Awards
Page Index
* OSCAR coverage here
'06 FiLM BiTCH
Awards
by Nathaniel
R
Traditional
Oscar categories: Majors
/
Acting /
Technicals /
Technicals 2 (Tally of Noms)
Special Categories: Extras
/ Extras 2 / Scenes
1 / Scenes 2
(Tally of Noms) / Movie Mixers (Poll Games)
Best
Actress in a Leading Role
the
goddesses are...
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Penelope
Cruz "Raimunda" Volver |
Judi
Dench "Barbara Covett" Notes on a Scandal |
Laura
Dern "Nikki Grace/Susan Blue" INLAND EMPIRE |
Gretchen
Mol "Bettie Page" The Notorious Bettie Page |
Meryl
Streep "Miranda Priestley" The Devil Wears Prada |
Gets
Raimunda's barricaded heart just right and lightens the turn w/ relaxed
comic beats. Wonderful Bonus Points: Cruz should always work for Pedro: a great team |
An
intimidating portrait of lonely internalized rage. Her best work in
many years Bonus Points: In her sister's house by the mirror, refusing to really see herself |
It
isn't the cohesive character work from Wild At Heart (it can't
be) but the splintering of self she illuminates is fierce and horrifying Bonus Points: The Face™ |
Her
unfussy subtle interpretation of this icon was a sunny
revelation. She's the entire loveable show Bonus Points: She bravely underplays the born again climax |
A
performance that could have been a cartoon lands in the hall of fame.
Think Depp in the first Pirates: Comic genius Bonus Points: 100 different ways to spin"That's all" |
 2006
was a banner year for leading actresses. Flip any of these six for the
five up top and it's still a deserving lineup ... and, still,
almost no one from last year gets
in. Because it was an embarassment of riches this year I'm expanding
the finalists and semi-finalists much larger than I usually do. Finalists: Kate Winslet is one of my top five favorite living actresses and once again, she delivers a beautiful thing, finely detailing a bad mommy / suburban woman on the verge. * Maggie Gyllenhaal lobs a blistering star turn at us in Sherrybaby * Naomi Watts handles a difficult character with previously unseen delicacy in The Painted Veil * Helen Mirren slam dunks her tiny character arc in The Queen --but, like one smart person said "it's like watching Rembrandt doodle" * Kirsten Dunst made for a dreamy and elegant vessel for Sofia Coppola's concerns as Marie Antoinette * Annette Bening was equal parts funny, heartbreaking, and maddening in Running With Scissors * Semi-Finalists: Young Shareeka Epps in Half Nelson was a marvel of naturalism, handling difficult scenes with adult power and complexity * Catherine O' Hara For Your Consideration Isn't as revelatory as her Mighty Wind peak but it's still damn impressive. Nobody does tragicomedy better * Sook-Yin Lee was a great figurehead for Shortbus's mix of dramatically frustrated comedy * But what of Jennifer Hudson's lauded work in Dreamgirls? Her work is all surface but what an entertaining surface. Musically at least, this is volcanic. I've loved Hudson ever since her very first audition for AI. But seriously now, I worry: How will she ever follow up Effie White? |
||||
| Oscar
Race |
||||
Best
Actor in a Leading Role
the
idols are...
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Daniel
Craig "James Bond" Casino Royale |
Ryan
Gosling "Mr. Dunne" Half Nelson |
Hugh
Jackman "Tomas / Tom / Tommy" The Fountain |
James
McAvoy "Nicholas Garrigan" The Last King of Scotland |
Forest
Whitaker "Idi Amin" The Last King of Scotland |
Absolutely
fearless. Seizes an iconic role and dares to make it feel human and
malleable Bonus Points: One of my favorite actors finally becoming a star |
For
breathtaking control of his gift. You can see the addict bleeding into
every aspect of his behavior Bonus Points: Chemistry with every scene partner |
Trusting
his director, Jackman digs deep to haunting effect. He stokes
the film's spiritual fire in his tripled but singular role.
Bonus Points: His career best |
Totally
nails the characters: Well intentioned but selfish, impulsive and overwhelmed.
Bonus Points: He's so specific this fictional character ends up feeling as real as Amin |
The
violent, charismatic, and unpredictable tyrant is conjured vividly Bonus Points: He's always been a strong actor but he seems posessed here |
| Finalist:
Leonardo
DiCaprio took on a Tony Leung role in The Departed
and didn't come up short which means he sure as hell better be Oscar
nominated for this Semi-Finalists: Peter O' Toole still has it. He wows in Venus though it's hardly stretchy material for Lawrence of Arabia himself * Clive Owen accomplishes a lot by doing very little in Children of Men, the character may appear to be "underwritten" but it's more the case of a threadbare existence suddenly exhumed from its grave * Sacha Baron Cohen gives good stunt and hilarious performance art in Borat * Aaron Eckhart gave Thank You For Smoking what limited spark it had, ably carrying its best qualities in his leading spinmaster |
||||
| Oscar
Race |
||||
Best
Actress in a Supporting Role
the
outstanding women are...
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Adriana
Barraza "Amelia" Babel |
Emily
Blunt "Emily" The Devil Wears Prada |
Mia
Kirshner "Elizabeth Short" The Black Dahlia |
Fiona
Shaw "Ramona Linscott" The Black Dahlia |
Meryl
Streep "Yolanda Johnson" A Prairie Home Companion |
For
a fully realized character in a film with a lot of sketchy portraits.
She anchors all her scenes with emotional truth Bonus Points: That devastating final scene |
A
deliciously full throttle comic turn. She seizes the movie and amps
up every laugh Bonus Points: "I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight" |
For
her completely haunting turn as the film's ghost and those riveting
quicksilver shifts in "performance" Bonus Points: She gives the movie its only deep emotion: despair |
A
transformative portrayal of fermented snobbery. Even the camera is intimidated
by her Bonus Points: Every single line reading is a thing of mad genius |
Every
bit as fine a comic actress as a dramatic one Bonus Points: That astonishingly rich voice. Even when she's singing she's giving a full performance (more) |
| Finalist:
Carmen Maura's return to Almodovar's
world in Volver
was a long time coming and added resonance to an already strong
performance * Abigail
Breslin was just darling in Little Miss Sunshine and
I never caught her "acting" --she's a natural Semi-Finalists: Kerry Washington was memorably trapped in Last King of Scotland and emotionally blocked in The Dead Girl * Maggie Gyllenhaal in World Trade Center offers another reminder that the best actors can be good in anything and with any tired role * Danielle Proulx in C.R.A.Z.Y. and Toni Collette in Little Miss Sunshine both excelled at playing mothers in whirlwind families on the verge* Rinko Kikuchi got a plum attention grabbing role in Babel * |
||||
| Oscar
Race |
||||
Best
Actor in a Supporting Role
the
reliable men are...
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Steve
Carell "Frank" Little Miss Sunshine |
Jackie
Earle Haley "Ronnie J. McGorvey" Little Children |
Greg
Kinnear "Richard Hoover" Little Miss Sunshine |
Eddie
Murphy "James 'Thunder' Early" Dreamgirls |
Mark
Wahlberg "Dignam" The Departed |
Superbly
captures the pain (watch the eyes) but there's such range and detail
here, you can imagine Frank past the films ending Bonus Points: He gets better every year |
A
fearless take on the film's most difficult role Bonus Points: That date scene: excruciating to watch him meander in and out of the role he's trying (and failing) to play |
Artfully
textures Richard's one track mind and fear of failure Bonus Points: He and Collette anchor the off the wall plot elements as believably frazzled parents |
The
best turn in the film. Has a ball with Jimmy's stage persona and gets
all entitled and empty offstage Bonus Points: "Jimmy got - Jimmy got - Jimmy got souuuuul!" |
An
ever watchable actor but he's always more fun when he's sidelined and
has to fight for scenes Bonus Points: Like the "id" of the film's tough guy posturing style |
| Finalist:
Stanley Tucci slides effortlessly into designer shoes in The
Devil Wears Prada but I kept hoping the film would give him more
to do. But what he does do he does superbly* Michael
Sheen captures
Tony Blair well and provides warmth as our point of view in The
Queen * Semi-Finalists: Lesie Phillips plays off Peter O'Toole wonderfully in Venus * |
||||
| Oscar
Race |
||||
