I love the Academy Awards, so I could not let today go by without commenting on the slate of nominees.  Here are some preliminary thoughts:

1.  Best Picture.  I've seen three out the five, which is about average for me A.K. ("After Kids"):  Brokeback Mountain, Capote, and Crash.  I actually blogged about all three here, here and here.  I personally would vote for Crash, but I can see Brokeback Mountain getting the prize.  Both have a political message and both were very daring.  Crash, however, actually had a story that was interesting and not just a premise.

2.  Best Male Actor/Female Actor.  I've heard before that the winner in the male actor category will be the person who portrayed the weakest, or most flawed, character.  The winner in the female actor category will be the person who portrayed the strongest character.  (Last year's winners were Jamie Foxx, for portraying a musician who was blind, and Hillary Swank, for portraying a female boxer.)  For the female actor category, that rule of thumb would result in Felicity Huffman winning for Transamerica, just as it did for Hillary Swank in Boys Don't Cry.  I have not yet seen Walk the Line yet due to its short duration here in Milwaukee, but I have liked Reese Witherspoon in other things, so I would like to see her win here for playing a strong female character as well. 

For the male actor category, that rule of thumb just poses more questions.  Who is more flawed, an out-of-the closet gay man who is in love with a death row inmate, a closeted gay man who lives a life of quiet desperation in Wyoming, or a brilliant musician with a substance abuse problem?  I would have nominated Matt Dillon as the racist policeman in Crash.  Or at least his eyebrows.

3.  Best Animated Feature Film.  The category that was created for Disney includes no Disney films this year.  I liked the Wallace & Gromit movie.

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