50 Films to Look For

Here is a list of 50 films that I think have a good shot at a nomination for best picture, of course I could also be wrong and none of these will make it. But I will bet that out of these there will be four of them that get a nomination.

Charlie Wilson’s War
The Kite Runner
American Gangster
Youth Without Youth
Lions for Lambs
Eastern Promises
Sweeny Todd
There Will Be Blood
Lust, Caution
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Brave One
In the Valley of Elah
Reservation Road
No Country for Old Men
My Blueberry Nights
Rescue Dawn
The Darjeeling Limited
Goya’s Ghost
Before the Devil Knows Your Dead
I’m Not There
Across the Universe
Into the Wild
Rendition
Margot at the Wedding
The Assassination of Jesse James
Love in the Time of Cholera
Closing the Ring
The Feast of Love
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
Things We Lost in the Fire
Atonement
In Bloom
Margaret
The Golden Age
Beowulf
A Mighty Heart
Nothing is Private
His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass
An American Crime
The Savages
King of California
Away From Her
Evening
Gone, Baby, Gone
Leatherheads
Silk
The Children of Huang Shi
Stardust
Michael Clayton
The Hoax

My first film of 2007

Zodiac was the worth the wait. Ah, finnally Fincher gave us a thrid act, well done! If you don't know that the Zodiac killer was never caught, then you will walk away unsatisfied and you are a moron.
Most defiantly the best true crime drama that I can remember. I don't know maybe since In Cold Blood. I know usually when i see a film about unsolved true crime stories I am left wanting a better conclusion, yes, yes I know they never caught the guy, but... I want closer, and when we are given a possible conclusion to what probably happened I am left unsatisfied and full of more questions as to why the writer and director went with that conclusion. When ficional elements are introduced to move the plot or give us character development it subtracts substance from the story and it ultimately fails the true crime and the victums. David Fincher stayed well away from adding fictional elements to the story or go the other route and shorten the telling in a nice, neat and tidy little way, you know and turn it into the TV thriller of the week. He stuck to the story and it draws you in and won't let go.
I was particuarlly impressed the attention to detail, the period setting in a time that I grew up in was a very uniqe experience to watch on screen (all except Gyllenhaal's Levis shirt with the little red tag - wrong era.) I have no complaints with this film, just when I felt that the story had run out of gas we were taken in a different direction and it was worth the ride and the almost two and a half hours. I was so happy to see Anthony Edwards again and in fine form also Charles Fleishcer, I've always liked that guy, and he creeped me out!

My Oscar Night post - how I did

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
The Winner: Pan's Labyrinth
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
Who else?

MAKEUP
The Winner: Pan's Labyrinth
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
Yeah! Pan’s is on its way.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Winner: The Danish Poet
My Predicted Winner: The Little Matchgirl
My Alternate: The Danish Poet
Well this is my first miss.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
The Winner: West Bank Story
My Predicted Winner: West Bank Story

SOUND EDITING/EFFECTS
The Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima
My Predicted Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima

SOUND MIXING/DESIGN
The Winner: Dreamgirls
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The Winner: Alan Arkin
My Predicted Winner: Murphy
My Alternate: Alan Arkin
The first and biggest surprise of the evening.

ANIMATED FEATURE
The Winner: Happy Feet
My Predicted Winner: Cars
My Alternate: Happy Feet
This was a very, very happy surprise.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Winner: The Departed
My Predicted Winner: The Departed

COSTUME DESIGN
The Winner: Marie Antoinette
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: The Curse of the Golden Flower
The Dark Horse: Marie Antoinette
Again, I missed another one here; I should have stuck with Marie Antoinette, which was my favorite choice.
Yeah, Dreamgirls didn’t get it!

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Winner: Pan's Labyrinth
My Predicted Winner: Children of Men
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The third big surprise of the night, only a disappointment because I missed it. I started figuring out here that Pan’s could walk away tonight with the most awards.

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
My Predicted Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Winner: The Lives of Others
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: The Lives of Others
I feel so bad now; did I jinx it and spoke too soon? Now I really have to see The Lives of Others.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The Winner: Jennifer Hudson
My Predicted Winner: Hudson

SHORT SUBJECT
The Winner: The Blood of Yingzhou District
My Predicted Winner: The Blood of Yingzhou District

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
The Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Predicted Winner: An Inconvenient Truth

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Winner: Babel
My Predicted Winner: The Queen
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: Babel
Again, only my second big miss of the night. And I’m not happy about it. Sadly I think this will be the only win for Babel.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine

ORIGINAL SONG
The Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Predicted Winner: “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
My Alternate: An Inconvenient Truth
I can't tell you how happy I was that Dreamgirls lost. I was screaming.

FILM EDITING
The Winner: The Departed
My Predicted Winner: Babel
My Alternate: The Departed
Again, I should stick to my origianl picks sometimes.

BEST ACTRESS
The Winner: Helen Mirren
My Predicted Winner: Mirren
But of course.

BEST ACTOR
The Winner: Forest Whitaker
My Predicted Winner: Whitaker
The only performance of the five I've seen. He was scary.

BEST DIRECTOR
The Winner: Martin Scorsese
My Predicted Winner: Scorsese
I don’t remember a more nerve racking moment in all my years of watching this show. I was so afraid he wouldn’t win.

BEST PICTURE
The Winner: The Departed
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Departed
I took a chance this year and went with a hunch. I underestimated the Hollywood affection for Marty.
What I learned? Forget hunches, go with the consensus and your gut, and remember the curse of the Spirit Awards and THE FORMULA.

I didn’t do so great this year with my predictions only 14/24 (56%), but counting my alternates I got 22/24 (if only).

Maybe next year will remember this year’s lessons …. NOT!

Join in the competition

Hey wanna see if you can beat me? Check out these contests.

Offical Oscar.com Contest
PredictTheOscars.com
Oscar Pick 'Em, efilmcritic
The Road to Gold, The Envelope
Daily Press
FilmGuru.net
Oscarwatch's 8th Annual Predict the Oscar Contest
Box Office Mojo
Beat the Crowd
Film Fluff
movies.com
Oscar World Open - this is my favorite, I finished among the top ten last year, and I finished third the year before that.

My Final Predictions

BEST PICTURE
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Departed
The Dark Horse: Babel

BEST DIRECTOR
My Predicted Winner: Scorsese
My Alternate: Eastwood
The Dark Horse: Frears

BEST ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Whitaker
The Dark Horse: O’Toole

BEST ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Mirren
My Alternate: Streep
The Dark Horse: Dench

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Murphy
My Alternate: Alan Arkin
The Dark Horse: Walhberg

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Hudson
My Alternate: Breslin
The Dark Horse:Kikuchi

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Notes on a Scandal
The Dark Horse: Children of Men

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Queen
The Dark Horse: Babel

ANIMATED FEATURE
My Predicted Winner: Cars
My Alternate: Happy Feet
The Dark Horse: Monster House

BEST FOREIGN FILM
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: The Lives of Others
The Dark Horse: Days of Glory

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
My Predicted Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Alternate: Deliver Us from Evili
The Dark Horse: Jesus Camp

CINEMATOGRAPHY
My Predicted Winner: Children of Men
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: The Illusionist

FILM EDITING
My Predicted Winner: Babel
My Alternate: The Departed
The Dark Horse: Children of Men

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: Dreamgirls
The Dark Horse: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

COSTUME DESIGN
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: The Curse of the Golden Flower
The Dark Horse: Marie Antoinette

MAKEUP
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: Apocalypto

VISUAL EFFECTS
My Predicted Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean 2
My Alternate:

SOUND MIXING/DESIGN
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

SOUND EDITING/EFFECTS
My Predicted Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

ORIGINAL SONG
My Predicted Winner: “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
My Alternate: An Inconvenient Truth

ORIGINAL SCORE
My Predicted Winner: The Queen
My Alternate: Babel
The Dark Horse: Pan’s Labyrinth

SHORT SUBJECT
My Predicted Winner: “The Blood of Yingzhou District”
My Alternate: “Recycled Life”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
My Predicted Winner: The Little Matchgirl
My Alternate: The Danish Poet

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
My Predicted Winner: West Bank Story
My Alternate: Binta and the Great Idea
The Dark Horse: The Savior

Great new site, click here

Check out this great new site. I love watching movies, but at this site I can now listen to them at work on my computer. There are some great films here. I love it!

listentoamovie.com

I can't help it

As much as I hate Oprah, I will watch her Oscar Special tonight, because she is not in it. I gave up Barbara Walters Oscar Speicals a long time ago.

"Get used to disapointment"

Could we be in for some suprises on Sunday night? What about upsets? Or, will we once again be scratching our heads and vowing never to watch this show again or care. Come on I know there were those of you out there who were heartbroken (escuse the pun) about the best picture result last year. What if Scorsese looses this year?

I kind of like that the best picture race is so open this year. I do hate being wrong about what I think will win, but trying to guess what will win is fun! Especially when your good at it.

Well, we could be quite disappointed come sunday night, or at least mildly surprised.
Here are some nice suprises I would gladly welcome

Alan Arkin beating Eddie Murphy for Best Supporting Actor
Curse of the Golden Flower winning for Best Costume
"I need to Wake Up" winning for Best Song
Notes on a Scandal winning for Best Original Score
Children of Men beating the Departed for Adapted Screenplay
Happy Feet beating Cars for Animation

Film Independent’s 2007 Spirit Awards (My Picks)

This is simply for fun. I have only seen maybe five of the films that are nominated, but I love to watch the show.

BEST PICTURE
Half Nelson

BEST DIRECTOR
Johnathan Dayton & Valerie Faris “Little Miss Sunshine”

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Man Push Cart

BEST ACTOR
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson”

BEST ACTRESS
Catherin O’Hara in “For Your Consideration”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin “Little Miss Sunshine”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mary Beth Hurt in “The Dead Girl”

BEST SCREENPLAY
Thank You for Smoking

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Little Miss Sunshine

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Pan’s Labyrinth

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The Lives of Others

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Road to Guantanamo

The Good and the Bad

I do love to make lists, and I was board so here are my personal favorites for the best and worst Oscar winners.

Oscar’s Worst ‘Best Pictures’ Ever!
Broadway Melody (1928/29)
Cimarron (1931)
Cavalcade (1933)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
You Can’t Take It With You (1938)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Mrs. Miniver (1942)
Going My Way (1944)
Gentlemen’s Agreement (1947)
All the King’s Men (1949)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Gigi (1958)
Tom Jones (1963)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Oliver! (1968)
Patton (1970)
The Sting (1973)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Ordinary People (1980)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Terms of Endearment (1983)
Out of Africa (1985)
Rain Man (1988)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Forrest Gump (1994)
The English Patient (1996)
Titanic (1997)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Crash (2005)


The Very Best ‘Best Pictures’ Ever!
Casablanca (1942)
The Godfather (1972)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
On the Waterfront (1954)
All About Eve (1950)
Schindler’s List (1993)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Annie Hall (1977)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
An American in Paris (1951)
Wings (1927)
Amadeus (1983)
The French Connection (1971)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1947)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Unforgiven (1992)
LORT: Return of the King (2003)
Rebecca (1940)
It Happened One Night 91934)
The Bridge On the River Kwai (1957)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1929/30)
Sound of Music (1965)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Apartment (1960)
West Side Story (1961)

"The Suspence is terrible... I hope it lasts"

I'm bored out of my mind. Winter sucks. Being sick sucks! I couldn't get to the cinema this weekend to see "Letters from Iwo Jima," so I stayed home and watched all six Star Wars films in order. And still I'm bored, bored, bored.

Two weeks til' the big show and all I can do is keep changing my mind on who will win best pictrue. Is this as boring as I think or is it just me? Here's what I've got now.

BEST PICTURE
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Departed
The Dark Horse: Babel

BEST DIRECTOR
My Predicted Winner: Scorsese
My Alternate: Eastwood
The Dark Horse: Frears

BEST ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Whitaker
My Alternate: O’Toole
Who Will Win: Whitaker
Who Should Win: O’Toole
The Dark Horse: O’Toole

BEST ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Mirren
My Alternate: Streep
Who Will Win: Mirren
The Dark Horse: Dench

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Murphy
My Alternate: Alan Arkin
Who Should Win: Jackie Earle Haley
The Dark Horse: Walhberg

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Hudson
My Alternate: Kikuchi
Who Should Win: Kikuchi
The Dark Horse: Breslin

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Notes on a Scandal
Who Should Win: Children of Men
The Dark Horse: Children of Men

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Queen
Who Should Win: Babel
The Dark Horse: Babel

ANIMATED FEATURE
My Predicted Winner: Cars
My Alternate: Happy Feet
Who Should Win: Happy Feet
The Dark Horse: Happy Feet

BEST FOREIGN FILM
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: The Lives of Others
The Dark Horse: Days of Glory

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
My Predicted Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Alternate: Deliver Us from Evili
The Dark Horse: Jesus Camp

CINEMATOGRAPHY
My Predicted Winner: Children of Men
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: The Illusionist

FILM EDITING
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Babel
The Dark Horse: Children of Men

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

COSTUME DESIGN
My Predicted Winner: Marie Antoinette
My Alternate: Dreamgirls
The Dark Horse: The Devil Wears Prada

MAKEUP
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: Apocalypto

VISUAL EFFECTS
My Predicted Winner: Pirates of the Caribbean 2
My Alternate:

SOUND MIXING/DESIGN
My Predicted Winner: Dreamgirls
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

SOUND EDITING/EFFECTS
My Predicted Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima
My Alternate: Pirates of the Caribbean 2

ORIGINAL SONG
My Predicted Winner: “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
My Alternate: An Inconvenient Truth

ORIGINAL SCORE
My Predicted Winner: Notes on a Scandal
My Alternate: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Dark Horse: Babel

SHORT SUBJECT
My Predicted Winner: “The Blood of Yingzhou District”
My Alternate: “Recycled Life”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
My Predicted Winner: The Little Matchgirl
My Alternate: The Danish Poet

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
My Predicted Winner: West Bank Story
My Alternate: Binta and the Great Idea
The Dark Horse: The Savior

Documentary Shorts

This is basically all I could find for these films. I have read a few great reviews for "The Blood of Yinghou District," and "Recycled Life." I think it will be hard to choose between two wonderfull socially conscious films, the same old story of young and talented disadvantaged youth and a personal triumph story. I'll go with the this first one for now.

The Blood of Yingzhou District a film by Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon



Young Gao Jun, a Chinese AIDS orphan, faces possible rejection by his surviving relatives, who are torn between family tradition and their fear of the disease.

Recycled Life a film by Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad

At the vast, toxic Guatemala City Garbage Dump, generations of families eke out a living picking through the trash in search of items they can recycle.

http://www.leslieiwerks.com/

Rehearsing A Dream a film by Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon

Filmmakers Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon's 34-minute documentary Rehearsing a Dream chronicles the experiences of a number of 17-year-old performers, as they apprentice under such luminaries as vocalist, actress and former Miss America Vanessa Williams; ballet god Mikhail Baryshnikov; and the conductor, composer and pianist Michael Tilson Thomas. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Two Hands a film by Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr - My Architect (2003)

When pianist Leon Fleisher lost the use of his right hand in 1965, he began a decades-long struggle to find a cure for his mysterious ailment while reshaping his career to accommodate his loss.

Also Found ...

I also found yesterday a few of live action shorts on line, "Binta y la Gran Idea," "Eramos Pocos," and "The Saviour." The first two are without English subtitles, and my spanish is elementary at best, but I enjoyed them both. The first was a bit hard to follow and the it was long, I lost the much in my very limited translations, but this was the most complete film of three. My favorite was "The Saviour" I found quite funny and well acted. I found "Eramos Pocos" to be not much better, I don't think it will win at all. The film I wanted to see the most was "West Bank Story," but I was only able to find a trailer for it, although there is a wonderful little website for it here http://www.westbankstory.com/



A seven-year-old African girl tells the stories of her cousin, who longs to go to school, and her father, who has an idea that he hopes will change the world.



Malcolm, a door-to-door Mormon evangelist, is in love with a married woman.



When his wife leaves him, Joaquín and his son turn to her mother for help with the cooking and cleaning

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A musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands on the West Bank.

http://www.westbankstory.com/

Searching for Shorts

I spent yesterday afternoon looking online for all the nominated shorts. I found four animated shorts, "The Danisht Poet," "The Little Match Girl," "Matstro," and "Not Time for Nuts." All I was able to find of Pixar's "Lifted" was a very short clip, which intriged me more than the short films I actually saw. For now my favorite is "The Little Match Girl." Here is what I found....








Ice Age - No Time For Nuts - video powered by Metacafe

My Oscar Predictions for this week

BEST PICTURE
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Little Miss Sunshine
My Favorite: The Departed

Who should win, but won’t : Letters
The Upset: Babel
The Dark Horse: Little Miss Sunshine
Who Should NOT be here: The Queen
Who SHOULD be here: Children of Men and Pan’s Labyrinth

BEST DIRECTOR
My Predicted Winner: Scorsese
My Alternate: Eastwood
My Favorite: Scorsese

Who should win, but won’t: Greengrass
The Upset: Eastwood
The Dark Horse: Greengrass
Who Should NOT be here: Frears
Who SHOULD be here: Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Caron

BEST ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Forest
My Alternate: O’Toole
My Favorite: O’Toole

Who should win, but won’t: O’Toole
The Upset: OToole
The Dark Horse: O’Toole
Who Should NOT be here: Smith and DeCrapio
Who SHOULD be here: Matt Damon “The Good Shepherd” and Ken Watanabe “Letters from Iwo Jima”

BEST ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Mirren
My Alternate: Streep
My Favorite: Mirren

The Upset: Streep
The Dark Horse: Dench
Who Should NOT be here: all worthy
Who SHOULD be here: Maggie Gyllenhaal

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
My Predicted Winner: Eddie
My Alternate: Alan Arkin
My Favorite: Jackie Earle Haley

Who should win, but won’t: Jackie Earle Haley
The Upset: Alan Arkin
The Dark Horse: Walhberg
Who Should NOT be here: Dijomon
Who SHOULD be here: Brad Pitt, Sergi Lopez, Ben Afleck

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
My Predicted Winner: Jennifer Hudson
My Alternate: Abigail Breslin
My Favorite: Rinko Kikuchi

Who should win, but won’t: Rinko Kikuchi
The Upset: Abigail Breslin
The Dark Horse: Rinko Kikuchi
Who Should NOT be here:
Who SHOULD be here: Emily Blunt, Emma Thompson, Catherine O’Hara

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: The Departed
My Alternate: Borat
My Favorite: Children of Men

Who should win, but won’t: Children of Men
The Upset: Anything else would be an upset
The Dark Horse: Borat
Who Should NOT be here: Borat
Who SHOULD be here: Thank You for Smoking

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
My Predicted Winner: Little Miss Sunshine
My Alternate: The Queen
My Favorite: Pan’s Labyrinth

Who should win but won’t: Pan’s Labyrinth
The Upset: The Queen
The Dark Horse: Babel
Who Should NOT be here: All worthy
Who SHOULD be here:

ANIMATED FEATURE
My Predicted Winner: Cars
My Alternate: Happy Feet
My Favorite: A Scanner Darkly

Who should win, but can't: A Scanner Darkly
The Upset: Happy Feet
The Dark Horse: Monster House
Who Should NOT be here: Monster House
Who SHOULD be here: A Scanner Darkly

BEST FOREIGN FILM
My Predicted Winner: Pan’s Labyrinth
My Alternate: The Lives of Others
My Favorite: Pan’s Labyrinth

The Upset: The Lives of Others
The Dark Horse: Days of Glory
Who Should NOT be here: After the Wedding
Who SHOULD be here: Volver

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
My Predicted Winner: An Inconvenient Truth
My Alternate: Deliver Us from Evil
My Favorite: An Inconvenient Truth

The Upset: Deliver Us from Evil
The Dark Horse: Jesus Camp
Who Should NOT be here: My Country, My Country

The Results

I did poorly in my picks this year compared to the last couple of years, I only got 31 correct out of 40, and only 36/40 with my alternates.

BEST PICTURE
Yeah! No "Dreamgirls!" I never had faith in this nomination, I was going along with everyone else. But I had reservasions from the beginning. I thought "Letters" was such a dark horse, I did not even list it as such. I never should have doubted how much the Academy loves Clint. Having recently seen "The Queen," I think this is the weakest pick and should not be here. It's a glorified TV movie, more on that later. Look for split between "The Departed," the heavy favoirte, I think and a possible upset win for "Little Miss Sunshine," but the shocker could be "Letters," or "Babel." Right now its a toss up.

BEST DIRECTOR
Yeah! No "Dreamgirls!" Both my alternate and my dark horse made the list. Again here I would love to take "The Queen" off and replace it with Guillermo del Toro for "Pan's Labyrinth"

BEST ACTOR
Come on gimme a break Leo DeCrapio for "Blood Diamond?" I haven't wanted to see this movie BECAUSE of him! Frankly I think Matt Damon got robbed, his role in "The Good Shepherd was and will be the performance that was over looked years from now as the best performance of the year and his career.

BEST ACTRESS
This is a no brainer. Helen Mirren will win and she deserves to win. This was another film that everyone (I mean the critics) got on the SAME bandwagon about how great it was. I am dying to watch HBO's "Elizabeth I" to compare the two. What if this film was theatrically released? What if Stephen Frears didn't direct "The Queen" would it have shown on TV or theatrically? I think there really is not difference between the two and both should be on television where they belong.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR/ACTRESS
I am so happy for Jackie Earle Haley, I was a child fan of the child actor. Although it imagine it will be some time before I actually get to see his performance.

ADAPTED/ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYS
"Borat" replaces "Thank You for Smoking?" How is that possible? I guess they had to give it something. This time I was glad I was wrong about "Dreamgirls," I'm still dying to see "Notes on a Scandal" maybe with four nominations it might show up in the next couple of weeks. I am shocked about the omission of "Stranger than Fiction" and "Volver."

My Predictions for tomorrow

My final Oscar nomination guesses.

BEST PICTURE
The Departed
Babel
Dreamgirls
The Queen
Little Miss Sunshine
Alternate: United 93

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese (The Departed)
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel)
Stephen Frears (The Queen)
Bill Condon (Dreamgirls)
Little Miss Sunshine
Alternate: Paul Greengrass (United 93)
Dark Horse: Clint Eastwood (Letters from Iwo Jima)

BEST ACTOR
Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)
Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)
Peter O’Toole (Venus)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed)
Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson)
Alternate: Sasha Baron Cohen (Borat)

BEST ACTRESS
Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal)
Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)
Kate Winslet (Little Children)
Penelope Cruz (Volver)
Alternate: Annette Bening

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
Jack Nicholson (The Departed)
Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine)
Brad Pitt (Babel)
Mark Walhberg (The Departed)
Alternate: Dijomon Hounsou
Dark Horse: Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Houston (Dreamgirls)
Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sundhine)
Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal/Babel)
Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
Adriana Barraza (Babel)
Alternate: Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Babel
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Stranger than Fiction
Alternate: Volver
Dark Horse : Pan’s Labyrinth

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Departed
Thank You for Smoking
Dreamgirls
Little Children
Children of Men
Alternate: The Devil Wears Prada

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Children of Men
Pan’s Labyrinth
Apocalypto
The Departed
Babel
Alternate: Letters from Iwo Jima

ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
Pan’s Labyrinth
Children of Men
Apocalypto
Alternate: Curse of the Golden Flower

FILM EDITING
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
United 93
Letters from Iwo Jima
Alternate: The Queen

COSTUME DESIGN
Dreamgirls
Marie Antoinette
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
The Devil Wears Prada
The Queen
Alternate: The Illusionist

MAKEUP
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pan’s Labyrinth
Apocalypto
Alternate: X-Men: The Last Stand

ORIGINAL SCORE
Notes on a Scandal
The Queen
Babel
The Painted Veil
The Da Vinci Code
Alternate: Apocalypo

ORIGINAL SONG
Dreamgirls
Happy Feet
An Inconvenient Truth
The Pursuit of Happyness
Bobby
Alternate: Cars

SOUND MIXING/DESIGN
Dreamgirls
Apocalypto
The Departed
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Children of Men
Alternate: Casino Royale

SOUND EDITING/EFFECTS
Cars
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
Superman Returns
Alternate: The Departed

VISUAL EFFECTS
Pirates 2
Superman Returns
X-Men: The Last Stand
Alternate: Poseidon

ANIMATED FEATURE
Happy Feet
Cars
Monster House

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Pan’s Labyrinth
Volver
The Lives of Others
The Black Book
Days of Glory
Alternate: Water

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
An Inconvenient Truth
Deliver Us from Evil
Shut Up & Sing
The War Tapes
Jesus Camp
Alternate: Iraq in Fragments

SHORT SUBJECT
Recycled Life
The Diary of Immaculee
The Blood of Yingzhou District
Rehearsing a Dream
Dear Talula
Phoenix Dance
Two Hands

Globe Reactions

I liked the show in general, although it was quite boring and long. I liked Meryl Streep's acceptance speech, and I loved Sacha Baron Cohen's, it was the best of the night. The Warren Beatty presentation of the Cecil B. de Mille award was boring, major bathroom break there.

I was surpised by the Best Screenplay and Score winners they were out of the blue so to speak. As for the television stuff, well I don't watch 'Grey's Anatomy' frankly I hate that show. I was very glad to see wins for House, The Closer and Ugly Betty, shows that I love and watch.

Overall I got only 13 out of 25 right last night, which was about my average for this show.

What the show did for me was to solifiy some of my choices for Oscar nominations. I've posted an updated list for this week, I might make some changes next Monday before the announcements on Tuesday. I'll work on the rest of the nominations this week and post them before next Tuesday as well.

Film Notes "Pan's Labyrinth"

This is my new number one movie! It was all I expected it to be and more. I just saw the 7:30 show with a nearly sold out crowd. It was beautiful, it was fantastic, it magical, I fell in love with this film. Clearly and without a doubt the best from the "three amigos." Yes, senior del Toro I do believe in fairy tales, again. Thank you.

Gloden Globe Predictions

Best Picture, Drama
Babel, Winner
The Departed, alternate

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
Dreamgirls, Winner
Little Miss Sunshine, alternate

Actor, Drama
Forest Whitaker,Winner
Leonardo DiCaprio, alternate

Actress, Drama
Helen Mirren, Winner
Kate Winslet, alternate

Actor, Musical or Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen, Winner
Johnny Depp, alternate

Actress, Musical or Comedy
Beyonce Knowles, Winner
Meryl Streep, alternate

Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy, Winner
Jack Nicholson, alternate

Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson, Winner
Rinko Kikuchi, alternate

Director
Martin Scorsese, Winner
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, alternate

Screenplay
Guillermo Arriaga, Winner
William Monahan, alternate

Foreign Language
"Pan's Labyrinth," Mexico; Winner
"Volver" Spain;alternate

Animated Film
Happy Feet, Winner
Cars, alternate

Original Score
Gustavo Santaolalla, "Babel"; Winner
Alexandre Desplat, "The Painted Veil"; alternate

Original Song
"Listen" from "Dreamgirls"; Winner
"A Father's Way" from "The Pursuit of Happyness";alternate