Oscar Hopefuls… « therealplister.com

Oscar Hopefuls…

I’ve gone through the major Academy Award categories and made my predictions based on the nominations. I’ll admit, 2007 was not my favorite year for movies, and while I usually can easily appreciate higher art films that tend to be the obvious nominations, I must admit that I was secretly hoping for “Transformers” to sweep in a number of categories (Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role/ Optimus Prime, Best Actress in a Supporting Role/ Megan Fox, etc…), but it only managed to get nominations in the minor and technical categories. Either way, here they are:

Best Picture

“Atonement”
“Juno”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”

Based on the Golden Globe Awards, “No Country for Old Men” seems to be a very obvious favorite, and it was definitely a great movie, but I definitely preferred “There Will Be Blood” overall. Paul Thomas Anderson really did an amazing job with this film, and while it doesn’t top “Magnolia,” I believe it holds the top position in this category.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

George Clooney- “Michael Clayton”

Daniel Day-Lewis- “There Will Be Blood”

Johnny Depp- “Sweeney Todd”

Tommy Lee Jones- “In the Valley of Elah”

Viggo Mortensen- “Eastern Promises”

No one can argue against Daniel Day-Lewis’s acting ability. We don’t see this guy on screen nearly often enough and he does an especially amazing job in this role. I think he’s got this category locked up. Then again, last year I was rooting for DiCaprio over Whitaker, but I feel pretty confident in this pick.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett- “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”

Julie Christie- “Away From Her”

Marion Cotillard- “La Vie En Rose”

Laura Linney- “The Savages”

Ellen Page- “Juno”

Not too familiar with the roles in this category, except for “Juno,” but regardless I would really like to see her take this category. I thought “Juno” was slightly overrate, but Ellen Page’s performance in it was not, I dug her in this. From hearsay, her biggest competition sounds like it would be Julie Christie, which I can’t argue for or against, so I’ll just stick with my hopes for Page.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Casey Affleck- “The Assassination of Jesse James”

Javier Bardem- “No Country for Old Men”

Philip Seymour Hoffman- “Charlie Wilson’s War”

Hal Holbrook- “Into the Wild”

Tom Wilkinson- “Michael Clayton”

Here’s another personal preference. If there was one thing that was exceptional about “Charlie Wilson’s War” it was Hoffman as a smartass spy. Clearly a very versatile actor who I’d like to see walk away with this award, although the favorite seems to be Javier Bardem, who did a great job as a rogue hitman in “No Country,” so I can’t complain if I see him walk away with this one, but I’m pulling for Hoffman.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Cate Blanchett- “I’m Not There”

Ruby Dee- “American Gangster”

Saoirse Ronan- “Atonement”

Amy Ryan- “Gone Baby Gone”

Tilda Swinton- “Michael Clayton”

I’m basing this mostly on hearsay, but I think Cate Blanchett will score this one for playing a personality of Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.” She, specifically, received major critical acclaim for this role, and from what I’ve heard, her only threat could be Amy Ryan, whose name has also been kicked around as a likely candidate among the nominees.

Best Directing

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”

“Juno”

“Michael Clayton”

“No Country for Old Men”

“There Will Be Blood”

No one does murder and dirty money better than the Coen Brothers. While I’m a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson, my gut tells me that they’ll win out over “There Will Be Blood,” and they’re probably bound to walk away with Best Picture, contrary to my hopes.

Looks like the top contenders are “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men,” and “There Will Be Blood” this year, and there’s no doubt it’s a very tight competition between the three. Again, it’s a strange year for Oscar-worthy movies. The summer had such a phenomenal line up of popcorn movies like “Transformers,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “Ocean’s Thirteen,” “Knocked Up,” and “Superbad” that I almost swore off movies of any substance whatsoever, so it was difficult for me to get into the Oscar experience, but for the most part, a lot of these films are definitely worthy.

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