Count me in as another that thought Eternal Sunshine and Garden State got snubbed. They were probably just too offbeat and not marketed that heavily.
I loved Portman in Garden State, I see she got nominated anyway for Closer, but I was surprised to see her become such a great young actress.
speaking of Giamatti, I thought he was fantastic in Man on the Moon, in which Carey got snubbed for that role too. He is a great actor and glad to see that he is finally getting some recognition, well from the public at least. edit: damn he was in Truman Show also , in which again, Carey shouldve gotten some recognition, sucks to be both of them.
Foxx and Giamatti would be my two front runners for Ray and Sideways. Foxx pulled off the impossible. He played a real person that the audience was completely familiar with and it didn't come off as just an impersonation, or he didn't go far away from the real person to make the role his own. Even the great Anthony Hopkins failed to acheive this feat when he played Nixon. What Foxx did was nearly impossible. He mastered that role. Giamatti is in close contention for second place. That is why it is such a crime that he wasn't nominated. In Sideways he had every nuance of the character down. So many understated things in every part of the character he played. If it wasn't for Ray Giamatti should have been the favorite for this award. I think AViator will win. It's a good movie, but it isn't better than Finding Neverland, or Sideways. Finding Neverland is the kind of movie you don't get very much of. It is emotional, but it doesn't beat the audience over the head with sentimentality(ala Spielberg). It actually gives the audience credit and believes they are smart enough to get it all themselves. As an audience member I love being respected so much I would vote for this movie over the others. I haven't seen Hotel Rwanda yet, though. I'm going to see it tomorrow. Cheadle is another actor that never fails to deliver. He has a huge range, and is so underrated it is amazing. I also haven't seen Collateral yet, and didn't really have a desire to see it, so I can't comment on that one.
I thought Collateral was semi-entertaining and very well-shot. And that scene in the jazz club was awesome. But this is what killed me: You're the FBI. You've got your star lineup of four witnesses to bring down this master criminal the next day, and what do you say to them? "You'll do fine tomorrow! Don't worry about! Soon you'll be kicking it in the Caribbean, relax! Go out and have a good time, get laid, whatever! You'll be fine!"
Have to agree with NJRocket and TJ on Collateral. I think it was a good movei, but not great IMO. Very predictable ending. Like Denzel in Training Day, I think many were fascinated with the movie because Cruise was playing a bad guy.
A lot of people thought Taxi Driver was boring too. To each their own I guess, but I found them all a very good. It seems like all of the critics are jumping on Million Dollar Baby for best picture. Looks like I'll have to see it.
The only reason Portman wasn't nominated for Garden State was that it was a lead role. She hasn't yet got that type of clout from the academy yet. She should have been nominated along with best screenplay for Zach Braff
