Oscar Night

Don't be that guy.

So I finally got to see Babel Saturday night, the last of the 5 films up for Best Picture that I'd seen. And I must say, it's my least favorite of the 5. That being said, it's better than last year's winner Crash.

Not a great year for Hollywood, imho. I enjoyed all of the Best Picture nominees, but nothing blew me away. As a matter of fact, I'd rate all of the 2006ers ahead of the overrated, undeserving Crash, but behind 3 of the others up for Best Picture in 2005: Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, and Brokeback Mountain.

Babel was nice. A couple of phenomenal performances from Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza, both justifiably were nominated for Best Supporting Actress. But I've grown a little tired of the whole different-stories-which-all-connect-at-the-end thingy. I recommend seeing this on DVD, just don't expect to be bowled over.


My co-favorite, The Departed, of course won the big prize. And I'm all giddy inside for Marty Scorcese, an honor that was long overdue. It's just a shame that this award came for a film that probably wouldn't rank in his own personal Top 5. While it blows away The Aviator and Gangs of New York, it's definitely no Good Fellas, Mean Streets, Raging Bull, or Taxi Driver. Again, don't expect this going in...or you may be disappointed. Kudos to Marky Mark and Leo, both great performances. Jack has done much better, again imho.

Of the 5 films up for Best Picture, here's my personal list in terms of likability :

1. The Departed
2. Letters From Iwo Jima
3. The Queen
4. Little Miss Sunshine
5. Babel

I was real close to nudging Letters From Iwo Jima to the top spot. I hate to use the word "refreshing" when talking about a war movie, but that's exactly what this was for me. Eastwood does a tremendous job of setting the mood in this one, and taking the perspective from the Japanese side is a well-crafted change of pace. Consequently, he avoids the usage of your cliched, cookie-cutter American G.I. characters that have been so popularized by Hollywood war films of the past.

You know the guys I'm taking about. There's the "even keel" main character, who goes through the film narrating on all the crazy barrack surroundings, and how his new life in the army is so different from his farm life upbringing. There's his buddy, and main "confidant," whose the outcast of his platoon and then tragically dies at some point. Then there's your "nutjob" guy...you know...the character that eats his 3 squares a day with his toes and shoots everything that moves. He's your Jim-Bob, 4x4 driving, meat and potatoes character. Oh..and don't forget your demanding drill sergeant whose good for a few comedic relief one-liners.

In Letters, Eastwood makes a film that avoids all of these conventions. It's probably the best film about war I've seen since...well...since Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, which oddly has a lot of those elements I mentioned in the previous paragraph.


And it pains me to say this, because I prefer little indies like Little Miss Sunshine. I don't like big Hollywood studio movies. I'm that guy. But when I saw Sunshine earlier last year, I just didn't walk away, saying "wow." Again, it's a good movie. Just not great, like I was expecting. It's definitely no Sideways, which I felt was the Best Picture of 2004. I'll revisit Sunshine again to see what I missed. Props to Alan Arkin for his Best Supporting Actor...he was very good.

So that leaves The Queen. Mirren was amazing, and the easy choice for Best Actress. I knew very little about the time surrounding Princess Diana's death. Because to be brutally honest, I didn't really care that much. And when I went to see this at the theatre, I thought going in that it would be my least favorite of the lot. After it's all said and done, it may be borderline Top 10 of the Year material, and may just make my cut ahead of Little Miss Sunshine.

A final note on Best Documentary:

I completely get the message in An Inconvenient Truth, and I highly recommend that everyone sees it for this very reason. However, how this wins an Oscar is beyond me. Was the Academy simply making a political statement? Doesn't surprise me. An Inconvenient Truth is basically a high-end Power Point presentation that's video recorded in front of an audience. Props to Al Gore, and I've got all the respect in the world for this message. I wanna do my part. But message alone does not equal "great film."

The only other doc within the nominees that I'd seen so far is Jesus Camp, which is a much better testament to "film making." However, I'd recommend these 3, as well as Jesus Camp every day of the week ahead of Truth:

• The Devil and Daniel Johnston (so far, my #2 film of the year)
• Wordplay
• Once In a Lifetime

Ok...that last one shows my futbol bias. Still, a nicely played documentary. No personal interview with Pele, however...which is its only major flaw. Again...in my humble opinion.