As Good as it Gets, The Full Monty, and Titanic are all worthy. I thought Good Will Hunting and L.A. Confidential were both overrated, but I guess Face/Off and Cop Land never had a chance.
Where is James L. Brooks (As Good as it Gets)? After stiffing him ten years ago for Broadcast News, it looks like the Academy still has a stick up its butt. Plus, Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights deserved a nod here.
I haven't yet seen Fonda's or Duvall's films. I thought Damon's performance was overrated. Where is Djimon Hounsou (Amistad) and Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty)?
I haven't seen Christie's, Dench's, or Carter's films. There weren't a whole lot of great leading female performances this year, so it isn't surprising that three nominations should be for fairly obscure art-house films. But where is Jodie Foster (Contact)?
I haven't yet seen Jackie Brown. Hopkins was a ham in Amistad and Reynolds's performance was the year's most overrated, bar none. Where is Mark Addy, Rupert Everett, Jamyang Wangchuck, Ray Liotta, Tom Wilkinson? All five were better than the four nominated performances here that I have seen.
Stuart's and Moore's performances were both overrated. It would have been nice for Cameron Diaz to be nominated for My Best Friend's Wedding, but no dice.
I have not yet seen Deconstructing Harry. I am shocked, shocked! that James Cameron failed to be nominated for Titanic. My Best Friend's Wedding, The Edge, and In & Out were also worthy of nomination, more so than Boogie Nights and Good Will Hunting.
Jerry Goldsmith should have been nominated for The Edge, not L.A. Confidential. John Williams should have been nominated for Seven Years in Tibet, not Amistad. And Philip Glass should not have been nominated at all.
None of the three songs I wanted to be nominated made the cut. This category is a disgrace. Did people actually walk out of Con Air saying, "You know what really made that movie? That great song!"? It ought to be cut out entirely, or at least reduced to three nominees instead of five.
Should Win: "Journey to the Past," Anastasia (by default).
Five nominees, five epic period films. How original! (Notice my sarcasm.) The Academy should have nominated Smilla's Sense of Snow, The Game, Out to Sea, Boogie Nights, as well as Titanic.
A little creativity, at last, with two science fiction films nominated along with three period works. I would have liked to have seen nominations for The Game and The Fifth Element, but the Academy's choices are okay by me.
All five nominees are period films. Once again, how creative. The lack of a nomination for The Fifth Element may well be the biggest gaffe of the year. One for Romy and Michele's High School Reunion would have been nice, also.
