The Word's Oscar Picks (Sort of)

The Oscars are tomorrow and everyone has an opinion on who will or should win, even people who haven't seen any of the nominated films, people such as, to pick an example totally at random, me. Of course, in my capacity as a self-appointed non-professional pop culture pundit, it is my sworn and solemn duty to have, and to share you, my panting public, opinions on such matters of earth shattering import, regardless of whether or not I have any idea what I'm talking about. So, I quickly scanned a list of nominees, formed a few opinions on the fly, and I am now ready to make an ass of myself in front of the entire world, or at least the half dozen people who read this thing.

Since I've already admitted that I haven't seen any of the films up for best pictures, I cannot say which one deserves to win, however; despite the "buzz", the other awards, and the fervent wishes of critics everywhere, I don't think Brokeback Mountain will take the award. I may end up being proven wrong tomorrow night, but I think a "gay cowboy movie," as it Brokeback has been called, is still a bit too radical for the Academy to give its top honor.

In the Supporting Actor category, I would like to see the statue go to William Hurt for his work in A History of Violence. As a longtime supporter of, and practitioner in, the comics medium, it would warm the cockles of my shriveled little heart to see a film based on a "graphic novel" (a.k.a. "comic book") take one of the major awards.

Actually, there is one nominated film that I have seen: King Kong (I'm a sucker for giant ape stories) The film is nominated for Sound Editing and Visual Effects. The effects are spectacular and I'll be pulling for Kong to win.

Most years the Best Picture and Best Director awards go to the same film, but twice in the past decade they've gone to separate films. Oddly enough, those were the years that I decided to go to bed a few minutes early, after the Director statuette was handed out, figuring that Best picture was a foregone conclusion. So, this year I'm in for the long haul.