Best Picture

[Big Magilla]

I thought both films were good, not great. On paper Infamous seems like the more engaging film, but Capote is actually better executed and has a tougher finish.

I do think the inter-action of Capote with the people of the small Kansas town is better done. Toby Jones looks and sounds so much like the real Capote he's almost scary. Hoffman's more introverted performance was fine, but compared to Jones he is second best. I also liked Jeff Daniels better than Chris Cooper as the local police chief, but there it ends. Once the films get into the meat of the piece, i.e. Capote meets the killers, the relatively unknown Clifton Collins, Jr. in Capote is much more believable than the by now all too familiar Daniel Craig as Perry Smith. I thought Mark Pelligrino and Lee Pace were equally good as the sketchily written Dick Hickock in both films. I'd also call Catherine Keener and Sandra Bullock a draw as Harper Lee. Both are good, neither spectacular.

I thought the galaxy of famous faces as Captoe's famous friends in Infamous were mere window dressing. Capote got by just fine without them.

Would Infamous have been a best picture nominee, Bullock a best supporting actress nominee and Jones a best actor winner had the films release schedules been reversed? It's hard to say. I do think Keener's indie rep as well as her body of work in 2005 helped her, whereas Bullock's atrocious out of her league harpy in Crash might have hurt her. But then again AMPAS seemed to like Crash, so who knows.

I will say this about Bullock. Speed aside, she's usually better than her vehicles (no pun intended). Perhaps the Grace Metalious biopic will get her closer to that Oscar.

[ITALIANO]

Actually I don't dislike Sandra Bullock. I think she's a pleasant actress, occasionally a good one even (and she's been better in other movies than in "Infamous"). I just think that Catherine Keener - a more experienced, and in my opinion more subtle performer - brought to a non-meaty role a considerable depth - and without any "big scene" or close-up. This is why she deserved her nomination. But of course she was also in the better movie (not only in the one who came out first) - who knows what would have happened if Bullock had been in "Capote" rather than in the sketchy "Infamous" - this should be the real question I think.

[VanHelsing]

I think it's ok to not like Bullock's performance in Infamous. What baffles me is that people can still say Keener was much much better than Bullock in the same role. Huh?

I'm not claiming that Bullock is a better actress than Keener (or vice versa) but compared to Bullock, Keener didn't get much scope to perform in Capote. It was more like Hoffman's film all the way. I can only see that Keener got the Oscar nomination for two reasons: (1) riding on Capote's success & (2) for her body of work the whole year. And maybe there's a third reason: she's a previous nominee which means they like her already. But all these three reasons do not mean that she was great in just Capote itself. Any other actress could have carried that non-meaty role and they might not even get nominated. It's not the strength of the role that got Keener the nomination, it's Keener herself. If Bullock had been in Capote, the voters wouldn't even care to take a second look at her. They would feel she did nothing in the film.

I'm not trying to compare who is the better actress based on their filmography (you shouldn't too) but really, who actually had the meatier part. The answer is pretty obvious: Bullock AND she did her supporting part well which the professional critics (not just my fellow members on this board) already agreed.

Ok, steering back to topic, I would just like to know, if Infamous came out first, could it be nominated for Best Picture? I think it's a possibility. And if Infamous had been nominated for Best Picture, would Capote be biting the dust, Hoffman still Oscar-less and Keener with still just one Oscar nomination to her credit?

[ITALIANO]

And in the film itself. After all the comments on this board (see? after all I trust you) I went there expecting the definitive version of the "In Cold Blood" story and found myself missing "Capote", Philip Seymour Hoffman and the great Catherine Keener after five minutes (I must admit that it starts well). And I wasn't a big fan of "Capote", by the way.

[flipp525]

Admittedly, I haven't seen 'Infamous' which I hear is her strongest performance in ages.

You didn't miss much.

Agreed. I don't get what people saw in her performance.

[ITALIANO]

Admittedly, I haven't seen 'Infamous' which I hear is her strongest performance in ages.

You didn't miss much.

[criddic3]

Bullock´s best performance so far was in Murder by Numbers, directed By Barbet Schroeder.

Bullock is an appealing actress (hi Van Helsing!) but I didn't think she did anything remarkable in this ridiculous film. To me the best thing about the film was Ryan Gosling's performance which vacillated between cheeky charisma and wonderful sexual doubt.

Oh and I will never understand what so many straight girls see in Michael Pitt (I don't know how he fares generally among gay men). He's almost unbearable to watch onscreen and was the worst thing about the otherwise lovely "Dreamers."

I have to chime in and say i found Pitt quite appealing in Dreamers. There were scenes I had to zoom in on .... I mean he was quite appealing in Dreamers :p

[Penelope]

Oh, Sabin, any woman who acknowledges that Matthew McConaughey should ALWAYS be naked is a winner to me!

[Sabin]

I started going to the movies in '94/'95 when Bullock was at the peak of her popularity, and for the life of me even then I didn't get the appeal. Girl next door? Not this one. She looked like the ice queen theater bitch who wouldn't give you the time of day. I see no warmth in her performance, only calculation. She's perfectly capable in 'Speed' and 'While You Were Sleeping', but I've never seen her give any performance that any number of actresses couldn't replicate with more nuance.

Admittedly, I haven't seen 'Infamous' which I hear is her strongest performance in ages. As for 'Crash', I maintain she didn't know she was being filmed.

[Penelope]

My top 5 fave Sandy Bullock performances:

1. While You Were Sleeping (Oscar nomination caliber)
2. Infamous (Oscar nomination caliber)
3. Speed
4. Miss Congeniality
5. Forces of Nature

[Hustler]

Bullock´s best performance so far was in Murder by Numbers, directed By Barbet Schroeder.

Bullock is an appealing actress (hi Van Helsing!) but I didn't think she did anything remarkable in this ridiculous film. To me the best thing about the film was Ryan Gosling's performance which vacillated between cheeky charisma and wonderful sexual doubt.

Oh and I will never understand what so many straight girls see in Michael Pitt (I don't know how he fares generally among gay men). He's almost unbearable to watch onscreen and was the worst thing about the otherwise lovely "Dreamers."

Murder...was the first time that I had the opportunity to appreciate another registry in her performance. I enjoyed his work plenty of shades and her economy of resources. It was a true surprise for me since until that moment, I considered Bullock the typical commercial actress.

[Damien]

Damien the other three are lovely, Michael Pitt..meh. As an actor too I just don't see it.

His two co-stars in The Dreamers though are wonderful!

Michael was the dreamboat in The Dreamers, LOL

[Akash]

Damien the other three are lovely, Michael Pitt..meh. As an actor too I just don't see it.

His two co-stars in The Dreamers though are wonderful!

[flipp525]

Michael Pitt is gross. I don't find attractive at all. Christian Bale, on the other hand, is a absolute god.

[Damien]

Oh and I will never understand what so many straight girls see in Michael Pitt (I don't know how he fares generally among gay men). He's almost unbearable to watch onscreen and was the worst thing about the otherwise lovely "Dreamers."

OMG! Well, I guess we'll never be competing for the same guys, LOL. Michael's right up there with Ralph Fiennes and Christian Bale in the If-I-Can't-Have-Ethan-Hawke-. . . sweepstakes.