The 2006 Oscars are here!

And Freak is, once again, for the 4th year since he's been heavily into the film circuit supporting nothing. Not even his dear Lost in Translation did he care since he knew the film had no chance of winning. Was a joy to see Sofia accept the screenwriting award though. However, if there was one film out of the nominees every year I did think deserve the Oscar was Sideways, Brokeback Mountain, and The Departed (whose fate shall be decided tonight). For entertainment level alone, this year deserves an Oscar alone, since out of all the categories, Best Picture this year is the most unpredictable. In 03, 04, 05, Return of the King, Million Dollar Baby (or if I recall), and Brokeback Mountain (which was of course upset) were the clear favorites. Not the case this year. If Little Miss Sunshine takes Best Picture, the shock compared to Crash winning won't be half as widespread. The Departed, I think, is still the most favored, but Little Miss Sunshine or Babel winning would hardly ignite the same shock as did Crash. It can be said that neither Little Miss Sunshine or The Departed are generally academy favorites; one a crime film (not even really a serious crime film, it's closer to a cartoon crime film), the other an independent "family favorite." So if we're going by appeal to the academy alone, Babel seems to be the one with the advantage, with its obvious social message. If we're going by appeal to the general public, Little Miss Sunshine is the film that has won the fans over. The Departed seemed to be the one hyped all year, but still not enough to gain an advantage over the other two films. Judging by box office revenue and mainstream attention, however, The Departed is the most one with the advantage. Over 130 million in the box office compared to Little Miss Sunshine's 59 million and Babel's minute 33 million. I do not think that Letters From Iwo Jima and The Queen have any chance of winning, so I'll exclude them for the conversation. If I'm pressed to answer, I would like The Departed to win or more importantly for Scorsese to win Best Director, not because I think he gave the best direction this year, but because... yeah ya know.... Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas are still my favorites of their respected years and he was the best of the nominees.

My Predictions: (I predict I'll get 18 right)
Best Picture - The Departed
Best Director - Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress - Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor - Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best Original Screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay - The Departed
Best Cinematography - Children of Men
Best Editing - Babel
Best Art Direction - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Costume Design - Marie Antoinette
Best Score - Babel
Best Song - Melissa Etheridge, "I Need to Wake Up," An Inconvenient Truth
Best Make-Up - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Sound - Dreamgirls
Best Sound Editing - Pirates of the Caribbean
Best Visual Effects - Pirates of the Caribbean
Best Animated Feature - Happy Feet
Best Foreign Film - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Documentary Feature - An Inconvenient Truth

Who I want to win/Least Favorite (with respect to the category) from each category
Best Picture - The Departed/Letters From Iwo Jima
Best Director - Martin Scorsese/Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker/Ryan Gosling
Best Actress - Penelope Cruz/Kate Winslet
Best Supporting Actor - Mark Wahlberg/Alan Arkin
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson/Adriana Barraza
Best Original Screenplay - Pan's Labyrinth/Letters From Iwo Jima
Best Original Screenplay - The Departed/Little Children (jesus christ)
Best Cinematography - Children of Men/The Illusionist
Best Editing - The Departed/Babel
Best Art Direction - Pan's Labyrinth/Dreamgirls
Best Costume Design - Marie Antoinette/The Queen
Best Original Score - Pan's Labyrinth/Babel
Best Song - I Need to Wake Up/Patience
Best Make-Up - Pan's Labyrinth/-
Best Sound - Pirates of the Caribbean/Dreamgirls
Best Sound Editing - Letters from Iwo Jima/Flags of Our Fathers
Best Visual Effects - Pirates of the Caribbean/-
Best Animated Feature -/-
Best Foreign Language Film - Pan's Labyrinth/Water
Best Documentary Feature/An Inconvenient Truth/-

And finally... (just to express Freak's bitterness)... his [deserved to win].
Best Picture - Marie Antoinette
Best Director - Sofia Coppola - Marie Antoinette
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress - Kirsten Dunst - Marie Antoinette
Best Supporting Actor - Sergei Lopez - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Supporting Actress - Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada
Best Original Screenplay - Miami Vice
Best Adapted Screenplay - A Scanner Darkly
Best Cinematography - Marie Antoinette
Best Editing - Miami Vice
Best Art Direction - Marie Antoinette
Best Costume Design - Marie Antoinette
Best Original Score - The Fountain
Best Original Song - "Fools Rush In" - Marie Antoinette
Best Make-Up - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Sound - Miami Vice
Best Sound Editing - Miami Vice
Best Visual Effects - Pirates of the Caribbean
Best Animated Film - A Scanner Darkly
Best Foreign Language Film - Volver
Best Documentary Feature - An Inconvenient Truth