Jean-Marc's Oscars!

Well since the Oscars are on tonight AND I haven't posted anything in forever, I thought I would give my opinion on who should win in each major Oscar category. Feel free to give your opinion!

Best Picture

• Atonement
• Juno
• Michael Clayton
• No Country for Old Men
• There Will Be Blood

This year's nominees for best picture are probably the best I have ever seen, and each of them could have probably won in separate years, but alas, only one can win. My pick for Best Picture is... drumroll... No Country for Old Men. This is one of the best movies I have EVER seen in just about every category imaginable. The screenplay (adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name) is amazing, the acting is even better, especially in Javier Bardem's case, and the cinematography is unsurpassed. EVERYONE should see this movie.

Best Director

• Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
• Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
• Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
• Jason Reitman - Juno
• Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Though No Country is the better film, for sheer directing, I give this to Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood.

Best Actor

• George Clooney - Michael Clayton
• Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
• Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah
• Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

While the other nominees are very deserving, this award has absolutely no competition compared to Daniel Day-Lewis of There Will Be Blood. The only word to describe his performance would be virtuoso; he wasn't playing Daniel Plainview in a movie, he was Daniel Plainview. From simple mannerisms to his now-infamous bizarre line, "I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!!!!!" this performance was probably the absolute best I have ever seen by an actor.

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• Julie Christie - Away from Her
• Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose (La mòme)
• Laura Linney - The Savages
• Ellen Page - Juno

My pick for Best Actress is the relatively unknown Marion Cotillard from La Vie en Rose. My comment for her performance is similar to what I said about Daniel Day-Lewis; Cotillard transformed herself from a beautiful young actress to the considerably uglier, older, and more vulgar French singer Èdith Piaf.

Best Supporting Actor

• Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
• Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
• Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

This is another no-brainer award: Javier Bardem from No Country for Old Men. Anyone who has seen this movie can attest to the sinister aura surrounding his character, the serial-killer Anton Chigurh. His very appearance on screen can induce chills almost immediately, and he is probably one of the most terrifying, yet simultaneously deep villains to step onto the silver screen.

Best Supporting Actress

• Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
• Ruby Dee - American Gangster
• Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
• Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
• Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

While this award is definitely not a "no-brainer"-everyone but Ruby Dee is deserving-I think Saoirse Ronan deserves the award the most.