ANALYSIS: THERE'S MEAT ON OSCAR'S BONES.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic Looking a little more like critics' lists -- or, at least, stuffy critics' lists -- than expected, the field of nominees for the 79th Academy Awards is at least respectable. This is mainly due to the biggest surprise in Tuesday's announcements. The highly enjoyable, empty-headed ``Dreamgirls,'' the presumptive pre·sump·tive adj. 1. Providing a reasonable basis for belief or acceptance. 2. Founded on probability or presumption. pre·sump best picture shoo-in since last February, was bumped from the top category by the dour, arty ``Letters From Iwo Jima Letters from Iwo Jima (Japanese: 硫黄島からの手紙, Iwo jima kara no tegami) is a 2006 Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning critically-acclaimed[1][2][3] .'' The musical beloved by gay and African-American audiences was bumped by 76-year-old perennial Clint Eastwood's umpteenth lesson that violence is a bad thing. Looked at that way, it was not so radical a decision. As for this particular critic, here are my comments on the choices for some key Oscar categories: BEST PICTURE ``Babel'': My second-favorite movie of the year. ``The Departed'': Without the ultra-glittery cast and director Martin Scorsese Noun 1. Martin Scorsese - United States filmmaker (born in 1942) Scorsese , this marvelously profane, gratuitously bloody entertainment probably wouldn't have had a chance. ``Letters From Iwo Jima'': Clint's an academy darling. ``Little Miss Sunshine'': Neither as funny nor as edgy as ``Borat.'' ``The Queen'' beats it on both those counts, too. So you can probably bet this smug little comedy wins best picture. ``The Queen'': My favorite My Favorite is an independent synthpop band from Long Island, New York. They released two CDs: Love at Absolute Zero and Happiest Days of Our Lives. My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when singer Andrea Vaughn left the band. movie of the year. ACTOR Leonardo DiCaprio (``Blood Diamond''): I liked the accent. Ryan Gosling (``Half Nelson''): Carefully calibrated cal·i·brate tr.v. cal·i·brat·ed, cal·i·brat·ing, cal·i·brates 1. To check, adjust, or determine by comparison with a standard (the graduations of a quantitative measuring instrument): performance, deserved nomination. But inner-city teacher who's also a stone junkie junkie Popular health A popular term for a person, usually an IV narcotic abusing addict, whose life is disorganized vis-á-vis family and societal structure, whose existence revolves around obtaining–often through theft, prostitution or other illicit ? Peter O'Toole (``Venus''): My favorite male performance of the year. Will Smith (``The Pursuit of Happyness''): Has anyone seen that Internet video of the real guy complaining about racism and bragging about how rich he is? Forest Whitaker (``The Last King of Scotland''): Admired him for, like, ever. He's great as Idi Amin. 'Nuff said. ACTRESS Penelope Cruz (``Volver''): The best thing about this film. Judi Dench (``Notes on a Scandal''): Automatic nomination for geriatric pinup pin·up n. 1. a. A picture, especially of a sexually attractive person, that is displayed on a wall. b. A person considered a suitable model for such a picture. 2. girl. Helen Mirren (``The Queen''): My favorite female performance of the year. Meryl Streep (``The Devil Wears Prada''): Her 14th nomination, and she actually keeps earning them. Kate Winslet (``Little Children''): Difficult role in an off-putting movie. < SUPPORTING ACTOR Alan Arkin (``Little Miss Sunshine''): The only adult member of this ensemble who made his contrived character somewhat persuasive. Jackie Earle Haley (``Little Children''): Empathetic em·pa·thet·ic adj. Empathic. em  pa·thet i·cal·ly adv. portrayal of a creepy sexual deviant. Djimon Hounsou (``Blood Diamond''): Liked his accent, too, if not so much his over-ennobilized character. Eddie Murphy (``Dreamgirls''): Slightly overrated Overrated was a Horde World of Warcraft guild, based on the US Black Dragonflight Realm. On November 2 2006, the majority of the guild members were indefinitely banned from the game for use of (or directly benefiting from) a third-party "wall-hack", used to bypass content . Mark Wahlberg (``The Departed''): The coolest thing that academy voters did. SUPPORTING ACTRESS Adriana Barraza (``Babel''): Loved her. Cate Blanchett (``Notes on a Scandal''): I preferred her in ``Babel Babel (bā`bəl) [Heb.,=confused], in the Bible, place where Noah's descendants (who spoke one language) tried to build a tower reaching up to heaven to make a name for themselves. .'' Abigail Breslin (``Little Miss Sunshine''): The ensemble's only other persuasive character. Jennifer Hudson (``Dreamgirls''): It's about the singing. Rinko Kikuchi (``Babel''): Really, really, really loved her. DIRECTOR Clint Eastwood (``Letters From Iwo Jima''): Other critics were more impressed. Stephen Frears (``The Queen''): Year's smartest film. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (``Babel''): Year's finest example of directing craftsmanship. Paul Greengrass (``United 93''): One word: Respect. Martin Scorsese (``The Departed''): OK, not his greatest movie, but it's time. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss@dailynews.com |
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