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Frank Ochieng out in the Forefront: The Predictions for Oscar Gold (Part II) 
E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG Well movie fans, we have arrived once again as it is the time for the movie industry to celebrate its biggest event—the 76th Annual Academy Awards. On January 27, 2004, the nominees were announced for Oscar consideration and some can say that there were the usual selections. On the flip side, some can claim an absolute curve ball in terms of what was unexpectedly recognized. Plus, there is always the snub factor to consider. Whatever the element of the obvious or complete surprises, the world now knows its elite listing of treasured nominees out to snag Oscar gold. The 76th Annual Academy Awards will not showcase its glitzy, star-studded ceremony in the month of March as it usually does from years past. Instead, the celluloid celebration will take place on Sunday, February 27, 2004 on ABC-TV. Hopefully the Oscars will provide some intensity and frivolity to heighten the filmmaking festivities. As I did with the previous 75th Annual Academy Awards last year, I will devise a collection of predictions as to what I think a.) what the Academy will bestow on its chosen choices and b.) what and who I would like to see cop the golden statuette. Without further ado, I will first list the 76th Annual Academy Awards nominees so that we can see who’s in the running to be part of Hollywood history in that exclusive club known as the Academy Award Winners Circle. Afterwards, faithful readers of TheWorldJournal.com Nation can sneak a peek at what your trusty film critic has to say about his predictions for the elusive Oscar. And now, the nominees for the 76th Annual Academy Awards: BEST PICTURE THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING LOST IN TRANSLATION MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD MYSTIC RIVER SEABISCUIT DIRECTING CITY OF GOD (Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson) LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sophia Coppola) MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (Peter Weir) MYSTIC RIVER (Clint Eastwood) ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Johnny Depp - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL Ben Kingsley - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG Jude Law - COLD MOUNTAIN Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION Sean Penn - MYSTIC RIVER ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Keisha Castle-Hughes - WHALE RIDER Diane Keaton - SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE Samantha Morton - IN AMERICA Charlize Theron - MONSTER Naomi Watts - 21 GRAMS ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Alec Baldwin - THE COOLER Benicio Del Toro - 21 GRAMS Djimon Hounsou - IN AMERICA Tim Robbins - MYSTIC RIVER Ken Watanabe - THE LAST SAMURAI ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Shohreh Aghdashloo - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG Patricia Clarkson - PIECES OF APRIL Marcia Gay Harden - MYSTIC RIVER Holly Hunter - THIRTEEN Renée Zellweger - COLD MOUNTAIN FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS EVIL THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI TWIN SISTERS ŽELARY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM BROTHER BEAR FINDING NEMO THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) AMERICAN SPLENDOR CITY OF GOD THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MYSTIC RIVER SEABISCUIT WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS DIRTY PRETTY THINGS FINDING NEMO IN AMERICA LOST IN TRANSLATION CINEMATOGRAPHY CITY OF GOD COLD MOUNTAIN GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT FILM EDITING CITY OF GOD COLD MOUNTAIN THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT ART DIRECTION GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING THE LAST SAMURAI THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT COSTUME DESIGN GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING THE LAST SAMURAI THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT DOCUMENTARY FEATURE BALSEROS CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS THE FOG OF WAR MY ARCHITECT THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT ASYLUM CHERNOBYL HEART FERRY TALES MAKEUP THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL MUSIC (SCORE) BIG FISH COLD MOUNTAIN FINDING NEMO HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MUSIC (SONG) "Into the West" - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" - A MIGHTY WIND "Scarlet Tide" - COLD MOUNTAIN "The Triplets of Belleville" - THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE "You Will Be My Ain True Love" - COLD MOUNTAIN SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) BOUNDIN' DESTINO GONE NUTTY HARVIE KRUMPET NIBBLES SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION) DIE ROTE JACKE (The Red Jacket) MOST (The Bridge) SQUASH (A) TORZIJA ([A] Torsion) TWO SOLDIERS SOUND THE LAST SAMURAI THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL SEABISCUIT SOUND EDITING FINDING NEMO MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL VISUAL EFFECTS THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL And now here’s TheWorldJournal.com film critic Frank Ochieng’s Oscar predictions for the 76th Annual Academy Awards: I. BEST FILM THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING LOST IN TRANSLATION MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD MYSTIC RIVER SEABISCUIT The Academy’s pick: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Frank’s pick: Lost in Translation Explanation: No one can deny the scope or intrinsic beauty of filmmaker Peter Jackson’s whimsical epic that successfully captured the imagination and spirit of Tolkien’s treasured trilogy. “King” is what exceptional filmmaking is all about: a universe of decorated escapism saddled with sweeping special effects and an appreciation for dynamic characterizations that are colorful and invigorating. Plus, “King” is the kind of picture that the Academy enjoys and wants to represent its interest because it’s a cherished spectacle that managed to garner both critical praise and box office stimulation. Some felt that Jackson’s previous two “Lords” installment didn’t get its rightful due; the Academy will make it right and give The Return of the King its Oscar-bound acknowledgment. Master and Commander is another big budgeted flowing epic that will be eclipsed by the mighty shadows of “King”. Mystic River is riveting but will probably have a better shot elsewhere. Seabiscuit was the early favorite to catch Oscar’s eye but it is too lightweight and cavalier to take down Jackson’s ode to the complexity involving the struggle for Middle-Earth. I personally would like Sophia Coppola’s cozy and meditative lost souls-bonding Asian travelogue comedy-drama Lost in Translation to upset “King” for best picture. “Translation” captured the right spirited angst of two unlikely American individuals coming together at the right moment just as their stagnation starts to dominate their lonely existence in the exotic Far East. Coppola is skillful in using the scenic Japanese landscape as the playground to gradually awaken her protagonists to the possibilities of sharing their emptied lives. Lost in Translation was simply a creative, superlative quiet gem. II. Best Actor Johnny Depp - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL Ben Kingsley - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG Jude Law - COLD MOUNTAIN Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION Sean Penn - MYSTIC RIVER The Academy’s pick: Sean Penn for MYSTIC RIVER Frank’s pick: Bill Murray for LOST IN TRANSLATION Explanation: What a great crop of actors to choose from in terms of representing the varying roles being displayed. It’s refreshing to see 2 out of the 5 best actor nominees (Murray and Depp) finally experience being in the running for some top acting Oscar honors. Recent Golden Globe winners Penn and Murray will probably get the publicized vote of confidence over the other competition. The Academy will finally give former combative media-basher Penn the Oscar for his intense and sturdy participation in the compelling drama Mystic River. Penn, one of this generation’s most talented, complex, challenging, and intriguing thespians ever to strut in front of the camera lens, also put in a fine performance in the crime drama 21 Grams during the course of the year. My pick goes to the underrated Murray who has suspiciously been overlooked in the past for some excellent screen work (Can anybody remember his impeccable part in Rushmore? Or how about The Royal Tennenbaums for that matter?) In Lost in Translation, Murray is cleverly subtle, confused, and slightly wounded as a washed-up American actor reduced to shooting whiskey ads in Japan after the Hollywood glory days are no longer glorious. Murray’s Bob Harris is glib yet strangely gallant. His unassuming charm is enough to pick up the moping malaise of another disconnected American in the form of a pretty shapely, youthful twentysomething wife of an absent workaholic photographer (played by Scarlett Johansson). It’s nice to see Johnny Depp get an Oscar nod for playing an unstable, over-the-top hip pirate in the surprise summer hit Pirates of the Caribbean. His refreshingly offbeat role won’t win since it’s too flighty and flashy. Previous Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley was his usual solid self as an ex Iranian colonel looking for domestic stability in the USA in the hypnotic House of Sand and Fog. And the charismatic Jude Law earns his second nomination as a lovelorn Confederate soldier returning from war to jump start his affections for the woman he left behind in the noticeably snubbed Civil War romantic epic Cold Mountain. But this is a two-man race between Penn and Murray in my estimation and Penn will finally get his acting accolades in order. III. Best Actress Keisha Castle-Hughes - WHALE RIDER Diane Keaton - SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE Samantha Morton - IN AMERICA Charlize Theron - MONSTER Naomi Watts - 21 GRAMS The Academy’s pick: Charlize Theron for MONSTER Frank’s pick: Keisha Castle-Hughes for WHALE RIDER Explanation: I must say that I was absolutely shocked (and immensely pleased) to see that the Academy tapped Whale Rider star Keisha Castle-Hughes for Oscar consideration. And she deserves such recognition for playing a New Zealand-based girl trying to gain some credibility and respect from her distant grandfather pertaining to the cultural protocol that caters to the supposed superiority of males in her society. Castle-Hughes is uniquely vulnerable yet resilient and strong in her determination to carve a distinctive identity for herself and find her way in the restricting world where she lives. This is certainly why she’s a favorite in my book. But naturally the Golden Globe-winning Charlize Theron will probably be the Academy’s choice to conquer the best actress Oscar as a maladjusted prostitute with the inexplicable penchant for killing her johns in the chilling psychological drama Monster. Theron literally transforms herself into this wrecking machine wench and she does deliver a jarring performance in the process. Obviously, the Academy loves when a model/beauty-turned-actress throws away the glamour for a gritty bit that’s inherently considered courageous. Naomi Watts is definitely effective as a drug-abusing wife/mother that loses her family in a death-welcoming car accident in 21 Grams. Former best actress Oscar-winner and sentimental favorite Diane Keaton give mature woman a respectable name in the quirky age-conscious romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give. And Samantha Morton is emotionally stirring as an Irish mother starting life over with her silent grieving family after the death of a child in the hallowing urban drama In America. But the Academy will go with the sure-fire heft of Theron’s ferocious performance as a lost woman over the edge of murder and madness. IV. Best Supporting Actor Alec Baldwin - THE COOLER Benicio Del Toro - 21 GRAMS Djimon Hounsou - IN AMERICA Tim Robbins - MYSTIC RIVER Ken Watanabe - THE LAST SAMURAI The Academy’s pick: Tim Robbins for MYSTIC RIVER Frank’s pick: Djimon Hounsou for IN AMERICA Explanation: This is yet another close call with supporting work that was absolutely memorable courtesy of these creative forces. There’s a close call between what I deem the frontrunners in the recent Golden Globe-winning Tim Robbins and Golden Globe-nominated Alec Baldwin. I will give the edge to the politically active Robbins for his applauded pathos of pain and personal torment in the gripping Boston-based saga Mystic River. Baldwin is terrific as the overly-possessive casino boss in the underrated Las Vegas fable The Cooler and this is probably his finest performance up to date. But not too many people recite The Cooler from their lips as much as they did Mystic River when it arrived on the scene to constant praise. Hence, Robbins will get the push and rightfully so. I would have also picked Baldwin to be my personal favorite to want to win the gold because he was raw and unnerving as Shangri La Shelly in The Cooler (which incidentally made my top ten list of films for 2003). However, I couldn’t get past the exceptional portrait of Djimon Hounsou as an eccentric muscle-bound African artist dying of AIDS who gradually befriends a newly arrived saddened Irish family in Hell’s Kitchen of New York in the inspirational melodrama In America. Hounsou, who was masterful as the captured proud slave in Steven Spielberg’s underrated period piece Amistad, conveys a combination of strength and sadness in a delusional dimension where his reality is shattered by the squalor and sickness that surrounds him. Hounsou is defiant as he is disenchanted. His odd penchant for shouting out at random exposes his inner turmoil that’s frighteningly revealing. Benicio Del Toro exudes passion as a redemptive ex con trying to avoid brewing conflict in the absorbing crime drama 21 Grams. But he has already won the best supporting acting Oscar for Traffic not too long ago and the Academy might want to share the wealth with another fresh face recipient. Ken Watanabe overshadowed Tom Cruise in the Dances With Wolves-esque epic The Last Samurai and its nice to see this actor in the running for an Academy Award. However, the generated aura of “Samurai” may in fact unintentionally drown out the superb turn by Watanabe as the resisting Samurai leader who shows Cruise’s character the way of the sword. V. Best Supporting Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG Patricia Clarkson - PIECES OF APRIL Marcia Gay Harden - MYSTIC RIVER Holly Hunter - THIRTEEN Renée Zellweger - COLD MOUNTAIN The Academy’s pick: Renee Zellweger for COLD MOUNTAIN Frank’s pick: Patricia Clarkson for PIECES OF APRIL Explanation: Folks, this best supporting actress category is as tough as it comes! I know it is cliché to say that all are deserving of an Oscar. However, we cannot have a five-way tie so let’s see where everybody stands in this Oscar race, shall we? There’s Academy Award winners Holly Hunter (“The Piano”) and Marcia Gay Harden (“Pollack”) back to repeat that feeling of clutching another statuette. Then we have Oscar-nominated Renee Zellweger back in the thick of things seeing as though she was so close in nabbing a trophy last year for the celebrated “Chicago”. And of course there are first time Oscar nominees in veteran actress Patricia Clarkson and the elegant Shohreh Aghdashloo from House of Sand and Fog. Again, this shouldn’t really mean anything but both Gay Harden and Hunter had their taste of gold already although their participation in their respective films was hauntingly memorable. And Aghdashloo brings a suspenseful surge as an Iranian wife of an ex military colonel hoping to become an American homeowner and seek freedom away from her present troubled livelihood. But in the long run, Zellweger seems to have that magic touch of sparking the cinematic interest of the Academy. She came close to nailing the Oscar on a couple of occasions with Bridget Jones’s Diary and with Chicago. Now, the third time will be the charm for Zellweger as she will be awarded for her spunky turn as tomboyish hillbilly sidekick Ruby in the soul-searching Civil War saga Cold Mountain. I like for Patricia Clarkson to win the Oscar for her dazzling yet exhaustive performance as a breast cancer-stricken housewife looking to make amends with her estranged punkish daughter over Thanksgiving dinner in the dark and quirky character study drama Pieces of April. Truth be told that I liked Clarkson much better in The Station Agent as she was more subtly convincing as a troubled woman learning to cope with some unlikely companionship issues with a tormented dwarf and garrulous Cuban hot dog vendor while quietly grieving over a deceased son. Clarkson’s cancerous protagonist in “Pieces” is all over the map emotionally and psychologically and we find ourselves situated in her misery. Clarkson’s stint in this film is steady in its gut-wrenching dimension and she keeps her portrayal from being another pity-minded “disease-of-the-week” showcase. Clarkson is one of the most viable and inventive character actresses working in film today. V. Best Director CITY OF GOD (Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson) LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sophia Coppola) MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (Peter Weir) MYSTIC RIVER (Clint Eastwood) The Academy’s pick: Peter Jackson for THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING Frank’s pick: Peter Jackson for THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING Explanation: Hands down—I will side with the Academy in agreeing that innovative filmmaker Peter Jackson will become a proud papa of an Academy Award for best director. And why not go with this concrete hunch? He has produced what will probably be one of the cinema’s most profitable and profound movie trilogies to date. Jackson’s technological tenacity to bring moviemaking to its robust and ultimate visual form is indeed ambitious and inspiring to say the least. This astute moviemaker’s ability to create a massive Mecca where opulence meet at the hip in terms of outrageously unforgettable images and the propensity to string together some magical storytelling is clearly in need of some high-powered kudos in the form of the demanding Oscar. Jackson’s brilliance shouldn’t take away of what the contenders accomplished. Coppola turned from being the brunt of nepotism jokes in the movie industry to that of a cunning and crafty moviemaker in her own right with the transfixing Asian-based companionship dramedy Lost in Translation. Previous Oscar-winning Eastwood was in typical form by serving up the caustic Mystic River based on the best-selling book of the same name. Both Meirelles and Lund delivered a blistering crime opus in the probing and poverty-stricken streets in City of God. And Weir set sail for the bombastic and waterlogged wonderment in Master and Commander. But it will be Jackson’s universe of hobbits, wizards, elves, humans, and other sordid creatures that will make him the Number One helmer on Oscar night! And now Frank will list his picks (and the Academy’s picks) for the remaining Oscar nominees. Frank’s choices will be denoted by “FO” next to the selection; the Academy Award choices will feature “AA” next to the selection. ANIMATED FEATURE FILM BROTHER BEAR FINDING NEMO (FO/AA) THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE ART DIRECTION GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING THE LAST SAMURAI (AA) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (FO) MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT CINEMATOGRAPHY CITY OF GOD (FO) COLD MOUNTAIN (AA) GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT COSTUME DESIGN GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING (AA) THE LAST SAMURAI (FO) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT DOCUMENTARY FEATURE BALSEROS CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (FO) THE FOG OF WAR (AA) MY ARCHITECT THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT ASYLUM (FO) CHERNOBYL HEART FERRY TALES (AA) FILM EDITING CITY OF GOD COLD MOUNTAIN THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (FO) MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD SEABISCUIT (AA) FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS (AA/FO) EVIL THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI TWIN SISTERS ŽELARY MAKEUP THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (AA) MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (FO) MUSIC (SCORE) BIG FISH COLD MOUNTAIN FINDING NEMO (FO) HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (AA) MUSIC (SONG) "Into the West" - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (AA) "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" - A MIGHTY WIND (FO) "Scarlet Tide" - COLD MOUNTAIN "The Triplets of Belleville" - THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE "You Will Be My Ain True Love" - COLD MOUNTAIN SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) BOUNDIN' (AA) DESTINO GONE NUTTY (FO) HARVIE KRUMPET NIBBLES SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION) DIE ROTE JACKE (The Red Jacket) MOST (The Bridge) (FO) SQUASH (A) TORZIJA ([A] Torsion) TWO SOLDIERS (AA) SOUND THE LAST SAMURAI (FO) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (AA) SEABISCUIT SOUND EDITING FINDING NEMO MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (AA) PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (FO) VISUAL EFFECTS THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (AA/FO) MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) AMERICAN SPLENDOR (FO) CITY OF GOD THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING MYSTIC RIVER (AA) SEABISCUIT WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS DIRTY PRETTY THINGS FINDING NEMO IN AMERICA LOST IN TRANSLATION (AA/FO) Click here to comment on this article or post your own thoughts. Frank Ochieng © TheWorldJournal.com |
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