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The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1957

Love 1957. 4 out of 6 really strong decisions. The Bridge on the River Kwai wins half the major awards (rightfully so), winning Best Picture, Best Director for David Lean (talked about here) and Best Actor for Alec Guinness. All perfect decisions. And Best Actress was Joanne Woodward for The Three Faces of Eve (talked about here), which was also a perfect decision.

Okay, that takes care of almost everything. Now we’re at the two Supporting categories. First was Red Buttons, winning Best Supporting Actor for Sayonara, which, as I said here, I hate very much as a decision. And the second was here, which I also hate very strongly and consider one of the worst decisions ever made in the history of the Best Supporting Actress category.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1957

And the nominees were..

Carolyn Jones, The Bachelor Party

Elsa Lanchester, Witness for the Prosecution

Hope Lange, Peyton Place

Miyoshi Umeki, Sayonara

Diane Varsi, Peyton Place Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  December 23, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day: “I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!” “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.”

Posted by  |  December 23, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1979

1979 is a year I can say a lot about. I’ll try not to here. At least, not at once. The main thing here is that Kramer vs. Kramer wins Best Picture, beating out Apocalypse Now and All That Jazz. It also beat Norma Rae and Breaking Away, but the first two are the real important ones. It’s not a question of whether or not it’s a good film, it’s just — is it really better to have won over those two? Did history really hold up on that one? I consider this one of those — the Academy being the Academy. And the Academy being wrong — decisions.

Also this year, Robert Benton wins Best Director for Kramer vs. Kramer (talked about here), because, I guess, Francis Ford Coppola and Bob Fosse didn’t produce the two best individual efforts of their careers. Dustin Hoffman won Best Actor for the film as well (talked about here), and this I agree with. He was amazing here, and due. Meryl Streep also won Best Supporting Actress for the film (talked about here). She was also amazing, and totally deserved it. And Best Actress this year was Sally Field for Norma Rae (talked about here), which is also a good decision. So, this year, on the whole, had some great decisions in it. Three, in fact. The problem here is the other three. Especially this one.

This category is the worst Best Supporting Actor decision of all time. If there ever was a year where “veteran Oscar” was what happened, this is it. I’m not even going to hide my opinion here or mask who I’m voting for. Robert Duvall delivered one of the most iconic performances of all time. Even if you haven’t seen Apocalypse Now, I bet you can quote that napalm speech. This is a character so strong, it’s possible you remember him even more than Marlon Brando in this movie. Or Dennis Hopper. That’s how fucking strong he is. Literally, the first half of this movie is his. That’s how good he is. And Melvyn Douglas wins because he’s old and dying. That’s just terrible. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  December 22, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pic of the Day: “He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. Maybe Christmas, he thought… doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps… means a little bit more!”

Posted by  |  December 22, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1958

1958 is a troublesome year for me. I feel like all the Best Picture nominees are strong number twos with no real #1 to vote for. I mean, there is, but nothing here really feels like an adequate Best Picture winner. Gigi won Best Picture, but that feels a bit like a cop out. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, albeit very theatrical, was a better choice. And so was The Defiant Ones, which probably would have been the best choice for the year. (Auntie Mame and Separate Tables were way too theatrical to vote for.)

Best Actor was David Niven for Separate Tables, which, was one of those in-house decisions. He was a very respected actor and probably would have won one of these someday anyway. Though he was very much a supporting character in his film (15 minutes of screen time), and the performance wasn’t really that great. So I think someone else (namely Paul Newman, Tony Curtis or Sidney Poitier) should have won. Wendy Hiller also won Best Supporting Actress for the film, which is a good decision, since she was a veteran and deserved an Oscar (and the category sucked). Best Actress was Susan Hayward for I Want to Live! (talked about here). I understand this decision, because Hayward was gonna win an Oscar eventually, but I don’t like it. Hayward should have won in 1958 and someone more deserving should have won here, like Deborah Kerr or Elizabeth Taylor. Best Supporting Actor was Burl Ives for The Big Country, which is a great decision, since he was also in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and would have won for that performance too.

Which brings us to this category. As much as I don’t like Gigi as a Best Picture winner, I love this decision. Since Vincente Minnelli is one of the great directors of all time. He’d earned this three times over by this point.

BEST DIRECTOR – 1958

An the nominees were…

Richard Brooks, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Stanley Kramer, The Defiant Ones

Vincente Minnelli, Gigi

Mark Robson, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

Robert Wise, I Want to Live! Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  December 21, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | 3 Comments

Pic of the Day: “The best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

Posted by  |  December 21, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1967

What a let down 1967 is. Here’s a year where Hollywood made a break from tradition. The films were modern, realistic, gritty, violent, sexual — all the things classical Hollywood wasn’t. And then they chose In the Heat of the Night as Best Picture, which is like — music people will think up more examples of this than I can — when a new style of music is up and coming, like grunge or punk or something, and there are all those underground bands that really drive the movement forward, and are the backbone of it, and then the most corporate, watered down version of that movement becomes huge and has all the hits and is labeled as having started it. That’s what this is like to me. Here’s a category with three different films that perfectly capture what 1967 was about. And In the Heat of the Night wins Best Picture. Why not just fucking pick Doctor Dolittle and be done with it? Seriously. Fortunately, the other three choices did well elsewhere.

Best Actor this year was Rod Steiger for In the Heat of the Night, which I understand. Wouldn’t vote for it, but I understand. He was due. Totally cool with that. Best Supporting Actor was George Kennedy for Cool Hand Luke (talked about here), which I love. Best Supporting Actress was Estelle Parsons for Bonnie and Clyde, which I also love. And Best Director was Mike Nichols for The Graduate (talked about here). So essentially you have Hollywood spreading the wealth, but giving the top prize to the most controlled entity of the bunch. Terrible.

And then there’s this category. Most people would agree that the best choice was not made. However, on the other hand, you can’t really be too upset at the decision, because all of the principals contending for a vote all had (or later won) Oscars. So, while we’d all vote differently, it’s not that bad. And that’s good. One less thing.

BEST ACTRESS – 1967

And the nominees were…

Anne Bancroft, The Graduate

Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde

Edith Evans, The Whisperers

Audrey Hepburn, Wait Until Dark

Katharine Hepburn, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  December 20, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | 3 Comments

Pic of the Day: “If I live to be 100, I’ll never forget that big snow storm a couple of years ago. The weather closed in and, well you might not believe it, but the world almost missed Christmas. Oh, excuse me, call me Sam. What’s the matter? Haven’t you ever seen a talking snowman before?”

Posted by  |  December 20, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1997

1997 is like having a stupid relative. You can’t do anything about it no matter how much you want to. Because there’s no way Titanic wasn’t winning Best Picture this year. Or Best Director for James Cameron (talked about here). It was inevitable. No matter how much we all think L.A. Confidential should have won instead.

Then Robin Williams won Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting, talked about here, and Kim Basinger won Best Supporting Actress for L.A. Confidential, talked about here. I didn’t vote for either decision, but I am okay with both of them. Read the articles to find out why.

Then Best Actress was Helen Hunt for As Good as It Gets (talked about here). I mention her last because there’s an interesting piece of trivia in regards to that. Every time Jack Nicholson has won an Oscar — three times. First for One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975, second for Terms of Endearment in 1983 (Supporting), and then here — his leading lady in the film won Best Actress for the film. Not Supporting — Best Actress. That’s crazy, right? Here’s a dude that not only delivers the goods, but helps you deliver the goods.

BEST ACTOR – 1997

And the nominees were…

Matt Damon, Good Will Hunting

Robert Duvall, The Apostle

Peter Fonda, Ulee’s Gold

Dustin Hoffman, Wag the Dog

Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  December 19, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | 5 Comments

Pic of the Day: “I beat the shit out of some kids today. But it was for a purpose. It made me feel good about myself. It was like I did something constructive with my life or something, I dunno, like I accomplished something.” “You need many years of therapy. Many, many fuckin’ years of therapy.”

Posted by  |  December 19, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment