It's presumptuous to even write a review of a film as my film-making son never neglects to admonish me. Well offering a personal view of the Oscar nominations is presumably to add insult to injury. However many critics don't get off the pot - so for what its worth this is my choice of the nominated films (I won't bore you with that one). It at least gives you a simple list of nominations as a reminder before you sit down in the early hours of the morning to compulsively watch the tear-fest, before turning in furious with yourself realising with horror that that is a few hours of your life you are never going to get back.

"After all, they are only movies." Only! Have you no soul?

Interested to hear other thoughts and choices.

Regards - and for those who have, thanks for reading the reviews I've had so much pleasure writing this (Oscar) year.

Zettel

Best Picture
Babel
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
Letters From Iwo Jima

Zettel Choice - Babel (Masterpiece)

Best Director
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Paul Greengrass - United 93
Clint Eastwood - Letters from Iwo Jima
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Martin Scorsese - The Departed

Zettel Choice - Innaritu (Masterly)

Best Actor
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness
Ryan Gosling – Half Nelson

Zettel Choice - Forest Whitaker (But Will Smith a revelation)

Best Actress
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Judi Dench - Notes On A Scandal
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet - Little Children

Zettel Choice - Helen Mirren (But Cruz is superb in a better film. And Huffman in Transamerica was worth a nomination)

Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg - The Departed
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Djimon Hounsou - Blood Diamond
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children

Zettel Choice - Alan Arkin (from a poor group)

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Rinko Kikuchi - Babel
Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine

Zettel Choice - Rinko Kikuchi (sublime)(Though Hudson memerising)

Best Foreign Language Film
Letters From Iwo Jima (US)
The Lives of Others (Germany)
Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
After The Wedding (Denmark)
Water (Canada)

Zettel Choice - Pan’s Labyrinth (Unfair haven’t seen the others. And Cache Hidden would have made the decision tougher)

Best Original Screenplay
Peter Morgan - The Queen
Guillermo Arriaga - Babel
Iris Yamashita - Letters From Iwo Jima
Michael Arndt - Little Miss Sunshine
Guillermo del Toro - Pan's Labyrinth

Zettel Choice - Guillermo Arriaga (haven’t seen Iwo Jima)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Sacha Baron Cohen - Borat
Alfonso Cuaron - Children Of Men
William Monahan - The Departed
Todd Field - Little Children
Patrick Marber - Notes On A Scanda

Zettel Choice - William Monahan ( the best part of a good but star-sunk film)

Best Animated Feature
Cars
Monster House
Happy Feet

Zettel Choice - Happy Feet ( Hated Cars. MH too ‘knowing’. HF sheer kitsch delight. Can’t imagine why Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly doesn’t qualify - if it did no contest)

Don’t know what happened to Tommy Lee Jones’s superb Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. Released UK April 06 and not nominated 2006 so presumably qualifies for this year. Would be second only to Babel in this list.

Why is Borat only an Adapted screenplay I wonder ? Because the original concept was a TV show ? Anyway that gets my vote (because, er, it's the only film on the entire list that I've seen. Must get out more.)

Confession Griff

I couldn't bring myself to go to see Borat. Which is dumb cos I'm sure it would have made me laugh. It just seems to me Cohen's genius is publicity rather than certainly filmmaking. Plus with so many really perfect, screaming-out-for-it targets to take the piss out of, I couldn't understand why poor old Khazakstan (which I can't even spell) got it.

I've had a different problem with Gibson's Apocalypto - I think it woud be unfair to see a film with so much personal baggage about Gibson as a person and a filmmaker I would be going to a film already disposed to knock. I've never done that yet and the grubby gibbo isn't going to make me.

If you do get out a bit more it's pretty clear I'd recommend Babel as the best around but if you want an entertaining thriller with some great lines and STAR! performances The Departed is a good night out. And if music is your bag Dreamgirls has moments of real magic.

thanks for the comments

regards

Zettel

Interesting list. The one I feel strongly about is Penelope Cruz as Best Actress. Her performance in Volver was stunning.

Hi Zettel,

Go and see Borat! He's not taking the piss out of Kazakhstan (well maybe a little) - the film is completely about mocking the attitudes of the West (mostly Americans) and nails its targets mercilessly.

It's an absolutely extraordinary performance by Sacha Baron-Cohen, he inhabits the "naive clown" persona of Borat perfectly, even in the most trying real-life situations his act doesn't slip for one second. (Yes I know some of it was staged/acted, but much of it isn't.)

And you will laugh like crazy from the moment the film starts right through to the end credits.

There are loads of films on that list I want to see - especially The Departed, The Queen, Pan's Labyrinth and Volver.

As a frequent air traveller (for work), nothing in the world will persuade me to see United 93...

Luisa

Absolutely agree about Cruz in Volver. I tseems she need only to work in her own language for all her talent to show.

regards

z

Griff

Thanks for the head up. On your recommendation I'll give it a go.

regards

Z

oh dear headsup

excuse me mr freud

Z