Not Nostradamus

My Oscar predictions turned out to be shocking for a person that has spent far too much time in the cinema when homework really is far more pressing. Although there were a few suprises that made my set of nods even worse than I expected it really was a poor showing. My reasons behind the choices were all sound and I would contest that they were all the most worthy winners but the problem is the thousands of members of the academy don't agree. I think I went wrong in picking the performances/films that I liked rather than the ones that were most likely to win, although it was conceivable that they all could have "scooped the gongs" as the Sun almost always says in reference to awards.

Viola Davis was the loser that I was most gutted about. She's an actress that has done the rounds on American TV shows and gone uncredited in loads of average films and in Doubt she comes out of nowhere like some hurricane of raw emotion and conflicted inner turmoil. She has one, amazing, gut wrenching, beautifully authentic scene and holds her own at the very least and steals the show from Meryl Streep at best, a difficult thing to do under any circumstances. Angelina Jolie loss to Kate Winslet was slightly annoying, if inevitable, and would have been a shock for me to use as justification of my cinematic insight for decades to come. The Reader wasn't that good; Changeling was and (dare I say it) poor old Angelina seems to have been done on being slightly less credible in her past career than wholesome, artistic Kate. Sean Penn wasn't a suprise given his role as a homosexual civil activist a role that appeals to Hollywood's liberal sensibility and the fact that he is brilliant (if not a little Acting with a capital A) in Milk always helps. I did feel sorry for Mickey Rourke though as he had been practically assured of his Oscar and the vindication that it would have applied to his Lazarusesque comeback. David Fincher will be wondering what exactly he has to do to win best director and the only answer is probably don't release a film in the same year sa Slumdog Millionaire. Despite this no-one can really begrudge Danny Boyle the award; he's British, hes made consistently good films over many years and he's grounded enough to fufill his tigger promise to his children during the biggest moment of his career.

Smugdog swept the board and at least garnered me one correct prediction as well as a tide of good will for the whole ceremony. It is a quality film and probably the best behind Frost/Nixon in my opinion of the awards season. Heath Ledger winning wasn't exactly a prediction and was more a certainty but his performance merited it. There will be those that see his death as being the deciding factor but I don't think that could be more wrong. As the Joker he is startling, a fully formed maelstrom of a character that bares no resemblance to any human let alone himself. This is a rare thing in modern cinema, in a culture where Tom Cruise can play a Samauri with beautiful hair and Kate Hudson can play a high flying lawyer in Bride Wars. I hope he is lauded for it for years to come. Apparently Daniel Day Lewis could be in line to play the Joker in the next Batman ,a spectacle which could even surpass Ledger's reptilian turn. This would be incredible and a fitting testament to a brilliant piece of work.