Molly's Oscar Rundown (filled with opinion)

I had a little movie marathon today. I took myself to the movies today and watched Munich immediately followed by Good Night, and Good Luck. I have now managed to see the 5 nominated films, and for the first time ever I think, the 5 actor performances, and if I get around to watching Cinderella Man tonight (I don't know if I can do three movies in a single day, without being home sick from work or something), all of the nominees for editing and make up as well. Netflix has been very very helpful in acheiving this whole see-them-all thing.

So, what follows is my quick rundown of the 5 films, plus a few others, read on...

Brokeback Mountain: Hands down the best film of this year's crop. This movie had me thinking and more importantly, emoting, long after I'd seen it. This movie has much of what I look for in a movie: a connection between characters and between the screen to the audience, wonderfully and sumptuously shot, and an economic, smart screenplay.

Capote: This wasn't a bad movie. Phillip Seymore Hoffman is one of my very favorite actors ever and he carries the movie in his fey performance, completely. His acting nomination, and probable win is well deserved. However, I didn't love this movie, as a whole film. I don't think it was one of the top 5 movies of last year. I thought the pacing dragged, and dragged to the point that I wasn't engaged and wanted the film to end already. I didn't connect with it. After I saw a few other passed-over movies, I quickly began to believe that it didn't belong in this category.

Crash: I hated this movie. It was very well executed, however, and as a whole film, has its place in the world, I suppose. I can't exactly fault the acting. It's the screenplay, and ultimately the entire conceit of the film. So, it was the film equivalent of Christina Aguilera for me: technically fine, but just not something I care to invest in, listen to, or pay attention to in general.

Good Night, and Good Luck: I'm so totally conflicted about my response to this one. I'm very interested in the subject matter, I enjoyed the no-nonsense tone of the film. But there's something missing, or too much of one thing, or something. It's still a little too new to me to put my finger on it. I read a review that called it hermetic, and I think that is part of it: it's claustrophobic. It's also very sterile, in an acting/cinematographic sense. I also think that there was too much reliance in the film on actual footage of Joe McCarthy. Like enough screen-time that Joe McCarthy could have been nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar. What continues to haunt me is that he wasn't acting, that he was real. And hence, conflicted.

Munich: WOW! This movie was fantastic. It was thrilling, scary, empathetic, cruel, sad. The movie dug deep into emotional territory, which is something most suspense dramas cannot succeed with and few actually even try to acheive. What is it to be an assassin? What is a society that employs the methods of assassins? What does revenge do to the legitimacy of moral high ground? Who, then, is the terrorist? Spielberg just rocks, and always puts such rich humanity into his work. This movie is trying really hard to make me root for it over Brokeback. REALLY hard, because Eric Bana is also S-E-X-EE in his 70's coif and bellbottom pants. I think he might need to become my new secret celebrity boyfriend.

The Constant Gardener: This movie blew my mind. Like Munich, it crossed genre stereotypes, being a love story, mystery and suspense-thriller successfully and concurrently. The acting was clean, but it's the story here that got me. I think it should have gotten a best picture nod, certainly over Capote, and possibly over Good Night, and Good Luck. It gets 4 stars from me, go rent it NOW!!!

Walk the Line: It is unfortunate that Walk the Line came out the year after Ray. I think Oscar doesn't like to do too much of one thing (except bad re-imagining of old TV shows), and the biopic of the tortured, drug using musician got all the attention last year. I think the performances were good, the film engaging, and the connection viable. I really think that in a year not following Ray, this would have been nominated more. Oh, and Reese Witherspoon has the most beautiful hair. Evah.

I can't wait for tomorrow! With all of my venom above, I sure hope Crash doesn't win best picture. But I guess if you can't fix it, you've got to stand it, right?