Poor Peter Jackson. "King Kong" didn't get nominated as best film of the year. But that's okay because I'm tired of hearing about him and Lord of the Rings.

Even though he'll probably win sound editing and picture editing, it seriously seems like something a monkey could have done.

There are eight nominations for "Brokeback Mountain" and from what I can tell audiences might not be too pleased if it wins all of them. However, I believe its competition might stem from "Munich" or "Syriana." Today's society likes edgy movies. But then again, that could be why "Brokeback Mountain" is nominated so much.

I think maybe Joaquin Phoenix should win for his portrayal of Johnny Cash. It would be a nice repeat of last year's Academy Awards when Jamie Foxx took home the Oscar. And maybe, the Academy won't think of it as repeating itself and instead think of it as continuing a good tradition.

As for actresses, I'm pretty impressed with the turnout: Keira Knightley, Judi Dench, Felicity Huffman, Charlize Theron, and Reese Witherspoon. I liked Keira Knightley in "Love, Actually," and she did a pretty good job in "Pride and Prejudice," but she's definitely the underdog in this category.

Judi Dench was also in "Pride and Prejudice," but she's nominated for "Mrs. Henderson Presents"... and I didn't see that. I'm thinking the Academy might go with its usual, "well she might not get another chance to win an award since she's old, let's give it to her."

As for original screenplay, I'm excited that "The Squid and The Whale" was nominated. I haven't seen it yet, but I hear it's worth a drive to Oklahoma City, since it's not in Norman for the time being.

But that might also be an underdog this year, seeing as it's up against "Crash," "Syriana," "Match Point," and "Good Night and Good Luck." I'd favor "Crash" or "Syriana," but that's because I have something against Woody Allen for marrying his daughter.

Of course, as an adapted screenplay, we have "Brokeback Mountain."

I think one reason I don't necessarily want it to win all the awards is because award shows should be exciting, not predictable.

If that wins, it'll be exactly why I started detesting things like Lord of the Rings: people get a big head and think they are so great that they don't bother with other movies that made a difference to some people.

"Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" each got one nomination for a minor category that people will probably fast-forward through.

Which is okay, because once again, there have been how many Star Wars movies made... and how many of them have won awards? C'mon people, there's such a thing as overkill. Same with "Harry Potter," and we're only on the fourth movie.

Of course, Mark will say Michael Bay should have been nominated for everything. But, Michael Bay, friends, should be left on his own island, to start his own race of people who will actually watch and enjoy his movies.

That might be the better option than making us normal people suffer since we see and actually acknowledge that a pretty good nomination list has been put out. None of the nominations include Michael Bay, so there's something for which to thank the Academy.
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