As the awards season reaches its climax, recess offers our picks for the best in acting, writing and directing. This is the fifth of seven installments covering the 79th Academy Awards, presented Sunday, Feb. 25.
The Academy seemingly messed up when the nominations for the 2007 Oscar race were announced Jan. 23. Much to the surprise of critics and entertainment pundits around the nation, over-hyped musical Dreamgirls missed the Best Picture nom. Without Dreamgirls to carry the mantle of family-friendly front-runner, this year's field is left wide open for anyone to claim the prize. The contenders span a wide variety of genres, from the Crash-esque Babel to historical dramas The Queen and Letter From Iwo Jima to crime thriller The Departed and even the black-comedy of Little Miss Sunshine. Each film has already garnered awards declaring it the best of the year and who will win in the end is anyone's guess.
Babel, (Paramount Vantage): After winning the Golden Globe for Best Drama, many assumed that Babel would be this year's film to beat, but the piecewise drama has been losing steam since by failing to grab another win. Although it still precariously stands on top, Academy voters may be tired of the quirky quality of interwoven storylines that propelled Crash to victory last year.
The Departed, (Warner Brothers): Who knew that a Hollywood remake of an Asian film could have a chance to win the big prize? With awards from film critic associations in Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth and Florida under wing, Scorsese has a fighting chance of departing with both a Best Director and a Best Picture statuette.
Letters From Iwo Jima, (Warner Brothers): The lesser of the two WB noms in the field, the foreign-language Letters was predicted by many to win well before it came out. The films chances of winning Best Picture are greatly hindered by the fact that nobody in America saw it. The third Clint-Eastwood-made film nominated in the past four years may pull off an upset, but that seems as far off as the island of Iwo Jima itself.
Little Miss Sunshine, (Fox Searchlight): This film should be happy to even come to the big show. The small budget indie film with big-name actors has the potential to be the third true comedy to win in 30 years----after Annie Hall and Chicago. While this film remains a dark horse candidate, the light-hearted fuzzy nature of the Academy may hand the Oscar to the little film that might. Hey, it's possible if Driving Miss Daisy can beat My Left Foot and Born on the Fourth of July.
The Queen, (Pathe Pictures): The British Academy of Film and Television Arts proclaimed this UK gem champion over a field of similar competitors. However, accolades from BAFTA won't translate to an Oscar across the ocean. Stephen Frears' account of Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family's reaction to Princess Di's death is haunting and meticulous, but ultimately too detached to make this a true contender.
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