'Clever' Ain't So Observant

Though there are plenty of YouTube videos out there that have legitimate film fans and critics talking about the upcoming Oscars, with worthwhile predictions and interesting insights, it's pretty sad that typing in "oscar predictions" leads to this video being first in line...



...which shows that YouTube is still owned by sponsers. Not only does this woman NOT remind me of a film critic, but for making a movie close to January she shows a shocking lack of knowledge about the Oscar race! She lists "Revolutionary Road," "Doubt," and *snicker* "Australia" as major contenders. Obviously if she were a movie fan she would know that (with the small exception of "Doubt) all those movies are pretty much out of the race. No mention of "Milk," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," or "The Reader" are to be found. She doesn't mention "The Dark Knight," and Heath Ledger isn't so much as mentioned (which, considering how that race is going, must be a first at this point). I'm surprised she even mentioned Sally Hawkins in the video.

This is why, fellow Oscar lovers, you make sure you choose your prediction sites/videos carefully. There are informed opinions out there, and you don't have to settle for stuff like this, that seems to be popular just because they have money to advertise. If you want my personal picks for good campaign sites, I have a list of them on the side underneath predictions. I recommend you start clicking and informing yourself.

Hawkins Charming Her Way To Oscars

So far we've had several actors we just know will be front-runners to win an Oscar: Heath Ledger, Sean Penn, Frank Langella, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and so forth. So far though, while some of these actors are favorites to win, most are just favorites to be nominated. Right now though I'd like to list Sally Hawkins as the favorite to win the Best Actress award for her performance in Mike Leighs "Happy-Go-Lucky." The funny thing is, Hawkins performance isn't one you normally think of when you think Oscar. Unlike most Oscar winning performances that are moody, tearful, and overly dramatic, Hawkins character is chirpy, loving, and funny. She makes this movie (which seems like it should be stupid) what it is, and she sucks us in by being as optimistic as posible.

In a year where we have cartoon robots, superheros, and posthumous wins, I think it's about time we seriously consider the possability of a comedic performance being honored in a category where it's so rarely done. While people claim that this is a boring year for Oscars, seeing as how many of the Oscar hopefuls are disapointing (which in turn makes preditions rather...predictable), I feel this is a very exciting Oscar year. I think this is the year where we're going to see a lot of rules get broken, both in nominations and actual wins. January 22nd can't come fast enough.

Boston Film Critics Awards

And now the Boston Film Critics have given out their choices and awards. They are:

Best Picture: WALL•E and Slumdog Millionaire (tie)
Best Actor: Sean Penn for Milk and Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (tie)
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Director: Gus Van Sant for Milk and Paranoid Park
Best Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk
Best Cinematography: Christopher Doyle and Rain Kathy Li for Paranoid Park
Best Documentary: Man on Wire
Best Foreign-Language Film: Let the Right One In
Best Animated Film: WALL•E
Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire
Best New Filmmaker: Martin McDonagh for In Bruges
Best Ensemble Cast: Tropic Thunder

Wow, "Wall-E" is working some magic. Something tells me the final five could be:

Slumdog Millionaire
The Dark Knight
The Curious Case of Benjaman Button
Milk
Wall-e

So where does that leave "Frost/Nixon?" This keeps getting more and more interesting (and it's making that sting from the Golden Globes seem like no big deal now).

New York Film Critics Awards

And the winners of the New York Film Critics Awards are:

• Picture: “Slumdog Millionaire”
• Director: Danny Boyle w/ Loveleen Tandan - “Slumdog Millionaire”
• Actor: Sean Penn - “Milk”
• Actress: Sally Hawkins - “Happy-Go-Lucky”
• Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger - “The Dark Knight”
• Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz - “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
• Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle
• Screenplay: “Slumdog Millionaire” - Simon Beaufoy
• Foreign Picture: “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days”
• Documentary: “Man on Wire”
• Animated Feature: “Wall-E”
• Score: Slumdog Millionaire - “A.R. Rahman”
• Breakout Performance: Sally Hawkins - “Happy-Go-Lucky”
• Debut As Director: Martin McDonagh - “In Bruges”
• Ensemble Performance: Milk”
• 10 Best Pictures (alphabetical)

“Che”
“A Christmas Tale”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“Milk”
“Rachel Getting Married”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“Wall-E”
“The Wrestler”

More love for Slumdog. Will be seeing it later tonight.