[MARCH 20, 2002] - by Linda

BEST ACTOR:

Don't flog me, but I have to admit that I've only seen a couple of the performances for Best Actor: Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind, and Tom Wilkinson in In the Bedroom. Sean Penn's performance sounds like the token Rainman nomination, and Will Smith is stuck with an impersonation role of a widely recognized character (Russell has the advantage of playing someone no one has really heard of). Denzel is a fabulous actor, but I've heard that the movie itself doesn't live up to his fireball performance.

Who should win: Tom Wilkinson, who I thought had the most difficult part in the well-acted In the Bedroom.

Who will win: They'll give it to Denzel Washington to share the wealth, because Russell won for Gladiator last year.

Who should have been nominated: Ewan MacGregor for Moulin Rouge, John Cameron Mitchell for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Billy Bob Thornton for The Man Who Wasn't There and Monster's Ball.

BEST ACTRESS:

Now I've seen all of these performances. Judi Dench is outstanding as usual, but her story should have been twice as long (or two movies). Renee Zelleweger is adorable in Bridget Jones, but the Oscars hate comedies, and she'll never win. Nicole was nominated for the wrong film. And Halle Berry was very good, but at crucial moments seemed to be "Acting" (with big quotes and a capital A).

Who should win: Sissy Spacek for giving the most startling bitch slap of the year in In the Bedroom.

Who will win: Halle Berry, so the Academy can pat themselves on the back.

Who should have been nominated: Nicole Kidman for The Others.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Jim Broadbent was the most versatile of the year, a chameleon between the films Moulin Rouge, Bridget Jones's Diary, and Iris... but he may have split his own votes. The only other performance of those nominated that I've seen was Ian McKellen, who was the soul of the CGI-rific LOTR. Jon Voight did an impersonation (see Will Smith), and Ethan Hawke needs to shave and wash his hair. I've heard Ben Kingsley was great in Sexy Beast though.

Who should win: Ian McKellen, who was the best part about the enjoyable LOTR (and you're talking to someone who is obsessed with Elijah Wood, remember!).

Who will win: Ben Kingsley, who has swept up a bunch of awards already... so he is probably very worthy! Can't wait to see his movie.

Who should have been nominated: Richard Roxburgh for Moulin Rouge, who made me guffaw every time he was on screen. And can you nominate a voice? Eddie Murphy was a hilarious ass in Shrek.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Once again, I've seen all five performances here. Kate is fabulous and sexy in Iris, but the film left me wanting. Marisa redeems her Oscar "fluke" of a few years back, and is fine, but inexplicably disappears halfway through her film. Jennifer Connelly rises above her pretty good role as the wife in A Beautiful Mind. Then that leaves two classy Brits in the same film, where they may split their votes.

Who should win: Maggie Smith, who was a total hoot in Gosford Park, stealing every scene she was in.

Who will win: Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind, because she has won every other award, and she's gorgeous and classy... Hollywood loves that.

Who should have been nominated: If you're going to nominate a handful from Gosford Park, what about the sweet young maid Kelly MacDonald, or the jaded help Emily Watson?

BEST DIRECTOR:

Ridley Scott directed a video game. David Lynch could direct a film showing a sliced peach rotting slowly and the Academy would think it's brilliant. Robert Altman is old, and probably should have won for his older, better films, like Nashville. Ron Howard always manages to make the most edgy stories saccharine, taking away any edge they might have.

Who should win: Peter Jackson, because he beat impossible odds and made an extremely watchable fantasy film out of an almost-unfilmable classic book (without offending the geeks!).

Who will win: Robert Altman, because the Academy feels guilty and he's old.

Who should have been nominated: Christopher Nolan for the extremely clever and original Memento.

BEST PICTURE:

Now here, I'll just take a step back for a moment. Best Picture should not necessarily be the sum of its parts (like Best Director + Best Actor = Best Picture)... but I look at this award by just judging the movie itself. Gosford Park was enjoyable fluff, but shouldn't have been nominated. In the Bedroom had great acting, but a cop-out third act. A Beautiful Mind was pleasant but unmemorable. That leaves a big ol' epic fantasy film with hobbits and a big ol' musical.

Who should win: Moulin Rouge. This is the only film of those nominated that I've seen multiple times, and I'm sure I'll see it several more. Delightful, eye-candied musical that made me laugh (a lot), and, yes, made me cry. Totally enjoyable movie-making.

Who will win: A Beautiful Mind. Politics, schmolitics. The Academy will grimly prove that they are not swayed by negative publicity, and give another award to a mediocre film that no one has complained about, but no one is passionate about either.

Who should have been nominated: 2001 once again showed that most of the best movies were not from the US, like In the Mood For Love (Hong Kong), Together (Sweden), and Bangkok: Dangerous (Thailand). But there were also domestic films such as Memento and The Others, which will certainly have a longer shelf-life than, say, Gosford Park.

Read more about all the 2001 Oscar Nominations, and check the Critics' Scorecard to see how well their predictions fared for nominations.