Award Shows!

The Oscars happened! And it is because of them that I post. It was really the fact that somehow I have managed to watch most of the movies nominated in the last week that got me interested, and also slightly amazed. These films are as unlike the middlebrow crowd pleasers the Academy generally sees fit to honor as can be imagined. Atonement is really the only typical Oscar movie in the line-up, and it is hardly even close to being a front runner.

I'm thrilled that Joel and Ethan Coen managed to finally get the Oscar they so richly deserved. Their body of work is fantastic, and I truly thought No Country for Old Men was the best film I saw in the last few months. It even made me want to read Cormac McCarthy, who is one of those authors I could easily spend the rest of my life avoiding. I'm not sure how I feel about Daniel Day Lewis. He was the best thing about There will be blood, and while I didn't think the movie was as excessive as some, the last 20 minutes or so did ruin a lot of the film for me. Either way, he held the film together, and a lesser actor would have been unbearable in that role. So I don't think it was a mistake, per se. I do think though that if Clooney hadn't won the award for Syriana a few years ago he would've walked this one. Everybody loves George! That was actually clear when he came on stage to present the award. It was like he was a god. The music changed, everyone sort of sat up... sigh. Yeah, I think George Clooney could get away with murder.

I've watched both Michael Clayton and Atonement and while I loved the former (no MacGuffin tobacco company!) I don't know how I feel about the latter. The movie was gorgeous to look at. Normally I am a sucker for that kind of story, the epic romance tragedy. I really liked James McAvoy for the first time. But something about the film left me cold. I think it was the fact that the relationship between Robbie (McAvoy) and Cecelia (Keira Knightley) was so underdeveloped. It was based on nothing, really. So it didn't feel real. And I Did.Not.Like the end. So the only movie I have yet to watch is Juno, which I have on Dvd but which Dvd didn't work. Sigh. But with Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, I'm sure the movie will be fun.

I did watch Beowulf. Less said the better.

I loved Jon Stewart as host, even if omg, the montages were mind numbing in so many ways. And I loved TwoP's coverage of the Oscars. It's like they looked into my brain! I did not like Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose (how trite to give it to the biopic). But she was charming, and I thought, well Ok, I'll overlook the fish-scale dress. But now she has been unvelied as a bit of a lunatic. Will her Hollywood career survive this? I won't be surprised if she finds good, juicy work hard to come by in LA now.

Last night I saw the Filmfare awards (yes this post has been a work-in-progress for a while). Shahrukh and Saif were hilarious. Hilarious! They spared nobody, not even themselves and it was just so funny. The obvious joke was of course one they cracked in the beginning, with the Writer's strike threatening the Oscars and all. Other stuff was sublime, from dancing in blue towels to the whole maal-function bit. Ha ha. As with Filmfare every year, the awards were deeply predictable, but no one really cares, because the hosts were just so entertaining. Gauri Khan looked somewhat hideous, though she came alive whenever her husband was on stage. Vidya Balan has very unfortunate taste in clothes. But how incredible did Shahrukh look? Yum.

La Eventful Vita... Except Not Really

So... I've been busy the last month or so, but I can't imagine why. No parties as such, or busy days at work. Everything is mostly normal, but I still don't have time to do things like read books I want to or watch *gasp* the telly or even too many movies. It may have something to do with the Italian class killing my evenings and the renewed obsession with Harry Potter fanfiction. Not that I read that till late at night or anything. Also there are FAR too many people leaving Delhi for saat samundar paar.

I watched Ratatouille however, and it was a delight. I love Pixar, and rejoice that it exists. And also, Brad Bird, can I marry you? Please? We'll have exceptional children, I promise.

Apple has refreshed its iPod line, making me want to part with money I don't have. Sigh. Some things never change.

The football is slow and the F1 is strange. I don't like the way the mainstream press has handled reporting the spy stuff. McLaren deserved what they got, and indeed should've been fined more, but Lewis Hamilton's success got in the way. And Alonso! The less said the better.... boy do I ever miss Michael Schumacher.

This is gonna be HUGE

I have many many things to blog about. From movie reviews to impressions to World Cups of shame and doom and Murders so very foul. And also timelines of complex television shows. Though the last may just be only the one T.V. show. Whatever.

Anyway, to begin at the beginning, I watched 2 uber-violent films in one fantastic day. I was going to call this post a History of Ultra-Violence but then laziness got in the way of blogging and now there is too much to post. The two films are 300 and Apocalypto. The former has done brilliantly at the box-office and also created a stir regarding its depiction of Persians in the film. Apart from the cinematic merits of the film, on which consensus is divided, this controversy has kept the movie in the news and also reignited the old debate about political correctness at the movies. My opinion is this: When did we start to expect every film to deliver a nuanced representation of every character? When did cinema become the custodian of historical accuracy? And why must all movies be required to humanise the Other?

Having said all that, let me express how gratifying it was to watch those.glistening.abs.in.leather. Leather! Also - fun movie. Liked the cinematography.

Apocalypto was a good action/thriller type. The latter half was particularly exciting because it was an extended chase sequence in the Amazon. Mel Gibson can direct, but when it come to trying to make larger points about the present human condition, he should really think again. Especially if he's going to discredit himself by coming out as a bigot.

The murder in question is that of Bob Woolmer, at the World Cup. Abhorrent performance by our lovely team of over-pampered idiots notwithstanding, this is a new low. I can only hope that his killers will be found and punished. Cricket should take stock - Pakistani cricket should take stock - of whether it wants to win if people are going to literally die for it.

So the timeline was going to be for, surprise, Battlestar Galactica, but I think I will only very quickly enumerate the possiblities. When the colonials find Earth, what are they going to find? It could be that the show is set in the past, and the fleet's arrival is how the planet got populated. Or, they could find the Earth in the present and be (badly) surprised at how backward the 13th tribe technology is. Of course they could also find Earth at any point in between, but that is the least intereting option, IMO. The other option is to find Earth in the future. It could be a post-apocalyptic Earth, with nothing left on it. Or a superior society. Or a post -apocalytic Earth that has also been attacked by Cylons. Mindfrak!

Long Time Coming

Its been a while, people. Not that any of you have missed me. But anyway, I shall regale with stories of my new-found Dolce Vita. Part of it is due to the joy of having a job where you are required to, you know, actually work. Its quite a radical concept. And to top it all, I'm required to think! Boo-yah!!! Give me a salary to match job-satisfaction and I'd have myself a trifecta!

Suffice to say I am enjoying work.

Anyway, after having posted the nominations of all the award shows under the sun, I have not commented on the Oscar Awards. Since that threatens my self-proclaimed status as an award-whore, I must set this oversight to rights, ASAP. Here, then is a list of the winners, complete with pithy comments. For nominations look here.

Picture - The Departed

Director - Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Actor - Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Actress - Helen Mirren, The Queen

Film editing - The Departed

Original song - I Need to Wake Up, An Inconvenient Truth

Original screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine

Original score - BabelDocumentary feature - An Inconvenient Truth

Documentary short subject - The Blood of Yingzhou District

Supporting actress - Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Foreign film - The Lives of Others

Visual effects - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Cinematography - Pan's Labyrinth

Costume design - Marie Antoinette

Adapted screenplay - The Departed

Animated film - Happy Feet

Supporting actor - Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine

These awards were notable in that there are very few truly contentious/controversial decisions. And the biggest story of the night? MARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!! He-who-finally-has-an-Oscar!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I must say, I love that the Academy chose a fabulously done "genre" film over such "important" movies as Babel and (the extremely mediocre) The Queen. For once, the Academy eschewed the message film and embraced good cinema, as cinema. I enjoyed The Departed like nothing else last year. Also, very happy for Alan Arkin upsetting Eddie Murphy for Best Supporting Actor. I mean, Norbit? Plus, how angry was Eddie at being snubbed? Imagine missing out on all the drama. I wish I could warm to Jennifer Hudson, really I do, but something about her strikes me as so fake and so, so manufactured. I would really have loved someone else- anyone else - to win instead of her. Especially with her post-Oscar comments on how Dreamgirls lost out because of bias. The biggest snub for me was the German film, The Lives of Others, winning over Pan's Labyrinth. Ah, Academy. When will you stop rewarding upper-mediocrity over the truly brilliant? I also liked Ellen as host, she was warm and funny. I especially loved the bit where she gave Marty the script and then later when she had Spielberg take a picture of Eastwood and herself. Oscar comedy gold. I loved the two minutes Seinfeld was on, however, so much so I hope he takes over next year. I liked drooling over Gael Garcia Bernal in a tux with a skinny tie as well. Oh, and Will Ferrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly were the funniest things about the whole night. The bald Jack Nicholson, on the other hand, was the scariest thing about the ceremony.

The Filmfare Awards were notable only for the fact that Shahrukh Khan, in his awesomeness, hosted them. Best Actor went to Hrithik Roshan for Dhoom 2, comparable to, say, Tom Cruise winning for Mission: Impossible. (This refers to a time when Tom Cruise was not synonymous with crazy-scientology-guy). Kajol won Best Actress for Fanaa, which was a bad, BAD film. And that is all I have to say about that.

Holi was incredible fun this year. I had a fantastic time with a couple of friends, and this was the most fun Holi has been for me since school. The festivities started on Friday at work, where the office interiors started looking like the exterior in the amount of colour spread over walls and floors. I ended up looking like a female version of the Incredible Hulk.

In television news, I'm so glad Koffee with Karan is back! I love the show with its wonderfully insidious host who makes the A-list say things they really shouldn't. A treat in these politically correct times. Veronica Mars is on hiatus until April after wrapping up another mini mystery arc in an extremely satisfying way for me. The Agatha Christie style parlour game mystery was a refreshing change from the Veronica-in-mortal-danger, which while more urgent are also frustrating, and now repetitive. Battlestar Galactica is going to cause me to have an apoplectic fit and/or palpitations with the amount of anticipation I have for the final few episodes. They have already exhausted me emotionally more times this season than anything else on TV ever has (with the exception of the BTVS episode The Body).

I have watched several films recently, including: The Queen which apart form its fantastic central performance and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair is really a made-for-TV type thing; The Last King of Scotland which was enjoyable enough but notable only for Forrest Whitaker's performance; Little Children, which was a truly well-made film; Little Miss Sunshine, ditto; A Good Year, um.... and Guru, also ummm.......

Winners, All

An extremely belated round-up of various Guild winners:

Screen Actors' Guild Awards:

Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries - Helen Mirren, Elizabeth I

Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries - Jeremy Irons, Elizabeth I

Male Actor in a Comedy Series - Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Female Actor in a Comedy Series - America Ferrera, Ugly Betty

Ensemble in a Comedy Series - The Office

Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls

Life Achievement Award - Julie Andrews

Female Actor in a Drama Series - Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy

Male Actor in a Drama Series - Hugh Laurie, House

Ensemble in a Drama Series - Grey's Anatomy

Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Male Actor in a Leading Role - Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Female Actor in a Leading Role - Helen Mirren, The Queen

Cast of a Motion Picture - Little Miss Sunshine

My (100% biased) thoughts: While I dig Hugh Laurie as Dr. House, having already won this award before, I'd have hoped the SAG looked elsewhere (remember Michael C. Hall?). Also, I really really love Grey's Anatomy, that show pushes my buttons, BUT a) they didn't nominate possibly the two best ensembles on TV in the category (Battlestar Galactica and The Wire) and b) even amongst the nominations, it can be argued that Grey's is one of the weaker shows, not the stronger.

I'm also loving that Chandra Wilson won for her Bailey, absolutely my favorite character on Grey's, and that Ugly Betty is receiving so many plaudits in its first season.

I don't have anything worthwhile to say about the movie awards. The less I say, the better, except: I watched Little Miss Sunshine, and color me underwhelmed. How The Departed could be overlooked for an arty road movie (excellent though the performers are, and entertaining though the film is), is beyond me.

Directors' Guild of America Award: Martin Scorsese, The Departed.

Nothing but YAY! Here's to an eventual Oscar. (Finally!)

Producers' Guild of America Award: Little Miss Sunshine.

See Above.

I'm semi-excited about the WGA Awards on Feb. 11, seeing as they were the only ones smart enough to nominate BSG for something. Well, rant or rave, it'll be on here.

Ze Nominations Le Oscar

So, the big one, then. The grand-daddy of all award shows, complete with whining and campaigning and bullshitting and cattiness. Here are the nominees:

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

Muahahahaha. No Dreamgirls. That in itself makes me love the Academy this year. I've only seen 3 of the movies on this list (with the exceptions being The Queen and Letters from Iwo Jima). Wide-open category - a couple of days ago, I would've said Babel was the front-runner (if only just) but Little Miss Sunshine's PGA award has muddled up the waters even more. Letters is a surprising and extremely deserving nominee, if the end-of-year lists are anything to go by. Its also surprising to me that United 93 didn't get nominated, but I suppose it lost momentum after its early Critics Circle wins.

Best Animated Film
Happy Feet
Cars
Monster House

Absolutely no surprises here. I think the competition is between Happy Feet and Cars, with Monster House the outside bet. That said, I can't see anyone upsetting the might of Pixar.

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

Two major issues with this list: A) Leo's nom for Blood Diamond, I mean hel-lo. and B) I really really wish the Academy had been less predictable and not nominated Will Smith. Sacha Baron Cohen should've been on that list. However, props for finally nominating Ryan Gosling.

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 suppose the nomination for Meryl Streep was unavoidable - she was definitely the best part of the movie for me, the only thing that made it tolerable. But it was such a horrible film that I wish it didn't exist.

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

Again, no Bill Condon. Yes! Also Paul Greengrass gets nominated at the expense of the Little Miss Sunshine duo.

Achievement in Art Direction
Dreamgirls, The Good Shepherd, Pan's Labyrinth, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and The Prestige.

Honestly, having seen stills of Pan's Labyrinth, I can't see how it will not win.

Best Cinematography
The Black Dahlia (Vilmos Zsigmond), Children of Men (Emmanuel Lubezki), The Illusionist (Dick Pope), Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Navarro), and The Prestige (Wally Pfister)

See Above. Though I absolutely loved The Prestige.

Best Documentary
Deliver Us from Evil, An Inconvenient Truth, Iraq in Fragments, Jesus Camp, and My Country, My Country

I have, despite my best efforts, seen precisely one of these films...

Best Documentary Short Subject
The Blood of Yingzhou District, Recycled Live, Rehearsing a Dream, Two Hands.

... and none of these.

Best Editing
Babel, Blood Diamond, Children of Men, The Departed, United 93

Blood Diamond?

Best Foreign Language Film
After the Wedding (Denmark), Days of Glory (Algeria), The Lives of Others (Germany), Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico) Water (Canada)

For me, the biggest snob of these awards: No nomination for Volver, thus shutting out Almodovar.

Original Score
"Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Gustavo
Santaolalla
"The Good German" (Warner Bros.) Thomas Newman
"Notes on a Scandal" (Fox Searchlight) Philip Glass
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse) Javier Navarrete
"The Queen" (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Alexandre Desplat

I adore the Babel score.

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

Alan Arkin everybody! Also, yay Mark Wahlberg. And yay for NOT nominating Brad Pitt.

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

Fabulously happy with Rinko Kakuchi and Adriana Barraza's nominations.

Best original scripts
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
The Queen

Um no problems here...

Best adapted scripts
Borat
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal

... Or here. I hope Children of Men wins, though The Departed is a lesson in how to do a remake.

All in all, I'm actually pretty pleased with this list. Though I would've liked the Academy to be more adventurous, it never is, and hence films like Children of Men and The Prestige get shut out.

Oh, the Razzie nominations:

Worst Picture

Basic Instinct 2 (a.k.a. Basically, It Stinks, Too) -- Sony/Columbia --- Hee!!!!
Bloodrayne -- Romar Entertainment
Lady In The Water -- Warner Bros.
Little Man -- Sony/Revolution
Wicker Man -- Warner Bros.

Worst Actor
Tim Allen -- The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, The Shaggy Dog and Zoom
Nicolas Cage -- Wicker Man
Larry, The Cable Guy (Dan Whitney) -- Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector
Rob Schneider -- The Benchwarmers and Little Man
Marlon Wayans & Shawn Wayans -- Little Man

Worst Actress
Hilary Duff & Haylie Duff -- Material Girls
Lindsay Lohan -- Just My Luck
Kristanna Loken -- Bloodrayne
Jessica Simpson -- Employee Of The Month
Sharon Stone -- Basically It Stinks, Too

Worst Supporting Actor
Danny DeVito -- Deck The Halls
Ben Kingsley -- Bloodrayne
M. Night Shyamalan -- Lady In The Water
Martin Short -- Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
David Thewlis -- Basically, It Stinks, Too! and The Omen

Worst Supporting Actress
Kate Bosworth -- Superman Returns
Kristin Chenoweth -- Deck The Halls, Pink Panther and RV
Carmen Electra -- Date Movie and Scary Movie 4
Jenny McCarthy -- John Tucker Must Die
Michelle Rodriguez -- Bloodrayne

Worst Screen Couple
Tim Allen & Martin Short -- Santa Clause 3
Nicolas Cage & His Bear Suit -- Wicker Man
Hilary & Haylie Duff -- Material Girls
Sharon Stone's Lop-Sided Breasts -- Basically, It Stinks, Too
Shawn Wayans & Kerry Washington -- Little Man
Shawn Wayans & Marlon Wayans -- Little Man

Worst Remake or Rip-Off
Little Man -- (Rip-off of the 1954 Bugs Bunny cartoon "Baby Buggy Bunny")
Pink Panther -- Sony/Columbia
Poseidon -- Warner Bros.
The Shaggy Dog Story -- Disney
Wicker Man -- Warner Bros.

Worst Prequel or Sequel
Basically, It Stinks, Too -- Sony/Columbia
Big Momma's House 2 -- Fox
Garfield 2: A Tail Of Two Kitties -- Warner Bros.
Santa Clause 3 -- Disney
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning -- New Line

Worst Director
Uwe Boll -- Bloodrayne
Michael Caton-Jones -- Basic Instinct 2
Ron Howard -- The Da Vinci Code
M. Night Shyamalan -- Lady In The Water
Keenan Ivory Wayans -- Little Man

Worst Screenplay
Basically, It Stinks, Too -- Screenplay by Leora Barish & Henry Bean -- Based on Characters Created by Joe Eszterhas
Bloodrayne -- Screenplay by Guinevere Turner, Based on the Video Game
Lady In The Water -- Written by M. Night Shyamalan
Little Man -- Written by Keenan Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans
Wicker Man -- Screenplay Adapted by Neil LaBute from a Screenplay by Anthony Schaffer

Worst Excuse for Family Entertainment -- (New Category!)
Deck The Halls -- Fox
Garfield 2: A Tail Of Two Kitties -- Fox
RV -- Sony/Columbia
Santa Clause 3 -- Disney
The Shaggy Dog -- Disney

Basically, yay. Though I think Uwe Boll should be given a category of his own now. And thank the Lord that Kate Bosworth was nominated. Ugh, Lois Lane indeed.

Beware of the Linkspam

Note: This list has been in development for nearly 3 weeks now, so really, the warning in title? Is very meant.

This isn't even the worst of it. In anticipation of how sour this could get, let me just say that my new TV boyfriend is Jamie Bamber. (and bombard you with picspam to complement the linkspam coming your way) *sigh....* I do NOT understand how I missed him before. Not only does he have, you know, the body (I am shallow) and the bluest eyes, like, ever, he's also got a FIRST CLASS degree with HONOURS from CAMBRIDGE.

Another bit of absolutely unbelievable news is how Joss Whedon (OMG) and JJ Abrams (OMG) are directing consecutive episodes of The Office. I do not kid.

More year-end "Best of" lists are now out. I will link to them, and discuss some of the more (to me, anyway) annoying aspects. Oh, the WGA nominees are also out, and lets just say that I have some issues.

TELEVISION NOMINEES

DRAMATIC SERIES

24
DEADWOOD
GREY’S ANATOMY
LOST
THE SOPRANOS

The unimaginativeness gets to me, no The Wire, no BSG, no VM, same old Lost and same old Sopranos. Grey's has hardly had a stellar creative year either.

COMEDY SERIES

30 ROCK
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
ENTOURAGE
THE OFFICE

30 Rock is funny but uneven - and Curb Your Enthusiasm is again a symptom of going with the familiar. Where is My Name is Earl? And what about Ugly Betty?

NEW SERIES

30 ROCK
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
HEROES
STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP
UGLY BETTY

No Dexter. And if they've nominated the pilot of Big Love, that could've been on here as well.

EPISODIC DRAMA — any length — one airing time

ELECTION DAY, PART II (The West Wing)
OCCUPATION/PRECIPICE (Battlestar Galactica)
TWO FOR THE ROAD (Lost)
THE END OF THE WHOLE MESS(Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King)
PILOT (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)
PILOT (Big Love)

Really, Really hope BSG takes this one.

EPISODIC COMEDY — any length — one airing time

IT TAKES TWO (Desperate Housewives)
DON'T LOOK AT ME (Desperate Housewives)
BOMB SHELTER (Malcolm in the Middle)
CASINO NIGHT (The Office)
THE COUP (The Office)
UMP FOR JOY (My Name is Earl)

Desperate Housewives. Just.. Guh.

****************

Also, yet another screening of Volver and yet another time I am not going to watch it, because my buddies are a big pile of ditchers.

The SAG nominations were announced, and Oh God, they're even more unimaginative than the Globes. Grrrr.

13TH ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® NOMINATIONS


THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio / BLOOD DIAMOND – Archer - Warner Bros. Pictures
Ryan Gosling / HALF NELSON – Dan Dunne - THINKFilm
Peter O’Toole / VENUS – Maurice - Miramax Films
Will Smith / THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS – Chris Gardner - Sony Pictures
Forest Whitaker / THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND – Idi Amin - Fox Searchlight Pictures

What's with the Will Smith nomination? And, please, a nom for Blood Diamond? For what, the worst accent in history? (Okay, I exaggerate).

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Penelope Cruz / VOLVER – Raimunda - Sony Pictures Classics
Judi Dench / NOTES ON A SCANDAL – Barbara Covett - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Helen Mirren / THE QUEEN – The Queen - Miramax Films.
Meryl Streep / THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA – Miranda Priestly - 20th Century Fox
Kate Winslet / LITTLE CHILDREN – Sarah Pierce - New Line Cinema

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin / LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Grandpa Fox Searchlight Pictures
Leonardo DiCaprio / THE DEPARTED – Billy Warner Bros. Pictures
Jackie Earle Haley / LITTLE CHILDREN – Ronnie J. McGorvey New Line Cinema
Djimon Hounsou / BLOOD DIAMOND – Solomon Warner Bros. Pictures
Eddie Murphy / DREAMGIRLS – James “Thunder” Early Paramount Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Adriana Barraza / BABEL – Amelia - Paramount Vantage
Cate Blanchett / NOTES ON A SCANDAL – Sheba Hart - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Abigail Breslin / LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE – Olive - Fox Searchlight Pictures
Jennifer Hudson / DREAMGIRLS – Effie White - Paramount Pictures
Rinko Kikuchi / BABEL – Chieko - Paramount Vantage

I'm very happy with both noms for Babel.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

BABEL
BOBBY
THE DEPARTED
DREAMGIRLS
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Thomas Haden Church / BROKEN TRAIL – Tom Harte - AMC
Robert Duvall / BROKEN TRAIL – Print Ritter - AMC
Jeremy Irons / ELIZABETH I – Earl of Leicester - HBO
William H. Macy / NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES – Clyde Umney - TNT
Matthew Perry / THE RON CLARK STORY – Ron Clark - TNT

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Annette Bening / MRS. HARRIS – Jean Harris - HBO
Shirley Jones / HIDDEN PLACES – Aunt Batty - Hallmark Channel
Cloris Leachman / MRS. HARRIS – Tarnower’s Sister - HBO
Helen Mirren / ELIZABETH I – Elizabeth I - HBO
Greta Scacchi / BROKEN TRAIL – Nola Johns - AMC

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
James Gandolfini / THE SOPRANOS – Tony Soprano - HBO
Michael C. Hall / DEXTER – Dexter Morgan - Showtime
Hugh Laurie / HOUSE – Dr. Gregory House - FOX
James Spader / BOSTON LEGAL – Alan Shore - ABC
Kiefer Sutherland / 24 – Jack Bauer - FOX

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette / MEDIUM – Allison Dubois - NBC
Edie Falco / THE SOPRANOS – Carmela Soprano - HBO
Mariska Hargitay / LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT – Det. Olivia Benson - NBC
Kyra Sedgwick / THE CLOSER – Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson - TNT
Chandra Wilson / GREY’S ANATOMY – Dr. Miranda Bailey - ABC

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin / 30 ROCK – Jack Donaghy - NBC
Steve Carell / THE OFFICE – Michael Scott - NBC
Jason Lee / MY NAME IS EARL – Earl Hicke - NBC
Jeremy Piven / ENTOURAGE – Ari Gold - HBO
Tony Shalhoub / MONK – Adrian Monk - USA

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera / UGLY BETTY – Betty Suarez - ABC
Felicity Huffman / DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES – Lynette - ABC
Julia Louis-Dreyfus / THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE – Christine Campbell -
Megan Mullally / WILL & GRACE – Karen Walker - NBC
Mary-Louise Parker / WEEDS – Nancy Botwin - Showtime
Jaime Pressly / MY NAME IS EARL – Joy - NBC

Default setting: Megan Mullally for Will and Grace. How about a side order of some IMAGINATION guys. Oh, well.... atleast Jaime Pressly wasn't ignored.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

24
BOSTON LEGAL
DEADWOOD
GREY’S ANATOMY
THE SOPRANOS

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ENTOURAGE
THE OFFICE
UGLY BETTY
WEEDS

I should probably just give up on expecting decent stuff from television awards. Having watched most of the things they nominate, and a LOT of the things they didn't I have to say that these awards are a joke. The Wire, Battlestar Galactica AND Veronica Mars are snubbed in every category, and they are actually pretty much the best things on TV. And where does Boston Legal get all this love?? Like someone suggested on a rant, David E. Kelley must have a good many photos of a good many people in extremely compromising positions to get nominated. Award-whore-bitch-man. [/rant] I'm also not thrilled about continued recognition for Desperate Housewives, especially after its super-sucky Season Deux.

Much love for the Empire's end-of-year movie list though. While I don't agree with some choices (especially the COMPLETELY misplaced love for Superman Returns: for more on my opinion on that film see this post.) I love them for including atleast 5 films from my own best of year list, and not having much that I disagree with. Though I do disagree with their best film of the year, which is United 93. I also *love* that they put The Prestige on the list, and so high up as well. And its looking more and more likely that the best-film-I-haven't-seen-yet is Pan's Labyrinth.

The Producer's Guild Awards and Director's Guild have also announced nominees, but I can't be arsed to hunt links and post them here, because they will disappoint me anyway.

Anyway, here are the end-of-year lists that are (IMO) important, or atleast the opinions of these publications are considered important.

Time says these (or these) are the best films of the year. But their choice in TV sucks, because a) no Veronica Mars and b) no Battlestar Galactica.

The New York Times movie critics' choices for this year can be found here, here and here. Among them, they have a pretty good list going, though I will never agree with any list that has Miami Vice on it. Though that could just be all my Colin Farrell hate.

A blogger has compiled a list of the best TV based on other best-of lists:

1. 24 (80)
2. The Wire (77)
3. The Office (76)
4. Battlestar Galactica (69)
5. Friday Night Lights (62)
6. Heroes (60)
7. Lost (49)
8. Grey's Anatomy (48)
9. Rescue Me (34)
10. Veronica Mars (33)

I'm a little amazed by all the appreciation for Heroes. I really, really like and enjoy the show, and don't miss an episode, but it is hardly the best-written or best-paced dramas. The plot points leave a lot to be desired, and the acting is good, but not mind-blowing. I'm surprised, for example, that Dexter didn't make it on this list.