Oscar Battles: Part VII

And onto the seventh Oscar struggle and actually, the final encounter. Yes, I've decided to cut the battles short at number 7 -- not because 7 is a lucky number (though it's meant to be) but cos it's kind of getting old. After this one we'll put all of the snubbed performers in a big poll to see who you think Hollywood snubbed the most.

As for last week's battle, Morgan Freeman became the only winner to survive, beating out competition from Church and Owen. It was a good performance in a lame movie for me, but then again I don't expect everyone to agree with my Million Dollar Baby analysis. In fact, you may struggle to find anyone. Oh I love disagreeing with the masses.

Where was I? Oh. Yeah. Number Seven. Forgive me if I'm just a hopeless romantic with a dry and sarcastic outer shell, but I do love to watch something that's well done. Titanic will always be one of my favourite ever films because everything about it is so captivating. Its relentless onslaught of tragedy embedded in blissful romance is stunning. Why? Because they intertwine and flourish as one. You care about Rose and Jack, and you care about the rest. You can't like one and disregard the other. They're all in the same boat after all -- lame joke I know. Still, I have to wonder whether the backlash it has suffered is for people with heartless cynics, weak minds, because no film has ever swept the world like Titanic did, and nor will any piece of cinema have quite the same effect on a population in the future

NB: If you stopped reading when I started to mention romance you can breathe a heavy sigh of relief and say to yourself, "What is that guy talking about?", that's if you haven't given up on my taste in film altogether. I have faith that there are others that adore it too. Somewhere out there anyway.

So Titanic has a lot of haters now, and many (including a lot of critics) feel that L.A. Confidential should have taken home the coveted Best Picture prize in 1997. Why people mention this as the main fault of '97 is beyond me, as Helen Hunt won an Oscar for a role any C-list Actress could have done as well as her. Oh my god I'm off again. Note to self: Back to L.A. Yes indeed, Curtis Hanson's picture is pretty good, if a little dull, especially for a crime thriller. Strange pacing as well, and very cold characters. I gave it a B, but I've only seen it once, and that was a while ago

OK then. Take your pick. Crime or Romance? Epic or Thriller? 10's or 50's? Have fun.