It is that time again; time for the Academy Awards. In 2005, the film industry released numerous films, and each one was hoping to be the next big hit, the film that would set the bar. Well, the nominees have finally been announced. Now everyone just has to wait until Sunday, March 5 to see who takes home “the golden trophies.”
I must admit that I am disappointed with the nominees this time around. However, this has nothing to do with the film’s quality, but it is more of a personal thing. I see so many films each year, mostly new releases, and I have yet to see even one of the Best Picture nominees. Either there is something wrong with this situation, or I am just not choosing the correct films. I have a feeling that several people will feel the same way about this year’s Oscars.
All of this aside, there were a couple of films and actors that did extremely well. To lead the pack there is “Brokeback Mountain,” accumulating a total of eight nominations. These nominations included Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Best Director, Adapted Screenplay and Original Score. Supposedly, this was a great film, but I did not see and do not plan to. It just did not appeal to me or look interesting in anyway. I honestly was surprised when I saw how many nominations it had received. Yet I will not judge this film entirely because I have not seen it.
Moving on to, what I think to be, the actor of the night. George Clooney might just steal the show with the way things are looking. “Good Night, and Good Luck,” which he directed, has been nominated in six different categories, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Original Screenplay, Cinematography and Art Direction. I assume Clooney is very pleased with this and would be content with just these nominations. However, the Oscar board decided he needed more. Clooney also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor with his role in “Syriana.”
A few other nominations worth mentioning are “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” for Art Direction, “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith” for Make-Up and “Batman Begins” for Cinematography. I am glad that these films were mentioned in some sort or fashion. They deserved the nomination although they may not be Oscar caliber material.
The biggest disappointment for me came with the lack of nominations for “Cinderella Man” and “North Country.” Both films were equally amazing in their own right, and they received only a couple of nomination each. These films, in my opinion, could have easily been nominated for Best Picture. Their quality was amazing, and their story was truly inspiring. Maybe this year’s Academy Awards was looking for something new, but they should not have ignored these films as much as they did. They deserve so much more.
For this year’s Animated Feature Film nomination, Pixar was not in the mix. Hopefully this is just a sign of the wonders to come for 2006. They did open the door for someone else though. Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride,” “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit” each received a nomination in this category.
My vote is for “Corpse Bride.” This film was unique, and I feel that it deserves that Oscar Statuette. I am hoping for an even better 2006 at the theaters, but I doubt that it is even possible. All the remakes and sequels do not appear to be all that amazing.
The Academy Awards just seems to be deteriorating with each passing year, and I really feel like we need an astounding year of films in order to restore the hope to movie viewers everywhere. We all need a breath of fresh air that shows that quality film making is still possible, and it is not just an opinionated Oscar board that picks their favorite film to sweep the Academy Awards.