My first reaction to the Oscar nominations?  “Aw crap, now I have to go see both
of the really depressing movies.”  (The Hours and The Pianist.)  Here are more lucid
reactions to the major categories, along with my "best of the year" picks.  (FYI, I've
seen 53 of the 279 eligible films.  You can check how many you've seen here.)
 

Best motion picture of the year
CHICAGO (Miramax)
GANGS OF NEW YORK (Miramax)
THE HOURS (Paramount and Miramax)
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS (New Line)
THE PIANIST (Focus Features)

Well, my list would start with Igby Goes Down and Adaptation and drop off sharply
from there.  I realize I never made my “top films of 2002” list – I’ve been waiting to
try to see more of the Oscar-bait ones – so here’s a shot at it.  Igby and Adaptation are
the only ones that I choose without hesitation or reservation.  In the second tier are the
films that I enjoyed a lot but that could have been better with a few tweaks:

Gangs of New York
The Good Girl
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Sunshine State
Solaris
The Quiet American

About a Boy
Bowling for Columbine
Lovely and Amazing
About Schmidt
The Pianist
Intacto
Punch-Drunk Love

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Adrien Brody in THE PIANIST (Focus Features)
Nicolas Cage in ADAPTATION (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Michael Caine in THE QUIET AMERICAN (Miramax and Intermedia)
Daniel Day-Lewis in GANGS OF NEW YORK (Miramax)
Jack Nicholson in ABOUT SCHMIDT (New Line)

What the hell did I miss with Day-Lewis’ performance?  Everyone’s praising him,
yet I found it dreadful.  Anyway, my vote goes to Michael Caine, who was just fantastic
in The Quiet American.  I thought Brody and Cage were both very good, but I can’t
help feeling like their roles did half the work.  Brody’s automatically invokes sympathy
and support, and Cage’s is kind of gimmicky – although, to his credit, he made the
differences between the brothers subtle.  I sort of felt like Nicholson’s performance
was a bit of a gimmick, too; as I said in my review, I couldn’t really tell if he was
giving a great performance or if it was just so different from his usual cocky characters
that it seemed like more of an accomplishment than maybe it really was.
 

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Chris Cooper in ADAPTATION (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Ed Harris in THE HOURS (Paramount and Miramax)
Paul Newman in ROAD TO PERDITION (DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox)
John C. Reilly in CHICAGO (Miramax)
Christopher Walken in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (DreamWorks)

I’d put Cooper – who I think should win – and Newman on my list of the best
performances of the year, supporting or leading, and I’d add Bill Pullman in
Igby Goes Down.  Also, Jake Gyllenhaal was excellent in The Good Girl and
Lovely and Amazing.  I think Reilly deserves the nomination cumulatively for all
his performances this year (The Good Girl, Gangs of New York, Chicago).
 

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Salma Hayek in FRIDA (Miramax)
Nicole Kidman in THE HOURS (Paramount and Miramax)
Diane Lane in UNFAITHFUL (20th Century Fox)
Julianne Moore in FAR FROM HEAVEN (Focus Features)
Renée Zellweger in CHICAGO (Miramax)

I really have a hard time thinking of an outstanding female performance.  Kidman was fine,
although I can't say she really blew me away.  I didn’t (and probably won’t) see Unfaithful,
and you know my feelings on Moore.  I thought Zellweger and Hayek fit the bill for
their roles, but neither impressed me with acting ability.  I guess I’d have to go with
Edie Falco in Sunshine State and maybe Maggie Gyllenhaal in Secretary.
 

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Kathy Bates in ABOUT SCHMIDT (New Line)
Julianne Moore in THE HOURS (Paramount and Miramax)
Queen Latifah in CHICAGO (Miramax)
Meryl Streep in ADAPTATION (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Catherine Zeta-Jones in CHICAGO (Miramax)

Go, Queen Latifah!  I just want someone who’s not Streep or Moore to win.  Zeta-
Jones would be a good choice, but Bates was too much of a caricature.  Again, it’s
tough to think of really outstanding roles this year.  Say Angela Bassett in Sunshine State.
 

Achievement in directing
CHICAGO (Miramax) Rob Marshall
GANGS OF NEW YORK (Miramax) Martin Scorsese
THE HOURS (Paramount and Miramax) Stephen Daldry
THE PIANIST (Focus Features) Roman Polanski
TALK TO HER (Sony Pictures Classics) Pedro Almodóvar

Oh, you know I’ll say Scorsese, but come on, he deserves the hell out of it.  Even
if you didn’t like Gangs, you have to admit that it was amazingly directed.  Besides,
he’s never won an Oscar, and that’s just not right.
 

Screenplay based on material previously produced or published
ABOUT A BOY (Universal)
Screenplay by Peter Hedges and Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz
ADAPTATION (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman
CHICAGO (Miramax)
Screenplay by Bill Condon
THE HOURS (Paramount and Miramax)
Screenplay by David Hare
THE PIANIST (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood

Allowing Adaptation to be credited to Donald Kaufman reminds me of O Brother,
Where Art Thou’s nomination for being adapted from The Odyssey.  (Like I need to
say it, it’s miles above its competition here, although I think it’s nice that About a Boy
got recognized.)
 

Screenplay written directly for the screen
FAR FROM HEAVEN (Focus Features)
Written by Todd Haynes
GANGS OF NEW YORK (Miramax)
Screenplay by Jay Cocks and Steve Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, Story by Jay Cocks
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (IFC/Gold Circle Films)
Written by Nia Vardalos
TALK TO HER (Sony Pictures Classics)
Written by Pedro Almodóvar
Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN (IFC Films)
Written by Carlos Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón

I wasn’t impressed with the screenplays for any of these (though I haven’t seen
Wedding).  I’d vote for Sunshine State, Igby Goes Down, The Good Girl.
 

Best foreign language film of the year
EL CRIMEN DEL PADRE AMARO (Mexico)
An Alameda Films/BluFilms/Foprocine/Gob. del Estado de Veracruz-Llave Production
HERO  (People's Republic of China)
A Beijing New Picture Film Company/Elite Group Enterprises Production
THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST  (Finland)
A Sputnik Oy/Pandora Film/Pyramide Prods. Production
NOWHERE IN AFRICA  (Germany)
An MTM Medien & Television München Production
ZUS & ZO (The Netherlands)
A Filmprodukties de Luwte Production

I haven't seen any of these yet, but Hero is supposed to be fantastic.  The Man Without a Past
is by Aki Kaurismäki, whom I like.  A member of the Academy’s foreign film selection
committee has a site commenting on almost every film submitted for consideration: http://home.attbi.com/~kenru/2002-3_Academy_Foreign_Films.html.  (He also has
a list of all the films he sees; he saw more films in January than I see in an entire year.)
 

Best animated short film
THE CATHEDRAL
A Platige Image Production
Tomek Baginski
THE CHUBBCHUBBS! (Columbia)
A Sony Pictures Imageworks Production
Eric Armstrong
DAS RAD
A Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg GmbH Production
Chris Stenner and Heidi Wittlinger
MIKE'S NEW CAR (Buena Vista)
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Pete Docter and Roger Gould
MT. HEAD
A Yamamura Animation Production
Koji Yamamura

You can find out more about both categories of short films at Apollo Cinema's
web site, or read my slightly more detailed review of these films.

I think the bizarre Japanese fable Mt. Head is, well, head and shoulders above the
rest. I'm particularly unimpressed by the visually and artistically shallow
computer-animated entries, Mike’s New Car and The Chubbchubbs!  Das Rad might
get some votes from the older Academy members looking for something that doesn't
angry up the blood. The Cathedral is just plain dreadful.
 

Best live action short film
FAIT D'HIVER (GRIDLOCK)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production
Dirk Beliën and Anja Daelemans
I'LL WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE … (J'ATTENDRAI LE SUIVANT …)
A La Boîte Production
Philippe Orreindy and Thomas Gaudin
INJA (DOG)
An Australian Film TV & Radio School (AFTRS) Production
Steven Pasvolsky and Joe Weatherstone
JOHNNY FLYNTON
A Red Corner Production
Lexi Alexander and Alexander Buono
THIS CHARMING MAN (DER ER EN YNDIG MAND)
An M&M Productions for Novellefilm Production
Martin Strange-Hansen and Mie Andreasen

This Charming Man will probably win, if only because it's the longest, and therefore
the most fully developed.  It's also sweet where Fait d’Hiver and J’attendrai le
suivant are cruel, and it delivers a message without the heavy-handedness of Inja.
(The program I saw didn't show Johnny Flynton -- so, if history is any guide,
there's your winner.)