Fandango Awards Watch
Fandango Film Commentator
Fandango Film Commentator
Best Picture
Chuck Says:
The Academy has a tough choice for this year's Best Picture, but that's a good thing. There is no one dominant movie. There are, however, three emerging from the critics' picks and they are all "bloody good."
No Country for Old Men.
© Miramax Films
It’s a showdown between the Coen Brothers' slow-burning, modern western No Country for Old Men, " P.T. Anderson's even more tightly coiled There Will Be Blood and Tim Burton’s blood-spurting musical, Sweeney Todd.
All three films are deserving. The filmmakers are in complete control over their craft, No Country's Javier Bardem, Blood’s Daniel Day-Lewis and Sweeney’s Johnny Depp deliver unforgettable performances as embodiments of warped humanity, and all three movies are bold cinematic achievements.
The one thing that could throw this race out of whack is the "dark" factor. I think the best picture is No Country for Old Men, although There Will Be Blood is a close second. But I don't know that I would watch them over and over. Objectively, these films should win. Were they my favorites? Umm, no.
Thankfully, 2007 also offered some lighter fare covering a wide range of genres and moods.
Juno deserves Best Picture consideration, not just a Best Screenplay nomination (which is what many great movies over the years [i.e. The Usual Suspects] receive as a consolation prize). Besides the jarring effect of the dialogue in the first ten minutes, the movie's pretty flawless. It has it all - expert direction from Jason Reitman, a breakthrough performance from Ellen Page as a sassy pregnant teen, and a perfect supporting cast.
Another movie that will likely get the nomination, but also deserves a win, is Sean Penn's Into the Wild. You will never forget its one-on-one scenes between Emile Hirsch as young traveler Christopher McCandless and the people he meets: Catherine Keener's hippie mom, Hal Holbrook's grandfather figure and Vince Vaughn's likeable farmer.
© Fox Searchlight
My only other thought is that Once is getting lost in the shuffle (not even one Golden Globe nod [!]). Did it not have enough production value, brand name actors and proven filmmakers behind the scenes? Perhaps it came out too long ago (in the Oscar dog and pony show, last summer was eons ago, unless the film is a conversation starter like “Crash”).
Stacie Says:
At roughly 25 percent, actors make up the largest voting block of the Academy, which is why the Screen Actors Guild Awards have become a great barometer for predicting Oscar nominations—think Little Miss Sunshine and Crash. Although only five of the 11 eventual winners of SAG’s top category have gone on to snag Oscar’s top category, the SAG nominations help inspire Academy voters’ minds when it comes to their own nominations.
© New Line Cinema
With the Guild’s recent nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Cast, the playing field has changed some. I wouldn’t have expected Hairspray or 3:10 to Yuma to be included (perhaps it was all those free DVDs to SAG members?), or Atonement and Charlie Wilson’s War to be completely snubbed without a single nomination in any category for either film. I’m still thinking Atonement will get an Oscar nomination, at least, but that pic’s not looking like the frontrunner it was a few months ago.
It would be awesome if Juno made the nominees list in January—but would the Academy, an older group of voters, go for the lovable comedy about a mouthy, knocked up 16-year-old? Methinks no. It wouldn’t win, in any case.
I wish Ratatouille would make the list, although now that the Academy added the Best Animated Picture category, chances at a Best Pic nom are pretty much non-existent. Still, the incredible animation, along with terrific voice-over work and a wonderful, heartfelt story, make it an absolutely worthy contender.
in American Gangster.
© Universal Pictures
Intriguingly, most of the films noted as Oscar frontrunners are male-centered: American Gangster, No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton, Sweeney Todd and There Will Be Blood all rest on killer performances by their leading men. I think Clayton and Blood will be considered too small for real Best Pic consideration. Gangster was more audience friendly, but will it be considered too big and commercial? Johnny Depp was excellent in Sweeney Todd but its chances at Oscar are about nil despite the Globe best musical/comedy nomination.
My gut feeling says No Country for Old Men, nominated for both a Golden Globe and SAG and on numerous critics’ awards lists, looks right now like the one to beat.
