Now that the Oscars have been bestowed, andwe have a new set of winners, I find myself wondering: What if this years winners not only had to compete against their fellow nominees, but also had to wrest the title away from last year’s champ?
Sure, Wallace and Gromit were probably the best thing out there this past year in terms of animated features, but were they better than The Incredibles, last year’s winner? was the makeup in “Narnia” really better than “Lemony Snicket”?
I’ll start with the major categories for this year and last year. (I’ll state it as a rule that losing nominees will not be permitted consideration in this thread. Them’s the breaks.) This second link by the way, is an official Oscar site with a search page to find the categories by year.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
George Clooney in “Syriana” v. Morgan Freeman in “Million Dollar Baby”
Gotta give it to Clooney for the daringness of the role, even if I didn’t see the film (I’ll state it as another rule that you are allowed to speculate on films you have not seen based on your awareness of the contender’s track record. Hey, a good chunk of the Academy voters do the exact same thing!) While MF was good, he was playing a type he’s done a million times.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rachel Weisz in “The Constant Gardener” v. Cate Blanchett in “The Aviator”
Didn’t see either. Wanted to see “Gardener” more, but I really like Blanchett. Blanchett it is.
BEST ACTOR
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Capote” v. Jamie Foxx in “Ray”
Battle of the Biopics! As much of a surprise achievement Foxx’s performance was, I’m going with Hoffman as the sentimental favorite, even if I didn’t see the film.
BEST ACTRESS
Reese Witherspoon in “Walk the Line” v. Hillary Swank in “Million Dollar Baby”
Tough one. I like them both, and I actually saw both films. Witherspoon I think gets the edge. Swank won still based on the strength of “Boys Don’t Cry”
BEST DIRECTOR
Ang Lee, “Brokeback Mountain” v. Clint Eastwood, “Million Dollar Baby”
Liked “Baby”, love a lot of Lee’s other work, but haven’t seen a recent film of his. I’m still giving it to him, though.
BEST PICTURE
“Crash” v. “Million Dollar Baby”
I think “Crash” is the more important film.
What are your opinions? Feel free to compare last year’s winners to 2004, to see if they even belonged there. Heck, go all the way back to “Wings”, if you like, but no comparing films from two non-consecutive years without considering the winners from the years in between. Also feel free to opine about any of the other categories listed in the links.
