Oscar Predictions

And the Oscar goes to...

With the Oscars only days away, I decided that I had best get my final predictions out there. This year, I added a "Dark Horse" category for a nominee that could possibly take Oscar gold. However, I copped out in the Best Picture category as I didn't really choose a dark horse winner. My predictions of who should win are somewhat different that who I think will win. If everything goes well, maybe my "Should Win" category will shine through.

Hannibal Rising

As my first film of 2007, Hannibal Rising did little to quench the thirst Hannibal the Cannibal. From the very beginning, the film explodes onto the screen with so much idiocity that it seems like it could not even belong to the same family that Anthony Hopkins made famous. The attitude of the film's star, Gaspard Ulliel, is enough to make me want to reconsider my love for the Lecter series.

Set around the upbrininging of Lecter, the film never really finds a rhythym. Likewise, the entire plot of the film is shotty at best. Written by series author Thomas Harris, I expected this film to fit nicely into the Hannibal series. However, the directing and acting were so incredibly bad that this film should have never been made. While there are a few redeeming qualities to the film, namely the cinematography and the performance by The Wire alum Dominic West, the film fails to capture the suspenseful horror that graced the presence of Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, and of course the (subpar) Hannibal. C-.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Clint Eastwood's Oscar nominated film Letters from Iwo Jima lives up to all the hype as it follows the Japanese side of the war on the island of Iwo Jima. Made as a companion film to Flags of our Fathers, Letters is a better film than its other half. The film works on many levels, but it is the characters that stand out as the beacon.

The film revolves around the Japanese troops preparing for battle and the ultimate defeat. None of the cast from Flags appears in this film, which is a good thing. The general in command, played by Ken Watanabe, struggles to retain control of his troops in the ill-fated battle. Eastwood seems to perfect his craft with this film, and the screenplay, which again is given help by Paul Haggis, does not insult the viewer.

This film is one that will most likely stand the test of time (as far as war films go), and it shows the true ability that Eastwood has. Shown along with Flags of our Fathers, the two films create an uncompromising view of the triumph - and tragedy - that occurred on Iwo Jima. A+.