Oscar's class of 2007

A multi-national tale of interlocking stories all related to a gun, a Boston-based Irish crime drama from the king of Italian crime dramas, a World War II film told from the opposite side's point of view, a dysfunctional family road trip dramedy, and a portrait of a legendary monarchy going through changing times all make up the contenders for this year's Best Picture Oscar race, arguably the most important trophy of the awards season. Also receiving a sizable amount of Oscar nominations this year are a musical showcasing the ups and downs of a female singing group, a fantastical vision of a young girl's imaginary world, and an account of the dangerous conflict diamond situation in Africa.

Best Picture
"Babel"
"The Departed"
"Letters from Iwo Jima"
"Little Miss Sunshine"
"The Queen"
This category wins my award for the biggest surprise (in a good way) by not having a nomination for "Dreamgirls," which won the Golden Globe for Best Picture - Comedy/Musical. "Babel" won the globe for Best Picture - Drama, making it the front-runner in this race. "The Departed" and "Little Miss Sunshine" are my two personal favorite films of 2006, making my personal choice very difficult. Will win: "Babel." Should win: a 50/50 tie between "The Departed" and "Little Miss Sunshine."

Best Director
Stephen Frears, "The Queen"
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel"
Paul Greengrass, "United 93"
Clint Eastwood, "Letters from Iwo Jima"
Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"
I haven't seen "United 93," but there is no doubt in my mind that Scorsese should be the one standing up there with the Oscar on February 25, and it is very likely that he will pick up his first Academy Award for the Irish crime drama. Will win: Scorsese. Should win: Scorsese.

Best Actor
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"
I must admit I have not yet seen "The Last King of Scotland," but Whitaker has swept the Best Actor race in most of the other awards this season. That said, DiCaprio could top off a year of powerhouse performances by stealing it away from Whitaker. Will win: Whitaker. Should win: probably Whitaker, but as I haven't seen his performance, I'll go with DiCaprio.

Best Actress
Penelope Cruz, "Volver"
Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"
Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"
Kate Winslet, "Little Children"
I seriously do not see why Streep got a nomination. She's a great actress, but it's just an okay movie, and she's not even the lead. Streep has now received her 14th Academy Award nomination, beating her own record for the most Oscar nominations for an actor. As she's a favorite, she could steal it away from Mirren, but I really hope she doesn't. If anyone takes it from Mirren, who, like Whitaker, has won most of the awards up to this point in her category, it should be Cruz, who gave a terrific performance in Pedro Almodovar's "Volver." Will win: Mirren. Should win: Cruz.

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"
Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"
Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"
Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed"
Winning the award for the biggest surprise (in a bad way) is Jack Nicholson, whose performance in "The Departed" most definitely should have gotten him his 13th Academy Award nomination and maybe even his fourth win, which would have tied him with Katharine Hepburn as the actor with the most Oscar wins. One thing I dislike about the Oscars is the Academy's tendency to go for the surprises and what's new instead of honoring the people who audiences expect great things from and deliver on those expectations. This is the case for Nicholson this year, and it has been the case for his "The Departed" director, Martin Scorsese, for all of his career. Instead of nominating Nicholson, the voters went for Murphy and Wahlberg, two actors who aren't always considered serious and have had their fair shares of mistakes. Both of them give outstanding performances in their respective films, but Murphy will likely win after winning the Golden Globe. Will win: Murphy. Should win: Wahlberg.

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza, "Babel"
Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"
Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"
Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel"
Breslin's nomination marks one of several that I was happily surprised to see for "Little Miss Sunshine." Instead of ignoring a movie that came out before the "critical" season (November-December), the Academy took notice of the popular and critical hit. Hudson gives one of the strongest performances in any category this year, and her string of wins solidifies her place as this year's Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner. Will win: Hudson. Should win: another 50/50, this time between Hudson and Breslin.

Best Original Screenplay
Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel"
Guillermo Del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Paul Haggis and Iris Yamashita, "Letters from Iwo Jima"
Peter Morgan, "The Queen"
Will win: "Babel." Should win: "Little Miss Sunshine."

Best Adapted Screenplay
David Arata, Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Fergus, Hawk Otsby and Timothy J. Sexton, "Children of Men"
Sasha Baron Cohen, Peter Baynham, Anthony Hines, Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"
Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, "Little Children"
Patrick Marber, "Notes on a Scandal"
William Monahan, "The Departed"
Will win: "The Departed." Should win: "The Departed."

Best Foreign Film
"After the Wedding" (Denmark)
"Days of Glory (Indigenes)" (Algeria)
"The Lives of Others" (Germany)
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Mexico)
"Water" (Canada)
My award for second-biggest surprise (in a bad way) goes to "Volver," for failing to pick up a nomination in this category. Will win: "The Lives of Others" or "Pan's Labyrinth." Should win: I haven't seen any of the films this year, so I really have no idea.

Best Animated Feature
"Cars"
"Happy Feet"
"Monster House"
Will win: "Cars." Should win: "Cars."

Best Documentary
"Deliver Us from Evil"
"An Inconvenient Truth"
"Iraq in Fragments"
"Jesus Camp"
"My Country, My Country"
Will win: "An Inconvenient Truth." Should win: "An Inconvenient Truth" is the only one I saw, and I liked it, so I guess I'll stick with that.

I haven't heard anything about or seen any of the shorts, so I'm not going to make any picks for them.

Best Documentary Short
"The Blood of Yingzhou District"
"Recycled Life"
"Rehearsing a Dream"
"Two Hands"

Best Animated Short
"The Danish Poet"
"Lifted"
"The Little Matchgirl"
"Maestro"
"No Time for Nuts"

Best Live Action Short
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta y la gran idea)"
"Helmer & Son"
"One Too Many (Eramos pocos)"
"The Saviour"
"West Bank Story"

Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, "The Queen"
Philip Glass, "Notes on a Scandal"
Javier Navarrete, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Thomas Newman, "The Good German"
Gustavo Santaolalla, "Babel"
Will win: "Babel." Should win: "Babel."

Best Original Song
Scott Cutler, Henry Krieger and Anne Preven, "Listen" ("Dreamgirls")
Melissa Etheridge, "I Need to Wake Up" ("An Inconvenient Truth")
Siedah Garrett and Henry Krieger, "Love You I Do" ("Dreamgirls")
Randy Newman, "Our Town" ("Cars")
Henry Krieger and Willie Reale, "Patience" ("Dreamgirls")
Will win: one of the "Dreamgirls" songs. Should win: "Listen."

Best Sound Mixing
Bob Beemer, Willie Burton and Michael Minker, "Dreamgirls"
Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Ivan Sharrock, "Blood Diamond"
Christopher Boyes, Paul Massey and Lee Orliff, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Fernando Camara, Kevin O'Connell and Greg P. Russell, "Apocalypto"
Dave Campbell, Walt Martin, John Reitz and Gregg Rudloff, "Flags of Our Fathers"
Will win: "Dreamgirls." Should win: "Dreamgirls."

Best Sound Editing
Kami Asgar and Sean McCormack, "Apocalypto"
Bub Asman and Alan Robert Murray, "Flags of Our Fathers"
Lon Bender, "Blood Diamond"
Christopher Boyes and George Watters II, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Alan Robert Murray, "Letters from Iwo Jima"
Will win: one of the Clint Eastwood movies. Should win: "Letters from Iwo Jima."

Best Film Editing
Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione, "Babel"
Alfonso Cuaron and Alex Rodriguez, "Children of Men"
Clare Douglas, Richard Pearson and Christopher Rouse, "United 93"
Steven Rosenblum, "Blood Diamond"
Thelma Schoonmaker, "The Departed"
Will win: "Babel." Should win: "The Departed."

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Children of Men"
Guillermo Navarro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Wally Pfister, "The Prestige"
Dick Pope, "The Illusionist"
Vilmos Zsigmond, "The Black Dahlia"
Will win: I'm really not sure, but I'm going to go with "Pan's Labyrinth." Should win: "Children of Men."

Best Visual Effects
Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover, Mark Stetson and Jon Thum, "Superman Returns"
John Frazier, Chaz Jarrett, Kim Libreri and Boyd Shermis, "Poseidon"
Charles Gibson, Allen Hall, Hal Hickel and John Knoll, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Is anyone else slightly disturbed by the fact that "The Black Dahlia" and "Poseidon," two movies that weren't so great, can now claim that they're Oscar-nominated films?
Will win: "Pirates." Should win: "Pirates."

Best Art Direction
Eugenio Caballero and Pilar Revuelta, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Cheryl A. Carasik and Rick Heinrichs, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Nathan Crowley and Julie Ochipinti, "The Prestige"
Nancy Haigh and John Myhre, "Dreamgirls"
Jeannine Oppewall, Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins, "The Good Shepherd"
Will win: "Dreamgirls." Should win: "The Prestige."

Best Costume Design
Consolata Boyle, "The Queen"
Milena Canonero, "Marie Antoinette"
Yee Chung Man, "Curse of the Golden Flower"
Sharen Davis, "Dreamgirls"
Patricia Field, "The Devil Wears Prada"
Will win: "Dreamgirls." Should win: "Marie Antoinette."

Best Makeup
Bill Corso and Kazuhiro Tsuji, "Click"
David Marti and Montse Ribe, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano, "Apocalypto"
Will win: "Pan's Labyrinth." Should win: from what I've seen in the previews, I'm going to go with "Pan's Labyrinth."

Other Awards
Renowned film composer Ennio Morricone will receive this year's lifetime achievement Oscar, and Sherry Lansing, former CEO of Paramount Pictures and an Oscar-nominated producer, will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

As Salma Hayek and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced the nominees in 10 of the 24 categories early this morning, they revealed a few big snubs, making Oscar followers hope that the actual ceremony will provide just as many surprises. And by surprises, I mean: "Babel" doesn't take home Best Picture, Helen Mirren doesn't win Best Actress and Eddie Murphy doesn't win Best Supporting Actor. But, we don't always get what we wish for, now do we?

The 79th Annual Academy Awards will air live from the Kodak Theater on Sunday, February 25, at 7:30 p.m. (central time) on ABC. Ellen Degeneres will host the show. ABC will air their pre-show starting at 7 p.m., while the E! network will most likely be starting their Oscar coverage at 11 a.m.

The year that was 2006

When it comes down to the endless stream of movies that came my way in 2006, I have to admit that I was not overly impressed. I only gave two movies 10 stars (my highest rating), "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Departed." Both of these films were released before the usual award-worthy movie release season, which starts in November and trickles all the way into January, where movies with limited distribution in 2006 finally make it into more cities and theaters. Of the major contenders this awards season, I've seen "Babel," "Dreamgirls," "The Queen," "Blood Diamond," "The Devil Wears Prada," "Letters from Iwo Jima," "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Little Children," and while they were all pretty good films, certainly worthy of praise, none of them managed to have that spark I expect to get from having a truly glorious movie-watching experience. A few other movies have almost "sparked" for me, but they aren't really receiving much acknowledgement from the people handing out the awards. They include "Marie Antoinette," "Stranger Than Fiction," "The Science of Sleep," "Volver," "Thank You for Smoking," "The Prestige" and "This Film Is Not Yet Rated." I also loved the romantic comedy "The Holiday," but I wasn't really expecting that to be up for anything to begin with. Broken down, these are my top 10 movies of the year:
1. "Little Miss Sunshine"
2. "The Departed"
3. "The Holiday"
4. "Stranger Than Fiction"
5. "Marie Antoinette"
6. "The Science of Sleep"
7. "Volver"
8. "The Prestige"
9. "This Film Is Not Yet Rated"
10. "Thank You for Smoking"
As far as performances go, I have not seen many standout performances on the female side of the spectrum. Kirsten Dunst was good in "Marie Antoinette," but I don't know that I would necessarily consider her performance award-worthy. Helen Mirren does a terrific job in "The Queen," but it still didn't manage to make me instantly think "Best Actress" when I saw the film. Penelope Cruz usually does her best work for filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, and she did not disappoint in "Volver." If I had to choose a Best Actress, she would most likely be it. Meryl Streep may be a great actress, but "The Devil Wears Prada" was not a great movie and she definitely was not the lead in the movie, so if she wins or is even nominated for an Oscar, it would come as a great shock to me, just as her Golden Globe win did. Jennifer Hudson gives by far the strongest female performance of the year in her supporting role in "Dreamgirls." She'll be nominated for the Oscar tomorrow, she'll win on Feb. 25, and I really won't have a problem with that.
The 2006 male performances, on the other hand, get a little crowded. Leonardo DiCaprio is outstanding in both "The Departed" and "Blood Diamond." I haven't seen "The Last King of Scotland" yet, but Forest Whitaker's Golden Globe-winning performance is supposed to be incredible. Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin all help DiCaprio along in "The Departed" by not hitting even the slightest wrong note in their performances. Djimon Hounsou also gives DiCaprio outstanding support in "Blood Diamond." Brad Pitt also comes to the table with his strong supporting performance in "Babel." Will Ferrell's lead performance in "Stranger Than Fiction," which was nominated for a Golden Globe, is also terrific, but he doesn't seem to be getting much attention for it. Aaron Eckhart's performance in "Thank You for Smoking," which came out towards the beginning of the year and also won him a Globe nomination, is also only getting the occasional mention here and there. Eddie Murphy won the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for his performance in "Dreamgirls," and his performance is also very good, but he will face some steep competition from Nicholson, who is an Oscar favorite and my personal choice for the award.
If the Best Director trophy goes to anyone other than Martin Scorsese, it will be a great disappointment. Scorsese won his second Golden Globe for directing "The Departed," and this would be his first Oscar.
The Academy Award nominations will be announced tomorrow morning, Jan. 23, at 7:30 a.m. (central time).