Thoughtful reviews, the Boulder film scene

Betty Blue

There can be beauty in tragedy, particularly when the key ingredient is the same in both —Marty Mapes (review...)

Betty arrives like a bolt from the Blue

" I know a guy married the same dame 3 times then turned around and married her aunt "
— William Demarest, The Lady Eve

MRQE Top Critic

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The Oscar Nominations usually offer a mix of frustration and vindication. For the last five years, it’s been more frustration than vindication, although this year there is very little to complain about.

The biggest snub is that Far from Heaven only got four nominations (Julianne Moore for Best Actress, plus Cinematography, Music, and Original Screenplay). It deserved a Best Picture nomination, along with the big Art categories: Art Direction and Costume Design.

Still, the rest of the Best Picture list is well rounded and any one of the films deserves the Oscar.

This is also “The Year of the Woman” according to some film writers. There was much talk about which of the women in The Hours and Chicago would get nominated for Best Actress and which would get Best Supporting Actress. It turns out all three women from The Hours (With Nicole Kidman taking the Best Actress nomination) and both women from Chicago (Catherine Zeta-Jones being nominated for Best Supporting Actress) were nominated, although Meryl Streep’s nomination came not for The Hours but for Adaptation.

Usually the Best Picture and Best Director lists match one-for-one, but The Two Towers director Peter Jackson’s name isn’t on the Best Director list. Instead, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar got the nod for Talk To Her.

Finally, don’t look for any sweeps (a single movie taking Picture, Screenplay, Actor, Actress, and Director) this year. Apparently no movie was good for both men and women. There isn’t a film that can claim both a Best Actor and Best Actress nomination.

For those of you keeping score, here are the top nomination-getters:

Chicago: 13
Gangs of New York: 10
The Hours: 9
The Pianist: 7
Frida: 6
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: 6
Road to Perdition: 6
Adaptation: 4
Far from Heaven: 4
About Schmidt: 2
Catch Me If You Can: 2
Spider-Man: 2
Talk to Her: 2

And now, without further ado, here’s the list:

BEST PICTURE
CHICAGO
GANGS OF NEW YORK
THE HOURS
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
THE PIANIST

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Salma Hayek (Frida)
Nicole Kidman (The Hours)
Diane Lane (Unfaithful)
Julianne Moore (Far from Heaven)
Renée Zellweger (Chicago)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kathy Bates (About Schmidt)
Julianne Moore (The Hours)
Queen Latifah (Chicago)
Meryl Streep (Adaptation)
Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Adrien Brody (The Pianist)
Nicolas Cage (Adaptation)
Michael Caine (The Quiet American)
Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York)
Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Chris Cooper (Adaptation)
Ed Harris (The Hours)
Paul Newman (The Road to Perdition)
John C. Reilly (Chicago)
Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can)

DIRECTING
CHICAGO
GANGS OF NEW YORK
THE HOURS
THE PIANIST
TALK TO HER

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
ABOUT A BOY
ADAPTATION
CHICAGO
THE HOURS
THE PIANIST

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
FAR FROM HEAVEN
GANGS OF NEW YORK
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING
TALK TO HER
Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
EL CRIMEN DEL PADRE AMARO
HERO
THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST
NOWHERE IN AFRICA
ZUS & ZO

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
ICE AGE
LILO & STITCH
SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON
SPIRITED AWAY
TREASURE PLANET

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE
DAUGHTER FROM DANANG
PRISONER OF PARADISE
SPELLBOUND
WINGED MIGRATION

ART DIRECTION
CHICAGO
FRIDA
GANGS OF NEW YORK
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
ROAD TO PERDITION

CINEMATOGRAPHY
CHICAGO
FAR FROM HEAVEN
GANGS OF NEW YORK
THE PIANIST
ROAD TO PERDITION

COSTUME DESIGN
CHICAGO
FRIDA
GANGS OF NEW YORK
THE HOURS
THE PIANIST

FILM EDITING
CHICAGO
GANGS OF NEW YORK
THE HOURS
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
THE PIANIST

MAKEUP
FRIDA
THE TIME MACHINE

MUSIC (SCORE)
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
FAR FROM HEAVEN
FRIDA
THE HOURS
ROAD TO PERDITION

MUSIC (SONG)
CHICAGO (I Move On)
8 MILE (Lose Yourself)
FRIDA (Burn it Blue)
GANGS OF NEW YORK (The Hands that Built America)
THE WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE (Father and Daughter)

SOUND
CHICAGO
GANGS OF NEW YORK
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
ROAD TO PERDITION
SPIDER-MAN

SOUND EDITING
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
MINORITY REPORT
ROAD TO PERDITION

VISUAL EFFECTS
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
SPIDER-MAN
STAR WARS EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
THE COLLECTOR OF BEDFORD STREET
MIGHTY TIMES: THE LEGACY OF ROSA PARKS
TWIN TOWERS
WHY CAN’T WE BE A FAMILY AGAIN?

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
FAIT D’HIVER
I’LL WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE… (J’ATTENDRAI LE SUIVANT…)
INJA (DOG)
JOHNNY FLYNTON
THIS CHARMING MAN (DER ER EN YNDIG MAND)

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
THE CATHEDRAL
THE CHUBBCHUBBS!
DAS RAD
MIKE’S NEW CAR
MT. HEAD