Sherpa's Wonderin's

My turn on Oscar

I have a confession, well not so much as a confession as an admission. I really like talking about movies....so Oscar season is a fave of mine. Fun to project who is going to nominate, but even more fun talking about who is going to win. This year, like most--I haven't seen all of the Best Picture noms (I might have seen them all last year). As of today, the only category I feel like I can give my predictions is Best Actor Category...because I've seen all of those films.

So here goes....in order from who i feel is least likely to win to most likely

Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)
Okay, I saw it. The film itself isn't that controversial. Heath Ledger had the responsibility of playing the lead in this film-his character has more screen time and is more crucial to the theme of this pic than Gyllenhall(I disagree with his nomination). Without a lot of dialogue, Ledger shows the conflicts Ennis's character is going through so well. That being said, its a good thing Ledger didn't have a lot of words....his accent, while not Kevin Costnerish bad, is the weakest thing about his performance.

David Strathairn in “Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)
Strong, understated, performance. I enjoyed it, but the details of this performance are alluding me. That being said, his reaction to the Liberace piece was classic------and this film deserves this and other nominations it received.



Terrence Howard in “Hustle & Flow” (Paramount Classics, MTV Films and New Deal Entertainment)
Howard's performance was the glue that held this movie together (although almost all of the supporting characters were strong performances). Somehow, a movie that's been done several times shined because of the character Howard played. The performance was nuanced, complicated and in the end, we remembered, "Its hard out here for a pimp."

Joaquin Phoenix in “Walk the Line” (20th Century Fox)
I can't think of anything hotter than Joaquin Phoenix performing in this movie (except for George Clooney's smile in a video clip this morning but that doesn't count). Joaquin channeled Cash, and if it wasn't for Hoffman, this would be my first choice for acting hands down. The only flaw I can think of in this performance is that he seemed a little wooden in some of the scenes-but Cash was a pretty shy, private individual.

Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)
Watching this film, I felt like I was watching one of the best acting performances of the decade unfold before my eyes. There's not enough accolades I could think for this performance (is that gushing enough?). Hoffman somehow pulls off playing a cultural icon...and lets us see all of the descrepancies that made up this author, and the deeply complicated position he found himself in and how the demons in this film eventually would kill this eccentric, but bright light.