For Your Consideration

Well, the Oscar nominations came out yesterday. Usually, I've got a lot to complain about. This year, I've got relatively few protests and lots of praise.

After all of the brouhaha about whether or not to send out screener copies and how it would affect the independent films, I am pleased to announce that the little guys are well represented. (And in the case of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the other little guys got recognized as well. Go hobbits! Yay hobbits! More on that later...) Holly Hunter got a much-deserved best supporting nod for Thirteen, Djimon Hounsou and Shoreh Aghdashloo were recognized for their outings in In America and House of Sand and Fog, and Keisha Castle-Hughes pulled off a Best Actress nod for Whale Rider. I'm absolutely giddy about that last one; I didn't think she had a chance in the world. (And I now have an excuse to see Whale Rider again!)

Of course, I'm putting my money on Charlize Theron to win for Monster. It seems the rule of thumb is that women win when they "ugly up" for a role, and she's already got the Golden Globe for the role. (Men tend to get nominated for "mentally challenged" roles, unless that role is in Radio. Cuba? Fire your agent.)

(I have officially withdrawn any love that I had for Diane Keaton. I hate it when actors read prepared acceptance speeches, and reading a prepared speech badly is unforgivable. And the white gloves that she wore at the Globes were ridiculous.)

Cold Mountain, for the most part, got snubbed, and I can't really say I'm upset about it. Yes, I know that the book was supposedly a masterpiece, and I have heard from both Roger Mexico and the Paisleys that the movie is quite good. However, after seeing eight billion cloying previews for the movie, I got the feeling that Miramax was trying to shove the film down my throat. The ads might as well have featured subtitles: "Please vote for this movie! Look how pretty it is! Look how poignant and romantic and heartbreaking! It's got Nicole Kidman in it! She won the Oscar last year! It's got Renee Zellweger in it! She was nominated last year! It's got Jude Law! He's prettier than both of the women combined! You know you want to see this movie! Much love, Harvey Weinstein." Well Harvey, I agree with you on the Jude Law thing, but I still have no desire to see your movie. (And after seeing Nicole's Golden Globes dress, I'm a little terrified of what she's going to wear to the Oscars. Nicole? Fire your stylist. You looked like ass.)

Obviously, this is the Year of the Hobbit. I fully expect most of the awards to go to The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Again, no complaints there, although I'm a little disappointed that there was no Cinematography nomination, and would've liked to have seen Sean Astin up for Best Supporting Actor. Why is there not a Best Ensemble Cast award?

The big race this year, in my opinion, is the Best Actor category. Sean Penn should probably get it for Mystic River, and I think that the Academy really wants to give him an Oscar for something, but he's so anti-Hollywood I don't see him showing up for the ceremony. I'm betting on Bill Murray for Lost in Translation, mainly because the phrase "Academy Award winner Bill Murray" cracks me up.

(And a side note on Johnny Depp: while I am thrilled to see him nominated for Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, I'm not so sure I want to see him actually win for it. It was a fun role, but I would rather see him win for something more important than a movie based on a ride at Disneyland. A win for Captain Jack Sparrow could be interpreted as "Yes, Johnny. We like you. We appreciate you. Now stop being so weird." It's the same way that I feel about Al Pacino winning for Scent of a Woman. This is the movie we chose to honor him for?)

I'm also quite pleased to see the nomination of "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from A Mighty Wind. It doesn't stand a chance against the Annie Lennox song from Return of the King, but it made me smile the same twisted little smile I did when "Blame Canada" got nominated from South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.

In the "what the hell were you thinking" category, there's Brother Bear's nomination in the Best Animated Film category. Look, I saw Brother Bear on a Saturday morning preview and I wish I'd stayed in and watched Yu-gi-oh or whatever crap was on the Kids WB lineup. I knew it was going to be bad, which is why I didn't get extra tickets for all of my animation-loving friends like I did for Finding Nemo. (Finding Nemo, obviously, is the front runner in this category. Go Pixar!)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is this year's Gangs of New York. It got a ton of nominations, it probably won't win for anything, and I have very little desire to see it. (Roger Mexico and I got into an argument about this Sunday night. He thought it was fabulous; I'm just not interested enough to plunk down $8.50 to see chunky Russell Crowe. I have, however, stopped referring to it as "Gladiator on a boat.")

So, I now have a little more than 30 days to (ideally) see 10 or so films so I can make an educated decision on February 29th. (Plus 2 or 3 that I want to see again.) Why don't I qualify for screener copies?

(And of course, the annual Oscars celebration and snarkfest at Chez Myo is still on. Formal attire encouraged. Pirate eye patches optional.)