Y'know... I kinda have to agree....

According to this article at Salon, some Academy voters have had a hard time deciding on which film to select as Best Picture -- not because the five nominees are all so deserving, but because they're all so mediocre. I've seen only four of the five nominees -- The Queen is the lone miss -- but I actually have to agree with the sentiments expressed in the article. I liked Letters from Iwo Jima and Little Miss Sunshine, but neither will be remembered as a high point in American film even five years from now. Babel is the most complex (or at least complicated) film of the five, but it's thematic reach, though impressive, exceeds its cinematic grasp. And I am of the (currently) minority opinion that The Departed is a turkey, with a distractingly silly performance by Jack Nicholson and plot machinations that rely on all parties behaving like morons (dualistic personalities or otherwise). It's not that I don't find any films worthy of being nominated -- Children of Men will be remembered as a high point in film five years from now, Babel isn't unworthy of nomination -- but this five... it feels like a list of "impressive films" drawn up by the uninspired.

And since we won't be meeting for the yearly party this Sunday, here's where I would have put my $10:

Best Picture: The Departed
Best Actress: Helen Mirren
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker
Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson
Best Director: Martin Scorsese
Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed
Best Cinematography: Children of Men