Here are the five nominees: (Winner in Bold)
Biggest Snub:
Catherine Keener – Into the Wild
My Overall Thoughts:
This is a year where none of the 5 nominees really dominated through awards season and any of them could theoretically have taken home Gold for their performances
My Rankings:
Supporting Actress
5. Cate Blanchett
4. Saoirse Ronan
3. Ruby Dee
2. Amy Ryan
1. Tilda Swinton
Movies
5. I’m Not There – This was such a crazy film and didn’t make much sense. the various stories all seems to have a purpose, yet this are presented in such an existential way that it’s quite hard to fully comprehend what they are trying to tell us here. Instead we get a mess where seven concurrent stories are inter-spliced together to a point where it seems as if one needs to possibly be high in order to get enjoyment from it. This is the kind of film that I’m sure fans of Dylan will enjoy immensely, but for someone who just likes his music and cares little one way or another about his personality, this was a chore to get through. I think that I can sorta understand how Blanchett could get nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role here, but I’m still not sold on it.
4. Atonement – Interesting story about regrets and mistakes and trying to find a way to make amends for them. Slow pace doesn’t hinder the effect of the movie but you need to sit it through the slow parts. The Dunkirk scene is amazing to watch. I regret missing seeing that scene in the theater. Enjoyed the way some scenes were reshown from different perspectives.
3. Michael Clayton – Great acting by Clooney, Wilkinson and Swinton which carries this thriller. Not sure if it really should have been nominated for Best Picture tho.
2. American Gangster – Amazingly done epic gangster movie that transports us through history back to the late 60’s and early 70’s NYC to try and explain the rise of a notorious gangster and his pursuit by one of the few uncorrupted policemen at the time. Crowe and Washington work well as adversaries and the movie spends enough time developing both of their characters so we can understand their motivations and their personal and professional goals.
1. Gone Baby Gone – Great plot that is constantly in motion giving us excellent twists and turns along the way. Amazing cast deftly handled by Affleck in his directorial debut. Raises very interesting questions about morality and who should be able to make life changing decisions.
Do I agree with the Oscar winner? – Sorta! This is a year where just about any of the nominees could have won since they all give very good performances yet none seem to be more powerful than any of the others.
Let me know what you think about these films and my rankings!
MovieRob 
No problem with Swinton – I loved “Michael Clayton”. The look on her face at the end was priceless. Also thought the very young Saoirse Ronan did an excellent job on Atonement – especially since her character was a linchpin to the entire plotline. And I STILL remember how good Amy Ryan was in Gone Baby Gone (killer Boston accent and all) in Gone Baby Gone – so any of those 3 would’ve been an excellent winner.
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