Films of 2005

Okay, the Oscar nominations were announced this morning. I love watching the nominations and somehow I'm always emotional and/or crying by the end, because I can imagine the pure joy and thrill for all those nominated for the first time. Same was true this morning, except in between the happy emotional squeals were bursts of "what?!?!" when certain films were or were not nominated.

I think 2005 was a pretty damn good year for films -- I have lots of favorites and I believe several categories hold 5 very very deserving nominees. I'm thrilled about all the nominations for GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK and BROKEBACK.

My favorite films of the year:

1) GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK
2) WALK THE LINE
3) BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
4) CINDERELLA MAN
(need to see MUNICH and MATCH POINT)

And here are my personal shocks and disappointments after reviewing the nominee list again:

-- WALK THE LINE - not nominated for Best Picture!!! How is that possible?

-- CAPOTE - doesn't belong in the Best Picture category (stole the spot from WALK THE LINE)

-- CINDERELLA MAN - should have been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director for Ron Howard, and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. I never even liked Crowe until this film! Frankly, I also think Renee Zellweger is worthy of a nod.

-- CRASH - In my opinion doesn't belong in the Best Picture or Best Director category (acting, yes; screenplay, maybe). I'm pissed that it took the spot from other more deserving films and directors, like:

-- MATCH POINT & Woody Allen were shut out from Best Picture and Best Director (I guess, despite critical acclaim, this is not his comeback afterall...)

-- KING KONG & Peter Jackson were shut out from Best Picture and Best Director (I actually really liked this film, and I kinda feel for the guy this morning, since he probably hoped his whole life that this would be his big film)

-- Only THREE (3) Songs nominated for Best Song - WTF??! What happened to the song from BROKEBACK that won the Golden Globe?? Weird

-- ERIC BANA not nominated for MUNICH? I haven't even seen the film, but I hear he's excellent. Too bad.

Those are my thoughts for now... I'm sure I'll get more worked up about it as we get closer to March 5th. By the way, I'll be taping the awards show as I'll be flying home from New York City (yay!) that night...