In Continuum.

This year, the nominations are pretty interesting, although very predictable. I used the word 'predictable', because though it was a very good year for the films, there were only so many films that qualified for the major categories. However, I also used the word 'interesting', and that is because most of the fact that there were a lot of discrepancy in the predictions of the winners, personally. My mind would tell me which film would win, the other part of my mind would tell me which film should win, then there was my heart which told me which was actually my own favorite nominee, and there were times when the three of them were completely different films from each other - like the Original Screenplay, for example.

Let's begin with a summary of my thoughts on the smaller categories. I am not going to spend a lot of time on the animated short films, the live action short films, or even the documentaries because I haven't seen them, and I bet more than half of the viewers out there haven't seen most of them either. Every year, those smaller categories were there for us to make random guesses, to make wild shots in the dark just hoping for us to gain a point or two more than our fellow gamblers in the Oscar pool. This year was no exception, as I randomly picked the films that seemed nice because they have catchy name and predicted them to win. And as for the technical awards, I certainly did not expect The Bourne Ultimatum to win three awards out there - even more than Atonement. It was a good film and all, but I certainly did not see it winning Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. I am an alien when it comes to these categories, but I didn't even hit any of them - very sad. That is not to mention how Transformers was snubbed at the Best Visual Effects category, losing out to The Golden Compass. Seriously, transforming robots from outer space versus talking polar bears? Seriously. Also, the Best Animated Feature category going to Ratatouille, though I did expect it to win. It was a very good film, but come on! There is so little life left in 3D Animation, give some hope to 2D Animation, the film with the heart - Persepolis! I knew Ratatouille would take it, but I secretly hoped for Persepolis to emerge as the black horse. Well, guess not. Oh, and may I, once again, stress how upset I am that 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly were not even nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category? The latter didn't even win - anything. There is some devilry at work here.

Then there are the few winners whom I thought, "Well, they deserved it". Achievement in Makeup went to the creative artists behind La Vie En Rose, which I predicted correctly simply because they did a stunning job to turn Marion Cotillard into Edith Piaf of a dozen different ages. Part of Marion Cotillard's praises should be owed to those makeup artist behind the scenes, and they certainly deserved those awards, most definitely. For the Achievement in Costume Design, you only have to look at the photographs from the film to know who was bound to win. Elizabeth: The Golden Age stood out as being mind-boggling, and it was amazing how the costume designers even managed to pull off those outrageous designs. Atonement became this year's Babel, the movie that was nominated for a bunch of major awards but went home with just a Best Score, but then it was very well deserved in my opinion. Combining classical composition with the sounds of typewriters and umbrella being banged on the hood of a car, who would have thought? The score told half the story in Atonement, and it was definitely something that left a lasting impression in my mind when I saw it. Then there was my favorite winners of the night, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova winning for their performance of "Falling Slowly" in Once. It was so nice to see two previously unknown singers, not trained to act in any films, to win such a prestigious award. When their names were announced, I had goosebumps running down my whole body, and seeing them happy made me even happier. I guess, nobody managed to break the curse of the "Three Nominations". Both Dreamgirls last year and Enchanted this year were nominated for three songs in the same category, and both films went home with zero - nothing.

Let's go on to the major categories, shall we. Best Adapted Screenplay, the first of the many categories that the movies that won, the movies that should have won, and the ones that I loved were completely different altogether. In this category, everybody knew that No Country for Old Men was going to win, and it certainly did. But I personally thought that Atonement should have won, since readers of No Country for Old Men reported how the Coen Brothers simply lifted chunks of scenes and dialogues from the book. Nothing against that, but it just makes the job so much easier if everybody does that, plus it is more like a translation than an adaptation, if that is the case. Personally, I liked Away from Her so much better, then again it was probably because it touched me more than the other films nominated in the category, so there you go.

Best Original Screenplay - I knew that Diablo Cody's script for Juno was a shoo-in. The audience loved it, the experts agreed on it, but I simply didn't like the movie enough to concur. The script was a drama, but not really. It was a comedy, but not completely. Nothing worked in the script for me, though there was a strong sense of effort being put into polishing and making the lines sound nice and sharp. But it all seemed way too fabricated for my taste, as if the film was trying way too hard to be funny as I have mentioned in my own review. The jokes didn't work for me, the story felt incredibly distant, and the idea of an ex-stripper winning the award is just a little...well, call me old fashioned. The film that should have won is Michael Clayton, the film that dealt with corporate conspiracies and choked with smart snappy lines that slapped at the audience's faces without even trying. The film was quick, witty, smart, and none of those quirky little jokes that Juno tried so hard to put forth. However, my heart truly belonged to Lars and the Real Girl, the script that got to me and threw me down to the ground. A story about a man falling in love with a blow up doll, who would have known! Such a brilliant idea and such a great execution in the scripting.

For the actor in the Best Supporting Role, everybody knew Javier Bardem was going to win. Because seriously, unless the Academy decided to award an old-timer like Hal Holbrook, everybody knew Javier Bardem's performance as the killer in No Country for Old Men was one of the best, and creepiest, performance in Hollywood history. Politically speaking, Philip Seymour Hoffman wouldn't have won, since he already won for Best Actor in Capote a few years ago. Casey Afflect is still too new and too young, and thus not very possible. I love Tom Wilkinson, but then he wasn't nearly as good, or as creepy, or as anything as Javier Bardem. A very predictable winner, but still well-deserved.

Best Supporting Actress, to me, was an upset. Don't get me wrong, I love Tilda Swinton. I love her in almost anything she has ever been in, but then there is just something wrong with her beating the likes of Cate Blanchett and Amy Ryan in this category. I didn't think too much about Amy Ryan's performance in Gone Baby Gone, though very good, but Cate Blanchett was in a completely different league altogether. She was the only reason why I sat through the very strange, very warped, very unconventional I'm Not There because of her awesome portrayal of Bob Dylan. When I saw Michael Clayton, what struck me other than the script and the awesome ending was probably the performance of Tom Wilkinson, definitely not Tilda Swinton's performance as the troubled owner of the drug company. She was good, but just good isn't good enough to win you an award, but apparently the Academy disagreed. The fact that she was nominated was confusing for me, the fact that she won left me in utter puzzlement.

The Best Actor was rather predictable to me, but like Javier Bardem still very well deserved. Daniel-Day Lewis has been the actor rooted by fans and critics alike to win this award ever since the nomination came out. Though I have yet to watch There Will Be Blood myself, it isn't even difficult to realize that the other nominated actors don't stand a single chance against this talented actor. I mean, let's look at the other nominees. George Clooney for Michael Clayton, well he was OK, but like I said the performance that really stood out was his co-star instead of him. He was good, but then just good. Viggo Mortensen, I've never really liked him as an actor, but more like an artist. He doesn't come across to me as a great actor to be honest, and his performance in Eastern Promises was, well, a little dull to me to be honest. Tommy Lee Jones for his role in In the Valley of Elah, nobody expected the nomination, and very little people rooted for him at all. To me, he's sort of the same in every role, of every movie. He should have won for something other than his supporting role in The Fugitive though, but certainly not this year, not against Daniel-Day Lewis. And let's face it ladies, Johnny Depp's nomination was really quite a joke. His acting was good, but then his singing destroyed his acting in the film. Oh, and James McAvoy should have been nominated for Atonement. So, so, so good.

Best Actress, a little upset here but not great. I like Marion Cotillard, in fact I love Marion Cotillard. I think she is one of those very genuine actress out there, both with the books and the talents, and the ability to stay grounded in the industry. I rooted for her after I saw her performance as Edith Piaf, and knew that she was going to win the award no matter what - until I saw Julie Christie's performance in Away from Her. Oh my God, it was so good that it made me tear! Every inch of her face exploded with emotions, it was just so moving and touching that it caused me to turn my back on Marion Cotillard. I'm sorry Marion, but Julie Christie's just too good. She was amazing in Away from Her, everything that a best actress should be. But, well, the Academy - disagreed.

In the Best Directing category, everybody knew the Coen Brothers were going to take it home. They won, and everybody knew it months before this award show even happened. It's quite a crime, I feel, that Joe Wright of Atonement wasn't even nominated for this category, which doomed the nomination in the Best Picture category almost instantly. I have never been a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson, so it was hard for me to root for him in the Best Director category. I thought Jason Reitman's direction for Juno was not impressive at all, and Tony Gilroy's direction for Michael Clayton was great, though not exceptional or outstanding. To me, it was a toss up between the Coen Brothers for No Country for Old Men, or Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Admittedly, though, I think the Coen Brothers did a much better job than the latter, and I must say that I am rather satisfied with the winner of this category. Nonetheless, though, Julian Schnabel did craft a film that touched me on a level different from a lot of films out there. But Joe Wright's snub, simply an injustice.

Best Picture, the award of all awards, the award to rule them all. In the end, it went to No Country for Old Men, not a lot of surprises here. This category, according to my friends at the forums, is interesting because any film in this category winning would satisfy a lot of people. They are all very good films, and all of them somehow deserves the title as Best Picture. I knew that No Country for Old Men would win, simply because of the praises as well as the fact that Fargo, another Coen Brothers film, was robbed in the past. It is a good time to reward this film, but my heart was certainly with Atonement. It is probably my favorite film of 2007, and it is just too bad that the lack of a nomination in the Best Director category doomed it from the very beginning. Nonetheless, I am satisfied, since Juno did not come out of the blues to claim the title. That'd be the day, for me, to be honest.

So, that's that, my review of this year at the Oscars. Poor predictions once again, on my part. But it was still great fun to review the films and to wait for the results. Can't wait for the kind of movies we'd get this year for next year's Oscars! Till then.

Falling Slowly, by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova at the Oscars.