Tuesday, January 31, 2006

2005 Oscar Nominations



Well Oscar Nominations are out for 2005 and I'm pretty happy with the results, with a few exceptions that I'll get to below. I was really happy to see Munich get recognized for Best Picture. I really hope this one will bring home the big prize. You can read my previous thoughts on the film here. As for the rest of the nominations, well here goes...

I'm really glad that In the Deep (from Crash) was nominated for best song. Its a beautiful song and deserves to win. You can listen to a sample or buy the song on iTunes at the following link:
In the Deep

Star Wars got almost completely shut out which is a disappointment! The one exception is its nomination in the Makeup Category which seems like a consolation prize. No VFX nomination?! I like Narnia as a film but were its VFX better than Episode 3's? No, not in my opinion.

And I think the Animated Feature category is good but I haven't seen any of the nominated films?! It's sort of a shame seeing as I work in the industry and all. I'll try to catch up before the awards are handed out so I can have a more informed opinion on the matter. I can say that I find it interesting that no CG feature got nominated. I think the selection is nice and just goes to show that its not the medium that makes or breaks the film, its the stories. I'd really like to see Howl's Moving Castle. I've never been a big fan of anime but I've been watching the films of Hayao Miyazaki, director of Howl's Moving Castle, on Turner Classic Movies this month and I have to say that his films are stunning. I hope this film is as good as his previous ones. I'd strongly recommend checking them out if you've never seen any of this films. And if you do start with My Neighbor Totoro! :0)

It's nice to see Batman Begins and The New World get nods for best cinematography.

John Williams got recognized for his Munich and Memoirs Of A Geisha scores, bravo!

Cinderella Man for makeup?! How 'bout The New World?

Harry Potter 4 for art direction?! How about Batman Begins?

Like I said I'm pretty happy overall with the nominations but my two biggest disappointments are Star Wars not getting recognized for Costume Design, and Batman Begins not getting recognized for Score. After seeing the Dressing a Galaxy show at FIDM last year I thought for sure it would get nominated. The costumes were amazing. Its a shame that something like Mrs. Henderson Presents, which seems very run of the mill, gets nominated and the great work in Revenge of the Sith get overlooked. How many "period piece" type films have we seen win this in the past? Oh well, it is what it is I guess. And as far as the Batman Score not getting nominated I don't have much to say besides listen to it yourself and you'll see why I'm disappointed. Its an amazing score to say the least. You can listen to it on iTunes through this link:
Batman Begins (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Well there you have it. I haven't seen all of the nominated films so my opinion of them may change but these are my thoughts on them for now. What do you think about the nominations?

Nominations List from Variety

2 comments:

gcastro3d said...

I agree with everything that was said here.

Andrea said...

Very well summarized Shane.

I agree with what you said. There were definetly a few shots in the dark but overall I agree with the nominations. I havn't seen the animated films either but I am really loving Hayao Miyazaki so I voting for him as of right now. Of course, that may change if I see all the films. I have to say that his film "My Neighbor Totoro" is one of my favorite animated films now. I guess in summary I like the nominations and just hope that the awards go to deserving films. (Not The Cinderella Man for makeup) :o)