Oscar Predictions: The Final Notes

Another year, another set of surprises and another completely unique bunch of movies and it all comes down to this. In all actuality, it will really come down to this moment on Sunday evening when the Best Director and Best Picture envelopes are opened and the winners are paraded up to the stage to show their gratitude. The Academy has, on occasion, gotten it right and given these awards to the most deserving souls. Will 2006 be that kind of year? I for one seem to think so.

Best Achievement in Directing

Who will win: Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
Who should win: Martin Scorsese (The Departed)

Oscarwatch reported earlier this week that a straw poll amongst some of the more geriatric members of the Academy had Clint Eastwood taking the Best Director nod away from the seemingly destined Martin Scorsese. But they forgot one thing: Marty is the man, and this is his year. For him to make what could be his best film so late in his career just goes to show that he still has it, and how can the Academy not recognize such an accomplishment. I can also understand how Clint Eastwood is so beloved, but he had 2 chances to upstage Marty this year (Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima) and he just couldn’t pull it off. Go ahead Academy, give ole’ Marty one to remember — we all know you want to.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Who will win: Little Miss Sunshine
Who should win: Little Miss Sunshine

Who will win Best Picture? That is the question of the year. First you have The Queen, a good movie driven by one fantastic performance. Then you have Babel, this year’s Crash lite. Throw into the mix Letters from Iwo Jima, a late year last-ditch effort from Clint Eastwood and you have a few great films.

But none of the three of these movies even come close to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine, the year’s two best flicks — polar opposites in their own right. Little Miss Sunshine was the little movie that could, starting off the year without a distributor then blowing up at Sundance. It spent the entire year winning over the hearts of American audiences, never looking back. The Departed, on the other hand, was to be Marty Scorsese’s greatest accomplishment. A big, studio funded American gangster flick from one of the greatest American directors of all time.

Who takes the little golden guy home? Little Miss Sunshine. Marty will get his Best Director win, but no other film had the honest, quirky, heart warming charm possessed in the story of a dysfunctional family from New Mexico. Their little yellow VW bus may be on the verge of a breakdown, but their film continues to speed right along.

So there you have it, the final piece of the Oscar puzzle. All that is left now is to grab some chips and dips, invite over some friends and be captivated by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood’s elite — bring on the greatest night in cinema!