Handing out the hardware, Nothing is guaranteed this year, but The Daily Orange picks out its winners for the 81st Academy Awards
Predicting the winner for Best Actor at the Academy Awards is usually easy – just look at who won at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. Not so much this year. Mickey Rourke won the Golden Globes and Sean Penn won at the Critics Choice Awards. While the two seem to be in close competition – they’re far ahead of fellow nominees Brad Pitt (‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’) and Richard Jenkins (‘The Visitor’). Though a surprise win could also be in store for Frank Lengella (‘Frost/Nixon’).
Rourke’s performance in ‘The Wrestler’ salvaged a dead career, while Penn’s performance in ‘Milk’ was deemed ‘perfect’ in most reviews.
Not that Pitt should not be credited for his role in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.’ The film raked in 13 nominations in all. His New Orleans accent was spot-on and the wisdom he reveals allows Benjamin Button to come alive through all the makeup.
‘Frost/Nixon’ also stirred up audiences, with Langella stealing the show as former President Richard Nixon.
Who will win:
Mickey Rourke – ‘The Wrestler’
Who should win:
Sean Penn – ‘Milk’
Anne Hathaway made a surprising win for Best Actress at the Critics Choice Awards for her role in ‘Rachel Getting Married,’ but that luck might not happen again at the Oscars.
Most likely, Kate Winslet will take the award home for her role in ‘The Reader.’ Winslet took home the globe for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at the Globes for her roles in ‘Revolutionary Road’ and ‘The Reader,’ respectively.
While Angelina Jolie’s role in ‘Changeling’ was strong, jarring and worthy of the nomination, it’s unlikely that she’ll steal the gold man from Winslet. Meryl Streep’s performance was also over the top.
Melissa Leo, on the other hand, comes into the Oscars the opposite way of Streep – as an underdog in ‘Frozen River.’ After last year’s award to Marion Cotillard, it’s hard to say that anyone is a shoe-in.
Who will win:
Kate Winslet – ‘The Reader’
Who should win:
Kate Winslet – ‘The Reader’
Much to my disappointment, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ will take home the nod for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards. Danny Boyle’s film has cleaned up at most other award ceremonies in the categories for Best Picture. There isn’t much reason to suspect that the Oscars will be much different.
But that doesn’t mean it should outshine gay-pride biographical film ‘Milk,’ which Gus Van Sant turned into a visual masterpiece and a compelling, classic film.
A close third could be Ron Howard’s ‘Frost/Nixon,’ which dived into the post-Watergate scandal with Ronald Reagan.
‘The Reader’ could become one of the few films to win at the Oscars and not have been nominated at the Globes (the last film being ‘The Departed’). But don’t count on it.
And the last nomination, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’ accumulated more nominations than any other film, getting 13 nominations in all (three more than ‘Slumdog Millionaire’). However, it has received little appreciation from other organizations like the Globes.
Who will win:
‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Who should win:
Close call between ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ and ‘Milk’
Whoever wins Best Director usually takes home the award for Best Picture. So, it comes as no surprise that first-time nominee Danny Boyle is expected to take it. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ came out of nowhere this year – going from a small, independent British film to cleaning up at every award ceremony.
Fellow Academy first-timer David Fincher earned a nod for ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.’
Gus Van Sant, nominated for ‘Milk’, on the other hand, is no stranger to the Oscars – but it’s been awhile. He was last nominated for ‘Good Will Hunting’ in 1997.
Another Oscar familiar is Stephen Daldry, nominated for ‘The Reader.’ His 2003 film ‘The Hours’ accumulated nine nominations, including Best Director.
Ron Howard is one of the film industry’s most popular directors. Howard won in 2001 for ‘A Beautiful Mind.’ But ‘Frost/Nixon’ was a slow film, and underdogs Boyle, Fincher and Van Sant have a leg up on Howard this year.
Who will win:
Danny Boyle – ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
Who should win:
Gus van Sant – ‘Milk’
Published on February 18, 2009 at 12:00 pm
