Have we seen one Best Picture nominee?

9Nov/050

Have we seen one Best Picture nominee?

Craig Beilinson (and Jack Mathews) don't think so.

Their ten hopefuls:

Munich, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Eric Bana

Brokeback Mountain, directed by Ang Lee, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal

Memoirs of a Geisha, directed by Rob Marshall, starring Ziyi Zhang and Ken Watanabe

The New World, directed by Terrence Malick, starring Colin Farrell

The Producers, directed by Susan Stroman, starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, and Will Ferrell

Mrs. Henderson Presents, directed by Stephen Frears, starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins

Walk the Line, directed by James Mangold, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon [already reviewed on this blog]

King Kong, directed by Peter Jackson, starring Adrien Brody, Jack Black, and Naomi Watts

Syriana, directed by Stephen Gaghan, starring George Clooney and Matt Damon

Match Point, directed by Woody Allen, starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers

My comments? I'm looking forward to Munich big time -- because I'm a fan of playwright Tony Kushner (who wrote the screenplay), not necessarily Spielberg or Bana.

Brokeback Mountain has one of the most ridiculous trailers I've ever seen, but I'll see it because it keeps winning awards at festivals, so it must actually be good.

The early word on Memoirs of a Geisha is that Ziyi Zhang, while beautiful, is unintelligible when speaking English. The decision to cast China's finest actors as Japanese people reeks of cultural idiocy. But it does look like it has handsome cinematography, so maybe it will get nommed for that.

The New World might be my most anticipated of all of them. I didn't care for The Thin Red Line, but the trailer for this Malick epic gives me chills. He's wading in American mythology waters, and I like it.

The Producers I've already seen many times -- just not with Lane and Broderick.

I know absolutely zero about Mrs. Henderson Presents, but it has some fine British actors, so it has a good shot.

Walk the Line I'll see, although I'm skeptical about Reece Witherspoon's chops.

King Kong I'll see.

Syriana has a great trailer and great credentials. I don't really care for screenwriter Stephen Gaghan's work (although Traffic didn't seem as bad as I remembered it when I re-watched it a month ago).

Woody Allen has disappointed me too many times for me to get excited about Match Point, although the trailer makes it look closer to Crimes and Misdemeanors than any of his funny movies (which lately have been embarassingly unfunny).

Ah. 'Tis the season.