Oscarbation: A Look Back at 2003 for Best Actress

looking back on 2003 it was a pretty good year for the nominees in this category. a younger actress was rightfully nominated, a semi legend got in, and three other brilliant performances made the list.

and the nominees were:

#5 diane keaton in 'somethings got to give' somehow got a nom. longevity perhaps? a dark horse deservedly left in the dark. i have just never 'got' ms keaton. perhaps i never will.

#4 samantha morton was just wonderful in 'in america' and someday she may score a win as she is damn good in most all of her performances.

#3 keisha castle-hughes was a surprise nominee for 'the whale rider'. a younger actress who snuck by the supporting nomination where they are generally placed. her performance was touching and believable. her nom in and of itself was a win.

#2 naomi watts nominee was brilliant in '27 grams'.  she gets better and better film after film. one day she may take the statue home.

#1 charlize theron in 'monster' won the award portraying serial killer aileen wournos and there was never any doubt she would. a brilliant performance that ranks among the best of oscar wins. it was the role of a lifetime that has yet to be matched by the actress herself. perhaps that is asking too much.

the beautiful charlize theron as opposed to the monster pictured above. damn that's a real transformation.

Ranking the Best Actress Wins So Far

#1 katharine hepburn in 'the lion in winter'

#2 sophia loren in 'two women'

#3 glenda jackson in 'women in love'

#4 maggie smith in 'the prime of miss jean brodie'

#5 barbra streisand in 'funny girl'

#6 helen hunt in 'as good as it gets'

#7 julie andrews in 'mary poppins'

#8 marie dressler in 'min and bill'

#9 greer garson in 'mrs miniver'

#10 helen hayes in 'coquete'

#11 janet gaynor in 'seventh heaven'

#12 mary pickford in 'sins of madelon claudet'

#14 norma shearer in 'the divorcee'

#15 katharine hepburn in 'morning glory'

#16 elizabeth taylor in 'butterfield 8'

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 2001 for Best Actress

2001 was a good year for the best actress nominations. all were deserving but only one could win. a rare comedy performance was nominated which is always a breathe of fresh air. a musical nominee emerged from, for me at least, an unlikelyplace. and then three amazing dramatic turns shined. here they are, the talented women of 2001...

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#5 renee zellweger in 'bridget jones's diary'

renee gave a charming performance as the lovelorn bridget in the title role. i always find it refreshing when a comedic turn is recognized in the lead actress category. her british acent worked. i find it amazing that brits can do 'american' but most american actors trying to do 'brit' fall flat.

#4 nicole kidman in 'moulin rouge'

a wonderful and to me unexpected musical turn here by ms kidman in one of 2001 best films. however good she was she should have been nominated for 'the others' this year. had that been her nomination she would have placed number two in this grouping.

#3 halle berry in 'monster's ball'

let me start by saying that i worked my ass off for barack obama in 2008. i will do so again for 2012. i like to say i single handedly helped him win florida. i say this before the hate mail starts coming. ms berry gave a wonderful if often overwrought performance in 'monster's ball'. she deserved the nomination but not the win. she won because a win in this category was long overdue to a woman of color and she gave a worthy performance. her follow up work, as with many oscar winners before and after her, shows how slight an actress she really is. yes it was a 'bravura' performance but not the best in 2001.

#2 judi dench in 'iris'

a remarkable, i expect nothing less of, performance by ms dench as iris murdoch and her battle with alzheimer's disease. as good as she was she split screen time with kate winslet as her younger self. ms winslet was rightfully nominated in the supporting category. i believe ms dench should have shared the category as well as the title role. perhaps she may have won there. perhaps.

(as an aside jennifer connelly who won in the supporting category belonged in the lead category. but that is the politics of hollywood)

#1 sissy spacek in 'in the bedroom'

i believed it then. i believe it now. sissy spacek was and remains the best actress of 2001. her range of emotions from the beginning to the end of this film carry us along in this wrenching tragic slice of life film. and in her final moment on film with an icy stare she asks 'is it done' her name should have been engraved on her not to be statue. this is truly ms spacek's best film role. it remains the apex of a long and strong career.

sublime

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1960 for Best Actress

1960 best actress nominees range from the sublime to the ridiculous

#5

elizabeth taylor in 'butterfield 8'

'butterfield 8' simply put was trash. hollywood thought elizabeth was dying after a tracheotomy. paleeze!

even ms taylor said the film was crap and that she was awful in it. it may be the worst performance by a respected actress of all time.

it's a damn shame because two wonderful performances got left in the dark.

ms taylor for 'butterfield 8' is...
the ridiculous!

(in fact: the most ridiculous nomination and win in this field to date)

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#4 greer garson in 'sunrise at campobello'

definitely an also ran performance. it was ralph bellamy's film. ms garson has ms taylor to thank for not placing last.

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#3

melina mercouri in 'never on sunday'

ms mercouri shined as the ilya the proverbial 'prostitute with a heart of gold'. i still love watching her performance every now and then even as the film itself becomes more 'creaky'.

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#2

shirley maclaine in 'the apartment'

ms maclaine was a wonder as fran kubelik in 'the apartment'. it cemented her fate as leading lady and star. being nominated for this best picture winner certainly pumped up her resume.

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#1

deborah kerr in 'the sundowners'

what to do about deborah? ms kerr lost the oscar yet again but this time to a damn tracheotomy. i ask you, beg you, to watch the train sequence where ms kerr as ida, wife of 'sundowner' robert mitchum, eyes her compartment companion. without a single line of dialouge ms kerr lays bare to us ida's very being and her longings of all that might have been but never would be. a superb performance. ms taylor indeed!

the sublime