The Oscars are Out

Well, here they are- The Nominations. So far, I have seen two of the nominated films. Not many surprises- although there are a few that are pleasant surprises- nominations you wanted to root for- and they got them. Any way, more on that in a moment. Here they are (with asterisks indicating movies/performances I have seen):

Best picture:
**"Michael Clayton,"
"No Country for Old Men,"
"There Will Be Blood,"
"Atonement" and
**"Juno."

Best actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood"),
**George Clooney "(Michael Clayton"),
**Johnny Depp ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"),
Tommy Lee Jones ("In the Valley of Elah") and
Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises").

Best actress:
Marion Cotillard ("La Vie En Rose"),
**Ellen Page ("Juno"),
Julie Christie ("Away from Her"),
Cate Blanchett ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age") and
Laura Linney ("The Savages")

Best supporting actor:
Javier Bardem ("No Country for Old Men"),
**Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Charlie Wilson's War"),
Casey Affleck ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"),
**Hal Holbrook ("Into the Wild") and
**Tom Wilkinson ("Michael Clayton").

Best supporting actress:
**Ruby Dee ("American Gangster"),
Kate Blanchett ("I'm Not There"),
Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement"),
**Amy Ryan ("Gone Baby Gone") and
**Tilda Swinton ("Michael Clayton").

Best director:
Ethan and Joel Coen ("No Country for Old Men"),
Paul Thomas Anderson ("There Will Be Blood"),
Julian Schnabel ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"),
**Jason Reitman ("Juno") and
**Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton").

For me the big disappointment is that Sean Penn and "Into the Wild" were all bubt shut out. Not even the soundtrack by Eddie Vedder got in against three- count them- three songs nominated from "Enchanted." There ought to be a law. Even Juno's refreshing soundtrack and songs were overlooked. BUt "Into the Wild" is a beautiful movie. Oh well.

It has been a year of good movies. Fun movies. Serious movies. Great, great acting!

More as time goes on and we move closer to the awards. But for now...

Let's go to the movies.

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And then came the sad news:
Heath Ledger Found Dead in New York City.

At age 28 a career cut very short. How sad. Perhaps his role in a couple films: Brokeback Mountain and this summer's coming Batman movie will end him in that sad but talented pantheon with James Dean. How very sad.

Link to story in the Washington Post.