Oscar Prediction: Forest Whitaker for 'Last King of Scotland'

[JCMach1]

Finally saw it here in the good ol' UA of E and damn he was good (errrr bad as it were).



Powerful. Thundering. Colossal -- puny words to describe Forest Whitaker's king-size, Oscar-ready performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. There is pow to spare in this first feature -- and a lively one -- from documentarian Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void). Whitaker brims with charm and outrageous humor, making Amin's emerging savagery scary as hell... http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/10379541/review/11894555/the_last_king_of_scotland

The only disappointment in The Last King of Scotland -- and you have to bend over backwards to find it -- is how unsuspenseful watching the best actor category will be come Oscar night. With due respect to Peter O'Toole, Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith and Ryan Gosling, Forest Whitaker has it locked up.

The 6-foot-2 actor is a tower of power in the role of Uganda dictator Idi Amin. Lowering his voice an octave or two, the former operatic tenor student is everything you could want in a villain: physically threatening, charismatic, dangerous, unpredictable and very scary...http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/lifestyle/story.html?id=e24ac040-aa9d-4c74-80e8-dbff0fbc3265

[formerrepuke]

1. O'Toole may win it, though...8th nomination and never won

(in competition) before. There has been a tendency for people to win when they are in the twilight of their careers and never won before (Henry Fonda, Jessica Tandy, John Gielgud). Still, I'm looking forward to seeing LKoS.

[JCMach1]

2. O'Toole should have won for Becket... I hate when

Oscars give a 'sentimental' award.

[LostinVA]

3. Totally agree -- and he deserves it

He's a very talented actor and director.

And, to think he started in "Fast Times at Ridgemont Hight." Lots of talent in that movie (I still think Spicoli is Sean Penn's best role -- I;m serious, Stu!).

[wildhorses]

4. i can't wait to see it---

has not come here yet

[JCMach1]

5. Last King of Scotland hasn't?

[wildhorses]

7. did that come out last summer?

:dunce:

[JCMach1]

8. Wikipedia said it only has had limited US release so far

back in September...

So, not many Americans have seen it yet.

Best movie of the year by far and the acting was superb.

[wildhorses]

9. i live ouside of a fairly smallish town

it takes a while for stuff to get here...and some stuff doesn't make it at all

[JCMach1]

6. He doesn't so much act, as channel Idi Amin... very scary stuff

:(

[wildhorses]

10. i have always thought he was a wonderful talent n/t

[jobycom]

11. My prediction: Harrison Ford in "Firewall"

will be overlooked this year.

[JCMach1]

12. that was an awful movie

he phoned that performance in...

[jobycom]

16. I heard. I phoned in my viewing of it, or I guess I should say I just said no.

[Reverend_Smitty]

13. it was an intense film

I saw it the other day and was blown away by his performance...such a ruthless character/man especially the last 20 minutes of that film :scared:

[JCMach1]

14. Very purposeful performance... he sucks you in with affable charm

and then horrifies the shit out of you later in the film... exactly as we would see it through the eyes of the protagonist doctor.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. Whittaker's great in everything.

He's one of those fantastic, underappreciated actors.

[maveric]

17. He was great in "Bird".

Had a role in "The Crying Game" and "Platoon", too.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. He was in an action movie with Jodie Foster...

"Safe Room" or something like that. Kind of just a dumb Hollywood movie, but he was very good in it. Stole every scene.

And he was magnificent in "Ghost Dog," which was kind of a weird movie. Good though.

[Critters2]

18. I've always considered him a great actor, and have been disappointed

that he doesn't get more attention. He was phenomenal in "The Crying Game". I really thought he was British for a long time! Imagine my surprise when he was in "Good Morning, Vietnam". Platoon was on TV last night, and there he was--acting wonderfully as always!