Armchair Commentary

Oscar Wrap-Up: Best, Worst Moments

Another year, another Oscar. You can see the complete list of winners & nominees here as well as buy past winners at Oscar Central. Here's a rundown of highlights and lowlights for this year's awards.

BEST

Bringing out past co-stars to effuse about the lead actor and actress nominees, rather than last year's cattle call of past winners to welcome the newest to the fold. While last year's was nice and all, it was often painful when the speaker was reading praise off the TelePrompTer, very obvious they hadn't even seen the performance. Seeing Michelle Pfeiffer reminisce about Jeff Bridges from The Fabulous Baker Boys, etc. was a welcome trip down memory lane.

Gabourey Sidibe's runway pose when her name was announced at the beginning of the show, when all the lead acting nominees came onstage.

The crackling "tension" that appeared to be going on between Alec Baldwin and George Clooney during the opening monologue. Priceless.

Jeff Bridges' emotional praise of his showbiz parents (and repeated use of the word "groovy" and "man"). Had Jason Reitman (son of Ivan) had won Best Adapted Screenplay for Up in the Air, you would have seen a similar speech, but alas, it was not to be.

Costume Design winner Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria) astutely observing that designers for movies that are not period dramas are underrecognized, but that their work is just as hard.

Taylor Lautner's terrified expression when Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin mentioned his name during their opening monologue, tensing himself up for a joke at his expense.

The stars of the Animated Feature films being interviewed by Barbara Walters, press junket-style. Best is The Fantastic Mr. Fox lamenting that this isn't a "real" category.

The tribute to John Hughes. Not in a long time have I seen a montage of clips that perfectly encapsulated someone's influence, rather than just a mishmash of iconic well-known scenes. Plus it was nice to see the number of actors who got their start in a Hughes pic. The girl laughing at Watts wearing "boys' underpants" in the locker-room scene from Some Kind of Wonderful still stings today. (Side note: Vanity Fair has a terrific profile of the late '80s writer-director).

No Best Song performances. I thought I would miss them. I didn't.

The Best Score interpretive dance, which I would have put in the "Neither Here nor There" category, except for the dance for Up, which really made me appreciate the score even more.

The top half of Zoe Saldana's gown.

NEITHER HERE NOR THERE

Neil Patrick Harris' musical opening. I love me some NPH, but the opening was not nearly as brilliant as his Emmy number. Many confused audience members probably echoed Harris' sentiment, "What am I doing there?"

Co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. When they were onstage, they were spot-on, and they had some great brief bits involving Snuggies and a riff on Paranormal Activity. The only complaint is not using them enough.

Ben Stiller presenting Best Makeup dressed in full Avatar getup. I would applaud his fully committed performance had he not meandered and rambled about wanting to "plug my braid into your dragon."

Morgan Freeman narrating the Best Sound introduction. Yes, he is the voice of God in my head, but CBS Evening News, Visa.. is there anything the man hasn't voice-overed yet?

The absence of the Governor's Award, Honorary Oscar and Thalberg Award presentations. They were done in a separate dinner so the honorees would get more air time and a more intimate setting. Which is all well and good in keeping the show short, but that Lauren Bacall acceptance speech alone looked like it was prime-time worthy.

Demi Moore introducing the "In Memoriam" sequence, but not mentioning anything about Patrick Swayze.


WORST

The Oscar pre-show. Two bad decisions were made here: Kathy Ireland "interviewing" stars, and including in the past red-carpet montage celebrity couples who are no longer together (Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford, for instance).

The failure of AquaNet. Judging by the frizzy coifs of Sarah Jessica Parker, Anna Kendrick, Demi Moore and others, some hairstylists will find themselves without a job tomorrow.

Kristen Stewart: For the love of God, stop fidgeting.

Using the sweeping theme from E.T. to announce... Elizabeth Banks (who was recapping the Sci-Fi and Tech Oscars). With that music, was anyone else expecting Steven Spielberg to walk out? Or Drew Barrymore?

Orchestra vs. winner playing chicken. The director from The Cove awkwardly stood there as the cutoff music played, seemingly considering if he should talk over the orchestra or get them to stop. He ended up shrugging and leaving the stage, probably cursing co-producer Fisher Stevens for hogging all the air time.

The horror movie montage. Its purpose was ... what, exactly?

The bottom half of Zoe Saldana's gown.

BEST QUOTES
"Well, the time has come." -- Barbra Streisand, presenting Best Director to The Hurt Locker's Kathryn Bigelow (the first female to win)

"Oscar AND Penelope. That's an uber-Bingo." --Christoph Waltz, whose Supporting Actor statue was given to him by Penelope Cruz

"It's a collaboration between handsome gifted people and sickly little mole people." --Robert Downey Jr., on the relationship between writers and actors

"I want to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel, for enduring all that she had to so that I would not have to." --Best Supporting Actress winner Mo'Nique of the first African-American Oscar winner

"I want to thank the Academy for not considering Na'vi a foreign language." -- director of El Secreto de sus Ojos, winner for Best Foreign Language Film, of the made-up language spoken in Avatar

"I'll never forget what you said to me about friendship on the last day of shooting [The Shawshank Redemption]. He said, 'Being a friend is getting the other a cup of coffee. Can you do that for me, Ted? It is Ted, isn't it?'" -- Tim Robbins, presenting Best Actor nominee Morgan Freeman

"[He's a] fantastically fantastic mister foxy fox." -- Vera Farmiga, presenting Best Actor nominee George Clooney

"It is in the area of awards and accolades that you show a certain... selfishness ... That is why I have spearheaded a movement in the Academy to cap the number of nominations by an actor at 16." --Stanley Tucci, presenting Best Actress (and 16-time nominee) Meryl Streep

"For not letting me ride in cars with boys till I was 18, 'cause she was right, I would have done what she said I was gonna do." -- Sandra Bullock, tearfully thanking her late mother

And the best of co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin:

 "He directed A Single Man." "And she weighs a single pound." -- Introducing designer Tom Ford and Sarah Jessica Parker

"Our next presenter won a screenwriting Oscar at the age of 27, and then went on to become an action star, which represents the first time a screenwriter has gotten any action." -- introducting Matt Damon

"In Inglourious Basterds, Christoph Waltz played a Nazi obsessed with finding Jews. Well Christoph... (gestures to the audience) .. the motherlode."

"Meryl Streep holds the record for most nominations for an actress. Or as I like to think of it, most losses."

"She was so pleased to be nominated with him she sent him a beautiful gift basket... with a timer." "And he reciprocated by sending her.. a Toyota." --regarding the Best Director nominees (and friendly ex-spouses) Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron

"Oh look, there's that damn Helen Mirren." "That's Dame Helen Mirren." --Martin misreading the TelePrompTer

"The show is so long that Avatar now takes place in the past."

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What were your favorite moments? --Ellen

Oscar Nominations: Five Surprises

I'm still a bit bleary-eyed from this morning's 5:30 a.m. call, but this year's Oscar nominees have been announced. Avatar and The Hurt Locker, as expected, tied for the most nominations with nine each. You can see the full list and nab the ones already available for pre-order, and meanwhile ponder these surprises:

1) The Blind Side in the Best Picture race? Really?! Over Star Trek, A Single Man, Invictus, and a host of other films that made the top 10 lists other than this one? (Seriously, I would have been less surprised over The Hangover being mentioned instead.) My big fear here is that this nod will cinch Sandra Bullock the Best Actress crown over Meryl Streep, whom, it must be said, I am really rooting for this year, because despite her 16 record nominations, the woman last won in 1982. That's also only a 0.125 batting average. There weren't just gasps this morning upon the inclusion; there was also a bit of stuttering.

2) No Clint Eastwood in the Best Director category. The awards buzz for Invictus has been slowly fading since its opening, which had strong but not wild reviews. Despite its nods for Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, it was not only shut out of the Best Picture race but copped no nod for the evergreen nominee.

3) Maggie Gyllenhaal edges out Julianne Moore for Best Supporting Actress. There were no late-breaking upsets in the acting categories, but this was the first showing of Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart) in awards season over the four times-nominated Moore. Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) also had an outside shot, considering she got the SAG nomination instead of Moore. Still, it's a pleasant surprise for Gyllenhaal, who always does great work.

4) What is The Secret of Kells? The producers of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Ponyo, and many other overlooked animated films all scratched their heads over the inclusion of this Irish tale about monks and Vikings.

5) The strength of The Last Station in the acting categories, especially 1) No one ever talks about this film, and 2) it also was not nominated for anything else. The Young Victoria's Emily Blunt is left to watch at home (or perhaps present at the awards) with her adorable fiance as grand dame Helen Mirren instead takes her place in the Best Actress race. And kudos to Christopher Plummer, who, with a nod for Best Supporting Actor has received his very first career Oscar nomination at the age of 80.

--Ellen

Golden Globes Wrap-Up: Memorable Moments and Quotes

This year's Golden Globes left the Oscar race wide open, given the shutout of The Hurt Locker, which won trophies for best film and director at the Critics' Choice Awards two nights ago. Avatar, a late awards contender as audiences begrudgingly admit its merits, took Best Drama and Director instead, leaving the other leading contender Up in the Air with a single win for screenplay, and Inglourious Basterds with one win for supporting actor Christoph Waltz. You can see our complete list of winners and nominees, order some on DVD and Blu-ray, and sign up to be notified when the others are available for pre-order.

Highlights:

• Finally, some love for Dexter, which has always been a bridesmaid, never a bride. The Showtime drama picked up its very first major awards(!) for Supporting Actor John Lithgow and Actor in a Television Drama Michael C. Hall, who recently revealed he was battling non-Hodgkins' lymphoma.

• Let's hear it for the freshmen: Glee knocked 30 Rock off its Best Comedy perch (though Alec Baldwin again won the Best Actor in a Comedy award), Julianna Margulies picked up her very first (!) Globe after six career noms for the new drama The Good Wife; and Toni Collette also won her first Globe for United States of Tara after four career nominations.

• More show-biz veterans who'd never won but did: Kevin Bacon (Taking Chance), Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Drew Barrymore (Grey Gardens) and Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) all had their first career Globe wins.

• Jeff Bridges' win for Best Actor in a Drama following his Critics' Choice win, makes him the front-runner as of today for Best Actor. Should he win the SAGs next week, it's pretty much a lock.

• The emotional tributes to spouses: Supporting Actress Mo'Nique to her husband, whom she'd known since she was 14; Lithgow and Bridges both acknowledged their long marriages (28 for Lithgow, 33 for Bridges); Robert Downey Jr. to his wife, Sherlock Holmes producer Susan Downey, without whom he'd be bussing tables (?); Margulies to her husband and son, and Sandra Bullock, who told hubby Jesse James: "It's no coincidence that my work got better when I met you."

• Touching tributes to parents: Meryl Streep to her mother, Jeff Bridges to his father, the late actor Lloyd Bridges, and Jason Reitman to his director father Ivan Reitman, who co-produced Up in the Air.

• Other odd (but not awkward) callouts: James Cameron to his ex-wife (and friend) Kathryn Bigelow, who he acknowledged he'd been expecting to beat him for Best Director; Bridges thanking his stand-in.

• Sandra Bullock's perfect German.

• I know she's not in movies (though she was there to plug her debut in the upcoming Burlesque with Cher), but seriously, Christina Aguilera has never looked better.

Lowlights:

• The underutilization of Ricky Gervais. I know they wanted to keep the show moving and end on time, but they could have easily cut out about 5-7 presenters for more Ricky. But that may have ended up a good thing, because the usually spot-on comedian spent a whole lotta time plugging (his old BBC series The Office--both the DVD and the reruns!, his blog, his 2009 film The Invention of Lying, and his upcoming HBO series). And the one or two zingers he did manage to say, he seemed to deliver so nervously he seemed afraid a giant cane was going to yank him offstage by the neck.

• Really shaky camera direction. Some nominees' faces were missed entirely as their names were called, and more than one camera appeared to have collided with a star on the way to the bathroom (see James Cameron's quote below).

• Cheesiest moment: Cameron, again, effusively telling the ballroom how lucky they were to have fantastic jobs (which they applauded to) and then encouraging them all to "give it up for yourselves!" (which they didn't). What was this, an episode of The Biggest Loser?

• Sally Hawkins, last year's Best Comedy Actress winner for Happy-Go-Lucky, appearing to present, during which you thought: I haven't seen this person since the last Golden Globes. Is she still acting? (Your second thought: Has she eaten since then?)

• There must be a clause in his oath of office that says that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is allowed to appear on the Globes every year, always toward the end, even though he hasn't made a film since 2004. At least this time he didn't use the phrases "Hasta La Vista" or "I'll be back."

• The loss of the "graceful loser" face. The other best actress in a drama nominees pretty much looked like they were going to throw up as Bullock made her way to the stage.

And now, the most memorable quotes of the night:

"Let's get on with it... Before NBC replaces me with Jay Leno." -- Host Ricky Gervais

"This is for anybody and everybody who got a wedgie in high school." -- Ryan Murphy, creator of Glee, winner for Best TV Comedy

"Thank you... for believing in the 10 o'clock drama." --Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), winner for Best TV Actress in a Drama

"They told me that was going to open." --Presenter Jodie Foster on her delayed stage entrance

"Fox and I made a deal: Half of the gross receipts are going to the state budget, and the other half goes right to James Cameron ... the only way he can make more money than that is to be hired by NBC ... or be fired by NBC."--Arnold Schwarzenegger, on why he's presenting Avatar

"To my American family who's watching: Put down the Maker's Mark and go to bed." -- Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), winner for Best Actress in a Drama

"You're really screwing up my underappreciated status here." -- Jeff Bridges

"Thank you to Susan Downey for telling me Matt Damon was going to win, so don't bother preparing a speech." -- Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), winner for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical, to his wife/Sherlock Holmes producer

"Thank Joel Silver? The guy's only restarted my career 12 times since I started 25 years ago." --Downey

"My name is Paul McCartney, or as I'm known, That Guy From Rock Band." --Paul McCartney, presenting for Best Animated Feature Film

"Animation is not just for children. It is also for adults who take drugs." --McCartney

"Our giant foreheads." --Presenter Neil Patrick Harris, on why he and Jane Krakowski went into comedy instead of drama

"This is not the Meryl Streep movie in which she ends up in bed with Alec Baldwin, but she does with Stanley Tucci... By any measure, a substantial move up." --Tom Hanks, presenting Julie & Julia

"For the first 20 years of our careers, Marty and I made movie after movie together. For the last 10 we've been giving each other awards." --Robert De Niro, presenting the Cecil B. DeMille award to Martin Scorsese

"I too was in this room when I was seven years old, but it was for bar mitzvah." --Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, echoing Drew Barrymore's revelation of how long she's been attending the Globes

"I wanna change my name to T-Bone." -- Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia), winner of Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical

"I know I could be like, Jeff Spicoli's girlfriend, with the lisp and the paralysis. Thank you for taking a chance on me." --Drew Barrymore, Best Actress in a TV Movie winner for Grey Gardens, mocking her own famous mannerisms

"If you want attention, sit next to Paul McCartney. I've never had so many texts in my life." --Presenter Julia Roberts

"I'm gonna try to make it as brief as I can, because I have to pee something fierce." -- James Cameron (Avatar), winner of Best Director

"Honestly, I like a drink as much as the next man... unless the next man is Mel Gibson." --Gervais, before introducing Gibson

What were your favorite/least favorite moments?

--Ellen

Best Director, 2000-2009: Clint Eastwood

Who is the greatest director of the last 10 years? It certainly could have been Martin Scorsese, who finally won his Oscar for the terrific film The Departed but also was nominated for The Aviator and Gangs of New York. It could be the Coen brothers, who churned out No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, and O Brother Where Art Thou? And you could certainly make a case for Peter Jackson, he of the One Saga to Rule Them All.

But... we must give our pick for Best Director to... an actor. That's right: Clint Eastwood directed eight films in 10 years. All of them were very good to excellent, and the only exceptions to that high bar--Blood Work and Flags of Our Fathers--were still far from bad. At age 79, he enjoyed some of the best reviews of his directing and acting careers in the past decade (did we mention he also composes the score?). Here's his list from the past decade, in chronological order:

2000: Space Cowboys--Silly premise, yes. Enjoyable and watchable? Totally.

2002: Blood Work--More of a standard whodunnit, very similar to his 1999 film True Crime.

2003: Mystic River--This adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel netted Oscars for Sean Penn and Tim Robbins. Also, don't miss Laura Linney as a stone-cold Lady MacBeth type.

2004: Million Dollar Baby--Best Picture of the year, and an acting nod for Clint to boot.

2006: Flags of Our Fathers--filmed back-to-back with Letters From Iwo Jima, this was the first released but less well-received.

2006: Letters From Iwo Jima--A stunning saga of the World War II battle from the perspective of the Japanese.

2008: Changeling--A harrowing tale of a kidnapping in the '20s netted an Oscar nod for Angelina Jolie.

2008: Gran Torino--Unjustly overlooked at the Oscars, this tale of a friendship between a bigoted vet and a Hmong family next door is more than just "Dirty Harry as an old man," as many have described it.

2009: Invictus--Based on the true story of Nelson Mandela's interest in the national rugby team to unite the apartheid-torn South Africa.

Do you agree? Whose 00's resume looks more impressive than this? --Ellen

Best Actress, 2000-2009: Your Thoughts?

As we looked at the Best Actors of 2000-2009, we had an even harder time determining the best leading actresses of the last 10 years. Even with the dearth of female leading roles, some elite members not only achieved new artistic heights but mass appeal as well. The hard part is, it really only came down to three actresses for us: Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, and Cate Blanchett (everyone else had a few misses for every strong film). So here are our nominations for Best Leading Actress, 2000-2009. Voice acting and cameos not included, wins/losses are a carefully calculated formula of box office and overall critical reception--or, just a gut feeling.

Kate Winslet

Wins: Revolutionary Road, The Reader, Finding Neverland, Iris, Little Children, Eternal Sunshine, Quills

On the fence: The Holiday, Romance & Cigarettes

Losses: All the King's Men, Enigma, The Life of David Gale

Meryl Streep

Wins: Doubt, The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia, Julie & Julia, The Hours, Adaptation, It's Complicated, A Prarie Home Companion

On the Fence: The Manchurian Candidate, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Losses: Lions for Lambs, Evening, Rendition, Prime

Cate Blanchett

Wins: The Aviator, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, I’m Not There, Notes on a Scandal, Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Babel, Veronica Guerin, Bandits, The Gift

On the Fence: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Little Fish, The Life Acquatic With Steve Zissou, The Missing, Coffee and Cigarettes, Heaven, Charlotte Gray

Losses: The Good German, The Shipping News, The Man Who Cried

Laura Linney

Wins: The Savages, The Squid and the Whale, Kinsey, P.S., Love Actually, Mystic River, The House of Mirth, You Can Count on me, Breach

On the Fence:  The Nanny Diaries, Driving Lessons

Losses: The Other Man, Man of the Year, The Hottest State, Jindabyne, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Life of David Gale, The Mothman Prophecies

Julianne Moore

Wins: A Single Man, The Hours, Far From heaven, I’m Not There, Hannibal, Children of Men

On the Fence: Blindness, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

Losses: Savage Grace, Next, Freedomland, Trust the Man, The Forgotten, Laws of Attraction, Marie and Bruce, The Shipping News, World Traveler, Evolution, The Ladies Man

Also-rans: Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Juliette Binoche.

Who else would you add to the list? --Ellen

Best Actor, 2000-2009: Your Thoughts?

Forget Oscars. Forget box office. Which leading actor and actress had the best batting average of the last 10 years? The most consistent body of work, the highest good-to-bad, one-for-me, one-for-them ratio? In this case, one or two totally awesome movies does not a contender make if they filled the rest of the years with total dreck (that's you, Hilary Swank). Also, we're focusing on leading actors and actresses vs. more supporting/character actors/scene stealers (the John C. Reillys and Alan Rickmans of the world) because so much more weight and expectation is carried on a lead. (Plus, supporting actors do a lot of dreck too.)

So here are our nominations for Best Leading Actor, 2000-2009 (Best Actress and Director to come in later posts). Voice acting and cameos not included, wins/losses are a carefully calculated formula of box office and overall critical reception--or, just a gut feeling.

Johnny Depp (*Amazon Movies staff pick)

Wins: Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Sweeney Todd, Finding Neverland, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Before Night Falls, Blow, Chocolat

On the fence: Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, From Hell, Public Enemies

Losses: The Libertine, Secret Window, Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Christian Bale

Wins: Batman Begins/Dark Knight, The Prestige, 3:10 to Yuma, I’m Not There, Rescue Dawn, The New World, The Machinist, American Psycho, Shaft

On the fence: Public Enemies, Terminator Salvation, Harsh Times

Losses: Equilibrium, Reign of Fire, Laurel Canyon, Captain Corelli's Mandolin

George Clooney

Wins: Up in the Air, Syriana, Ocean’s 11 and 13, Michael Clayton, Good Night and Good Luck, O Brother Where Art Thou , The Perfect Storm

On the fence: Intolerable Cruelty, Leatherheads, Ocean's 12, Burn After Reading

Losses: The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Good German, Solaris, Welcome to Collinwood

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Wins: Almost Famous, Capote, M:I-3, The Savages, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Charlie Wilson’s War, Doubt, The 25th Hour, Punch-Drunk Love, State and Main

On the fence: Synecdoche, NY, Pirate Radio, Cold Mountain, Owning Mahowny, Red Dragon, Love Liza

Losses: Along Came Polly

Leonardo DiCaprio

Wins: Revolutionary Road, Body of Lies, Blood Diamond, The Departed, The Aviator, Gangs of New York, Catch Me if You Can

Losses: The Beach

Sean Penn

Wins: Milk, Mystic River, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, 21 Grams, I Am Sam, Before Night Falls

On the fence: The Interpreter, Up at the Villa

Losses: All the King’s Men, It's All About Love, The Weight of Water

Who else would you add to the list? --Ellen

2009 Wrap-Up: The Year in Movies

TELL US THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN: Nine / 9 / District 9; A Single Man / A Serious Man; The Uninvited / The Unborn; 12 / 12 Rounds

BEST FIRST 10 MINUTES: Up
BEST LAST 10 MINUTES: Duplicity

BEST TITLES: Drag Me To Hell, The Hurt Locker, The Informant!
WORST TITLES: Knowing, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
MOST UNDERSTATED TITLE: The Hangover

TITLE TREND: Recycling the original franchise title when you can't come up with any more variations on the name  (Fast & Furious, The Final Destination)

TITLE THAT WILL FRUSTRATE SPELL CHECK EVERY TIME: Inglourious Basterds

WINNING THEME: For once, films centered around the war in Iraq were both acclaimed and successful (The Hurt Locker, The Messenger)
LOSER THEME: Prehistoric times (Year One, Land of the Lost)

MOST RANDOM CAMEO: Tyler Perry in Star Trek
CLEVEREST CASTING: Christa B. Allen, who played Jennifer Garner as a 13-year-old in 13 Going on 30, playing Jennifer Garner as a 17-year-old in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

THE ARMAGEDDON / DEEP IMPACT CONFLICT OF 2009: Paul Blart: Mall Cop / Observe and Report

BEST BATTING AVERAGE: Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia, It's Complicated, The Fantastic Mr. Fox);
WORST BATTING AVERAGE: Dennis Quaid (Pandorum, Horsemen, G.I. Joe); Jennifer Aniston (Love Happens, Management); Milla Jovovich (The Fourth Kind, A Perfect Getaway)

ATTEMPT TO RE-CREATE SUCCESS OF THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA=FAIL: Confessions of a Shopaholic

MOST ADORABLE PAIRS: John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, Away We Go; Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer; Meryl Streep & Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia; Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, I Love You Man

MOVIE YOU CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ENJOYED: Taken
MOVIE YOU REALLY WANTED TO ENJOY MORE: Watchmen

BEST CATFIGHT: Beyonce and Ali Larter, Obsessed

BEST NON-"MUSICAL" MUSICAL NUMBER: The Proposal's Ryan Reynolds singing "It Takes Two" by Rob Base (runner-up later in the film: Sandra Bullock doing Lil Jon's "Get Low")

'80s NOSTALGIA = GOOD: Adventureland
'80s NOSTALGIA = BAD: Fame

WORST FOLLOW-UP AFTER AN OSCAR-NOMINATED ROLE: Anne Hathaway, Bride Wars

CAST THAT MOST EXCEEDS ITS BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE QUOTA: Nine

MOST HYPED NEW A-LISTER: Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation, Avatar)
MOST SURPRISING NEW A-LISTER: Liam Neeson (Taken)

MOST BRAZEN PLOT DEPARTURE FROM THE BOOK: The ending of My Sister's Keeper

BOX OFFICE WINNERS: Zoe Saldana, Star Trek and Avatar ($334 million--and counting--total box office, will likely surpass $400m by year's end); Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Proposal=$342 million); Sandra Bullock (The Proposal and The Blind Side=$329 million)

PROOF GERARD BUTLER ONLY DOES GOOD MOVIES IN A TOGA: The Ugly Truth, Gamer, Law Abiding Citizen

What else would you add? --Ellen

SAG Nominations Announced

As we march on through awards season, the Screen Actors Guild announced their nominations this morning. Up in the Air was left out of Best Cast (odd since its entire main cast was nominated in acting categories); Sandra Bullock marches on to her first possible Oscar nomination; Diane Kruger makes a surprise appearance in the supporting-actress category for Inglourious Basterds. Over on television, The Good Wife makes a strong showing, and just ended (or canceled) shows Monk and Samantha Who? got nods for their lead actors.  --Ellen

MOVIES

Best Cast

An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Precious

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress
Penélope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
Mo’Nique, Precious

TELEVISION

Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series

The Closer
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men
True Blood

Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series

30 Rock
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Glee
Modern Family
The Office

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series

Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series

Patricia Arquette, Medium
Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series

Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Toni Collette, United States Of Tara
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries

Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance (HBO)
Cuba Gooding Jr., Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (TNT)
Jeremy Irons, Georgia O’keeffe (Lifetime)
Kevin Kline, Great Performances: Cyrano De Bergerac (PBS)
Tom Wilkinson, A Number (HBO)

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries

Joan Allen, Georgia O’keeffe (Lifetime)
Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens (HBO)
Ruby Dee, America (Lifetime)
Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens (HBO)
Sigourney Weaver, Prayers For Bobby (Lifetime)

The Best Movies & TV of 2009: Blu-ray

Continuing our lists of the Best Movies & TV of 2009, we have our team's picks for the top 100 Blu-ray discs of 2009. You'll notice our top 10 below is slightly different from our top 10 DVDs, with more emphasis on the titles that would have a big impact in a home theater. Agree? Disagree? Post a comment and let us know. Our first 10 of the 100:

1. Star Trek: J.J. Abrams' reinvention of the fan-favorite franchise soars to new heights
2. Slumdog Millionaire: The Oscar winner for Best Picture centers around a young Indian man competing on a game show with the highest possible stakes
3. Up: Great as we've come to expect from Pixar; charming in ways we didn't expect
4. The Bourne Trilogy:  The three-movie espionage series starring Matt Damon
5. Watchmen: Zack Snyder impressively translates the "unfilmable" graphic novel to the big screen
6. Gran Torino: Clint Eastwood directed and stars in this riveting drama about racial tolerance
7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: David Fincher's fascinating tale of a man aging backward (Brad Pitt) was nominated for 13 Oscars and won three
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: The sixth film of the series is the darkest yet, as Harry and his friends confront He Who Must Not Be Named
9. Pride and Prejudice: The Colin Firth starrer is still our favorite Austen adaptation
10. Braveheart: Mel Gibson's lyrical Scottish epic makes a beautiful Blu-ray disc

See the rest of the top 100 DVDs, the top 100 Blu-ray discs, and many other lists at http://www.amazon.com/bestmovies2009.

Golden Globe Nominations: Factoids and Shut-outs

One can glance at this year's nominees for the Golden Globes and the top nominees are joyful indeed--literally. Up in the Air and Glee were just two of the highly buoyant movie titles (the other, of course, is Up) taking the most nominations in film and television, announced this morning. With no clear front-runner in any of the races (Glee vs. 30 Rock? Goodness gracious!), here are some notes on the list. (You can see the complete list here and sign up to be notified when any favorites are available to pre-order on DVD or Blu-ray.)

1. Best dramatic picture noms included films that had no acting nominations (Avatar, The Hurt Locker), but shut out Invictus, which had nods for both Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon and director Clint Eastwood.

2. Tobey Maguire's nod for Brothers appeared to come out of left field; reviews for that film were decidedly mixed, then again, the fifth slot in this race doesn't seem very crowded.

3. Sandra Bullock, Damon and Meryl Streep are both enjoying double nominations; Bullock for her two box-office blockbusters The Proposal and The Blind Side; Damon for Invictus and The Informant!, and Streep for It’s Complicated and Julie & Julia. Unfortunately, Streep has no shot of winning two this night, because she's running against herself in the comedy actress category (unless there is a tie, which has happened before).

4. As expected, The Hangover scored a best comedy film nod, but none for its stars.

5. Of the top television drama nominees, only one (House, M.D.) airs on network television.

6. Led by Glee's three nods, the freshman fall shows receiving nods include The Good Wife (best actress in a drama), Cougar Town (best actress in a comedy), Hung (best comedy actor and supporting actress) and Modern Family for best musical or comedy show.

What did the Hollywood Foreign Press miss this year? Star Trek? The Big Bang Theory? --Ellen

P.S. To the Hollywood Foreign Press--please have John Krasinski and Justin Timberlake announce the nominations every year. Seriously, they could be a comedy team. (Watch at the 1:00 mark when Timberlake announces Krasinski's fiancee, Emily Blunt, as one of the nominees). At least at 5 a.m. it's pretty funny.