Oscar Recap

No I didnt watch a sigle second of the most overrated award show. I dont care about who is wearing what on the red carpet and i really hate all special tributes and life time achievements. I do care however about what the awards stand for, and that is best in the movie business. I will break down some of the major awards and give my thoughts.

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:
Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton)
Philip Hoffman (Charlie Wilson's War)
Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild)
Casey Afflect (Assasination of Jesse James)

Winner: Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men). This is the only category where I have seen 4 out of 5 of the nominees so take my opinion for whats its worth, however I feel the Academy would have had a hard time going wrong with any of these. I probably liked Casey Afflect a little more than Javier Bardem, but this is a strong category this year. I will say this was Casey Afflects break out year, he is one of the better actors in Hollywood, much better than big bro.

Best Actress: Havent seen any of these movies.
Best Supporting Actress: Havent seen any of these movies.

I dont want to sound sexist but I think this was a weak year for performances by the ladies. Not that I see or know all the good movies out there, but the only movie I saw with a a nomination in those two big categories was Juno. I will give special mention for a wonderful performance from, Ellen Page. She was very good in that movie. If anybody has any insight on these films, I would love to hear it.

Best Actor

Nominees:
George Clooney (Michael Clayton)
Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd)
Viggo Mortenson (Eastern Promises)
Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah)

Winner: Daniel Day Lewis. Havent seen In the Valley of Elah or Sweeney Todd but the other three men did give very good performances. However Daniel Day Lewis was in different world than these other guys. I would argue that it is the best performance of the last ten years. I would of liked to see him give his speech and see him out of character. He rarely does television appearances. He is beginning to rack up academy awards however. He definately made it cool to drink the milkshake.

Best Director:
Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)
Jason Reitman (Juno)
Julian Schabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

Winner: Joel and Ethan Coen. I am torn with this one. My two favorite films of the year are No Country and There Will Be Blood nothing is even that close. I think I would have to go against my two all-time favorites if I had a pick. I just thought the look and feel of There Will Be Blood was amazing. Paul Thomas Anderson, took this movie and screenplay from a book just like the Coen's the only difference was I think I got more out of Anderson's movie. When I left the theatre I was kind of in shock and didnt know what to think and few movies do that to me.

Best Movie:
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Winner: No Country for Old Men. Like I this was in my top 2 movies of the year, I just have it number 2. I loved everything about this movie, from dialogue, to acting, to visuals, to storyline. I just enjoyed the powerful performance of Lewis a little more than anything No Country had. I would say both of these movies are deserving in what was a great year for movies.

My top 5 movies of 07 (Didnt want to do this until Into the Wild hit on DVD but here goes it)

5- Assasination of Jesse James: This film got no love from the Academy but I absolutey thought it was one of the best westerns I have ever seen. The movie follows Jesse James in the last days of his life. Like There Will Be Blood it is has more of a theatrical feel than a regular movie, and is a character study. However there are some great performances, and some very chilling scenes.

4- Eastern Promises: This movie wasnt great, but if you enjoy crime films like I do, it was something fresh. However there is one scene that should of been cut completely from this film.

3- Juno: I reccommend everyone going to see this film. It is absolutely wonderful. It will make you feel good when you leave even though it dives into some pretty tough subject matter. Great story with very good performances.

2- No Country for Old Men: I believe it comes out Tuesday and I want to see it again, but I loved it the first time. I disagree with the academy a little but its hard to argue with this pick.

1- There Will Be Blood: Seeing Daniel Day Lewis alone would make this best picture worthy, but an intense story about a man dealing with his faith, passion, and greed make this one my favorite of the year.