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Do make an effort for The Last King of Scotland. Despite my major bitches about it in the movie musing thread it really is a phenomenal performance from Whittaker (and it is sad but whenever I think of Forrest Whittaker, Good Morning Vietnam is still the first thing that comes to mind for me).
Now that the nominations are out, I get to do my best to cram as many in as possible. Except for the documentaries, foreign films, and shorts. I'm resigned to not seeing most of those for quite a while.
Babel - Can't say that I'm really interested based on what I've seen but this will have to go to the top of the list.
Black Dahlia - Barely even remember what this is.
Flags from Our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima - Probably won't get to them, just feel kind of stroked out on meaningful WWII movies. Though I do love the idea of making two movies from the same event on opposite sides.
Half Nelson - I am confident that in 20 years we'll speak of Ryan Gosling the way we do Robert De Niro. Since I believe it is on DVD I'll pick this one up but the topic isn't of much interest.
Little Children - All through December while I was seeing great film after great film this one was always #2 on the list when looking at my options. I believe it is still playing at the closest Landmark theater so I'll try to get over there before the weekend in case I lose the opportunity.
Marie Antoinette - Really don't want to see it so I probably won't.
Monster House - Since I believe it is on DVD, I'm sure I'll see it. Hard to imagine it coming out ahead of Cars or Happy Feet though (and between the two my nod goes to Happy Feet).
Notes on a Scandal - Probably the best chance of seeing since Lani is interested as well.
The Pursuit of Happyness - I have negative interest in this for some reason. 50% because of the stupidness of the title and 50% because it just feels like a manipulative piece of schlock.
Wow, shorter list than most years. Maybe I'll even have time to chase down some of the docs or foreign films.
Categories where I've seen all movies and can make fully informed choice:
Visual Effects: Pirates of the Caribbean. Hands down. Regardless of whether you liked the movie, Davy Jones and crew trump anything in Superman Returns and Poseidon.
Best Song: Honestly, I have no recollection of a song in An Inconvenient Truth. So I'll go with one of the Dreamgirls songs.
Make Up: Pan's Labyrinth. It is weird that Click will be able to advertise itself as Oscar nominated but putting Adam Sandler in a fat suit and aging make-up doesn't cut it. Apocolypto is worthy, but I still go with Pan's Labyrinth.
Art Direction: One of those categories where I'm really not sure what is being rewarded. So I'll go with Dreamgirls.
Undeserving Nominations
Leonardo DiCaprio (Actor) for Blood Diamond. I would have rolled with his The Departed performance but other than the good accent just didn't see anything of interest in Blood Diamond, either from him or the movie as a whole.
Djimon Hounsou (Supporting Actor) for Blood Diamond - See Leo.
Eddie Murphy (Supporting Actor) for Dreamgirls - I loved Dreamgirls, but don't think Murphy was anything special. I'd guess he's getting accolades for not being awful as many would expect.
Meryl Streep (Actress) for The Devil Wears Prada - I think this is a reflexive move. Streep would get nominated for brushing her teeth if caught on film. Pedestrian movie, pedestrian performance.
The Queen (Costume Design) - I fail to see anything remarkable in the costuming of this movie. Is there some special merit in guessing what the Queen's nightclothes look like?
Borat (Adapted Screenplay) - I know that there is still writing involved. But for a movie form that glories in the unscripted this just seems silly.
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