins Best Sound Mixing over some more worthy films like The Incredibles, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2 and The Polar Express. The Incredibles wins Sound Editing. I'm not sure why animated films don't compete as well in the sound categories. It seems to me that it's more impressive to make every sound in the film from scratch.
Best Art Direction/Costume Design/Cinematography/Film-Editing
Even if Scorsese went home empty handed The Aviator was able to clean up in the technical categories winning all 4 of these. Considering the standard crap they nominated, I can't complain.
Best Makeup
Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events wins. It's a good bet to pick the film that had the most make-up as it beat out The Passion Of The Christ and The Sea Inside.
Best Visual Effects
Spider-Man 2 beats I, Robot and Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Strangely the visual effects I was most impressed with at the time came from I, Robot and those have probably aged the worst.
Up Next
1976
Best Director
Clint Eastwood wins his 2nd Best Director Oscar for Million Dollar Baby. In hindsight, knowing that Martin Scorsese is going to win in 2 years it's not the worst decision but if that was the case I would much rather prefer they gave the win to Alexander Payne who made one of the best character driven comedy dramas of recent years. That way Eastwood, Scorsese and Payne would all have Oscars.
Best Original Screenplay/Adapted Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman finally wins an Oscar for Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind after getting nominated for Being John Malkovich and Adaptation. This is an instance where the category should be called "Most Original Screenplay" as Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is one of the most inventive movies I've ever seen. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor rightfully win for adapting Sideways for the screen. Their biggest competition was Million Dollar Baby but, like I said, I had problems with that movie's structure. There was really no need for a narrator. Before Sunset would have been a cool winner too but Sideways was the best in the category.
Best Animated Feature Film
Shark Tale is now an Academy Award nominated film. Luckily, the Academy had the good sense to give The Incredibles the win over a worthy Shrek 2.
Best Documentary Feature
The big story in this category this year was Michael Moore taking his film Fahrenheit 9/11, about the ties between the Bush family and those responsible for the September 11th attacks, off the eligibility list because he wanted the movie to get nominated for Best Picture instead. I believe his quote was that it was no fun winning something you already know you're going to win. Instead Born Into Brothels won over the very funny Super Size Me which actually inspired change as McDonald's now displays nutritional information and got rid of some of their more comically larger sizes.
Best Original Score/Original Song
Finding Neverland wins Best Score. I can only assume that they voted for the only Best Picture nominee in the category. The music in Finding Neverland is very beautiful but not that very memorable. It beat out The Village, The Passion Of The Christ, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban and Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events. None of the nominees really jump out as a winner. The same thing can be said about the Best Original Song category which included forgettable songs from The Polar Express, The Chorus and The Phantom Of The Opera. They ultimately gave the win to Al Otro Lado Del Rio from The Motorcycle Diaries over the very fun Counting Crows song Accidentally In Love from Shrek 2.
Best Sound Mixing/Sound Editing
One more reason to prove my theory that musicals almost always win in the sound category. Ray wins Best Sound Mixing over some more worthy films like The Incredibles, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2 and The Polar Express. The Incredibles wins Sound Editing. I'm not sure why animated films don't compete as well in the sound categories. It seems to me that it's more impressive to make every sound in the film from scratch.
Best Art Direction/Costume Design/Cinematography/Film-Editing
Even if Scorsese went home empty handed The Aviator was able to clean up in the technical categories winning all 4 of these. Considering the standard crap they nominated, I can't complain.
Best Makeup
Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events wins. It's a good bet to pick the film that had the most make-up as it beat out The Passion Of The Christ and The Sea Inside.
Best Visual Effects
Spider-Man 2 beats I, Robot and Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Strangely the visual effects I was most impressed with at the time came from I, Robot and those have probably aged the worst.
Up Next
1976
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