Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

Ronan and Dee were both good/decent.

Swinton had virtually no character to work with but filled her performance with delicious eccentricities. She shone.

Better was Amy Ryan, who took a showy role and played it beautifully with tough sass layered in subtleties.

Disappointed with the NYFCC, Hudson was amateurish in her acting.

Breslin was perfectly good.

Don't recall Blanchett being impressive.

Barraza was decent but didn't stand out.

I was quite intrigued by the intense Kinkuchi - so she's my choice.

Wahlberg was decent but not outstanding. Hounsou was quite good, but nothing memorable. Arkin? Fine. Now the tough choice. Eddie Murphy was excellent - spot-on, nuanced and subtle when appropriate. Jackie Earle Haley was spooky but nothing special for most of the film - then came his breakdown scene...

Tough choosing between Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren. Neither has that much to do, but they do splendidly well with what they had. Smith exquisitely plays the comic relief of uptight, witty English lady that she does so frequently. A gem, even if it is one we see often in one form or another. Mirren...

Can't bring myself to watch a bio-pic that distorts someone's life. So may never see A Beautiful Mind.

Love, love, love the social drama/mystery Gosford Park!

I enjoyed The Fellowship of the Ring, but have some issues with changes from print to film.

Crash was very contrived, manipulative, sentimental dreck.

Capote was fine.

Munich was intriguing but I'm not a fan of encouraging questionable fact-based drama.

Chicago was fascinatingly and vitally kinetic. It overflowed with artistic and technical creativity and engagement, topped off with the classic set of songs and good performances. I've seen the theatrical version of The Two Towers. Waiting for the right time to see the extended version. That is how ...

Crash - very contrived, manipulative, sentimental dreck.

The much-celebrated "Iwo Jima" is the only film I've yet to see. I found The Departed to be sloppy police potboiler. The Hong Kong original was somewhat better. Babel was enjoyable if blatantly contrived and unbelievable. Sunshine was good fun, if formulaic. I should see The Queen again. I...

I did not commend an Oscar nomination for Rocky's screenplay. I haven't seen it. The direction and editing were good. But disagree about the screenplay - a couple of great lines but mainly insubstantial drama, little psychological insight, with an ending that is ludicrous at best and, at worst, just...

Don't forget Steven Hill's brilliant work in The Goddess.

The direction and editing were good. But disagree about the screenplay - a couple of great lines but mainly insubstantial drama, little psychological insight, with an ending that is ludicrous at best and, at worst, justifies sociopathic behavior. I'm a statistical guy when it comes to predicting Bes...

Yes, her mannerisms really hurt her performance until her character moved to Hollywood. Then she became more natural and real, especially towards the end. As for the screenplay, for a very structured story, there were plot holes or bad flow of plot points. The character development also didn't conge...

I just watched The Goddess again for the first time in years. I am curious how those on these boards think Kim Stanley's performance rank next to the other female performances of the year. She was brilliant and fascinating towards the end as she teetered towards a complete breakdown. Fine to excelle...

Streep's impersonation is splendidly good. Frankly though, I couldn't sit through the entire movie...just trashy in how it purports Thatcher sees her dead husband talk to her all the time.