Oscarbation: Best Actor Winners 1927-2009

and which of these gentlemen will join the group

javier bardem in 'biutiful'

jeff bridges in 'true grit'

jesse eisenberg in 'the social network'

colin firth in 'the king's speech'

james franco in '127 hours'

Oscarbation: With a Week to Go Here Is the State of the Race

the golden god! well he is a god that we bow to this time of the year. hell i want one!!! this year for the first time in a long time there appears to be a race on in more than one category. some films and performances have gone up, some down, then up and down again. it's been a topsy kind of turvy award season. and to tell the truth i like it. before all the damn critics awards the oscar ruled. every oscar night presented surprises. not all good surprises admittedly but there was a good deal of suspense. it was a time when people at oscar parties voted for who they wanted to win and not who will win because the critics ordained it. well this year there appears, hopefully, to be some backlash to the critics. and that is a good thing. oscar voters are not critics. they are lovers of film and the film industry. i love film. good film. i don't need a film to be canonized by critics or their groups. i firmly believe last year that the academy bowed to the critics with 'the hurt locker'. in truth i know no one, not one person, who thought it was the best film of the year. different maybe but in no way the best.  so perhaps this year the critic's darling will not win and the best picture of the year will win. you know where i'm going. but that's for next time. today is just about...

...the state of the race

best picture

until mid january 'the social network' (the commoner) appeared to be the lock. but the tide began to shift and after winning the pga and the dga guild awards 'the king's speech' (the royal) began to edge up and seems to have overcome the momentum of the facebook film. either would be worthy but i'm going full steam ahead with the royal one. and then there is 'the fighter' which seems to have gained last minute word of mouth. it certainly is most worthy as an also ran but not quite the top spot victory. the race is on with 'the king's speech' in secratariat formation. onward britannia!


best director


it's tom hooper (royal) vs david fincher (commoner).
i believe fincher gets the oscar here as 'the king' walks away with the top prize. however hooper won the dga. it's a horse race to the finish but at this point fincher by a nose. personally i'd go chris nolan for 'inception' but for some god forsaken reason he did not score a nomination. fincher gets it as the commoner cannot be ignored as 'the king's speech' proved.


actor


it's a done deal. anyone other than colin firth would be a sham and the major upset of the season. enough said!


actress


first it was benning. then portman. now it's dead heat on the oscar merry-go -round. do they go benning for a lifetime achievement as they did last year with jeff brigges over colin firth or do they go performance and justly award natalie portman? i'm thinking they are smarter than we think. but then again who will the elders vote for? the long standing joke is dolores hope. will she 'get' portman? and then if she does on the other hand won't the dirty old men like jerry lewis and ernest borgine go for the younger sexier (don't forget the lesbian kiss...these old straight geezers love that!) portman. it's portman by a nose at this point but benning's husband, warren beatty, has influence and friends and then more friends. clear a space on your mantle natalie.


supporting actress


a month ago this was melissa leo's ('the fighter') to lose. a self promotion blunder gone awry knocked her down a peg or three. she is in contention with co-star amy adams also. split votes i believe. actually i say ms. adams gave the better performance of the two. ms. leo was just too 'methody' for me. over acting, over the top...thus me thinks for ms. leo it is just over. then there is helena bonham carter for 'the king's speech'. is this her time? it's been 13 years since 'the wings of the dove' brought her to international attention. she has worked ever since commanding attention in everything she appears in. she is now in the front runner for best film. adams and leo split. voters going down ballot sweep her in with picture and mr. firth. it is bonham carter's award to lose now and she would be royally worthy.


supporting actor


only a  royal sweep gets geoffrey rush his second oscar. it would be deserving indeed. but this category is still owned by christian bale as it should be. the only wonderful thing that could really happen would be a tie. trust me...it will not happen.






this is the state of the race. i keep up with it. i read everything i can on it. it's the gay super bowl for gods sake. yes gods not god's. 


later this week i'll give my final thoughts including tech awards most all of which i'd give 'inception'. but i wonder if most academy members know the difference between visual effects and cinematography? i wonder. if yes 'inception' gets it. if not it's a toss up between the royal and the commoner again. thus we end where we began.

Judi Dench: 'And Furthermore'

the wonderful dame judi in conversation. a must for theatre lovers.

ms. dench won the 1998 best actress in a supporting role for 'shakespeare in love'.

Oscarbation: 25 Years Ago (1985)

best picture: 'out of africa'

best actress: geraldine page 'the trip to bountiful'

best actor: william hurt 'kiss of the spider woman'

best supporting actress: anjelica houston 'prizzi's honor'

best supporting actor: don ameche 'cocoon'

Oscarbation: 50 Years Ago (1960)

best picture: 'the apartment'

best actress: elizabeth taylor 'butterfield 8'

best actor: burt lancaster 'elmer gantry

best supporting actress: shirley jones 'elmer gantry

best supporting actor: peter ustinov 'spartacus'

burt lancaster in 'elmer gantry'

shirley jones in 'elmer gantry'

'the apartment' trailer

Oscarbation: 75 Years Ago (1935)

best picture: 'mutiny on the bounty'

best actress: bette davis in 'dangerous'

best actor: victor mclaglen in 'the informer'

*the supporting acting categories would not be created until the following year 1936

Oscarbation: 1977

 

today's birthday celebrant vanessa redgrave deservedly won the best supporting actress oscar in 1977 in this lillian hellman tale of friendship. her controversial acceptance speech created quite a stir.

Oscarbation: Luise Rainer

ms rainer won two consecutive wins for 'the good earth' and 'the ziegfeld follies' in 1936 and 1937. ms. rainer turned 101 on january 12th. belated wishes luise.

1936 'the ziegfeld follies'

the scene that got her the gold

1937 'the good earth'

The Worst Film of 2010 in Film: 'Alice in Wonderland'; Worst Actor, Actress and Director

'alice in wonderland' was one big mess. a waste of a whole lot of talent namely tim burton, johnny depp and helena bonham carter. the only actor who belonged in this waste of film was the annual winner for 'worst actress' ann hathaway. her yearly worst win is getting to be a bit of a bore. she is the only actress that could make a person root for the evil queen. enuf already.

unfortunately i'm not happy to award johnny depp the 'worst actor' of 2010 award for this same inane mess.

fittingly i have to give tim burton 'worst director' of 2010.

it's time for burton and depp to move on from each other. 'charlie and the chocolate factory' seems a masterpiece compared to this disaster.

worst actor of 2010: johnny depp in 'alice in wonderland'

(this pains me)

worst actresses of 2010: a tie!

(to be honest i couldn't make up my mind)

kim cattrall in 'sex and the city' and 'the ghost writer'

and

anne hathaway in 'alice in wonderland'

(it boggles the mind how these two women get parts in any movie)

worst director of 2010: tim burton for 'alice in wonderland'

It's Time for Serious Oscarbation to Begin

'Social Network' Appears to be the Juggernaut to Beat

based on the critics picks anyhow. but will the majority of oscar voters pick a well written, directed, edited and acted film about some of the most despicable people EVER for best picture. they might; i hope they might not. it will make my best of 2010 but not THE best of 2010. spending two hours with this group was almost as bad as being a guest when 'rachel getting married' got married. i said almost!

but hell i'm the guy who still can't figure out 'the hurt locker' over 'avatar', 'up in the air', 'precious' and 'the blind side' last year.

My Favorite Films of the Year

with a few films yet to see it's time to look back at some of my favorite films of 2010. are they the best films of 2010? well they are as far as i'm concerned. will they get oscar noms? not all of them but so what. they are films that in one way or another moved me, touched my spirit, made me laugh or cry or taught me something about real life, possible life or made up life. they all made me think. i would revisit all of them again and in some cases i already have and one of them more than twice revisited. they are the movies i've recommended over the past eleven months and still recommend. i am not a critic in the strict sense of the word although i am quite critical. i'm an opinionist. and i am damn opinionated. at some point after the new year i'll opinionate on my top films of the year. and the worst. and there were so many worst this year as there is every other year. but my worst are those that had the pretense to believe they could/would be the best.

a best:

'shutter island'

the first major film of the year starred the ever growing leonardo dicaprio. martin scorcese directed it and it was a whole new ballgame for him. i think it's his best film. i mean even he seemed to have had enough of gangsters and crooked cops. i'm glad he did. this is a masterpiece of storytelling. it opened in february so the short term memory of the oscar voters may forget it. they shouldn't.

besides the brilliant performance by dicaprio there is the wonderful michelle williams, mark rufalo in the first of two worthy roles this year ('the kids are alright') and the should be nominated as actress in a supporting role the always terrific patricia clarkson. 

simply put it's a story of madness. it's a mystery. i know it's a good mystery because i did not figure it out. therefore it went above and beyond the formular most films follow. not since 'the sixth sense' has a hollywood mystery caught me this much off guard.

i gave it ***stars when it came out. i should up it to ***1/2 stars as no other mystery surpassed it this year.
'shutter island' is available on dvd and blu ray.

i hope hollywood surprises me and gives this film it's due with noms come february. i just won't bet the house on it!

Franco and Hathaway to Host Oscars

well perhaps they got it half right. perhaps.
franco is that half. hathaway oy vay!

Oscarbation: Outlook on Best Picture Nominees So Far

 the state of the race early on

The Leading 10:
1. The Social Network
2. The King’s Speech
3. Black Swan
4. 127 Hours
5. True Grit
6. The Kids Are All Right
7. Inception
8. Toy Story 3
9. The Fighter
10. For Colored Girls

a reminder: this time last year 'up in the air' stood at number 1

'The Social Network': ***stars

a likeable cast lifts lifts a story of mostly dislikable characters. and with all his whimsy and childish charm jesse eisenberg can't make facebook founder, well more like facebook thief, mark zuckerberg, any less despicable than he actually is/was.

still aaron sorkin authors an amazingly involving screenplay, brilliantly directed by david fincher and deftly edited by kirk baxter and angus wall. but this does not a 'best picture' make. well not for me at any rate.

the real kudos for me go to andrew garfield as the blindsided and betrayed eduardo saverin and armie hammer in the dual role of the less than shall i say intelligent winklevoss brothers, tyler and cameron, who are more brawn than brain. i actually thought real life twins were playing these real life twins. this is the best dual role play since hayley mills in 'the parent trap'. quite a feat mr. hammer.

okay the bottom line is this: if you are an oscarbater go see it. it will be nominated for multiple awards unless the next two and a half months bring multiple surprises which i doubt. but who knows? for me it's a nominee not a winner.  but then again 'the english patient', 'out of africa' and 'the hurt locker' were winners. so all bets off.

also ask yourself this: do you really really care enough about the history of facebook. truly i don't.

'The Town' ***1/2stars

like most i wondered if ben affleck's first directorial effort, 'burn baby burn', was a one time fluke. well we need wonder no more. with 'the town' he is proving himself to be a director to be reckoned with. and he gets everything out of his cast that they have to give with no holds barred. 'the town' is a damn good film.

it has oscar noms wriiten all over it at the moment. there are three months to go.

and he directs himself better than anyone else has. unlike streisand who can give herself no direction, ben keeps his own performance in check. and who the hell is rebecca hall? keep this woman working. she goes to the head of my class. and damn blake lively breaks out as a strung out single mom leaving her rather glamorous image way in the dust. give her a supporting nom now! 

run now to see this film...yes film. it soars way above 'movie'. it's almost a work of art. keep on directing ben. you're a natural.

Oscarbation: The King’s Speech Wins Big at Toronto

oscarbation 2010-2011 has officially begun

"Twilight: Eclipse" ***stars

with a new director at the helm, david slade, what is eclipsed this time around is just another vampire movie. mr. slade knows his material. he has gotten to know the actors. he has made a semi-classic romance almost bordering on romantic tragedy. or is falling madly for an undead already the tragedy. well not if you are bella swan. yet who knows that may still happen.



the oft too brooding bella swan now broods with a newfound sensuality. the twosome of bella and the vampire edward cullen begins taking a turn while the mostly in the shadows jacob the werewolf comes out swinging front and center. there is a kiss that could change everything or not. there are glances and stares that have multiple possibilities. yes edward? yes jacob? bella what is going on with the three of you. powerful sensuality with so many unanswered questions. can a human, a vampire, and a shape shifting werewolf ever really get questions answered? their feelings sorted? bella will she or won't she? edward will he or won't he? does this leave jacob with the winning ace?



kristen stewart bursts forward as a new sensual bella...more comfortable in her own skin making her that much more pleasing to us and more able for us to care about and care for. you've made me care bella.



taylor lautner gets a meatier role and just gets meatier. edward asks 'does he ever wear a shirt'. no he doesn't and we don't want him too wear one. he is a better defined jacob now physically and emotionally. he has the acting chops and now gets to truly show them along with those abs.



but it is robert pattinson who truly shines as the vampiric edward cullen. he is the real star here. he shines in every frame he is in. he shows more emotion in one word or one single gesture than most actors of his generation. some compare him to james dean. i say the brilliant montgomery clift. as the movie year is now half over i see only two potential best oscar actor nominees: leo decaprio for 'shutter island' and yes mr. pattinson for this 'eclipse'. i'll nominate him. this is the type of film that is overlooked. his performance should not be. i plan on pushing him as i pushed and cheered on sandra bullock last time around. we all know how that turned out! i only said a nomination so far.



besides the three leads there is the battle. the vampires and wolves team up to do battle with the 'newbies', a wild and undisciplined crazed new born gang of vampires, headed by the queen of mean vampire victoria. the goal is to kill bella to get even with edward. the battle is a rousing edge of the seat scene brilliantly editet sequence.

bravo mr. slade and a damn good supporting cast.

taylor and kirsten and robert bask in the glory you deserve

robert think about getting a tux*.



*i believe this is the official start of oscarbation 2010

Oscarbation: Sandra the Final Oscar Post for the Best of 2009

Oscarbation: One Final Look at the Winners of 2009