78th Academy Awards Nominees

Here is the list of nominees for the 78th Academy Awards, with some comments and my scores:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Munich
Score: 3/5. I predicted Walk the Line and King Kong (silly me) instead of Capote and Munich.

Achievement in Directing
Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
Bennett Miller (Capote)
Paul Haggis (Crash)
George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck.)
Steven Spielberg (Munich)
Score: 4/5. I predicted Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener) instead of Spielberg.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow)
Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain)
Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)
David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck.)
Score: 4/5. I predicted Russell Crowe (Cinderella Man) instead of Howard.

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents)
Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)
Kiera Knightley (Pride & Prejudice)
Charlize Theron (North Country)
Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
Score: 4/5. I predicted Ziyi Zhang (Memoirs of a Geisha) instead of Knightley.

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
George Clooney (Syriana)
Matt Dillon (Crash)
Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain)
William Hurt (A History of Violence)
Score: 4/5. I predicted Terrence Howard (Crash) instead of Hurt.

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams (Junebug)
Catherine Keener (Capote)
Frances McDormand (North Country)
Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain)
Score: 5/5!

Original Screenplay
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Match Point
The Squid and the Whale
Syriana
Score: 4/5. I predicted Cinderella Man instead of Match Point.

Adapted Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Munich
Score: 5/5!

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Don't Tell (Italy)
Joyeux Noel (France)
Paradise Now (Palestine)
Sophie Scholl - The Final Days (Germany)
Tsotsi (South Africa)
Score: 3/5. I predicted Belgium's L'Enfant and China's The Promise instead of Don't Tell and Sophie Scholl - The Final Days.

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Howl's Moving Castle
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Wallce & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Score: 3/3! I'm one of a very few people who predicted Howl's Moving Castle. I was banking on support of the animation branch for animation god Miyazaki Hayao, and I was right.

Achievement in Art Direction
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride & Prejudice
Score: 3/5. I predicted Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe instead of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Pride & Prejudice.

Achievement in Cinematography
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World
Score: 3/5. I predicted The Constant Gardener and King Kong instead of Batman Begins and The New World.

Achievement in Costume Design
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
Walk the Line
Score: 3/5. I predicted Cinderella Man and The White Countess instead of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Walk the Line.

Achievement in Film Editing
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk the Line
Score: 2/5. I predicted Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck., and A History of Violence instead of Cinderella Man, The Constant Gardener, and Walk the Line.

Achievement in Makeup
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Score: 2/3. I predicted The New World instead of Cinderella Man.

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Memoirs of a Geisha
Munich
Pride & Prejudice
Score: 2/5. I predicted Cinderella Man, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and King Kong instead of The Constant Gardener, Munich, and Pride & Prejudice. Interestingly, we have three first-time nominees in a category that usually shuns non-veterans. But hey, this year John Williams has two more noms to add to his gazillion.

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
"In the Deep" (Crash)
"It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp" (Hustle & Flow)
"Travelin' Thru" (Transamerica)
Score: 2/3. I predicted the other Hustle & Flow song, "Hustle and Flow."

Achievement in Visual Effects
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
War of the Worlds
Score: 2/3. I predicted Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith instead of War of the Worlds. The snub for the last Star Wars film hurts. I was expecting War of the Worlds to be ignored instead. Well, at least I correctly predicted a nod for Narnia, which was left out of many other predictors' lists.

Achievement in Sound Mixing
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds
Score: Ouch, 2/5. I suck at predicting this category. I predicted Batman Begins, Munich, and Syriana instead of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Memoirs of a Geisha, and War of the Worlds (why is this one popping up?!).

Achievement in Sound Editing
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
War of the Worlds
Score: 2/3. Wow, Memoirs of a Geisha is reaping technical noms. I predicted Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith instead of Memoirs.

Best Documentary Feature
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight
Score: 3/5. I predicted Mad Hot Ballroom and Rize instead of Darwin's Nightmare and Street Fight.

I'll be posting my Should Win, Will Win, and Should Have Been Nominated lists for the major categories soon.