Check out these previous blogs of current Oscar nominees:

Little Miss Sunshine :

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Original Screenplay
Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest :

Achievement in Art Direction

Achievement in Sound Editing

Achievement in Sound Mixing

Achievement in Visual Effects
Cars :

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)

Little Miss Sunshine
DVD released 2006
Running Time: 101 minutes
Seemed like 90 minutes
* out of 1 star

This nominee for Best Picture is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Since it is already getting so much publicity and press, I'll limit my comments to gushing.

This is a low-budget Vacation, but funnier. There's no WallyWorld, no Chevy Chase or Beverly D'Angelo, but there is an insanely funny dysfunctional family that pulls together to create a family moment Capra would shed a tear for.

The characters:

• Alan Arkin is a dirty old man. This reject from a nursing home can't keep his mind out of the gutter.
• Steve Carell (The Office) is a pathetic loser.
• Paul Dano is a sulking teen obsessed with Nietzsche.
• Greg Kinnear is Willie Loman
• Toni Collette is the weakest part as the mom
• Abigail Breslin is the star as the naive little girl.

It's a great recipe that makes the line: "Everyone pretend to be normal" hilarious.

Make sure you watch this pithy commentary on death, morality, society, and love.

Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
DVD released 2006
Running time: 150 minutes
Seemed like 175
*** out of four stars

Dead Man's Chest (or Curse of the Sequel of Curse of the Black Pearl), carries a lot of dead weight. It relies heavily on the first movie for both the storytelling and the humor. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember enough of the first movie to understand a lot of the jokes or the story.

I enjoyed the first POTC. Johnny Depp was a hoot, Orlando Bloom was secondary enough to not reveal he's just eye-candy, and the novelty of associating the movie as the back story to the Disneyland ride gave it a sentimental edge. My favorite part was the guys in jail trying to get the keys from the dog, JUST LIKE IN THE RIDE I RODE WHEN I WAS 10! The rest of the story was just fun.

Dead Man's chest tries to take itself seriously. They want us to care about the intrigue of family relationships and trysts with the devil (or Davey Jones.) WHY? Can't it just be silly action? The special effects, BTW, were very good. The makeup for Davey Jones' crew was gruesomely grand, and the digital octopus was quite lifelike. The soundtrack was well done and will be a great addition to my mp3 collection.

Depp's role stole the movie, of course. His flaming selfishness, and cowardly ambitions are conveyed through this weirdo. And what great makeup with the eight eyes.

None of the other actors deserve mention in this forgettable film. While some productions manage to entertain both children and adults at the same time, this film got lost and probably scares kids and bores adults. Then, horror of horrors, it sets up another sequel at the end.

Don't bother with this.

Wit
DVD released 2002
Running time:98 minutes
Seemed like: 80 minutes
********** out of 11 stars

Emma Thompson shines again. This HBO movie revolves around Thompson as a scholar dying from cancer. Her delivery pulls in the audience with flair, humor, emotion, and...wit. Amie warned me that it was a chick flick. Instead, this was more of an intellectual exercise into metaphysical matters.

It's also a refreshing and distressing look at hospital life. The agendas and protocols that strip dignity from patients are startling. Clearly, the playwright who wrote the original play has experienced it herself. Emma and director Mike Nichols' wonderful screenplay transfers this sentiment to the screen.

As for Mike Nichols, director and co-screenplay writer, he breaks a lot of rules - the fourth wall, the time-space continuum, and keeping actors in character. The flashback juxtapositions - putting a chemo induce bald Emma into her college professor's office, putting her father from childhood into her hospital room - enhances the whole metaphysical dialog. Who ever thought John Donne would play a prominent role in an HBO flick?

Be prepared for uncomfortable scenes of nausea, pain, and death. They aren't exploitative, rather they complement the underlying themes.

Get this DVD. It's entertaining, mind expanding, thought provoking, and well executed.