Oscar Nominations

In November, Marcy posted a lukewarm review of Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain." She was impressed by the cinematic sheep and the early scenes on the mountain. Considering the unhappy mail that has come in since, and the awards that the film has been showered with (including Golden Globe for Best Picture), it appears that her less than favorable opinion of the gay cowboy weepy is not widely shared. Now the Oscar nominations are in, and "Brokeback" leads the pack with eight noms: Best Picture, Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Actor (mumbling macho Heath Ledger), Best Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams suffering up a storm), Best Support Actor (Jake Gyllenhall sports a mustache), Best Adapted Screenplay....

We confess we are having trouble working up enthusiasm for this year's award ceremony; perhaps Jon Stewart's hosting gig will make up for it. The pressure is on the dry Comedy Central news host (who is already milking the job for jokes on the Daily Show.) Rounding out the Best Picture Category are "Crash," "Good Night and Good Luck," "Capote," and Spielberg's "Munich," which is the one surprise on the list. Somehow, the complex, thought-provoking thriller was overlooked by awards committees until now.

We're excited to see "Darwin's Nightmare" and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" on the list for Best Documentary, even though crucial films like "Grizzly Man" and "Why We Fight" are missing. "Murderball" and "Street Fight" round out that category, but of course the smart money is on the adorable "March of the Penguins." As usual, the foreign language category is a bit of a mystery, since the Academy prefers to pick movies that haven't gotten much play yet. We've seen and recommended the Palestinian suicide bomber drama "Paradise Now," and we're eager for "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days." European World War I drama "Joyeux Noel" and "Tsotsi" from South Africa are set to open soon, and we know absolutely nothing about "Don't Tell." We'll keep you updated.

Now here's the real scandal: Jurgen's favorite movie of the year only received one nomination, for make-up and nothing else. One small consolation: Woody Allen's cynical and wildly overrated "Match Point" went unrecognized except for original screenplay. Here's the complete list of nominations.