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    2009 Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actor

    By Orlando on Sat, 02/21/2009 - 7:03pm | Arts & Entertainment

     

     

    And the nominees are:

     

    • Josh Brolin in Milk;
    • Robert Downey, Jr., in Tropic Thunder;
    • Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt;
    • Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight; and
    • Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road.

     

    So, here's the deal. I saw a lot of movies. And a couple of them were awful (I'm talking to you,  Benjamin). And I found myself on Friday night with a choice. Either I could see the two remaining movies or I could accept an invitation to go out with friends. And it's not like everybody doesn't already know who's going to win in the Best Supporting Actor category anyway. And I already saw Benjamin Button and The Wrestler, so I chose not to subject myself to Tropic Thunder. I regret not seeing Revolutionary Road, because it looks interesting. But I'll catch it when it comes out on DVD.

    Of the three movies I did manage to see, Hoffman gave my favorite performance. In Doubt, he plays the priest right on the line, so you don't know what's going on until the last possible second. He's great, as usual.

    Josh Brolin is okay in Milk, playing Dan White, the San Francisco supervisor who murders Harvey Milk. He has the audience alternatively feeling sorry for him and laughing at him. I thought he may have overacted the role just a little bit, but he does leave you thinking that maybe if his colleagues would have cut him just a little more slack, the result would have been different.

    Heath Ledger really was fabulous as the Joker. His voice, his posture, and everything about his appearance hid the person underneath. He probably deserves the award, but I wish it was for a better movie. I was almost as bored watching The Dark Knight as I was watching Benjamin Button. I was definitely as happy to see it end. But Ledger was so immensely talented, with the range to play any kind of character. So, he should have "Academy Award Winner" after his name in the history books.

    We'll see how many categories I got right tomorrow night. Genghis has been kind enough to post links to the other categories on the Dagblog header, if you'd like to take a look.

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    Comments

    o, just wanted to thank you for a fun liveblog. at some point i fell like 15 minutes behind the actual event so i had to stop participating so i wouldnt learn the winners beforehand. but i just went through a replay and your guys had some great comments.

    couple comments - i actually liked the practice of bringing up a bunch of past winners to present the big awards, tho i still wouldve liked to seen clips of the performances.

    i thought the seth rogen/franco skit was kind of funny.

    the action montage was i guess for the three straight men still watching the oscars by that point.

    halle berry was effin gorgeous, not skinny. the only prettier girl of the night may have been the star from slumdog

    i actually liked seeing hollywood stars seem like real people, with a bit of wrinkles and the like. maybe they've just realized that if they go too crazy with the botox and plastic surgery eventually they will look like sophia loren.

    sean penn was a nice surprise winner and gave an awesome, heartfelt speech, tho people who dont like his politics will likely like him even less, which i didnt think was possible.

    kate winslet gave a very lovely speech as well.

    i agree about jackman. they need to bring back the funny.

    speaking of bringing the funny, you guys are so so wrong about jerry lewis. he was a slapstick genius, and his movies are actually generally quite entertaining. my guess is a lot of the people bagging him either don't like that type of humor or have only seen glimpses of his films.

    ok, that is all. nice job again, O.


    by Deadman on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 12:51am

    Thanks, Deadman. By the end, I had definitely warmed a bit to the concept of bring back the past actors to present. I thought the past actors did the best job.

    The only thing I liked about the Pineapply Express skit was when Franco stapled a dollar to Rogan's face. But I still want to see that movie, because I've heard good things.

    And I agree that Halle Berry was gorgeous. I guess I didn't state that explictly because it's just so obvious. I loved her dress too! But she looked to me much thinner than usual.

    Thanks for watching with us. I'm relieved the whole awards season is over so I can go back to reading books and lay off the movies for a while.


    by Orlando on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 9:21am