Oscarzzzzzz.....

I am a movie nut. I think, at last count, I owned somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 DVDs. (This was not helped by the DVD buying binge I went on this weekend. Hey, Dumbo was $12. I couldn't resist.)

But this has not been a Year for Movies--at least Oscar-wise.

I am generally an Oscar nut, dating back to 1998 when I correctly predicted that Shakespeare In Love would win Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan. Since they, I have assiduously watched the Oscar films, read the latest predictions, and lived for Entertainment Weekly's Oscar issue. From 1998-2004 was really a Golden Time for film. As I look at the films that were nominated in that period, we have movies like Life Is Beautiful, Chocolat, Gladiator, the Lord of the Rings movies, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago, Cold Mountain, Mystic River, Seabiscuit, the Incredibles, Finding Neverland, and Finding Nemo. Some really great movies are in that tally.

2005 was a so-so year. We had Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen in the running, but the Big Prize (finally, I suppose) went to Martin Scorcese's The Departed. I am glad he won after years of "Pick me! Pick me!" yelping with lackluster movies like The Aviator and Gangs of New York (which is the only movie I have ever walked out of). At least we're spared his stuff for awhile. (Can you tell I'm not a fan?)

But this year, I have had interest in 2 movies--Juno, which I saw and enjoyed, and Michael Clayton, which is sitting on the DVD-to-watch pile. And, of course, Ratatouille, which just got relegated to the Best Animated Feature pile, when, as the best reviewed movie of the year, it should've been up for Best Picture. I am not alone in that thought.

And it's not just in the Best Picture category. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale should've received nominations for 3:10 to Yuma. Keri Russell was excellent in Waitress. I loved Becoming Jane, but maybe that's just my Jane fanaticism.

I also saw La Vie En Rose, which has a Best Actress nomination going for it.

So, even though I will not be watching tonight (Faith Sharing and the P&P!!! YES!), I am voting for all things Juno and Ratatouille. Oh, and Enchanted in the song category!