Oscar Nominations with Commentary

BEST PICTURE
- Brokeback Mountain
- Capote
- Crash
- Good Night, and Good Luck.
- Munich

Commentary-
I'm happy about Brokeback and Capote. Well deserved. Crash is OK. I think that Good Night and Munich have no place in the Best Picture of the year category! I wait for the time when the Oscars actually ignores "hype" and actually awards the best pictures. Where's 2046, Nine Lives, Junebug, etc? It seems like voters are just too swayed by hype and ads. Especially now that the lines between independent films and mainstream are becoming blurred they really need to get out more. What about foreign films (2046, Nobody Knows) and documentaries (Murderball)?

BEST DIRECTOR
- George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck.
- Paul Haggis, Crash
- Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
- Bennett Miller, Capote
- Steven Spielberg, Munich

Surprise! Surprise! I predict Ang Lee.

BEST ACTOR
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
- Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
- Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
- Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
- David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck.

This is the only catergory I think they got right. All the actors here are deserving, although Eric Bana in Munich would've been a nice addition.


BEST ACTRESS
- Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
- Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
- Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice
- Charlize Theron, North Country
- Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

Did the Academy even see Mrs. Henderson or just award her on the fact that she's Judy Dench? Keira Knightly...what's happening??? The award will go to Reese...but I'd like to see Felicity walk home with it. I'm upset that Gwyneth Paltrow (Proof) didn't make the cut as well as Joan Allen (Upside of Anger). I know the whole world loves Maria Bello (History of Violence), but I find her acting forced and unconvincing.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- George Clooney, Syriana
- Matt Dillon, Crash
- Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
- William Hurt, A History of Violence

The big news here is that Paul Giamatti finally was nominated after two years of being snubbed. I thought Jake Gyllenhaal would get the snub this time, but thankfully I was wrong! Looking back, I would have hoped that Donald Sutherland would've been nominated for Pride and Prejudice. I thought that it couldn't happen because the movie itself was not a strong contender...but then Keira Knightly gets a nomination.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Amy Adams, Junebug
- Catherine Keener, Capote
- Frances McDormand, North Country
- Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
- Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain

Academy, you done good, especially with Adams. I pray she wins. I just wish the category was big enough to include Hope Davis (Proof) and all the fantastic performances by women in Nine Lives. That said, Rachel Weisz's perfomance wasn't a favorite of mine this year, but she's done plenty of good work in the past.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- Crash
- Good Night, and Good Luck
- Match Point
- The Squid and the Whale
- Syriana

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- Brokeback Mountain
- Capote
- The Constant Gardener
- A History of Violence
- Munich

BEST ANIMATED FILM
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
- Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

BEST FOREIGN FILM
- Don't Tell
- Joyeux Noel
- Paradise Now
- Sophie Scholl
- Tsotsi

BEST DOCUMENTARY
- Darwin's Nightmare
- Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
- March of the Penguins
- Murderball
- Street Fight

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Batman Begins
- Brokeback Mountain
- Good Night, and Good Luck.
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- The New World

BEST ART DIRECTION
- Good Night, and Good Luck.
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- King Kong
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Pride & Prejudice

BEST FILM EDITING
- Cinderella Man
- The Constant Gardener
- Crash
- Munich
- Walk the Line

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Mrs. Henderson Presents
- Pride & Prejudice
- Walk the Line

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- Brokeback Mountain
- The Constant Gardener
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Munich
- Pride & Prejudice

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
- Crash - "In the Deep"
- Hustle & Flow - "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp"
- Transamerica - "Travellin' Thru"

BEST SOUND MIXING
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- King Kong
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- Walk the Line
- War of the Worlds

BEST SOUND EDITING
- King Kong
- Memoirs of a Geisha
- War of the Worlds

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- King Kong
- War of the Worlds

BEST MAKEUP
- Cinderella Man
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith