That's right, it's Oscar time, and I want to remind everyone that you still
have a couple of days left to send in your submissions for our Oscar
Competition.

Right out of the gate, I want to let everyone know that I've never felt that
the Academy Awards determine a film's worth, but "damn" they're fun, aren't
they? I've always sort have looked at the Oscar telecast as the movie
version of the Super Bowl.

I'd also like to add that this year's nominations are stellar. There were
some big surprises (City of God was remembered while, for the most part,
Cold Mountain was ignored), and for the first time in a long time, I'm
really excited to see who takes home the little gold statues.

I thought for kicks, I'd post my choices;

EDITING

Will Win - City of God
Should Win - City of God

City of God is a stellar picture and it deserves something. Not only that,
but of the five nominees, it was a cut above the rest.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Will Win -The Fog of War
Should Win - Capturing the Friedmans

I've seen The Fog of War, Capturing the Friedmans and The Weather
Underground and loved all three. Errol Morris is an absolute genius and
perhaps the greatest documentary film maker working today (although I enjoy
Michael Moore's work as well). Given that he's never won (or even been
nominated for that matter) despite fashioning some truly amazing films (see
Thin Blue Line or Fast, Cheap and Out of Control), this should be his year.
And as great as his The Fog of War is, my vote would go to the haunting and
profoundly disturbing Capturing the Friedmans. Recently, it has been
reported that the Academy has received letters from some of the subjects on
display in Capturing the Friedmans urging members to not vote for the
picture. This will, no doubt, play an important factor. The Fog of War
should win it.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Will Win - Seabiscuit
Should Win - Seabiscuit

This is a tough category. All the nominees are more than worthy, but
noticeably absent are Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ("Fellowship" won
the award in 2001) and The Last Samurai. City of God is beautifully shot as
are all the nominees, but Seabiscuit left the biggest impression on me with
it's amazing horse racing footage and beautiful, sweeping shots of
landscapes. Of course Master and Commander, Cold Mountain and Girl With a
Pearl Earring are also incredibly well shot, so they will prove to be intense
competition.

SOUND EDITING

Will Win - Finding Nemo
Should Win - Finding Nemo

I'm a bit confused as to why Lord of the Rings wasn't nominated. It could be
argued that Finding Nemo was easier to put together because it's animated.
Whatever! It deserves to win.

SOUND

Will Win - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Should Win - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Again, all the nominees are well deserving, but Lord of the Rings offers up
the most foreign sounds. After all, it is pure fantasy. It should win, and
deserves to.

MAKE-UP

Will Win - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Should Win - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Why the hell isn't Monster nominated? Anyone who can make a woman as
gorgeous as Charlize Theron look ugly deserves a medal. Of the nominees,
Lord of the Rings should have this one bagged.

COSTUME DESIGN

Will Win - The Last Samurai
Should Win - The Last Samurai

In all actuality, Lord of the Rings has a good shot at this award,
especially because of the enormity of the cast, but my money is on The Last
Samurai. This was one of the most authentic looking pictures of the year,
and a good part of it was due to the stunning costumes.

ANIMATED FEATURE

Will Win - Finding Nemo
Should Win - Finding Nemo

Triplets of Belleville is beautifully animated and it is certainly the most
artsy of the nominees, but Finding Nemo would be my choice. It wasn't only
the best animated feature of the year, but one of the best films period. It
was lively and perfect fun for all age groups. As much as I enjoyed
"Triplets" it didn't quite work it's magic for the entire running time as
Finding Nemo did.

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

Will Win-Two Soldiers

This is simply a guess as I haven't seen the nominated films.

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Will Win - Destino
Should Win - Destino

Believe it or not, I actually saw two of the nominees; Destino and Nibbles.
They were both terrific but Destino was clearly the more stunning of the
two. It's been reported that the short was at some point going to be a
"Fantasia" segment. After many years, it was finally completed. I had the
opportunity to see it at Sundance, and it was breathtaking.

ORIGINAL SONG

Will Win-A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow (from A Mighty Wind)
Should Win-A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow (from A Mighty Wind)

For me, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara performing A Kiss at the End of the
Rainbow, was the most memorable of all the song nominees. The fact that the
song is actually performed in the movie helps it's chances. It was
definitely my favorite of the nominees.

ORIGINAL SCORE

Will Win - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Should Win - Big Fish

I was blown away by Danny Elfman's outstanding Big Fish score. While it did
have hints of everything that make an Elfman score great, it was ultimately
one of his most original pieces and easily one of the best of his career.
I'd love to see him win it but I have a feeling Howard Shore will take it
for his Return of the King score.

VISUAL EFFECTS

Will Win - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Should Win - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Can you say "no-brainer"? Lord of the Rings has this one locked. Master and
Commander had great visuals that were especially cool because you didn't
notice all of them, while Pirates of the Carribean made more obvious use of
it's barrage of more noticeable effects. Lord of the Rings, however, is in a
class all it's self. The scope of this picture is beyond huge, and the
effects are used here the way they're supposed to be used; as a tool to tell
the story rather than taking it over.

ART DIRECTION

Will Win - The Last Samurai
Should Win - The Last Samurai

I know I'm going out on a limb with this one, but of the nominees, The Last
Samurai was the most authentic looking picture of the year (with Master and
Commander coming in a pretty close second). Many probably think Lord of the
Rings will win it, and as good as that movie looks, I'm hoping The Last
Samurai takes it.

SCREENPLAY (ADAPTATION)

Will Win - Mystic River
Should Win - American Splendor

Again, this was a tough one. Lord of the Rings is awesome, but it's more a
movie about style and performance as is the wonderful Seabiscuit. Mystic
River is favored and while it is a fantastic movie, I had some problems with
the screenplay (I didn't like that whole scenario with Kevin Bacon and his
estranged wife). City of God is a brilliant motion picture, and it's
screenplay is outstanding because it doesn't feel written. Nearly everything
in that movie feels natural, almost as if it were a documentary. As great as
it is, however, I liked American Splendor because of it's wild creativity
and offbeat sensibility. It was just fun to listen to the characters in
American Splendor talk.

SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL)

Will Win - Lost in Translation
Should Win - Lost in Translation

I loved Dirty Pretty Things and was extremely happy to see it nominated for
something. Finding Nemo was one of my favorite films of the year, and it's
screenplay was not only lively and funny, it was also charming.
Unfortunately, I didn't see The Barbarian Invasions so I can't comment on
that one. In America is gorgeous and intimate, and Jim Sheridan and his
daughters should be incredibly proud of the heart felt screenplay they wrote
for that picture. This brings us to my choice, Sofia Coppola's amazing Lost
in Translation. It was just refreshing to see a movie about communication
that didn't always rely on words. Add to that, intimate characterizations,
and you have one of the most observant movies of the year.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Will Win - Renee Zellweger (Cold Mountain)
Should Win -Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April)

Clearly, Zellweger is favored especially since Cold Mountain was ignored in
most other categories. While I wasn't a huge fan of the movie, I thought her
performance was fun, but I'm rooting for Patricia Clarkson's bitter,
heartfelt turn in the little seen Pieces of April. She lends humanity and
dark humor to this realistic portrayal of a woman with cancer. Shohreh
Aghdashloo, Marcia Gay Harden and Holly Hunter are all solid in their films,
but in the off chance Zellweger doesn't get it, I hope Clarkson does.

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Will Win - Tim Robbins (Mystic River)
Should Win - Tim Robbins (Mystic River)

This is by far the toughest category for me. All five supporting actors
bring out the best in their respective films. Alec Baldwin chews scenery in
The Cooler, and not to take from this expert turn, but he played a similar
role in Glengarry GlenRross. Benicio Del Toro is a true original, and with
each passing performance he becomes more and more compelling. He's the best
part of 21 Grams. Djimon Hounsou is a commanding screen presence, and in In
America, he has the ability to scare you with his thunderous voice, but he
can also melt your heart with unbelievable sweetness and grace. Ken Watanabe
was instrumental in The Last Samurai working as well as it did. Tom Cruise
was only half the movie. My pick is Tim Robbins who's really matured into an
outstanding actor through the years. After being ignored for his amazing
turn in Shawshank Redemption, he reminded people of the kind of depth he
could display with his outstanding work in Mystic River. In fact, his
performance is the strongest and deepest in the whole movie.

ACTRESS

Will Win - Charlize Theron (Monster)
Should Win - Charlize Theron (Monster)

For me, this is really a race between two actresses. I absolutely loved
Whale Rider, and I can't tell you how happy I am that young Keisha
Castle-Hughes earned a nomination for her turn in this movie. Hughe's is
pure and honest, and one scene in particular broke my heart. As amazing as
she is, I'm going with Charlize Theron. This gorgeous actress not only
de-glamorized herself physically, but emotionally as well. This a full scale
transformation.

ACTOR

Will Win - Bill Murray (Lost in Translation)
Should Win - Bill Murray (Lost in Translation)

This is sure to be a heated race between Bill Murray and Sean Penn although
no one should rule out Johnny Depp who recently won the Screen Actor's Guild
Award. All along, my gut has told me that Murray would win, but for a minute
there I thought that Sean Penn would take it for Mystic River. Don't get me
wrong, Penn is perhaps the greatest actor of his generation and he's very
good in Mystic River (I preferred his subtle work in 21 Grams). I just feel
that Bill Murray's turn in Lost in Translation was more astonishing. This
was perhaps the most mature performance of Murray's lengthy comical career,
and while some might argue that it was too understated, I was moved, touched
and tickled by it every step of the way.

DIRECTOR

Will Win - Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)
Should Win - Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)

I haven't hidden the fact that Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was my
favorite film of 2003 (in fact, all three films made #1 on my lists in their
respective years). In my opinion, no one deserves this award more than Mr.
Jackson. Clint Eastwood's Mystic River was the best directing effort of his
career (yes, I liked it more than Unforgiven). Fernando Meirelles (who's
film City of God did not garner a best picture nomination) was a welcome and
deserving addition to the list of nominees. Peter Weir is a veteran and his
Master and Commander is a technical marvel. Sofia Coppola's Lost in
Translation is so beyond her Virgin Suicides in terms of directing maturity,
that I can't wait to see what she tackles next. And as grand as all these
films and their makers are, Peter Jackson pulled off the niftiest trick. Not
only did he manage to meet the expectations of Tolkien purists everywhere,
he also created a series of films that will go down in history as timeless
classics (just like the books). As big as these films were, they were always
about character and that's what I liked most about them. Mr. Jackson, I
salute you.

PICTURE

Will Win - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Should Win - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

I'm guessing Best Picture will be a race between Mystic River and Lord of
the Rings: Return of the King. If there is any justice, Peter Jackson and
crew will come out on top. I loved Mystic River. It made my top ten. Still,
Lord of the Rings was the best film experience I had at the movies all last
year, and this series will go down in history as timeless classics. Just
because it's a fantasy film doesn't make it any less decent. It's a
beautiful, character driven epic with themes we can all relate to. I'd like
to proclaim this a "no-brainer" but the truth is, Mystic River is a drama,
and often that's the kind of film that's rewarded. I wont be mad if
Eastwood's film wins, but I will be incredibly disappointed. Come Oscar
Sunday, I'm hoping everyone will hail to the king!

Well that's it. The awards will be handed out on Feb. 29th. Don't forget to
enter our little competition for a chance at a really cool zboneman.com
prize pack