Yes, Bardem is one of those cheats by the studio. His IS the lead performance, but he has enough literal screen time for them to guarantee him a win in the supporting category. I hate those kind of shenanigans. (Frankly, i'd not vote for him the supporting category, because i think it's unfair to the other nominees)

Oh no. My post was me guessing what the noms were going to be.
:)

Interesting.

Casey Affleck for Jesse James and not Gone Baby Gone. Hmmm.
No Keira...
Ratatouille for Screenplay! Nice! :)
Cate twice.
Sicko nom. Interesting. Haven't seen it yet.
3 noms for Menken. No noms for the new Hairspray songs...
No makeup nod for Travolta's Edna...
Need to see Atonement...

Is no one but me concerned that Norbit was nominated? I don't care what category it was - I thought it was one of those movies that we all politely pretended didn't exist.

I think it was a top grosser one weekend. Maybe that carries some weight? Dunno.

Persepolis looks interesting. The animation kinda depresses me.
:D

A Once song was nominated, and I'm tempted to say that's all I care about.

It's not; I guess I'm rooting for Bardem and for No Country for best pic under the circumstances. Not that they would have nominated my favorite - Persepolis - but at least it was on the best animated shortlist - and by shortlist, I mean two because who really thinks Surf's Up is competition?

Into the Wild's snubs are a bummer, we just saw it and it was pretty strong. No Ryan Gosling for Lars, but at least it got a screenplay nod.

I thought Michael Clayton was a solid picture I did not find it especially Oscar-worthy. I thought Atonement had a great first act but stumbled a bit afterward. I thought I'd hate Juno for the first ten minutes, but then I was really impressed with how much I connected with the characters and ended up quite enjoying it. I was really with No Country until the last scene, but I've warmed to that, too. I was never really with Blood, and the last scene sealed it for me.

And - what is up with the Blanchett Elizabeth nod? We haven't seen it, but from the clips I've seen and the reviews I've read, she's dreadful in it.

Other than that, the only films I still need to see if I want to see all of nominees: Assassination of Jesse James, Valley of Elah, Eastern Promises, Away From Her and American Gangster. We managed to catch all of the others. Except, obviously, some documentaries, all foreign noms [I was disappointed before the noms because of the Persepolis/Orphanage shortlist snub) and the shorts, etc. Oh, and I'm NEVER seeing Norbit. Who the hell nominated it?

I guess it's time to organize the shorts program swanking - I'll hop to it.

I haven't seen Norbit (and don't intend to) but did see an extended clip highlighting the craft and difficulties of the fat suit. Ignoring the offensiveness of it all, it really was an amazing piece of work.

Of course, I'm never been clear on where "make-up" ends and "visual effects" begins. Or has the latter come to mean specifically CGI as the nominated films would tend to suggest?

Yeah, the make-up is strictly make-up. Though - why Norbit, and not Hairspray? I thought the latter had better.

I'm glad a Once song was nominated. I don't know which one that was, but I liked all the songs ... and didnt' like much else about that movie.

I am appalled that Juno is nominated for Best Picture. A nice enough movie, but hardly in that realm. Sheesh. Although I'm all there with Ellen Page's actress nom.


Well, of the major nominees, I still have some pictures to see. I've not seen American Gangster, but I've no desire to. I would like to catch Persepolis, Away From Her, The Savages, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Into the Wild, and Gone Baby Gone. I'd also like to see Elizabeth II, but hardly doubt that Blanchette's nomation is an odd choice.

Hmmm, I've seen a fair amount of the Oscar nommed films. But it's not fair that I've yet to see that many more. There's too many on ^that list ... so I'm afraid most of them will have to wait for the post-Oscar Netflix queue.


Too bad they pidgeonholed Javier Bardem into Best Supporting Actor, because Casey Affleck was a truly fantastic actor in a supporting role in a crappy film. Maybe he stands out more as the one good thing about that movie (aside from a bit of subtle stunt casting that tickled me personally).

I am appalled that Johnny Depp was nominated for Best Actor. He was a weak sauce Sweeney Todd.

It's funny. I have very little interest in the Oscars this year. Last year was exciting seeing if Scorcese was going to get an Oscar finally. This year seems kinda blah.

I think this year's crop of films was FAR better than last years.




(or is that just my typically adled memory?)