Oscar Darkhorses

Now that we have those pesky Golden Globes out of the way (and quickly might I add) it's now time to get down to the epitome of Hollywood elitism. There has always been some things about the Oscars that gets my blood boiling. It's mostly that they care more about prestige over quality, and there is always something rather snobby about that. My biggest pet peeve is when they sometimes give a huge giant self-important epic like "Titanic" or "Lord of the Rings" a pass and sweep an entire night's worth of awards. Can you really say one movie deserves every single Oscar.

But arguing like that is about as equal as a football fan complaining about their least favorite team. I have a weakness for the Oscars, I love watching the show (except the stupid red carpet where they discuss what everyone is wearing.), I love rooting for my favorite movie to win, even though they don't more than often. But I'm a sucker for those moments like last year when Martin Scorsese finally won best director (for a movie that was rather below his standards "curse you Oscar!!!), and I do like it if we have a good host (I loved Jon Stewart and Steve Martin in the recent years). So as for now since the Oscar nominations are to be announced this Tuesday I thought instead of predicting my choices (I'm bad at predicting) I'd rather show some dark horses who haven't got a chance in hell to be nominated but I hope a miracle does happen that will make it so.

(Note I will not include any best picture dark horses since you will probably see in my top ten list what I think should win best picture, in the mean time here are some choices for the other major categories)

BEST DIRECTOR: While I don't dispute the fact that it'll be nice to see auteurs such as The Coen Brothers or P.T. Anderson, or Tim Burton announced this Tuesday, my hope would be to see one of these names as well.

John Carney for "Once" Carney went the Truffaut/Godard route and made what looked like a French New Wave musical with his brilliant "Once". He never limited himself with his $150 000 budget, and using a very documentary feel to his film and getting very natural performances from his two unprofessional actors, he pulled off a very sublime, beautiful film.

Paul Greengrass for "The Bourne Ultimatum" Though perhaps not seen as prestigious as his "United 93" last year, Greengrass for some has created the most memorable action movie of the decade. His set pieces will surely be copied for years to come by every Hollywood hack coming out of the wood works, but Greengrass pulls every scene off masterfully.

Andrew Dominik for "The Assassination of Jesse James...." Dominik was able to give us a poetically haunting vision of the final days of Jesse James. The imagery, tone, and pace of this film was pitch perfect.

BEST ACTOR: It seems the only sure thing in this category is Daniel Day Lewis, the other four are open to anybody, maybe Johnny Depp, maybe James McAvoy, who knows. But before we speculate any further here are some names that you shouldn't forget.

Tommy Lee Jones for "In the Valley of Elah"/"No Country for Old Men" : Two subtle not so showy performances which is why he may be overlooked, but for me Jones gave two of the greatest performances of this year. In "Elah" he is the wounded father who searches for answers after his son is mysteriously murdered. In "No Country" he is the voice of his generation trying to make sense out of senseless violence. In both films he depicts great sadness but not even shedding a tear. It's in his eyes and tough exterior that we get all the wounds in the world weary man, this is classic film acting.

Gordon Pinsett for "Away From Her": Julie Christie is getting all the awards comotion for her delicate portrayal as a woman with Alzheimers, but have people forgotten that this woman had a husband? Pinsett had the unglamourous role as the man who has to sit there and watch his wife forget him as she falls in love with someone else. Like Jones, we don't need a big emotional scene with Pinsett to understand his sadness. This man has been a well respected Canadian actor for years and as a Canadian it would be great to see his name on the ballot.

Christian Bale for "Rescue Dawn": Bale just may be the craziest actor working today, and when he is hooked up with the craziest director working today, it's a match made in Bedlam. In the role of war prisoner Deiter Dangler, Bale doesn't hold anything back, his performance can be described as heroic insanity, who stoops to anything to find freedom.

BEST ACTRESS: This is shaping up to be a three way race with Julie Christie, Marion Cotillard, or Ellen Page, and any one of those performances are worthy of an Oscar, but let me just make room for the two remaining spots.

Keri Russell for "Waitress": Ellen Page kind of stole her thunder but before "Juno" was on anybodies lips, Russell was the other ingenue with an unwanted pregnancy. Russell glows in this wonderful slice of life as a waitress in an unhappy marriage who begins an affair with the local doctor, but through it all we see Russell go through sadness, joy, and finally blinding love for her newborn girl.

Laura Dern for "Inland Empire": If the Academy wants to be creative, then Dern's performance should not be overlooked. She plays what seems to be multiple characters, and in the whole screwy David Lynch world, she makes them all seem believable.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Javier Bardem seems to be the other sure thing along with Daniel Day Lewis to win this category, but here are some other names to consider.

Robert Downey Jr. for "Zodiac": It's hard to believe Downey ever had a drug problem all those years ago, he's been working steadily ever since and is able to make any bad film good just by being in it. I hope the Academy doesn't overlook his work here as the reporter who's life becomes damaged after trying to uncover the mystery that is the Zodiac killer.

Armin Meuller-Stahl for "Eastern Promises" In a frightening performance as a crime boss of the Russian mafia underworld, Stahl would make Denzel Washington's "American Gangster" cry for mercy.

Andy Griffith for "Waitress" : As the grumpy pie patron in Adrienne Shelley's sweet comedy, this is Griffith's most showy role in years, and he just devours it as he would one of Keri Russell's pies. It would just be a pleasure to see Griffith get a nomination after years of work that has been under appreciated.

Michael Cera for "Juno": There are a lot of great supporting roles in this pregnancy comedy, but I pick Cera for his deadpan, cracked voiced Paulie Bleeker the red and yellow track and field uniform wearing scrawny kid who wins the heart of Ellen Page.

Paul Rudd for "Knocked Up": Another scene stealing performance from the funniest man of the year. Paul Rudd should just be every bodies best friend, and Judd Apatow seems to agree with me.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: This will probably be down to the wire with Amy Ryan and Cate Blanchett but here are a few other names that haven't been mentioned very much.

Leslie Mann for "Knocked Up" : As the wife of Paul Rudd, she's really the one who suffers the most. She makes things heart breaking and funny such as the scene where she finds out her husband decided to go see "Spiderman 3" with his friends instead of her. I never thought a line like "I like Spiderman" would almost bring me to tears.

Adrienne Shelley for "Waitress" : Shelley wasn't just an aspiring writer/director, she was also a talented comedic actress, and perhaps only after Keri Russell gives the sweetest and most gentle performance as an ugly duckling of a waitress who finds her own one to love. It is indeed a great misfortune to have lost such a great talent.