Come Oscars night, there will be winners and losers. And for those without the statues, you will receive instead consolation Letters from all over in various languages enough to resemble the tower of Babel. Maybe even The Queen will write to you. Then get Departed to an island where there won’t be any Sunshine so you can wallow in self-pity. Perhaps you might even meet some Dreamgirls (oops, we have to do it).

The winners for the acting categories this year are more or less cast in stone. Come Monday morning (Feb 26), the acting awards would be given out much later on during the show. But one thing we have learned from last year’s resounding Crash on BrokebackMountain, we should expect a surprise or two this year. Here’s where the Best Picture category comes in: it will be a wide-open race. There isn’t a strong picture nominee but don’t get me wrong, there are just as many good ‘non-nominated’ movies to go around – Pan’s Labyrinth, Children of Men, United 93 to name a few (Have you watched them already? If not, you should). Whatever talk of a box office slump is pure Tom Cruise gibberish. Good movies are still in production so hey, keep watching, DVDs included (thank God for the DVDs for I managed to watch all nominated films except Venus). See you at the movies.

Best Actor

Peter O’ Toole has seven Oscar nominations but no statues to show, except the honorary award back in 2002. Could he be the sentimental favourite and win for his role in Venus? Hardly, considering the buzz generated for Forest Whitaker but let’s hold that thought for a minute.

For Leonardo DiCaprio, his performance as a mercenary in Blood Diamond was great, but his performance in The Departed, which he missed out (The Academy prohibits the same actor nominated twice in the same category), was simply amazing. Tough luck.

We still see a few good years ahead for talented Ryan Gosling, who’s nominated for his druggie teacher role in Half Nelson. Will Smith, a box-office tour de force, must be happy to be just nominated for his overtly saccharine performance in The Pursuit of Happyness. Somehow, I still prefer him fighting aliens. Let’s get back to Whitaker. I always like this guy.

Despite acting in average movies (Phone Booth, Panic Room), he manages to leave a nice impression. And in The Last King of Scotland, he gave a powerful performance as Idi Amin. One moment, he raged like a beast and the next moment, he’s this gentle being. In fact, he was cast against type considering his real benign nature. Thus, to see him become all sound and fury, it showed the range and depth in the actor. All hail the King.

Best Actress

This year, the category is truly worth the salt and dramatic tears. We have three thespians, a wonderful British actress who holds her own and another young splendid foreign actress. Let’s start with Meryl Streep. 14 nominations, several wins; she’s having fun now. Just look at The Devil Wears Prada – she’s not the kind to act in some chick flick comedy but she did! Dame Judi Dench gave a snarling performance as a psychopathic teacher with an ambiguous sexuality in Notes on a Scandal but that role alone won’t strike well with mainstream voters.

Poor Kate Winslet – every time she’s nominated in recent years, she’s always up against a better actress in a better role. Not that her performance in Little Children should be discounted. She demonstrated to us she could even handle a modern suburbia desperate housewife role.Penélope Cruzis the closest I think who could give the Queen a run for her money. When acting in her native language in Volver, she’s able to show a fuller range of emotions. Sometimes, you don’t know if she’s crying or laughing but let’s give her time, which she has plenty. Well, I’d be damned if the Queen doesn’t win. Or Helen Mirren for that matter.

Both are the same, if you ask me. Look at how Mirren inhabits the role effortlessly, as if she’s the Queen. Given her Shakespearean background, Mirren has always been in a class of her own. I saw her performance as another queen – Elizabeth I – in a screening where most reviewers didn’t bother showing up (I understand, the TV-miniseries was 4 hours long) which was equally magnificent. In GosfordPark, she was sharp. In Calendar Girls, she was delightful.

And in The Queen, you better take a bow and curtsey. Seriously, God save the Queen if Mirren doesn’t win.

Best Supporting Actor

Djimon Hounsou’s role in Blood Diamond is rather similar to another one of his in In America. Somehow, I’m beginning to think he’s been typecast as the angry African man. And Alan Arkin’s grumpy granddad role in Little Miss Sunshine is cute, but not enough.

I like Jackie Earle Haley in Little Children. Playing an ex-sex offender who is forced to repress his feelings and emotions, his performance was truly raw and heartfelt, especially in the last scene where he sobbed uncontrollably at the playground.

Mark Whalberg’s detective role in The Departed was intense and edgy, whose Boston background certainly helped in the role. But nothing could beat the showboating of Eddie Murphy’s performance in Dreamgirls. Sure, we remember by his comedic loud motor-mouth roles but to watch him crash and burn in gradual pace in Dreamgirls as a fading R&B singer (James Brown, perhaps?) tells us finally Murphy has arrived. And the Academy would gladly confer him with a statue.

Best Supporting Actress

Fans of Babelwould be split in deciding between Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza, first time nominees. Another first time nominee is 10-year-old Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine. Nominating her is more than good enough, I think. As for Cate Blanchett, who won in this category for The Aviator two years ago, should sit back and enjoy the show. But her performance as a cheating wife and a disoriented friend to Dench was amazing, holding her own against the Dame in Notes on a Scandal. Pardon me, but I think this category is somewhat cursed. Most Supporting Actress winners always fade away. Look at Mira Sorvino, Juliette Binoche and Kim Basinger. Relatively unknown actresses win the statue and become relatively unknown again. Will that happen to Jennifer Hudson? Only time can tell. Her performance as the reformed and determined Effie White in Dreamgirls lent some gravitas to the film. But for now, like how she sings in Dreamgirls, she ain’t going anywhere.

Best Director

This has Marty written all over it. Never mind he didn’t win for his other masterpieces (Raging Bull, Goodfellas). Give him the statue for The Departed and all water’s under the bridge. Another striking evidence it will be Martin Scorsese’snight – word’s going around that marquee directors like Steven Spielberg would be presenting the award. Stephen Frears (The Queen), Paul Greengrass (United 93) and Alejandro GonzálezIñárritu (Babel) are commendable for their efforts but then again, it’s Marty’s night. Clint Eastwood, the Academy’s darling, has been dominating this category of late (MysticRiver, Million Dollar Baby) and I’m sure he would be equally pleased if his compatriot wins. As mentioned, it is Marty’s night. Enough, somebody give him the statue already!

Best Picture


This category is as good as anybody’s guess. It could very well be any out of the five. After last year’s Crash, nobody is dead sure. But if there’s anything to consider, voters at the Academy always go with the current mood. Right now, with the Iraq war long gone and the economy getting all bullish, people are buzzing about Little Miss Sunshine, that delightful road-trip comedy that takes jibes at dysfunctional families and America’s culture of a constant winning mentality for everything. It’s a hilarious and heart-warming indie picture that could possibly go all the way, like last year’s Crash. Letters from Iwo Jima could be too sombre for its own good and the stellar acting of Helen Mirren has largely overshadowed the merits of The Queen. Babel,despite picking up a Golden Globe, is rather weak considering detractors have labelled the movie of having a similar treatment like Alejandro González Iñárritu’s previous films (21 Grams). And I have a qualm with its lack of unifying narrative thread. What about The Departed? I say it’s a close-tie between Marty’s film and Little Miss Sunshine. Sure, the Boston-made film isn’t as good as the original Hongkong’s Infernal Affairs but will the American voters care? In the current fervour of worshipping the all too important Martin Scorsese, The Departed might just walk away with the trophy. If voters listen to their heart, they will go with Sunshine, which I am.

For Your Consideration (titles in bold denote predicted winner)

Best Original Screenplay

Babel
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Queen

Best Adapted Screenplay

Borat Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan
Children Of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes On A Scandal

Best Animated Feature Film

Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Best Art Direction

Dreamgirls
The Good Shepherd
Pan’s Labyrinth
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The Prestige

Best Cinematography

The Black Dahlia
Children Of Men
The Illusionist
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Prestige

Best Costume Design

Curse Of The Golden Flower
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
The Queen

Best Film Editing

Babel
Blood Diamond
Children Of Men
The Departed
United 93

Best Makeup

Apocalypto
Click
Pan’s Labyrinth

Best Sound Editing

Apocalypto
Blood Diamond
Flags Of Our Fathers
Letters From Iwo Jima
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Best Sound Mixing

Apocalypto
Blood Diamond
Dreamgirls
Flags Of Our Fathers
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Best Visual Effects

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Poseidon
Superman Returns


Best Music (Score)

Babel
The Good German
Notes On A Scandal
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Queen

Best Music (Song)

An Inconvenient Truth “I Need to Wake Up” Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
Dreamgirls “Listen” Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler; Lyric by Anne PrevenDreamgirls “Love You I Do” Music by Henry Krieger; Lyric by Siedah Garrett Cars “Our Town” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Dreamgirls “Patience” Music by Henry Krieger; Lyric by Willie Reale

Ronald Wan was a former editor of UrbanWire. He is now a contributing writer for various magazines about town.