Fearless Oscar Predictions

Best Picture: Babel
Best Actress: Helen Mirren
Best Actor: Forrest Whittaker
Best S. Actress: Jennifer Hudson
Best S. Actor: Eddie Murphy
Best Director: Martin Scorsese

I hope Pan's Labyrinth wins Best Foreign Film, and I would be very pleased if Ryan Gosling won best actor, but he won't (it was enough of a surprise that he was nominated). I always admire "less is more" acting and the Academy likes "more is more." That's not to denigrate Helen Mirren, who is a shoe-in.

I love the Oscars. They are always deadly boring, but I always watch them, always get teary eyed when the bit about the people who have died this year comes on. Anyway, this year they're doing a tribute to Ennio Morricone, so we'll have some great music for a few minutes at least. And I'm looking forward to having Ellen as the host this year.

Tonight I'm going to watch Babel on dvd, so I will have seen it, and The Queen and Pan's Labyrinth, anyway.

Babel

Having now seen Babel, I can only hope that it does, in fact, win Best Picture, but my hopes are dimmed. It's just too good, so it probably won't. It's everything Crash wanted to be without the easy answers, cliches, and pretensions. It's far too intelligent for Hollywood. Beautifully photographed, very well acted, including stand-out performances by an almost unrecognizable Brad Pitt and a heart-breaking Rinko Kikuchi, this is a movie that lingers in the mind.