So, it’s about time to take a good, hard look at Oscar nominations and set out a few picks based on what the Academy has decided are the best films from these year’s litter. Keep in mind that I’m in no way suggesting these will be the picks that will be chosen, rather that these are what I would pick out of what has been laid for this year’s presentation.

So, here goes:

• Best Actor

Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
Terrence Howard in Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line
David Strathairn in Good Night, and Good Luck

This year features one of the best selections of talent of any recent year in Oscar history. All said and done, I wouldn’t be upset if any particular actor walked away with this trophy. The only caveat I might add is that I have not had the opportunity to check out Walk the Line. Overall, I feel that Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance brought a complexity that wasn’t as fulfilled by the other nominations, but even that perception maybe a bit of a reach with competition as strong as this category features.

• Best Actress

Judi Dench in Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman in Transamerica
Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron in North Country
Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line

For top female honors this year, I’m ashamed to say I’ve only seen one of the pieces nominated, Pride and Prejudice, and while I do feel that this is one of Keira Knightley strongest performances and I haven’t yet witnessed her competition first-hand, I would be disappointed if she walked away with top honors.

• Best Supporting Actor

George Clooney in Syriana
Matt Dillon in Crash
Paul Giamatti in Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt in A History of Violence

Finally, we reach a category that I feel confident addressing, as I have had the chance to check all of these out. Unfortunately, outside of Matt Dillon and Jake Gyllenhaal, I’m somewhat underwhelmed by the supporting male performances this year. While the remaining three were not particularly disappointing on there own, I don’t feel like these are particularly strong contenders for Best Supporting Actor. In the end, my vote goes to Dillon for a complex and brave performance in Crash.

• Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams in Junebug
Catherine Keener in Capote
Frances McDormand in North Country
Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain

Interestingly, while I managed to miss nearly all of the Best Actress performances this year, I caught all but one of the Supporting Actress roles, that of Frances McDormand in North Country. This is another category that I’m comfortable with all of the nominees, a trend I hope continues in following years. While overall I was greatly impressed with Catherine Keener in her collective performances this year (Capote, The 40-year-old Virgin, Ballad of Jack and Rose) I don’t feel that she quite overcame Rachel Weisz. I’ve heard a lot of disdain over Wiesz’s nominations and awards so far this season but her performance in The Constant Gardener blew me away, showing an ability that I had not quite witnessed in her previous work.

• Best Direction

Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee
Capote Bennett Miller
Crash Paul Haggis
Good Night, and Good Luck George Clooney
Munich Steven Spielberg

Again, I haven’t had the good fortune of seeing Spielberg’s Munich. That said, here’s another good run-down of directorial efforts, with no one film dominating the others. In the end, I give it to Clooney, who barely edged out Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. In the end, this comes down to the directorial chances that Clooney took while approaching this film. Brokeback’s subject matter pushed the envelope enough and Lee presented the film in a traditional nature, perfectly so, but traditional nonetheless. My tendency is to always lean towards the effort that tests the boundaries and succeeds. In this light, Good Night, and Good Luck takes home my pick.

• Best Adapted Screenplay

Brokeback Mountain Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Capote Screenplay by Dan Futterman
The Constant Gardener Screenplay by Jeffrey Caine
A History of Violence Screenplay by Josh Olson
Munich Screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth

For years Brokeback Mountain has been described as the best screenplay that’s never been made, and now that it has been made it’s easy to see why. This film would never have succeeded if the audience was given any reason to doubt the believability of it’s characters, and in this aspect it succeeds admirably. From the dialog to the timing and arc of the storyline, this screenplay was honed to perfection by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana and deserves this honor without question.

• Best Original Screenplay

Crash Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco, Story by Paul Haggis
Good Night, and Good Luck Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov
Match Point Written by Woody Allen
The Squid and the Whale Written by Noah Baumbach
Syriana Written by Stephen Gaghan

I’m a sucker for the “hyperlink” genre of films that has become prominent over the last few years (21 grams, Traffic) and greatly respect a screenplay that successfully pulls off this approach. On top of the ingrained level of difficulty in writing this type of film, Paul Haggis takes on a complex narrative full of coincidences that must seem realistic to be believed. I left theater completely satisfied after seeing Crash and excited to see Haggis’ future work.

• Best Film

Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich

Finally the big one and, despite not having seen Munich, I feel confident in Brokeback Mountain. Regardless (and yet because) of the gay issues that the film explores, I have no doubt this film will go down over time as one of the best romances ever to make it’s mark on celluloid. While I’m generally scared to death of the thought of Jake Gyllenhaal eternalized for future generations, his mediocrity does not make it’s presence known this time around and I will somehow manage to make it through each day because of this fact.

Well, there you have it — my picks from this year’s Oscar litter. Feel free to let us know what you think and perhaps knock some sense into me…

Even with all of the kudos Bareback Mounting Brokeback Mountain has received, thus far, I still entered the film cautiously. For starters, I’d like to say that I ‘m 100% behind films dealing with gay issues (as Dodd would put it…not a gay joke), however I was concerned that Bareback would receive credit for being a typical Hollywood love story that happened to be about two men.

Boy, was I wrong.

Brokeback Mountain is, in fact, a love story in the great cinematic sense. I’m willing to go out on a limb and compare it to some of the great classic love stories such as Casablanca or Singin’ in the Rain. I also am willing to say that, while what makes this film unique are the same-sex issues and the restrictions they impose on the two main characters, the greatness of this film truly lies in the love story between two people and doesn’t rely on the gay issues to tell the story.

There isn’t a whole lot that can be said about Brokeback Mountain that hasn’t already been said, but allow me to indulge in my own self-importance and imagine for a few moments that my particular take is worthy of your time.

Firstly, there is no aspect of this film which hinders it as a whole. While it is far from a perfect production, all aspects of the film are so expertly handled that I, for one, would have no complaints about it receiving the Best Picture nod at the Oscars.

While not as impressed with his past work as I am with this piece, Ang Lee does a phenomenal job directing. I, generally, tend to favor directors who push the envelope and experiment with the medium, but in this case find Lee’s directing to be the perfect angle for the story at hand. The story alone pushes the envelope with regard to Hollywood-system films and doesn’t need a director to push things any further.

The performances were mind-blowing, not the best this year, but outstanding in the sense that the Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, and Michelle Williams have never performed anywhere near this level, and as well, I find it hard to believe that they will ever reach this point again.

The weakest role lies in that of Anne Hathaway as Gyllenhaal’s wife of 10-20 years. While not a bad performance, Hathaway is unconvincing over the time progression and retains the look of a teenager, while the character should easily have reached her 30’s or 40’s. While not matching with the rest of the film, this was the weakest link on a pretty pristine chain.

Overall, the film is one of the highest quality films Hollywood has tossed out in some time. From the direction and writing to the performances and cinematography, this is one of the most solid films of the year. While it’s questionable how on my top 10 it’ll reach, there’s no doubt it’s a truly promising piece of work.

Spending time reading over the latest rumors from around the web has got me thinking about the upcoming year. All in all, I found 2005 to be a relatively disappointing year for flicks and I’m about ready to get on with the new shite.

So, what is on everyone’s must-see list for this year? I’ve gotta say Malick’s New World has me almost completely uninterested, something about a legion of foreign actors leading an American folklore flick that doesn’t have me on the edge of my seat. If the buzz is any indication, though, I’m the only person in the country that feels that way.

Once upon a time I had high hopes for All the King’s Men. With the talent of Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, and Mark Ruffalo, I couldn’t imagine how it could go wrong. Apparently something did though as it failed to make the expected end of 2005 deadline. Hopefully, the delays are well-deserved and we’re all served a healthy cinematic platter whenever it gets released.

On the comedy front, I think I’m alone again here but For Your Consideration, the next Eugene Levy/Christopher Guest mockumentary, seems quite promising. I know, I know, we’ve seen it before and we saw it before that too but the addition of The Office (the better one…you know, where they had accents) frontman, Ricky Gervais, is enough to get my ass in the seat.

If there was only one movie I could see this year it would have to be Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain. It’s been six years since Requiem for a Dream convinced filmgoers around the world never to use heroine and I couldn’t be more excited for a follow up. Following Rachel Weisz’s performance in The Constant Gardener and Hugh Jackman’s role in…well. Whatever, Weisz is turning into a phenomenal talent and I hear Jackman can sing pretty well. But did I mention Aronofsky is directing it?!?

Another return this year that excites me in more ways than I can explain is the Wachowskis V for Vendetta. It’s time for the Wachowskis to get back to Bound and their initial Matrix zone and harness the talent and beauty that is Natalie Portman.

So, what’s on your agenda this year? Can’t wait for The Da Vinci Code? Southland Tales? Scary Movie 4? Let us know what we need to see.