What nimrod could possibly be shocked by Weinstein and his casting couch? I think that Louise Brooks blew that whistle almost a century ago. Regardless, Hollywood patriarchs preying upon starlets is not a subject for levity. We’ll see if the ceremony brings a “too-soon” groan from the balcony. I think it’s more interesting to speculate that #Me Too could have begun the morning of 11/9, when that big bucket of scum crashed the White House. Kimmel might enjoy riffing on that. But enough . . .
Best Actor in a Starring Role - - Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour - - I’m inclined to go with Daniel or Denzel, since they both gave outstanding performances, but they have five statuettes between them. Kaluuya and Chalamet have zero but I expect a few are in the future. They were that good. Gary has only two nominations across a brilliant career. Although I did not like Darkest Hour, he was not the problem so let’s give him the True Grit Oscar.
Best Actress in a Starring Role - - Sally Hawkins, The Shape Of Water - - Five strong performances here but in my mind two rise above the others, Saoirse Ronan and Sally Hawkins. Saoirse was bubbly, but Sally floated to the top. She also performed with both vocal chords tied down.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - - Richard Jenkins, The Shape Of Water - - This was my most slothful category. I missed Willem and Chris. It may be because my choice was Michael Stuhlbarg in The Shape of Water, The Post and Call Me By Your Name . . . three Best Picture nominations. He was wonderful in all of them. But if I must pick, I’ll go with Richard Jenkins.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - - Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird - - I barely registered Mary J. Blige or Leslie Manville; they were both so nuanced. The opposite was true of Allison and Laurie, who were maternal nails on the blackboard. And Octavia Spencer was the same character as always. I guess I thought that Laurie Metcalf was the least toxic mom.
Best Original Screenplay - - Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water - - Actually, Lady Bird and The Big Sick were not original at all. They were adapted from the writer’s life. But if we want originality in an original script, The Shape Of Water was astonishingly that.
Best Adapted Screenplay - - Aaron Sorkin, Molly’s Game - - I missed the disaster and the wolverine but of the three I did see, Molly won the pot.
Best Cinematography - - Hoyte van Hoytema, Dunkirk - - I didn’t see the latest Blade Runner but it would be hard to top Hoyte van Hoytema’s camerawork in Dunkirk. This is his first nod, despite the many movies he’s brilliantly photographed.
Best Music - - Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread - - I missed Star Wars but John Williams? Really? I will keep promoting Alexandre Desplat but I actually liked Jonny Greenwood’s score for Phantom Thread just a little better.
Best Direction - - Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird - - This is a five-way tie in my opinion. Simply an outstanding collection of efforts, each different in the emphasis of directorial skills. But my bias will always be with directing actors so this is a close call between The Shape Of Water and Lady Bird. I’ll go with Greta
Best Picture - - Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale, The Shape Of Water – - With the exception of Darkest Hour, there’s not a picture here that I didn’t like. For me, it was between Dunkirk, Lady Bird and The Shape Of Water, with Phantom Thread on the rail. The Billboards sort of fell over on me upon further reflection. The Shape Of Water touched on the best aspects of monster movies, the both the pathos of Frankenstein and the silliness of Bride Of Frankenstein.
And so it goes. As many of you know Meg Ryan walked out on me about this time last year. Not sure who my next B+ list Oscar escort will be. Valerie Bertinelli, maybe? But to appropriate Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park, "I’m always looking for the next ex-Mrs. Duke." Slut . . . ever. Until next time, I'll see you . . . at the movies.