And the Nominees Are...

This year's Academy Award nominations were announced this morning. For the first time ever, I've seen all five of the Best Picture contenders before the they were even announced.

I'll complain one more time (and sorry, but probably not for the last time) that Doubt should receive more recognition as the best movie of the year, and I'm very disappointed it wasn't nominated. Disappointed, but not surprised -- the Academy seems to get uppity about nominating films based on award-winning plays. They don't want to be seen as trailing the Tony's, I think.

In any case, of the films that actually did get the nod, my preference would be to see Milk take home the trophy. I fully expect for Slumdog Millionaire to walk away with it.

In the other major categories:

I'd give Best Director to Ron Howard, for Frost/Nixon. It's not that I thought Milk "directed itself," or that I'd begrudge Gus Van Sant if he won. It's just that I felt the hand of Ron Howard more in his film, and in very good ways. He coaxed more from the material and from his actors than another director would have managed.

I'd give Frank Langella the Best Actor award, again for Frost/Nixon. This hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell of actually happening. All signs point to Mickey Rourke taking top prize for The Wrestler, a film I have not seen. (And I must confess, that I have no desire to see, despite the praise it's been receiving.)

I'd give Meryl Streep the Best Actress prize for Doubt, but I'd admit to a lack of an informed opinion here. Of the five nominated performances, the only other one I've seen was Kate Winslet's in The Reader.

For Best Supporting Actor... well all the nominees here seem like worthy contenders. (Though I can't comment on Michael Shannon, having not yet seen Revolutionary Road.) As I've said, Philip Seymour Hoffman in wonderful in Doubt. I'd gladly see the prize go to Josh Brolin for Milk, and would be pretty much thrilled if Robert Downey Jr. pulled out a win for Tropic Thunder. But the wind is blowing for Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, and it was a fantastic performance. I think the movie -- already good -- would have been even better with more of him in it. And I suppose that's a perfect reason to award the prize to him, completely independent of the "posthumous honor" issue.

For Best Supporting Actress, it's all Viola Davis for Doubt. (Though here, I've seen neither Vicky Cristina Barcelona nor The Wrestler.)

In the Screenplay categories, the Adapted award should go to Doubt, while I'd give the Original to Milk.

WALL-E should get the Animated Feature award; save for Doubt, there was no movie in 2008 I liked better. (Though WALL-E is also nominated in the Screenplay category, I still give Milk my vote there because I felt WALL-E was a triumph of many elements, while Milk presented great writing challenges in how to present the real life story well.)

But I must say, my choices are definitely long shots. Count on WALL-E to take the Animated prize, and Heath Ledger to win Supporting Actor. And I expect every other preference I've expressed here to come up empty.

We'll find out for sure on February 22.