OscarWatch TV: The two closest big races

Sandra Bullock was wonderful in The Blind Side, but not worthy of getting a oscar, it’s questionable in my opinion if she even deserved the nomination. Having a good year should not equate to an oscar nod. Meryl deserves it, and just because she already has won twice should not be relevent to her winning again. If the Hurt Locker doesn’t win best picture there will be something severely wrong. It will be as bad as when Shapespeare won over Private Ryan

Sandy Bullock all the way! Meryl: We KNOW you’re a great actress. Now let Sandy have her night!

“Shaun Thu 02/04/10 4:28 PMokay to pdy and to everybody else on here, i dont think you realize the oscar voting is different this year! The voting is weighted, Avatar is practically elimnated from the race due to this, because it doesn’t even have an oscar nomination for screenplay. Basically whoever wins best director will be the best picture winner due to the way the oscar voting works this year. Also do not be shocked if Jeremey Renner wins best actor”

I’d be ecstatic (sp?) if Renner won! Anyone that questions his authenticity should not only check the vids of his reaction on The Today Show, but also 12 and Holding, Dahmer, Neo Ned, just to name a few to see why he is a true undiscovered Hollywood gem who finally is getting the attention he’s deserved for awhile. And it’s sad when you’re labeled a “breakout star” when you’ve been working in the business for 15 years already.

Don’t get me wrong, the other four nominess in the Actor race are just as deserving, but they all also have established mainstream somewhat marquee careers (I say somewhat simply b/c of Firth. He’s a mainstream actor, but not as well known as Bridges, Freeman, etc.). I think it would be a truly great moment for Jeremy to go from the guy everyone’s seen in something but can’t remember his name to “Holy shit, that guy won!”.

What about inglourious Basterds

Firstly, Jeff Bridges HANDS DOWN deserves and will win the Lead Actor Oscar this year. He will join the league of actors who have won all four awards: the SAG, BAFTA, Oscar, and Golden Globe for a single performance. (Others were Geoffrey Rush for Shine, Benicio Del Toro for Traffic, Jamie Foxx for Ray, Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote, Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland, Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood, Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men, and Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight.) From the list, you may notice that in recent times, more actors have been winning all four. I’m certain that Christopher Waltz and Monique will pull it off as well. Bridges gave an impeccable performance, and the fact that this is his fifth nomination since 1971 might be some indication that he is clearly the most talented actor in this year’s lead actor race. It’s about time he’s deserved his long-overdue Oscar, but this is not why he should win. He should win because he truly was the best talent this year. He definitely did a better job than Jeremy Renner, although I’d probably give it to Renner after Bridges.

Sandra Bullock, I believe, should still win the Oscar. A lot of people think that she isn’t Oscar material, having never before been nominated, but I watched all five categories very carefully, and Bullock’s performance was excellent. The Oscars always show favoritism to those who are always nominated, etc. Meryl Streep these days doesn’t even do films that garner nominations in any categories other than her own. The Academy seems to have this perception that she deserves a slot nearly every year in the Best Actress category. She truly is an excellent actress, but not any role should be nominated, regardless of how talented the actor/actress is. Meryl Streep’s Julia Child seemed a bit artificial at times (after all, it is her 16th nomination, she probably isn’t even trying anymore). Sometimes I am very aware of the fact that she’s acting, whereas Bullock’s performance seems far more natural. So I think Bullock will maybe win three of the awards (she’s already won the SAG and Golden Globe, and Meryl Streep only won a Golden Globe). BAFTAs typically seem a bit more critical, so I don’t know if they would give it to Bullock, being typically a more commercial actor. It’s sort of like an action star (ex. Bruce Willis) winning an Oscar for a performance like in Pulp Fiction. But then, people have totally turned around. Clint Eastwood, one of the greats in the 60s, never got an Oscar nomination until 1992, simply because of the kinds of films he did then and what he does now.

And considering the fact that the Best Director award is so closely linked to Best Picture, I’m going to have to go with Avatar for both, especially with the momentum behind James Cameron and Titanic. I also thought the Hurt Locker was a bit boring at times, but overall decent. Avatar was an excellent film, and I usually hate films of that type. However, you have to be very open-minded while watching it. Also, this script was written nearly 15 years ago, and James Cameron has put in FAR more effort than Kathryn Bigelow and he did not half-ass anything, which is really what is commendable. I don’t typically think much of directors who find a good script, because it doesn’t take a whole lot of creative talent on their part.