Actor:

The only one here I saw was Half Nelson with Ryan Gosling. He is phenomenal and one of the best young actors of our generation. I didn't see Happyness but I'm wondering why in the hell was Will Smith nominated….was he really that good or did the show just need some star power? Didn't see Blood Diamond either, but you think Leo would've got the nom for Departed. And I know O'Toole is the sentimental favorite…but did anyone even see Venus? From the synopsis, it sounds like the role could've been played just as effectively by any old codger. But just from the trailers, you can tell that Whitaker's performance is really a career-defining performance.


Supporting Actor:

The only ones I saw here were Sunshine, Dreamgirls, and Departed. I might be a little off the mark with Jackie Earle Haley but maybe that's just because I think I'm playing it too safe in all the other categories. I haven't seen Little Children, but a lot of my friends listed it as one of their best films of the year and it's gotten a good amount of critical praise so I think it might be a sympathy vote. Arkin was good in Sunshine and considering that the academy is mainly old white guys with money, he could get it. Murphy was good in Dreamgirls but I think the performance was a little one note. And I love Mark Wahlberg in everything he's in (and he stole every scene he was in), but Jack or Matt Damon really should've gotten the nomination for The Departed. Didn't see Blood Diamond, so I don't know how Djimon Hounsou even got in here. I think Michael Sheen from The Queen should have been nominated here and I'm a little upset Djimon beat him out. Brad Pitt was also good and deserving of a nomination (though not as good as he was in 12 Monkeys). I think you have me changing my vote to Arkin and I just need to hope the old guys are on my side.


Actress:

Unfortunately the only one I saw here was The Queen and Mirren was phenomenal. I'm going to try to nab a friend's screener for Notes but I feel like Judi Dench gives the same outstanding performance in everything she's in…so it's hard to distinguish a great performance for her from just a good performance for her. Didn't see Prada b/c I thought it might be too lightweight for my taste. Never got around to seeing Volver…I don't think any of the ads were very informative as to what the film was actually about…all it did was let us know Penelope Cruz was in it, and was really good in it. Didn't see Little Children, but I appreciate Kate Winslet. Vote goes to Mirren.


Supporting Actress:

Didn't see Notes on a Scandal but I feel that Cate Blanchett & Kate Winslet could almost be a little interchangeable with the roles they pick. That's not really an insult, but their names are always popping up on these things. I enjoyed Babel and I actually thought Adriana Barraza was the stronger of the two nominated performances. If Rinko Kikuchi wins, it's because it "means more" to play a deaf Japanese girl. Abigail Breslin was good in Sunshine but I don't know if she had a big enough part for me to even have nominated her. I actually would've picked Toni Collette over her. Which leaves Jennifer Hudson. While I think her performance is far overrated, let's be honest and say this nomination and her win is all about one scene … the big scene. Again with someone being overlooked for their co-star, I thought Anika Noni Rose had a better acting performance than Hudson did. But it's a great story for Hudson to win and she's been giving great acceptance speeches so far so she's a total lock.


Animated Pic:

I didn't see any of them, but all the prognosticators are pointing to Cars so I'm gonna do the same. (Don't think I actually saw any animated films this year. A little upset I haven't gotten to see A Scanner Darkly yet.)


Director:

This is Marty all the way. Of course, isn't that what everyone said with The Aviator and Gangs of New York …and it didn't happen. While if there was a better directing accomplishment in this field, I think the same thing could've happened but none of the others really stood out. Here the only ones I haven't seen are Iwo Jima & United 93. If there's an upset I think it goes to Paul Greengrass with United 93. Again, a lot of people I know thought 93 was one of the best films of the year and Greengrass would get the win for so deftly handling the subject matter. Inarritu was good at directing Babel , but it's one of those where I don't know if the scriptwriter or director should get more merit for the film. And Frears symbolism in The Queen was a little too blatant for my vote.


Documentary:

Ay, I didn't see any of these either, lol. I think the only documentary this year I did see was "The Bridge" about suicide jumpers at the Golden Gate Bridge . An Inconvenient Truth seems to be the lock for the win.


Foreign Language:

The only one I saw here is Pan's Labyrinth and if I had my say I would've given a directing nod to Guillermo del Toro. I'm hearing that The Lives of Others may beat out Pan's, but I can't see that happening with all of Pan's other nominations and the money it's made at the box office. Can't remember seeing any other foreign films this year.


Song:

The only one from Dreamgirls I even remotely remember is "Love You I Do." The 3 nominated songs may all cancel each other out leaving way for perennial Oscar fave Randy Newman with "Our Town." Of course, if they wanted to show a little more love to Al Gore & Inconvenient Truth, it could just as easily go to Melissa Etheridge for her tune. I think again the old white guys don't want to vote for an old white lesbian and it ends up going to "Love You I Do."


Screenplay – Adapted:

Why the hell is Borat even in here?? I enjoyed it, yes. And an acting nomination for Sacha Baron Cohen would've been more appropriate than a nom in this category. Didn't see Children of Men (hopefully tonight though) or Children or Scandal. But if Departed doesn't take Best Pic, it's got this one.


Screenplay – Original:

Only one I didn't see was Iwo Jima . It's not going to Pan's because it's foreign language. I think it comes down to Babel or Sunshine. Again, it's a toss-up with these two. I think I'm going to go with Babel because it's about "something."


Picture:

I've heard so many things from so many places. Only one I haven't seen is Iwo Jima … and I don't know anyone who's seen Iwo Jima so I think it's out. The Queen was good, but I don't think it's how the Academy will want to be remembered by in 50 years. The same could be said for Sunshine. Babel was good but a little too "wasn't this called Crash last year?" It could go to The Departed but is it a great film…enjoyable, yes…great, perhaps. Sunshine could have the sentimental vote since everyone could watch and enjoy Sunshine. I took a screener home with me over Thanksgiving of Sunshine and watched it with my parents, and my grandmother and we all loved it…and if any of my younger cousins were there, they would've loved it too. (The only comment my grandmother had was "why does he have to curse so much?"). I know I said I was leaning towards Sunshine before but now I'm swaying to a Marty love fest with Departed. It's made a ton of money, was well-directed, well-written, well-acted … it would almost be an embarrassment if it didn't win under those circumstances.


Other categories:

Art Direction – Pan's (could go to Dreamgirls)

Cinematography – Children of Men (I hear the cinematography is amazing and this won the guild. My second choice would be Prestige.)

Costume – Marie Antoinette (I thought Dreamgirls was too simple. Same with Queen. Didn't see Curse, Prada, or Antoinette though.)

Editing – Babel (won the guild award. Maybe an upset for Departed, or 93 just to show it some love.)

Make-up – Pan's (only one I saw here)

Score – Notes (I'm so bad at remembering scores, I'm just going for this one because it's Philip Glass. I thought the score for Brokeback was too sparse to be nominated or win so it could go to Babel & Gustavo Santoalla. Good German is Thomas Newman so he could get it as well. Queen is Desplat who's also well-known but I don't remember much music from Queen.)

Sound Editing – Pirates (only saw Flags)
Sound Mixing – Dreamgirls (only saw Dreamgirls & Flags)
Visual Effects – Pirates (didn't see any of these)
Docu Short – Two Hands (didn't see any of these)
Animated Short – Matchgirl (didn't see any of these)
Live Short – West Bank Story (didn't see any of these)

Top Films of 2006

I think my favorite film of all of last year … and I'm upset it got no nominations was The Fountain. I thought it would've at least bagged score or visual effects or cinematography or some of the techy/crafty kind of stuff, but nothing!

1. The Fountain
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. Shortbus
4. The Prestige
5. Idlewild
6. Half Nelson
7. Little Miss Sunshine
8. Borat
9. Babel
10. Rocky Balboa
11. The Bridge
12. The Queen
13. American Gun
14. The Descent
15. Casino Royale
16. Snakes On A Plane
17. V For Vendetta
18. The Illusionist
19. Accepted
20. CSA: Confederate States of America

Other films I saw last year (that I remember):

Inside Man
The Departed
Flags Of Our Fathers
Saw 3
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes
Another Gay Movie
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Tristan & Isolde
When A Stranger Calls
Freedomland
Date Movie
The Hills Have Eyes
Mission Impossible 3
A Prairie Home Companion
Dreamgirls

(i'll try to have a more personal update sometime this week.)