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Oscars'
Best Picture race heats up with five great
films
By
Ted Goslin
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
Coming
off a year where it was painfully obvious
which film would garner the most wins, the
best films of this year's Academy Awards
are neck and neck in competition. These
five films represent the best, brightest
and most powerful ideals that can be found
in modern film. Only one can be chosen to
win, but out of this year's picks, this
is very hard to say.
"Sideways"
— Every year there is a dark
horse in the running, as seems to be the
norm in the Best Picture race. This film
is a craftily-made tale about two polar
opposite best friends who go on a week-long
adventure to wine country while trying to
survive each other and the obstacles they
meet.
Filled
with more comedic power than a stand-up
comedy act, "Sideways" brings
in the goods for those looking for a brilliantly-written
character piece that allows room for both
laughing and crying.
In
terms of the acting, several actors are
given room and chances to garner a comeback
or get noticed for the first time as with
Best Supporting Actor Nominee Thomas Haden
Church.
Performances
all around were outstanding with the elegant
return of Virginia Madsen, who continues
her choice of taking roles that don't fit
the norm of a typical Hollywood actress.
The
big surprise when the nominees were announced
was that of leading actor Paul Giamatti,
who has been seemingly left out of nominations
for past brilliant performances. Seeing
as how rooting for the underdog is always
fun in any competition, this little film
will likely end up just short of the win
on Oscar night.
"Finding
Neverland" — Occasionally
there is a film that shows endurance despite
the odds against it winning. In "Finding
Neverland," Johnny Depp plays J.M.
Barrie, the author of the play "Peter
Pan." It is inspired by a widow and
her four young boys while searching for
his next idea for a play. An extremely touching
piece, the film focuses on the relationships
between Barrie and the boys, his wife and
the widow, subtly played by Kate Winslet.
When films like this are made they generally
are given too many tear-jerking moments
that come along and spoil the whole movie
by forcing the audience to want to cry.
Thankfully, the subtlety with which the
film creates is as smooth as silk and makes
the viewer want to go to Neverland with
the characters. As touching as it is, the
film won't quite garner the votes to win
Oscar's biggest prize.
"The
Aviator" — Coming off his
last film, which was also nominated for
Best Picture, Director Martin Scorsese joins
the fray this year with a biopic about the
late great airplane magnate Howard Hughes.
Considering the scope of this epic tale,
it seemed strange when watching the film
not to care too much about the amazing landscapes
and visuals presented. Instead, focus is
brought to the subtlety of a troubled man
trying to cope with his own mental illness
while at the same time innovating a largely
monopolized business by blowing millions
of dollars on airplanes that, for some reason,
never saw the light of day.
The
importance of this movie, both for content
and quality, is why it was chosen as a nominee.
Unfortunately for Scorsese, the voters have
the final say and because his past masterpieces
such as "Raging Bull" and "Taxi
Driver" set such high expectations,
this one will just get chalked up as another
almost win. Hopefully, though, the director
himself will walk out with his first Oscar
for directing.
"Ray"
— Packed with enough music to be considered
a musical, "Ray" fills the screen
with one of the greatest performances of
any character in the history of film. Jamie
Foxx stars as the late blind genius, who
succeeded professionally but was plagued
by the death of his brother. The film seemed
to hint that his life was almost a myth
due to the concept of his blindness happening
shortly after seeing his brother drown in
front of him.
There
are so many poignant scenes in the film
that it's hard to say why this film won't
win, except that it definitely deserves
to.
"Million
Dollar Baby" — Following
in the footsteps of previous boxing films
such as "Rocky" and "Raging
Bull," this film carries on a tradition
of making a boxing movie that isn't at all
about boxing. This film is a true classic
in every sense of the word. It tells the
story of a 30-year-old woman named Maggie,
played by Hilary Swank, who refuses to let
her past of being known only as trash be
that which defines her life. After seeking
out Frankie, a trainer played by Clint Eastwood,
she attempts to convince him to train her
to fight. He refuses because she is a girl,
but changes his mind thanks to his longtime
friend and partner Scrap.
Each
character is as well defined and acted as
one could ask for in any film and each actor
deserves to win for his or her individual
performances.
But
this is not what makes this film the masterpiece
that it is; rather, the overall skill of
the story, screenplay, direction and acting
brings a whirlwind of emotion to an otherwise
basic story. This film will win Best Picture.
With
such a wide variety to choose from, I would
not want the task of having to vote for
the best picture in this Oscar race. Each
film is well made and deserves to win at
least one Oscar for each category that it
is nominated for but only one can win the
big one. Whichever way it goes, it should
be a fun night to watch.
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