The Oscars

Because I'm sick and basically have been parked in front of the TV and because I'm ready to move on from that game that happened earlier that I don't want to talk about, we're going to talk about the Oscars.

I am by no means a film aficionado, so what I think barely matters. To read a really well thought out breakdown of the year's best performances as well as the nominations and who should win, go here.

ACTOR -- LEADING
Leonardo DiCaprio – BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling – HALF NELSON
Peter O’Toole – VENUS
Will Smith – THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker – THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

As far as I'm concerned, there's no one even in Whitaker's league here. DiCaprio is nominated for the wrong movie. He was spectacular in The Departed and it was a much better role. That being said, the argument should be made that Leo is the best young actor in America. He has chosen good films and given credible performances. No other actor of his age group can cop to his resume.

Forest Whitaker was outstanding in Last King of Scotland. He was creepy and beguiling and charming and sociopathic.

ACTRESS -- LEADING
Penélope Cruz – VOLVER
Judi Dench – NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren – THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep – THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet – LITTLE CHILDREN

The only one of these movies that I've seen is Devil Wears Prada, so I'm not well equipped to decide this one.

ACTOR -- SUPPORTING
Alan Arkin – LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jackie Earle Haley – LITTLE CHILDREN
Djimon Hounsou – BLOOD DIAMOND
Eddie Murphy – DREAMGIRLS
Mark Wahlberg – THE DEPARTED

Honestly, I'm not sure why all the Eddie Murphy hype. He was good in Dreamgirls, but I don't think it was a spectacular performance. For most of the movie, I didn't think I was seeing a character, I thought I was seeing Eddie Murphy. That being said, I feel the same argument could be used against Mark Wahlberg. He was a tough-guy in Boston. Next.

The Eddie Murphy conundrum is compounded because Oscar loves to reward people for playing against type and "taking risks" and Eddie does that here. However, don't underestimate the Norbit factor. Voters will have a hard time handing Murphy the Oscar for one performance when Norbit reminds them exactly what kind of actor he really is.

ACTRESS -- SUPPORTING
Adriana Barraza – BABEL
Cate Blanchett – NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin – LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson – DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi – BABEL

The blog I linked above says that Jennifer Hudson's acting just wasn't that good, but I'm not buying it. Certainly she outacted Beyonce and the other members of the Dreams. The girl came out of left field as a nobody and flat out stole the screen from a number of bigger names. I'm not sure when the last time was I got goosebumps in a movie, but I was flat-out wrapped up in her story.

BEST PICTURE
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN

The Departed was spectacularly done. It's a 2 1/2 hour movie and you feel like you're there for 45 minutes. The stories interweave and are still easy to follow. The script is well-written and it's fabulously acted. There are more recognizable names on that cast list than any other movie this year and yet no one steals the show and no one gets left in the dust. It's rare to see that these days. Plus, Scorcese needs to get some respect.