3 Days to Oscar - Who SHOULD win!!!

Tomorrow - crazy predix and no guts - no glory statements. Oh, hellz yeah.

My personal ranking of the nominees:

Best Picture:
1. Brokeback Mountain
2. Capote
3. Good Night and Good Luck
4. Crash
5. Munich

Let me say this loud and clear: Crash is NOT a Best Picture Winner. Well, it could be. It lacks the feel of a Best Picture winner. It doesn't feel classic. I'm not being biased here, but this is the type of film that would get the most nominations of a film not nominated for Best Picture. Munich has greatness in it, but is a mess sometimes. Good Night and Good Luck is a movie to admire and respect, more than love passionately. Capote, to me, actually does have the feel of a Best Picture winner, but it leaves some cold. That leaves the indie/Hollywood, grand epic/intimate character story, actor's movie/technical dream, controversial/mainsteam prestige adaptation to take it home.
Should have been nominated: A History of Violence

Best Directing:
1. Ang Lee
2. George Clooney
3. Bennett Miller
4. Paul Haggis
5. Steven Spielberg

Lee is due. Nuff said.
Should have nominated: David Cronenberg

Best Actor:
1. Heath Ledger
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman
3. Joaquin Phoenix
4. Terrence Howard
5. David Strathairn

Gosh, what a great year for these guys. Any of them could win and be deserving. Strathairn is god-like. Howard is ferocious - an exciting new talent. Phoenix just blows you away with intensity. Hoffman is a great actor to get behind, someone you always root for. But long after their movies are over and while you still admire their work, only the remaining Ledger remains in your heart.
Should have been nominated: (What a year!) Joseph Gordon Levitt - Mysterious Skin; Viggo Mortensen - A History of Violence; Ralph Fiennes - The Constant Gardener, Jake Gyllenhaal - Jarhead; Pierce Brosnan - The Matador; Jeff Daniels - The Squid and the Whale; Jonathan Rhys-Meyer - Match Point; Steve Carrell - The 40 Year Old Virgin; Bill Murray - Broken Flowers; Vince Vaughn - Wedding Crashers.

(And yes, they were all that great.)

Best Actress:
1a. Keira Knightley
1b. Reese Witherspoon
3. Felicity Huffman
4. Charlize Theron
5. Judi Dench

Here's why Reese or Keira should win. Deglam was in. Now, it is slightly out. Now, impressions are in. Really, any SNL cast member can do either of those. Reese and Keira take already established characters and spin their own interpretation. Huffman is good, but I didn't see much past the voice. She carries the film with dignity, but I doubt she'd be here if she wasn't on Desperate Housewives. Judi Dench is always a classy prescense, and Charlize Theron is far too a firecracker of an actress for a safe, Oscar-bait film like North Country.
Should have been nominated..AND WON: Joan Allen - The Upside of Anger

Best Supporting Actor:
1. Jake Gyllenhaal
2. Matt Dillon
3. William Hurt
4. George Clooney
5. Paul Giamatti

Gosh, the most likely winners are easily the two worst in this category. Giamatti was due, but why give it to him for such a cliched, lifeless performance. Clooney is only here because it's the Year of Clooney. Hurt is strange, scary, funny, thrilling and over the top - exactly like the movie he is in. Dillon resonates and proves his worth. Let's talk about Gyllenhaal's dreamy eyes, shall we? The film fully utilizes them to show the hopefullness of a young rodeo rider and finally the tragedy of a middle aged man just barely clinging to what might have been. He's just as Hollywood as Clooney, if that's what voters want. (Sister: actress; Dad: director; Mother: Oscar-nominated screenwriter)
Should have been nominated: Kevin Cosnter - The Upside of Anger

Best Supporting Actress:
1. Amy Adams
2. Michelle Williams
3. Rachel Weisz
4. Catherine Keener
5. Frances McDormand

McDormand's role is what makes people think North Country is nothing but a flashy Lifetime TV Movie: she gets Lou Gehrig's disease halfway through while battling sexual harassment. In Minnesota. I've said enough about Keener. If you've read anything by me, you know how I feel about her and this nomination. I'm not really offended by the nomination in all honesty but a win would piss me off to no end. I've liked Weisz since I first saw her seven or eight years ago. I loved her more in The Shape of Things. No more Mummy movies, lady. Michelle Williams is like a cross between the grace and dignity of Sissy Spacek with the offbeat warmth and quirky comdedic skill of Holly Hunter. She'll last a long time. Amy Adams deserves this. If you've seen the movie, I don't need to explain why. If you don't love her, I don't want to know you. I think what is keeping her from the Oscar is that whole Mira Sorvino/Marisa Tomei thing where their wins are loved in the moment and then thought of as jokes later on.
Should have been nominated (and WON): Maria Bello - A History of Violence. Her stylized performance is the kind that makes Nic and Naomi envious.

Best Original Screenplay:
1. Crash
2. Good Night and Good Luck
3. Match Point
4. The Squid and the Whale
5. Syriana

Crash gets it mostly for the dialogue even if the film too occasionally falls into melodrama and selfrighteousness. Good Night and Good Luck is far more a director/actor's film.

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Brokeback Mountain
2. Capote
3. The Constant Gardener
4. A History of Violence
5. Munich

Turning a beloved short story into a film, all the while expanding its horizons is a tricky task. Most adaptations subtract, this one adds. And you know they want to reward Larry McMurtry.

Best Art Direction:
1. King Kong
2. Memoirs of a Geisha
3. Good Night and Good Luck
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Best Cinematography:
1. The New World
2. Brokeback Mountain
3. Good Night and Good Luck
4. Memoirs of a Geisha
5. Batman Begins

Apparently, black and white is, like, really tough to film in. But GNGL wasn't filmed in black and white, it was filmed in color. I really don't know if that makes it anymore difficult. What I do know: the discovery and dawning of America and the Wyoming *coughCanadaiancough* vistas sure are prettier. Ignorance is bliss.

Best Costume Design:
1. Walk the Line
2. Mrs. Henderson Presents
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. Memoirs of a Geisha
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Witherspoon's Carter should inspire a whole new generation of drag queen. And isn't that what one should consider when rewarding a designer?

Best Editing:
1. Crash
2. Walk the Line
3. The Constant Gardener
4. Munich
5. Cinderella Man

RIP Geraldine Peroni. It would have been nice to give you a nomination.

Best Makeup:
1. The Chronicles of Narnia
2. Cinderella Man
(Haven't seen) Star Wars: Episode 3

Best Music - Original Score:
1. Brokeback Mountain
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. The Constant Gardener
4. Memoirs of a Geisha
5. Munich

Brokeback's score is already classic. I'd like to see Gustavo rewarded for all the songs he contributed to the film.....

Best Music - Original Song:
1. Travelin' Thru - Transamerica
2. It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp - Hustle and Flow
3. In the Deep - Crash

....none of Gustavo's songs were nominated. Stupid rules. How I adore that Parton song, though.

Best Sound Editing:
1. King Kong
2. War of the Worlds
3. Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Sound Mixing:
1. King Kong
2. War of the Worlds
3. Walk the Line
4. Chronicles of Narnia
5. Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Visual Effects:
1. King Kong
2. War of the Worlds
3. Chronicles of Narnia

Even though I think Worlds was far more consistent in the previous categories, Kong was bigger.

Best Animated Feature:
1. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
2. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
(Haven't seen) Howl's Moving Castle

Best Documentary:
1. Murderball
2. March of the Penguins

I haven't seen anything else nominated.

And that's who I'm rooting for. How bout you?