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Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!
Movies: So the big news, at first glance, is that “Dreamgirls” earned the most Oscar nominations, but was snubbed for Best Picture.
This is not as strange as it seems. Sometimes movies don’t add up, even if the artistic and technical elements are memorable.
Among those that were nominated, “The Queen” is a example of extraordinary discipline and subtle tone; “Babel” is almost conventionally global in its sweep and alternating point of view; “Little Miss Sunshine,” a sweet show, is the token comedy.
“The Departed” clearly deserves the statuette. It’s Martin Scorcese’s strongest work since “Goodfellas” and a movie, also with memorable parts, including six or seven piercing performances, but this one does make a whole.
I haven’t seen “Letters from Iwo Jima” yet. I miss “United 93” from the list. It stayed with me more than almost any other movie this year. Others might feel the same about “Little Children” or “Pan’s Labyrinth” (from former Austinite Guillermo Del Toro — it did pick up 6 nominations, including best foreign-language film)>
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: By Michael Barnes
Comments
By Lowell
January 23, 2007 7:12 PM | Link to this
I definitely agree about U93. It deserved a slot. I would be glad to see it take BABEL's place.
Overall not a bad list of nominations. Nice to see some very daring movies get some nods. We've come some way from the time when if a little movie thrilled you in any way you could count on the Academy pretending it didn't know it existed. Some sad omissions and some missed opportunities, but overall a good list.