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Sorry, but personally don't believe the hype about BM losing to Crash because of homophobia, politics, etc. Somehow those arguments overlook the fact that the best actor award went to someone portraying one of the most famous gay icons in history. Past Oscar history shows many surprises and overlooks - can I just say Mr. Scorsese? Thanks for the Nicholson bit arnzilla. I managed to miss all the Oscar red carpet plus the show itself. When he was introduced, was the Departed mentioned as an upcoming film for him? And why was he introducing the Best Picture award? I'm not a big Oscar follower so is there a tradition as to who introduces that award?

Lena, no upcoming projects were ever mentioned during any of the intros. I guess Best Pic is traditionally given out by a legendary star.

And to close my post... My Top 10 Films Of 2005 1. The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada 2. Brokeback Mountain 3. Goodnight And Good Luck 4. Munich 5. Manderlay 6. The Constant Gardener 7. Syriana 8. Match Point 9. Broken Flowers 10. L`enfant I think it`s been an interesting year for motion pictures...

Watched tuesday a 90 minutes summary of the ceremonay and it was enough... hey, but I discoverd the master of ceremony whose sense of humor I appreciated (if I understood well). What's his name, John(?) Steward... anyway... Conclusion : lots of films and performances (nominated or winning) that are worth to see... at least for me !

Jon Stewart
Lou, I appreciate Jon Stewart's sense of humor/irony also. He has a daily show (called the Daily Show) which covers politics, culture, etc..Loved his line about Scorsese during the ceremony. arnzilla, thanks for cluing me in about Nicholson. I was trying to rmember who gave out the Best Pic last year (Charlize?). I guess they only mention past work, not future - I'd read in an article summarzing the award show that a voiceover introduced Rachel Weitz (sp?) as the star of The Mummy and The Mummy 2 - maybe something she'd rather not have had mentioned :lol:

My Top Ten is: 1) The New World by Terrence Malick 2) Howl's Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki 3) L'enfant by Dardenne brothers 4) The Wild Blue Yonder by Werner Herzog (Venice Film Festival 2005) 5) Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmusch 6) Mary by Abel Ferrara (Venice Film Festival 2005) 7)Cache' by Michael Haneke 8 )Everything is illuminated by Liev Schreiber 9) Munich by Steven Spielberg 10)Soy Cuba by Mikhail Kalatozov (released in Italy in 2005 with the Marty's collaboration :wink: )

lol arnzilla re. Grammys - Oscars.

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Saw a film on DVD yesterday that became my new best and favorite film of 2005 - The Whale and the Squid. Funny, sad, different, real, great acting. Reinforces thinking that its possible to make a great movie without a huge budget. I think the young actor in it Jesse Eisenberg easily deserves the attention that wentto all the other award nominated actors got and more; Jeff daniel and Laura Linney, terrific as usual. *** I liked Broken Flowers too, maybe not as much as some of you - the soundtrack is great. Though I have to say only Bill can get away with having pretty much the same expression throughout the film and also be somewhat believable as having all those fabulous looking ex-girilfriends.

Hi lena. I had the chance yesterday to see The Squid And The Whale and i agree with u. It`s an excellent film. One of the best films of 2005 for sure. The writing is bold, intelligent, challenging and witty. Films like this remind me why i love American indie cinema so much. Now that i`m thinking it it reminds me a little bit of Alex In Wonderland, which is one of my favorite American films of all time. Especially the character of Daniel`s is very similar with the character of Sutherland`s. 2 progressive intellectual dads with issues. (And big beards) U should check it out if u haven`t allready.

Alex in Wonderland
Hey, nas, glad to read that you enjoyed The Squid and the Whale as much as I did. I've seen the movie now 3 times - its one of those films that merits repeat viewing. Embarrassed to say I've never heard of Alex in Wonderland - great title! Can you tell me a little about it? Is it a fairly new film or did it come out a while ago? Have a feeling its not going to be a movie I can easily find at Blockbuster Video.

Hi Lena. Alex In Wonderland came out in 1970. It`s a bold, challenging and provocative film. It shares the same heart and spirit with Easy Rider. And it has a very European feel and sensitivity. Masterpiece. The thing that really elevates the film are those amazing, inspiring and up-lifting fantasy interludes that come out of Sutherland`s brain. Unforgettable. Not to mention the Fellini cameo that is absolutely brilliant. Probably the most fun cameo by a director in the history of motion pictures. Anyway, i hope i gave u enough info. I don`t know if it`s easy to find. I saw it on TCM and is repeated there very often.

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Thanks, Nas - with your description of the movie, I'm more eager to view it - definitely will make it on my must see-must find list :D . Always have liked Donald Sutherland - too bad that in recent years he's been reduced to playing almost the same evil character in too many forgettable films.

Lena It`s nice to hear that u like Donald and he certainly deserves all the best professionaly and personally. Let me tell u something about Donald. I love him for his superb talent and the great movies he`s been in. But i love him even more, because all his life was a passionate political and social activist. And until this day remains one of the very few American actors that actually care and don`t afraid to speak their mind. I`ll never forget the interview he gave a few months ago on BBC, where he burst into tears (literally), because he couldn`t believe that a network like NBC, cut Kanye West off the air, just because he was speaking his mind. (And telling the absolute truth). What a powerful, inspirational and unforgettable moment that was. What a great man he is. I just love him.

Nas
Thanks, Nas, for that additional bit of information about Donald - never knew about that part of him - just goes to show how some people never get much widespread media attention. I'm b more and more appreciating people who actually put their beliefs and "talk" into action and getting results/reaction.