It's that time of year again and the Oscar nominations have been announced. There were few surprises as the Academy found places for veterans ranging from Clint Eastwood to Martin Scorcese to Virginia Madsen (a personal favorite of mine ever since her work with Jennifer Connelly in the Don Johnson classic "The Hot Spot.")
It would hard to argue to violently against any of the picks, but I am disappointed that Paul Giamatti (sp?) couldn't score a Best Actor nomination for his work in "Sideways." He's done outstanding work for years, so it would have been nice for a little recognition and the chance to expand his fan base.
Unfortunately, Giamatti was in a field this year that was overloaded with talent and I can't think of anyone in there who didn't deserve their nomination. Besides, Liam Neeson also got slightly shafted for "Kinsey," although Laura Linney pulled one nomination out for a film that for some reason is still controversial today. Sad.
I love the Oscars despite their tendency to be overly long, to include momentum-zapping dance numbers and the show's reluctant acceptance of cutting-edge cinema. But nobody's perfect.
In the meantime I'm just going to see as many films as I can ("Ray" and "Hotel Rowanda" are the two notable films I haven't yet seen) and try to sucker people at work into a betting pool.
This year's race is extremely wide-open due to the lack of a runaway hit among the nominees. However, my early predictions would have to include Jaime Foxx, Hilary Swank, Thomas Hayden Church and "The Aviator."
It almost has to be Scorcese's year unless Eastwood rides away with the top prizes. I'd be hard-pressed not to lay money on Marty, but betting against the Man With No Name could be bad for my health and my wallet.
Regardless, let the countdown begin . . .
-BDS
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