Everybody with any knowledge of films has an opinion about the Academy Awards nominations, and I'm no exception. As usual, my personal preferences are at great variance with those expressed by the Academy voters, so I've decided to use up a little bandwidth to air my opinions. So here are some thoughts about the following categories: picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, original screenplay, and adapted screenplay. Because of the convoluted (and generally unfair) manner in which documentaries and foreign films are chosen, I have elected not to say anything about them.

From my perspective, there were two travesties this year. I'll mention them as I go along. I'm also thankful (and, admittedly, surprised) that The American President was snubbed. The film was, in my opinion, no better than mildly entertaining, and certainly not worthy of Oscar consideration. Equally surprising was the attention paid to the charming Babe and the Italian-language Il Postino.

Anyway, for what it's worth (not much to anyone but me, I'll grant you), here goes:

BEST PICTURE:
Apollo 13
Babe
Braveheart
Il Postino (The Postman)
Sense and Sensibility

Deserving: Apollo 13, Braveheart, Il Postino. I can't argue to strenuously with these three nominations. Braveheart was probably slightly more entertaining; Apollo 13 had better production values. All three made my top 10 for 1995.

Undeserving: Babe, Sense and Sensibility. Don't misunderstand -- I liked both of these films, and gave them favorable ratings, but I don't think they're "best film" material.

Missing: As much as I would have liked to see Cry, the Beloved Country or Les Miserables get a best picture nomination, the odds were never favorable. Dead Man Walking certainly deserved a spot here, but the Academy is apparently reluctant to nominate "dark" films this year (note also the omission of Leaving Las Vegas).

Who Should Win: Give it to Apollo 13 by a hair over Braveheart.

Who Did Win: Braveheart. (I'm not disappointed. As I indicated above, it was close, and Braveheart did finish a notch above Apollo 13 in my '95 top 10.)

BEST DIRECTOR:
Chris Newman, Babe
Mel Gibson, Braveheart
Tim Robbins, Dead Man Walking
Mike Figgis, Leaving Las Vegas
Michael Radford, Il Postino

Deserving: Newman, Robbins, Figgis, Radford. All worthy efforts. I'm on the fence about Mel Gibson. Braveheart was great entertainment, but I'm not sure Gibson's work here is worthy of a best director award.

Missing: Ron Howard, Apollo 13. It's virtually impossible to figure out how Howard got missed, unless the Academy has some sort of bias against former TV stars. Certainly, Howard's job with Apollo 13 was better than Mel Gibson's with Braveheart.

Who Should Win: Mike Figgis.

Who Did Win: Mel Gibson. (A weak choice, but inevitable, I suppose. The other four did stronger directing jobs.)

BEST ACTOR:
Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas
Richard Dreyfuss, Mr. Holland's Opus
Anthony Hopkins, Nixon
Sean Penn, Dead Man Walking
Massimo Triosi, Il Postino

Deserving: Cage, Penn, Triosi. Cage is by far the best, and should walk away with the Oscar. Triosi is a real surprise, but his untimely death may have made him something of a sentimental choice.

Undeserving: Dreyfuss, Hopkins. Travesty #1: the nomination of Richard Dreyfuss. There is no way this actor deserves recognition for Mr. Holland's Opus. Yes, it was an enjoyable film, and, yes, Dreyfuss did a nice job, but it's inexcusable that he was nominated ahead of dozens of more deserving performers. As for Hopkins, he probably got the nomination just because of his name.

Missing: James Earl Jones, Cry, the Beloved Country, Ian McKellan, Richard III. Two superior performances that were ignored in favor of Dreyfuss and Hopkins.

Who Should Win: Nicolas Cage.

Who Did Win: Nicolas Cage.

BEST ACTRESS:
Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas
Sharon Stone, Casino
Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County
Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility

Deserving Sarandon, Shue. Both powerful performances. I'm lukewarm about Streep. Not a bad choice, but not a great one, either.

Undeserving: Stone, Thompson. Travesty #2: I thought I was going to be sick when I saw Stone's name. At best, her performance was adequate. Emma Thompson probably deserved a nomination for Carrington, but not for Sense.

Missing: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Georgia. Snubbed for the second year in a row, and in favor of Sharon Stone! Simply unbelievable, especially considering that this was the female performance of the year. What does this woman have to do to get some recognition??

Who Should Win: Elisabeth Shue.

Who Did Win: Susan Sarandon. (Not quite as good as Shue this year, but consider her past work. I'm just thankful that Stone didn't win, and still annoyed that JJ Leigh was passed over.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
James Cromwell, Babe
Ed Harris, Apollo 13
Brad Pitt, Twelve Monkeys
Tim Roth, Rob Roy
Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects

Deserving: Harris, Roth, Spacey. Harris was solid, Roth was deliciously evil, and Spacey gave a nice, multi-faceted performance.

Undeserving: Cromwell, Pitt. I can't figure out why James Cromwell warranted a nomination, unless it's because of the difficulty of acting opposite a pig. As for Brad Pitt -- give me a break. There were no acting coups in Twelve Monkeys whatsoever.

Missing: David Morse, The Crossing Guard. No one saw this movie, which explains why no one remembered Morse's powerful portrayal of the drunk driver who killed Jack Nicholson's daughter.

Who Should Win: Kevin Spacey.

Who Did Win: Kevin Spacey.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Joan Allen, Nixon
Kathleen Quinlan, Apollo 13
Mira Sorvino, Mighty Aphrodite
Mare Winningham, Georgia
Kate Winslet, Sense and Sensibility

Deserving: Sorvino, Winningham. I'm neutral about Joan Allen. Winningham's inclusion makes JJ Leigh's lead actress omission even stranger. Sorvino was spectacular in a light role -- the best thing about Woody Allen's '95 entry.

Undeserving: Quinlan, Winslet. As Tom Hanks' wife, Quinlan was immediately forgettable, and Winslet's Sense character wasn't a lot more memorable.

Missing: Ashley Judd, Smoke. She was only in one scene, however. Maybe there should be a "best cameo" category.

Who Should Win: Mira Sorvino.

Who Did Win: Mira Sorvino (nice speech, nice moment for father, Paul).

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Braveheart
Mighty Aphrodite
Nixon
Toy Story
The Usual Suspects

Deserving: Braveheart, The Usual Suspects.

Undeserving: Mighty Aphrodite, Nixon, Toy Story. Mighty Aphrodite is easily Woody Allen's weakest film in years. Toy Story worked largely because of its spledid, eye-popping visuals. The story was pedestrian.

Missing: Before Sunrise, Exotica. Two extremely strong scripts that were ignored.

Who Should Win: The Usual Suspects.

Who Did Win: The Usual Suspects.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Apollo 13
Babe
Leaving Las Vegas
Il Postino
Sense and Sensibility

Deserving: All of them.

Missing: Although they would have overcrowded the category, Les Miserables and Get Shorty were both worthy of nominations.

Who Should Win: Leaving Las Vegas.

Who Did Win: Sense and Sensibility.

BEST MOMENT IN THE ENTIRE TELECAST: Christopher Reeve's reception as a presenter. More moving than the Gene Kelly tribute.
DUMBEST MOMENT IN THE ENTIRE TELECAST: Take 6's "sung recap" of the Best Song Nominees. Boy was this stupid, insipid, and pointless.
FUNNIEST COMMENT BY AN AWARD-WINNER: Mel Gibson's line after winning best director: "And, now, I suppose, like all directors, what I really want to do is act."
FUNNIEST COMMENT BY ANYONE: Whoopie Goldberg: "In the back, Stomp is teaching the supermodels how to bang drums. The supermodels are teaching Stomp how to bang."

© 1996 James Berardinelli