Oscar Nominations! I still care!

I of course can't help but offer my thoughts on this year's Oscar nominations. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by:

• The "Dreamgirls" snub - not a snub if you ask me, because it didn't deserve it. Only a snub because it defied analyst predictions. Shows how much they know.
• Penelope Cruz, "Volver" - that's right, doubters. My girl Penelope has been nominated for an Oscar. I know y'all thought of me when you heard she got nominated...don't deny it. Almodovar's film finally came to NH last week, so I will be checking Cruz out in all her spanish-speaking glory ASAP.
• Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson" - I've been trying to see this film for months now -- it's been popping up at local artsy theaters for single weekend showings -- but have never made it. I've dug Gosling ever since "The Believer," and I'm thrilled he's gaining some formal recognition. He was even good in "Murder By Numbers."
• Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed" - We all said how awesome he was. I guess we weren't the only ones. I just thought it was something only we appreciated. He won't win, of course. He also made "Invincible" this year. Groan.
• Paul Greengrass, "United 93." - This nomination suggests "United" had a chance at getting nominated for Best Picture, which it was. Clearly. Definitely. Without a doubt in my mind.
• Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine" - Good for her! She was a really important part of the movie and she was an unforgettable little character.
• Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls" - A standout performance in an otherwise forgettable musical. The scene in the movie where Jaime Foxx's character tells him his comeback song won't make money, and the way Murphy's eyes just change when he starts a line...great stuff. On top of that his outlandish but true-to-the-times performance as Jimmy Early. I watched "Raw" and "Delirious" not too long ago for the first time, and the dude was just super talented. He still is, but he needs to demonstrate it more instead of playing fat people under lots of makeup.

And I was annoyed by:

• All of "The Queen's" nominations - Granted, I saw this on the plane ride to England (how appropriate!), but damn if it didn't strike me as TV-movie garbage with a good Queen Elizabeth impersonation by Helen Mirren. The most overrated movie of the year.
• Dicaprio getting nominated for "Blood Diamond" - instead of "The Departed." I saw both films and his heavy work in the Scorsese flick far outweighs his charismatic soldier-of-fortune dude in the Zwick flick.

The rest of the noms are listed below for my reference later on. My preference in each category, if I have one, is blue-bolded. The one thing the Oscars do for me these days is motivate me to see a few of the nominated films. This year, it's more than a few. They are:

"Babel," "Letters from Iwo Jima," "Half Nelson," "Volver," "Pan's Labryinth," "Children of Men"

Oh, and real quick:

• "Apocalypto" - 4.5/5 -- holy shit was this good
• "Blood Diamond" - 3.5/5 -- better than expected
• "Rocky Balboa" - 3.5/5 -- the music itself guarantees at least a 3!
• "Friends With Money" -- 3.5/5 -- very observant and enjoyable from start to finish.
• "Dreamgirls" - 3/5 -- the opening shot of the girls' blue glittering asses, bumping to the beat...thes best part of the film.
• "The Descent" -- 3/4 -- very cool premise and build-up, with few horror movie cliches. Only kinda scary, but still good. Think Blair Witch crossed with Deliverance crossed with gory Monster movie.
• "The Queen" -- 2/5 -- wow, slow your role, critics community
• "Scoop" -- 2/5 -- Scarlett Johannson ceases to be hot when she acts this bad.

BEST PICTURE

• "Babel"
• "The Departed"
• "Letters From Iwo Jima"
• "Little Miss Sunshine"
• "The Queen"

BEST ACTOR

• Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"
• Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
• Peter O’Toole, “Venus”
• Will Smith,“The Pursuit of Happyness”
• Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland”

BEST ACTRESS

• Penelope Cruz, “Volver”
• Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”
• Helen Mirren, “The Queen”
• Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada”
• Kate Winslet,“Little Children”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Alan Arkin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
• Jackie Earle Haley,“Little Children”
• Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"
• Eddie Murphy,“Dreamgirls”
• Mark Wahlberg, “The Departed”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Adriana Barraza, “Babel”
• Cate Blanchett, “Notes on a Scandal”
• Abigail Breslin,“Little Miss Sunshine”
• Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”
• Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel”

BEST DIRECTOR

• Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu,“Babel”
• Martin Scorsese, “The Departed”
• Clint Eastwood, “Letters From Iwo Jima”
• Stephen Frears, “The Queen”
• Paul Greengrass, “United 93”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• “After the Wedding,” Denmark
• “Days of Glory (Indigenes),” Algeria
• “The Lives of Others,” Germany
• "Pan’s Labyrinth,” Mexico
• "Water,” Canada

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• “Borat ”
• “Children of Men”
• “The Departed”
• “Little Children”
• “Notes on a Scandal”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• “Babel”
• “Letters From Iwo Jima”
• “Little Miss Sunshine”
• “Pan’s Labyrinth”
• “The Queen”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Cars” “Happy Feet” “Monster House”

BEST ART DIRECTION

• “Dreamgirls”
• “The Good Shepherd”
• “Pan’s Labyrinth”
• “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
• “The Prestige”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• “The Black Dahlia”
• “Children of Men”
• “The Illusionist”
• “Pan’s Labyrinth”
• “The Prestige”

BEST SOUND MIXING
“Apocalypto” “Blood Diamond” “Dreamgirls” “Flags of Our Fathers” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

BEST SOUND EDITING
“Apocalypto” “Blood Diamond” “Flags of Our Fathers” “Letters From Iwo Jima” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"Babel," “The Good German,” “Notes on a Scandal,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Queen,”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”
• “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
• “Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”
• “Our Town” from “Cars”
• “Patience” from “Dreamgirls”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Curse of the Golden Flower” “The Devil Wears Prada” “Dreamgirls” “Marie Antoinette” “The Queen”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Deliver Us From Evil” “An Inconvenient Truth” “Iraq in Fragments” “Jesus Camp” “My Country, My Country”

BEST FILM EDITING
“Babel” “Blood Diamond” “Children of Men” “The Departed” “United 93”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” “Poseidon” “Superman Returns”