The Departed

I have mentioned this movie a few times already in previous blog postings, but I really think this is going to be one of the years best films. What do you think?

Whatever Happened To… ?

JAN MICHAEL VINCENT?

Born in 1944, and was noticed by a talent scout while finishing his stint in the National Guard.
During the 1970’s Jan Michael Vincent kept the screen aflame with his sculpted face and physique in action flicks like; The World’s Greatest Athlete and White Line Fever. And who could forget him in Buster & Billie and Baby Blue Marine. Of course the “AB”solutely fab movie, Big Wednesday, where his wardrobe consisted of swimming trunks. He was in the TV series Police Story from 1973-1977

Then in the 1980’s Jan moved back to TV with the Series “Airwolf” from 1984 to 1986.

In 1996 Jan Michael suffered serious injuries in an auto accident. Even though he broke his neck, he escaped paralysis, but suffered serious damage to his vocal cords.

He currently lives in Redwood, Mississippi. Just North of Vicksburg. He has a secluded home and horse ranch. Since then he has been seen in a few films like Escape to Grizzly Mountain and Menace.

#2 ~ Brokeback Mountain

Before you curse me and take away my gay badge, hear me out. I know, a gay man not listing Brokeback Mountain, the biggest gay themed movie to ever penetrate American film, as number 1, could be considered a cardinal sin. But it just wasn’t as good as Crash. Well not in my opinion anyway.

I just could never believe from his performance that Jake Gyllenhaal’s Jack Twist really loved Ennis. I don’t know what it was, but he just couldn’t make me believe it. He was tremendous in the film, just not believable. Heath Ledger on the other hand did make me believe, but again his performance was not what I was expecting. The real star of this film was not Jake or Heath but Michelle Williams. I truly believed her character and felt her pain and emotion. She was riveting and should have won the Oscar for that role.

Now Ang Lee on the other hand, he was extraordinary. He is one of the best directors that ever sat behind a camera. His work in this film was phenomenal. The cinematography was the finest I’ve ever seen and the raw emotion he was able to get out of his actors was stupendous. Was it a good film? No it was a great film and one that will become a classic. The best of the year? Not quite. A

Classic Men in Cinema: GARY COOPER

GARY COOPER: 1901-1961

Pitch Black

This sci-fi movie gave most of us our first introduction to Vin Diesel, and I personally must say I was not impressed with him then anymore than I am know. The movie however was a little better than I expected.

The storyline was easy enough, but the story background left a lot to be desired. They tried to put subplots in the movie which only distracted from the main plot and caused me to even be more confused with who really was Riddick and Johns (played by Cole Hauser). The actors seemed to be forcing their lines, and many of them were not believable in their role, except for Riddick.

The cinematography was very well put together and the use of colors was exciting and different. Most of the movie was supposed to be in complete darkness,hence the title, and the pulled it off very well by using different colors as the survivors made their way through the pitch black to find their escape from the alien creatures. Speaking of alien creatures…

These aliens were a mix between “Alien” and Jurrasic Park but very believable and pretty damn frightening as well. The way they devoured their prey was very well photographed and depicted. As a Sci-Fi movie this was not bad. Not the best I’ve seen but again, not bad. C-

Hollywoodland

This murder, I think might be true

Supporting Actor Predictions

The Supporting Actor field is wide open this year, and with an already tremendous collection of outstanding roles this early prediction would be hard by any means. But I have narrowed it down to these five;
Jack Nicholson for The Departed:
He can play romantic leads, off the wall cops, psychotic killers, and yes even a mob boss. Jack Nicholson is (if you have read my blog before, you already know) my favorite actor of all time. And the Academy loves him even more than I do. He will be nominated this year, trust me. Will he win? That is for the Academy voters to decide. If nominated this will be an unprecedented number of 13 nominations. He is currently tied with Miss Katharine Hepburn for most acting nominations at 12.

Brian Cox for Running With Scissors:
Brian has been around for sometime, and one of the best character actors of our time. Yet he has rarely been recognized. I feel that this role with give him the recognition he deserves. Let’s hope the Academy agrees.

Paul Giamatti for The Illusionist:
Paul has been seen quite a bit at the Academy Awards in the last few years. A versatile and extraordinary actor, Paul may very well become the “Thelma Ritter” of the actor categories. (Miss Ritter was nominated 6 times for an Oscar, but never won). However it may be his year, the Academy may take in to account his previous work and this may very well be his shining moment.

Michael Caine for The Children of Men:
What Academy Awards show would not be complete without Michael Caine as a nominee. As an actor he is superb and as a winner he is extremely courteous and a gentleman. The Academy loves gentlemanly winners. He has two movies this year that he could be nominated for, but I think Children is the “meatier” of the roles and the one that will garner the most attention.

Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls: Your probably saying…”Eddie Murphy? Your joking right?” No, and I would even venture a guess that he will be the one to beat this year in this category. I mean who would have thought that Sean Penn, or Nicholas Cage or Jamie Foxx would have ever been nominated for an Academy Award? But Eddie is flawless in this picture, and there is already talk that this movie will walk away with all the awards this year. So Eddie Murphy as an Academy Award winner? Why not?

As in my Actor predictions I also have my backup picks. With all the actors out there this year that could be nominated in this category it has been most difficult to choose these five, but as for a back up, well I chose two…
Robert Downey Jr. In Fur/A Scanner Darkly; Mr. Downey has had his feel of bad times, and it seems he has finally realized that he has potential. Let’s hope he continues down this path as the man is an accomplished actor and deserves this kind of attention rather than the attention he has brought upon himself in the past.
and secondly…
Jude Law for All the King’s Men: I do not normally like remakes, but from what I’ve heard of this move, if it ever gets released, will be a contender this year. Jude is one of my favorite actors, and he has been nominated before, so we know the Academy likes him.

So there they are, my predictions for the Actor Oscars. Now remember these may change, but the last change I make will be October 31, 2006. Nominations will be announced January 23, 2007…So see you then for my predictions on the winners!

#3 ~ Aviator

Leonardo has finally proven himself to me. I mean I’ve always liked him, but ever since Gilbert Grape, I didn’t think he was working up to his potential. After seeing Aviator, I and the rest of the world know what this actor can do. And I think we will be seeing even more of him in 2006.

He carried this film. He and Cate Blanchett. Howard Hughes was a mystery to so many and DeCaprio showed us a little of that mystery and what was behind the man. Hepburn was and is a legend and Blanchett showed us what she was all about in perfect form.

Martin Scorsese has brought an air of old Hollywood back to Hollywood with this film, and again the Academy just passes him by, but this was one of his best. His direction helped capture the essence of Hollywood in Hughes’ hey day and also the pain in which Hughes lived in it. Excellent movie, excellent direction and excellent acting. A

Up & Coming: Jessica Biel

From 7th Heaven to The Sexiest Woman Alive, Jessica Biel is a woman that is on the rise, and a talent that will be a force to reckon with.

Best Actor Predictions

As a movie fan, and particularly a fan of men in film, one of my greatest pleasures is the Academy Awards. Every year since I was a young kid I have watched to show, and had my predictions sitting there with me to see how I did in guessing the winner. Now that I’m an adult and a blogger, I’ve decided to get into the game early and begin predicting the nominations as well as the winners.

We are now about halfway through the movie season, and so what better time than to start thinking about who will get the nod this year in the Best Actor category.

So far this year I have not seen anything close to Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s role in last year’s Capote. But I do think that this year will be just as exciting. So here are my Early Nom Predictions for this years Best Actor award…

Even though he is relatively new to Hollywood, Ryan Gosling is getting a lot of attention this year as his portrayal of a inner-city teacher who just happens to also have a drug habit. His acting is superb and if he doesn’t get a nod this year I am certain he will be a force to reckon with in the future. So for my first pick, I chose Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson.

Brad Pitt has been around a while now, and he has received a lot of attention over the past 15 months with the whole “Brangelina” thing. Unfortunately Brad has not received that type of attention with the Academy. I think this year it is going to be a different story. With two major film roles this year, I think it is his time. So for prediction #2 I go for Brad Pitt in Babel.

One of Brad’s movie peers, Matt Damon has also been overlooked but as Brad, I do think Matt will be noticed as well. His portrayal of an undercover mobster in the police department is splendid in The Departed, and his role in The Good Shepherd has already received a lot of attention. So pick #3 will be Matt Damon for either The Departed of The Good Shepherd

As I have already indicated, this year’s Best Actor field is not as easy to predict as last years, so the next to predictions are just plain guesses, but isn’t that what this is anyway, a guessing game? One of Hollywoods best actors has been nominated but has yet to win, and I think it is high time this guy gets his due. So I’m going to say he will get a nod this year, Forest Whitaker for his role in The Last King of Scotland.

My last prediction is going out on a limb, but the Academy has a heart for actors and actresses that tend to play against their former roles, and Will Smith has certainly achieved that in this year’s movie, Pursuit of Happyness.

Of course I have to have a back-up prediction, and I think his stature with the academy could land him right back into the line-up, Sean Penn in All the Kings Men.

So there you have it, my predictions for the Best Actor Oscar for 2006. To summarize:
Ryan Gosling/Half Nelson
Brad Pitt/Babel
Matt Damon/The Departed or Good Shepherd
Forest Whitaker/Last King of Scotland
Will Smith/Pursuit of Happyness
and back up: Sean Penn/All the Kings Men

These may change as more movies are released, and I will update my picks until October 30th, then I will no longer change them and see how I fared.
Stayed tuned for my Best Actor in a Supporting Role Predictions.