5. Denzel Washington in Training Day. Total jip. Russel Crow for a Beautiful Mind should have won that night. It was Black History night so anyone that was not black didn't stand a Chance. Plus Crow was fresh off of one of his phone assaulting sprees and somewhere some poor gay hotel clerk was cheering Crow's defeat while holding a cold steak to his black eye. Yes Denzel is a GREAT actor and should have won for Malcolm X, but in this movie he played a cop/mobster and with the usual intensity and excellence that he has in every other movie. I liked his Crimson Tide performance better.
4. Halley Berry, monster's ball. One of my LEAST favorite actors. She practically ruined the X3 with almost every poorly acted word. So she stripped naked and practically got porn-jiggy with Billy Bob. To some people this might merit her the "Greatest actor/woman/human In the Universe Award" but there were three other women on the roster that night that were WAAAAAY better. Again, Black History night, except she is half white.
3. Gwyneth Paltrow. She did a good job as Shakespeare's Juliet inspiration but Kate Blanchett should have won, hands-down for her chilling and magnificent portrayal of Elizabeth. Kate can do anything. Gwyneth is good at acting pouty on screen and acting like she is common on "Inside the actor's studio" all-the-while reminding everyone in the room that she is better than them with every planned glance, but stick to the period chick-flicks. (I did like her in Talented Mr. Ripley, but again, Kate was better in that as well.)
2. Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. So everyone LOVED this depressing bit of film but me. Nick was good and I gotta love him but come on, Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking???? Should have won hands-down. Sean's performance was Brando-in-Streetcar good. Pacino-in-Godfather good. Hopkins-in-Silence-of-the-Lambs good. Just amazing. What a movie.
1. Everyone is going to hate me for this... AT FIRST. So yes, Hanks is awesome. I love him. Deserved every award and would have deserved the award if it weren't for a little performance by Morgan Freeman in a little known movie "Shawshank Redemption." In my book Freeman should have made Academy history that night. Shawshank is still one of my favorite movies. Gump however, gets a tad sappier every year. GENNAYYYY! Favorite hanks performance will always be in "Big" for me.
5. Denzel Washington in Training Day. Total jip. Russel Crow for a Beautiful Mind should have won that night. It was Black History night so anyone that was not black didn't stand a Chance. Plus Crow was fresh off of one of his phone assaulting sprees and somewhere some poor gay hotel clerk was cheering Crow's defeat while holding a cold steak to his black eye. Yes Denzel is a GREAT actor and should have won for Malcolm X, but in this movie he played a cop/mobster and with the usual intensity and excellence that he has in every other movie. I liked his Crimson Tide performance better. 
4. Halley Berry, monster's ball. One of my LEAST favorite actors. She practically ruined the X3 with almost every poorly acted word. So she stripped naked and practically got porn-jiggy with Billy Bob. To some people this might merit her the "Greatest actor/woman/human In the Universe Award" but there were three other women on the roster that night that were WAAAAAY better. Again, Black History night, except she is half white. 
3. Gwyneth Paltrow. She did a good job as Shakespeare's Juliet inspiration but Kate Blanchett should have won, hands-down for her chilling and magnificent portrayal of Elizabeth. Kate can do anything. Gwyneth is good at acting pouty on screen and acting like she is common on "Inside the actor's studio" all-the-while reminding everyone in the room that she is better than them with every planned glance, but stick to the period chick-flicks. (I did like her in Talented Mr. Ripley, but again, Kate was better in that as well.) 
2. Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. So everyone LOVED this depressing bit of film but me. Nick was good and I gotta love him but come on, Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking???? Should have won hands-down. Sean's performance was Brando-in-Streetcar good. Pacino-in-Godfather good. Hopkins-in-Silence-of-the-Lambs good. Just amazing. What a movie.
1. Everyone is going to hate me for this... AT FIRST. So yes, Hanks is awesome. I love him. Deserved every award and would have deserved the award if it weren't for a little performance by Morgan Freeman in a little known movie "Shawshank Redemption." In my book Freeman should have made Academy history that night. Shawshank is still one of my favorite movies. Gump however, gets a tad sappier every year. GENNAYYYY! Favorite hanks performance will always be in "Big" for me.
9 comments:
I think I can pretty well agree with you on all of these. Kate Blanchett in Elizabeth was excellent. Halley Berry has been way overrated. I've never really liked Nick Cages acting - wooden and dry every time. I might argue on Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump, but I will not argue that the movie seems a bit sappier every year while I can never seem to turn off Shawshank when I see it on TV.
Another I might add was Russel Crow for Gladiator. I never saw why so many felt this was such a tremendous movie or performance. I think Hanks in Cast Away that year was better; a man carrying a storyline forward for 30 minutes with no dialogue is pretty tough.
Frightening, my friend. I agree with your assessments 100%. Not only with the fact that those who won didn't deserve to, but with who you would have given the award to.
I hate the Academy Awards.
I've said so numerous times. They're such a pointless self-congratulatory asskissfest. I'm in the entertainment industry and I only watch sometimes.
Gotta disagree on #1. Loved both movies but Hanks deserved that one. After all people go around quoting him all the time from that movie. Does anyone quote Freeman?
Heck YES! My favoirte slogan as a matter of fact.
"Get busy livin' or get busy dying"
I'm not saying he wasn't good, but He kinda played an idiot with an accent. It was Hanks that we really loved in that movie, not his acting. There were times when Gump was talking that I could see Hanks through all of that.
You may use that phrase a lot, but I've heard "Life is like a box of chocolates" and "Run Forest Run!" from a lot more people.:) I did love Hanks in Big, and he totally rocked in Castaway. I do agree that both of those are better performances than Forest.Can't believe he didn't win for either one of those.
BTW, I love Shawshank, both the story and the movie. As for Forest Gump, it is a bit sappy at times, but the movie was WAY better than the book, which is something I don't often find to be true.
Actually, it is entirely possible that the Oscar for Gump was as much for Big as it was for Forrest Gump. Big came at a time when he was still doing more comedy than drama (between The Money Pit and The 'burbs) and the Academy Awards are notorious for not awarding funny-men. He's done a really good job of redefining himself as a versatile actor and not just a laugh-riot.
No kidding. I am a Hanks fan, for sure. I think If just about anyone else besides Freeman that year would have lost to Hanks. But it wasn't Sidney Portier night.
Crow's oscar for Gladiator was really for his work on Insider. Someone else should have one that one too.
I love Hanks, to get me wrong, I just think it wasn't his best moment, (Cast Away is better) and Morgan Freeman's performance is as timeless as any leading man has ever given. Gump is just a fun pop icon. Good acting, maybe great (shoot, I couldn't do it) but come on... like I said, there wasn't much nuance in that performance. When you watch Shawshank again, watch for the subtleties and how each moment is "felt" rather than just heard.
Maybe this is all just me.
For instance the best acting by Pacino in Godfather 1 is when he is at the italian food joint about to blow away the mob boss and the police chief. 30 seconds of nothing but expression and underlying emoition. Not a word comes out of him... but it is about as intense as it gets.
Amen and amen. "Elizabeth" is one of my all-time favorite movies, and the Paltrow movie bored me to tears. Kate is awesome, and she was definitely robbed that year.
I used to love watching the Oscars, but I don't watch them anymore because I usually haven't seen any of the movies nominated. I do, however, know most of the lines from most Disney movies. :)
Oh - and I agree about Morgan Freeman. I think Gump is way overrated. As a Southerner, I was offended by much of it. I love Morgan Freeman though.
Euphrony, I loved Russell Crow in "Gladiator!" But it might not have been just his acting...maybe the academy had some women voters that year??
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