These are posted here.
Among the nominees for drama, I saw The Constant Gardender (which was really bad and shouldn't be nominated for any positive award) and Good Night, and Good Luck (which deserved its nomination). The winners were the gay cowboys of Brokeback Mountain.
Walk the Line won for best musical or comedy. I still need to see this. Among the other nominees, I saw Pride & Prejudice (which I enjoyed). I'm sure The Producers is very good, but I saw the musical too recently and am not ready to see it again.
Philip Seymour Hoffman won best actor (drama) for his role in Capote, another movie I've been meaning to see.
I've seen two of the movies with best actress (drama) nominees. Ziyi Zhang was nominated for Memoirs of a Geisha. I liked the movie, but I don't think she deserved this nomination. Gwyneth Paltrow was nominated for Proof, which makes a bit more sense.
Joaquin Phoenix won best actor (musical or comedy) for Walk the Line. Of note is that Johnny Depp was (deservedly) nominated for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Nathan Lane's nomination for The Producers wasn't a surprise. (I saw the play with Jason Alexander playing Bialystock [sp?] and Martin Short playing Bloom. I prefer that combo to Lane/Broderick in general, though I'll need to see the new movie to address that in this specific context to any degree. By the way, I actually didn't like the original movie version of The Producers---except for Springtime for Hitler, of course.)
Reese Witherspoon won best actress (comedy or musical) for Walk the Line. I have heard from several sources that she was amazing in this movie and stole the show. In movies I've seen, her excellent performances in Election and Vanity Fair (in which she was perfectly cast) come to mind. She also did a very good job in Pleasantville, which I can't believe is from all the way back in 1998. Keira Knightley was nominated for her work in Pride & Prejudice. She did fine, but I'm not sure she deserved a nomination. Maybe she should have been nominated for her work in Domino instead?
I have a brief comment on the best supporting actress winner, which was Rachel Weisz of The Constant Gardender. Again, I beg to differ on this, because this movie grated on me a great deal. When I was in Cambridge, we had our banquet in Trinity Hall. The flyer for that college lists some famous graduates---Lord This, Lord That, blah, blah, blah, "and, more recently, actress Rachel Weisz." That was kind of funny to read because of the 10 or so names they listed, literally 7 or 8 of them were Lord something, and I think she's the only remotely recent graduate to be listed there. Also, Frances McDormand was nominated for her role in North Country, which isn't surprising given her past work in Fargo. However, people seemed to forget her role in Aeon Flux...
Skipping a few categories, Memoirs of a Geisha won for best score (John Williams). The score definitely did a great job setting the mood in this flick.
In Best Foreign Language Film, Kung Fu Hustle was nominated, but didn't win (it clearly should have!).
"Desperate Housewives" won for best TV series (musical or comedy). I've heard many good things about it (and know people who watch it religiously) but have never seen it. I'm annoyed that "My Name is Earl" was nominated in this category. I've tried watching a couple episodes on airplanes, and I find the whole thing to be annoying beyond belief.
For best TV actor (music or comedy), Steve Carrell won for "The Office". I should check this out. (Why are TV shows in quotes and movies in italics? How did that arise? Was this a historical accident?) Larry David was nominated for "Curb Your Enthusiasm". I've seen an episode or two of this in the past (in hotel rooms, because I don't get HBO at home) and it can be pretty funny. Unsurprisingly, the Seinfeld flavor is alive and well with that show. (Larry David produced or co-produced Seinfeld---or something like that.) "My Name is Earl" got another undeserved nomination here.
For Best Actress (musical or comedy), the four runners-up all came from "Desperate Housewives". There are a couple very familiar names there...
See you later at the Oscars (or at least when I see the new Underworld movie this weekend...).
I am in complete agreement about "My Name is Earl." I watched just some of the first show and thought it was annoying to the point of being offensive in some respects. Turned it off and have no plans ever to go back.
ReplyDeleteI think the quote/italics distinction shares the same root as the distinction between the names of books and magazines (if I recall that they also differ in the same way).
ReplyDeleteWalk the Line wasn't a comedy. It was solid gold, however. I wouldn't say Reese Witherspoon stole the show by a wide margin, but not by any failing of her own--the rest of the cast also did a fantastic job.
As I understand it, The Office is a remake of a britcom. I've seen an episode of what I think was the original, and I was overcome with horror for about fifteen minutes until I realized it was a comedy (I was watching it on some ultra-late-night TV), at which point it began to delight in a shadenfreude sort of way.
OH, that's musical or comedy? Now sense be makey-makey!
The Golden Globes lump musicals and comedies together. Pride & Prejudice isn't something I'd put in either category, actually. It had some comedic moments, but that doesn't make it a comedy. Have the Oscar nominees been announced yet? Comparing those to the Golden Globes is sometimes an interesting exercise.
ReplyDeleteI watch Desperate Housewives religiously, but I don't think it deserved all those nominations. It's a good show, full of plots and twists, but nothing mindblowingly spectacular. But then again, what is these days on tv? (Certainly not "My Name Is Earl." I agree with everyone's comments on that show.) I wonder who decides what constitutes a "comedy." I find DH has its funny moments, but is more a drama. I like the show "Greys Anatomy." A couple of the actresses from that how should have been nominated for Best Actress.
ReplyDeleteCheerio!
I vaguely recall that "Greys Anatomy" got some nominations, but I don't remember which ones. I had never heard of the show before, but my tv watching goes little beyond watching stuff related to baseball and occasional episodes of "Jeopardy" and (especially) "The War at Home" when I am not already doing something else.
ReplyDelete