Well, the Oscars of 2002 came and went, and as the horrible host Woopie Goldberg said "it's time to start the mud-slinging for Oscar 75". Here is my take on each of the Awards.
Best Picture
Out of the five, I liked Lord of the Rings the most, but I can see why Oscar awarded A Beautiful Mind. It's a much smaller movie, and although Oscar awards epics often (Galdiator), the don't often award fanasty films, no matter how good (Star Wars). I'm also glad Moulin Rouge was nominated, but why no Memento?
Best Actor
I'm very happy that the academy picked one of the best actors of our time, or any time over Russell Crowe again. Denzel Washington has delivered countless amazing performances, and Training Day is no exception. Many people are saying that this is not the movie he should have won for, but I disagree. While he has been in better movies, his performance in Training Day ranks high amoung any performance. Watch it again and see all the little nuances he delievers, and how he makes you believe up until the end of the movie.
Best Actress
I like that Halley Berry won, also. She was phenominal in Monster's Ball, and deserved the award, but I didn't like the lack of nomination for Ghost World's Thora Birch.
Best Supporting Actor
I didn't see Iris, but I'm sure Jim Broadbent wasn't as good as Ben Kingsly. The few people that saw Sexy Beast, know that his performance was so strong and compelling that it's sickening. I like the fact that Ethan Hawke was nominated for Training Day, but the Academy made its biggest mistake in not nominating the magnificent Steve Buscemi in Ghost World. Sooner or later he will get the credit he deserves for a fantastic carrer.
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Connely was very, very good A Beautiful Mind, and is the only truely deserving winner for that movie. She was also incredible in last year's Requiem for a Dream.
Best Director
Ron Howard is a great director, and I'm glad he was finnaly recognized, but I prefered Peter Jackson's soaring shoots. Also, where the hell is Baz Lurhmann? Moulin Rouge would have been nothing without his great directing.
Best Original Screenpaly
I loved the great story of Memento, but why wasn't The Royal Tenenbaums more heavily favored? No other movie this year had better dialouge, or more touching moments than The Royal Tenenbaums, and scribes Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson deserved to win. And it's funny too. Chirstopher Nolan's Memento was also duly nominated.
Best Adapted Screenplay
I like the nominatoins for Shrek and the other most touching and funny movie of the year, Ghost World. I did not like the screenplay for A Beautiful Mind, and don't think it deserved to win. It was very miandering during most of the second "act", so to speak. Lord of the Rings is a magnificant movie, but its screenplay is not one of its highest points.
