Overall, I liked the evening. First: the host. I was originally skeptical of Jon Stewart's ability. But he satisfied me. Much better than Chris Rock, not as good as Billy Crystal, and slightly above Steve Martin. I'm glad he didn't make it overly political, and his jokes were more to praise the films and stars than to bash them (unlike Chris Rock). I would certainly be open to him hosting again.
As for surprises, it was dull in the beginning. Throughout the evening I was beginning to realize that it was the most predictable oscar telecast on record, even worse than last year. Then, at the last minute CRASH! I did not see that coming! It changed the night right around for me. They actually awarded the most deserving film! Interestingly, this is the first time since 1983 that the best picture winner wasn't even nominated for the Golden Globe! Do you realize how statistically improbable Crash's win was? Man! This sure beats the disappointing 2005 year. Still not as good as 2004, but pretty close. Furthermore, I think that almost every category actually went to the most deserving nominee (George Clooney is a big exception).
The total tallies are something worth noticing. The fascinating thing: this is the first time since 1948 that no film wins more than 3 awards! That's amazing. Even more amazing is that it was a four-way tie between Crash, Brokeback, Kong, and Memoirs. Everything else just got one. That is so strange. It must mean that it was a very competitive year.
How I did, I correctly predicted 17/24, with four of the others being my alternate pick. So better than last year at least. I got the highest score of anybody at my oscar party, thus I won a DVD of Minority Report. That's a good film as well.
So my thoughts about the individual categories are below. The winners are in BOLD and my personal pick is in Italics.
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Best Picture 1. Brokeback Mountain 2. Crash 3. Munich 4. Good Night, and Good Luck 5. Capote |
OH MY GOD! That was my reaction when this winner was read by Jack "The Man" Nicholson. Just when it was turning out to be the most predictable year on record, BAM! Crash sticks it up Brokeback's...(uh, you know). This was so well-deserved. Crash was such an important film, mostly because it's one that we can all learn something from, no matter who we are. Even though I was wrong, I couldn't be happier being wrong. |
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Best Director 1. Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) 2. Paul Haggis (Crash) 3. George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck) 4. Steven Spielberg (Munich) 5. Bennett Miller (Capote) |
This was the most likely outcome of the evening, so I don't think anybody was surprised in the least. But it couldn't have gone to anybody more deserving. Now we can scratch Lee off of our list of directors we still need to give an oscar to (next on the list: Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Peter Weir, Tim Burton...). This makes me wonder how close Brokeback was to winning picture. |
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Best Actor 1. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) 2. Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain) 3. Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line) 4. Terrence Howard (Hustle and Flow) 5. David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) |
No surprise here, but Hoffman did deserve this by a mile, no question. His performance was truly brilliant. My only disappointment: didn't he promise his drinking buddies that if he were to win an oscar, he would bark his speech? I was so waiting for him to do that, but nothing. Well-deserved though. |
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Best Actress 1. Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) 2. Felicity Huffman (Transamerica) 3. Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice) 4. Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents) 5. Charlize Theron (North Country) |
I'm glad she won not just to see good-looks return to this category, but to officially establish her as the new Julia Roberts in town. I think everybody is now officially in love with her. |
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Best Supporting Actor 1. Matt Dillon (Crash) 2. George Clooney (Syriana) 3. Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man) 4. Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) 5. William Hurt (A History of Violence) |
This was my big disappointment for four reasons. First, Clooney really did not have the best performance, and his win was merely compensation for his other two unavoidable losses. Second, in the category where it seemed most likely for an upset, it goes to the guy with the slight probability edge. Third, my bold Matt Dillon prediction was incorrect, thus proving my oscar instincts are not as sharp as I had hoped. And forth, because I'm politically biased against Clooney, but I was glad to see he didn't make his speech political. |
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Best Supporting Actress 1. Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) 2. Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) 3. Amy Adams (Junebug) 4. CatherineKeener (Capote) 5. Frances McDormand (North Country) |
I was somewhat hoping for an upset here as well, but instead it goes to the person with the slight edge. Funny how the big surprise of the night comes from the category that seemed the most certain (picture). I still don't think Weisz deserved it as much as Williams or Adams, but at least the film itself got an award. |
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Best Original Screenplay 1. Crash 2. Good Night, and Good Luck 3. Syriana 4. Match Point 5. The Squid and the Whale |
No question here. It was superbly the best screenplay of the batch. It's also interesting to see Good Night walk away with zero wins. That really makes me happy. |
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Best Adapted Screenplay 1. Brokeback Mountain 2. Capote 3. Munich 4. The Constant Gardener 5. A History of Violence |
No surprise here. These two screenplays had been the frontrunners for quite some time. It's also interesting to see Munich not win a thing either. It's not that common that two out of the five best picture nominees not win anything. |
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Best Art Direction 1. Memoirs of a Geisha 2. King Kong 3. Good Night, and Good Luck 4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 5. Pride and Prejudice |
Yes, Memoirs deserved it. I have nothing to add. |
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Best Cinematography 1. Brokeback Mountain 2. Good Night, and Good Luck 3. Memoirs of a Geisha 4. Batman Begins 5. The New World |
This was a bit of a shocker. Particularly shocking to see Memoirs win a third award. And when Brokeback lost this, I realized it's total number of wins was looking pretty low. I still think Brokeback deserved it more though. |
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Best Editing 1. Crash 2. Munich 3. The Constant Gardener 4. Walk the Line 5. Cinderella Man |
Yeah, that's my man Hughes. This was one of the most deserved. Never have I noticed editing in film so prominantly as I did in Crash. So glad to see him win this one. |
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Best Costumes 1. Memoirs of a Geisha 2. Pride and Prejudice 3. Walk the Line 4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 5. Mrs. Henderson Presents |
Not much surprise here. Memoirs did deserve it. But three wins? |
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Best Makeup 1. The Chronicles of Narnia 2. Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith 3. Cinderella Man |
No surprise. But I'm really sad to see the great Star Wars saga come to a close and get completely overlooked by the oscars. I so would have liked to see it make a triumphant exit by winning at least one award. But no. So sad. |
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Best Visual Effects 1. King Kong 2. War of the Worlds 3. The Chronicles of Narnia |
Obvious choice, and (in the absense to Star Wars) well-deserved. However, since these four guys won this category four out of the last five years, I think that might be pushing it a little. And in some sense, I would have liked to see Andy Serkis included in this win. I mean, it was all him. |
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Best Sound 1. Walk the Line 2. King Kong 3. War of the Worlds 4. Memoirs of a Geisha 5. The Chronicles of Narnia |
I fail to understand how Ray can win this category and Walk the Line doesn't. What's the difference in sound quality really? Maybe it was because Kong was the competition, and frankly, yes it deserved it. |
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Best Sound Editing 1. King Kong 2. War of the Worlds 3. Memoirs of a Geisha |
Another obvious choice, but I still wouldn't have been surprised by a War of the Worlds upset. With three wins, Kong is in the ranks of the best picture winner, which means it should have been nominated for picture. That's my opinion. |
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Best Score 1. Brokeback Mountain 2. Memoirs ofa a Geisha 3. Munich 4. Pride and Prejudice 5. The Constant Gardener |
My theory proves true. Even if your work is better than that of the other nominees, you won't win if you are a previous winner and your work isn't as good as your own previous winning work. Such was the case. John Williams' Memoirs score was the best of the bunch, but it wasn't nearly as good as his winning work in Star Wars, E.T., Raiders, etc. Therefore, the win had to go to the overly simplistic Brokeback. I'm glad to see myself get this one right while most were saying Memoirs. |
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Best Song 1. Transamerica 2. Crash 3. Hustle and Flow |
This win had to be one of the highlights of the evening. I was hoping to see Dolly win for her lovely ballad. But the Three Mafia Six boys really lit up the night and made it much more amusing. Strangely, this is the second time in the last four years that this category went to a rap. I guess this really paves the way for future raps getting nominated. |
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Best Animated Film 1. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 2. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride 3. Howl's Moving Castle |
Obvious, but undeserved. Tim Burton really deserved this for his breathtaking tale of love in the wake of death. Not a children's tale about a cheese-eating rabbit-nabber and his silent canine. Burton will win one some day though (I hear he's working on a biopic of Robert Ripley starring Jim Carrey! Sounds great). |
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Best Foreing Language Film 1. Tsotsi 2. Paradise Now 3. Sophie Scholl 4. Merry Christmas 5. Don't Tell |
My theory proves true I knew the Palestinian film would not win because of one simple fact: the academy is Jewish! Thus paves the way for the Tsotsi win. |
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Best Documentary Feature 1. March of the Penguins 2. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room 3. Darwin's Nightmare 4. Murderball 5. Streetfigtht |
No surprise here. It was cute to see the guys bring stuffed penguins on stage. We all know that's what the audience really wanted to see. |
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Best Documentary Short 1. The Death of Kevin Carter 2. God Sleeps in Rwanda 3. The Mushroom Club 4. A Note to Triumph |
I think almost everybody got this one wrong. I'm at least glad I didn't go along with the Rwanda bandwagon and thought for myself. I can't explain why anybody wins these, but they do. |
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Best Short Film 1. The Runaway 2. Six Shooter 3. Our Time is Up 4. Cashback 5. The Last Farm |
My second choice. Dang. I've really got to find a better source for predicting these short categories. |
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Best Animated Short Film 1. The Moon and the Son 2. 9 3. The Mysterious Geographic 4. One Man Band 5. Badgered |
Yes! Got one of the miniscule categories correct. It just sounded like a very personal tale that would break hearts. |