Oscar Round Up (2007)

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Need a refresher on the nominees? Got it.

After last year's resounding defeat (in one category), I was a little weary of laying it out for you this year. So I made myself a pizza and cracked open a root beer. I think I'm ready now.

And, yeah, that's last year's poster, but I couldn't seem to find this year's. Work with me.

You guys, despite the couple of times I sat around and thought there was nothing to see and never would be again, 2006 was a helluva year for movies. Many exciting things happened at the cineplex. Mind you, the Academy wasn't terribly interested in most of those things, but we'll worry about that when it's time for the top ten. In the meantime, let's look at what the Academy has in store for us tomorrow.

Performance by an actor in a leading role:

Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond; Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson; Peter O'Toole in Venus; Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness; Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland

There's not much of a point in me writing about this one. Everyone and their grandmother knows that Whitaker is going to walk away with the statuette. O'Toole's the only one on the list that offers series competition: he's been nominated seven times before without ever receiving the award. On the other hand, he does have an honourary award from 2003.

Who will win: Whitaker. Who should win: Gosling. He's electric and brought so much depth to a role that could have been showy and shallow.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role:

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

Let me ask you guys something: what's up with only one acting nod for The Departed? What's that about? Anyway, it's disappointing to be blogging when most of the main categories are considered locks. I didn't, as you may have surmised, see Dreamgirls, and I doubt I ever will. That movie holds no interest for me. The media attention of what appears to have been, according to the notices I read, an okay to good adaptation of a Broadway musical is such a turn off. There's a little bit of dark horse buzz surrounding Arkin in reaction to both Murphy's rumoured diva attitude and the steady stream of schlock he has been peddling for the last decade. I doubt it will be enough to cause an upset.

Who will win: Murphy. Who should win: Wahlberg. He was so on top of that role that, frankly, I was disappointed he didn't have more screen time. I love a good smart mouth.

Performance by an actress in a leading role:

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

Winslet's every one's favourite bridesmaid. She'll go home empty handed once again, if for no other reason that she's a lot younger than most of her co-nominees. No matter. The other losses don't seem to have discouraged her. She'll get hers some day. I suppose there's no point in discussing this one like it isn't a forgone conclusion any longer.

Who will win: Mirren. Who deserves to win: Mirren. That's right. For a woman who has been giving the performance of a lifetime for, well, a lifetime, it's about time the rest of us got around to noticing.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role:

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

I don't think we should nominate children in the same categories as adults. It's not that they cannot give laudable performances - sometimes the kids are even better than the adults surrounding them in a given picture. But until they get older, say 16, it just doesn't seem fair. They rarely win, and it's a lot of pressure to put on a little one.

Another forgone conclusion, which is disappointing because the competition is fierce. Everyone else brought it.

Who will win: Hudson. Who should win: Kikuchi. Her completely disconnected plot was mesmerizing entirely because of her.

Best motion picture of the year

Nominees: Babel; The Departed; Letters from Iwo Jima; Little Miss Sunshine; The Queen

Excellent! I can use my favourite handicapping tool for the category no two people want call the same way! First of all, not all the nods above line up with Achievement in Directing. Secondly, I recently learned that it's an incredibly rare for a picture to win without a nod in the editing category.

Although it's a fan favourite, Little Miss hasn't seen attention in either of those categories, making it an unlikely win. We all like it, sure, but the Academy isn't known for showing the love to comedies.

Letters was recognized in the sound editing category, but that doesn't count. Besides, it's in Japanese, and no one's seen in. The Academy still loves Clint, just maybe a little less this year.

Now I'm down the three. The Queen was great, and it could pick up the award if the other nominees manage to split the vote, but The Queen is Helen Mirren and Helen Mirren is The Queen. Her win counts for the picture, too.

Babel emerged as an early favourite, picking up a Golden Globe, but it hasn't sustained the wins across the other major awards shows. The so-so reviews and general impression that it's Crash 2 hasn't helped.

The Departed's popular, though it's not regarded as Marty's best or much more than a well done genre picture. Still, Scorsese did pick up top honours at the DGA. Looks like it's his year. Finally!

Who will win: Scorsese and The Departed. It's retribution for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas. Who should win: Children of Men. It's not even nominated, and I don't care because it was the best picture of the year. Take that, Academy.