Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Oscar Week: The Supporting Players

Best Supporting Actress
Frances McDormand (North Country) Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) Catherine Keener (Capote) Amy Adams (Junebug)


This category seems to be a one horse race, Rachel Weisz has basically won every other award for this movie that anyone could have won. Michelle Williams and Amy Adams are relative non factors here. Weisz strongest competition comes from the always steady Francis McDormand (she is like the Craig Biggio of movie actresses) and Catherine Keener. Keener’s performance was very understated throughout the movie, but then afterward you realize how much she brought to the table, almost the moral conciousness of Truman Capote. I would not be surprised to see an upset in this category, but Weisz was terrific in The Constant Gardener and deserves the award. MY PICK: Rachel Weisz PREDICTION: Rachel Weisz

Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney (Syriana) Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man) Matt Dillon (Crash) Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) William Hurt (A History of Violence)


Much like the previous category this one has some heavyweights battling it out. Again, Matt Dillon has emerged as a favorite for his strong performance as the Racist cop in Crash. Clooney was good, but Syriana was a strong ensamble and while Gyllenhaal was also good, Brokeback was completely driven by Heath Ledger. However, the one man who stood out above everyone was Paul Giamatti in Cinderella Man. He absolutely stole the show, even when he was in scenes with someone as good as Russell Crowe. Giamatti was the driving force behind the whole movie, and when he was on screen you were excited to see what he had to bring to the table. MY PICK: Paul Giamatti PREDICTION: Paul Giamatti

Documentary FilmThe Smartest Guys in the Room, Murderball, March of the Penguins, Darwins Nightmare, Streetfight


Sometimes this category is a no brainer, like 2 years ago with Farenheit 9/11, however this year this category is as hotly contested as the Best Picture category. The odds on favorite is the box office smash March of the Penguins. Streetfight and The Smartest Guys in the Room are compelling documentaries about people in the business and political world and are both very well done. My personal favorite is Murderball about the wheelchair based sport. It is a violent game and the competition is fierce and the filmmakers brought you right inside this world which is what a documentary is supposed to do. MY PICK: Murderball PREDICTION: March of the Penguins

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home