BLOG SMASH! Oscar Nominations, 24, Prison Break, MORE.

So, Oscar noms are out. Some initial thoughts:

- Honestly, I have no huge complaints, based on what my expectations were. I haven't seen Babel so I'm not sure of what to think of its inclusion in the Best Picture category, though I am kind of skeptical of its worthiness. But do I care that it was included at the expense of Dreamgirls? No, not really. United 93 deserved to be on that list though - I think it's such a unique and powerful movie that most people really aren't sure what to make of it.

- Personally, I'd be happy if either The Departed or Little Miss Sunshine takes Best Picture. Now for some reason, there is slowly starting to exist a dbacklash against the Departed, and for a while now there've been very vocal legions who openly claim that Sunshine is overrated. I am all for backlash against deservedly overrated movies, but I feel like a lot of people are bashing Little Miss Sunshine just because a.) they haven't seen it and are sick of the hype, b.) for the sake of backlash, c.) they can't accept that an "indie" movie can also be funny and "happy" rather than dark and miserable. I feel like Little Miss Sunshine was a great comedy filled with amazing performances from a stellar ensemble cast. It deserves every nomination it got, and there are plenty of actors in it who could have been but weren't nominated based on the strength of their performances. As for Departed, I feel that a win for Scorcese would be much-deserved, and in this case would not simply be something that honored his career as a whole. The Departed is his best directorial effort in years and worhty of recognition. Also, I haven't seen Blood Diamond, but something tells me Leo's performance in that one doesn't measure up to his great turn in The Departed. As for Jack's lack of nomination - he did good work in the movie, but hey, he's got enough trophies, so no biggie. I am a little surprised at Wahlberg though - sure, he was great, but had very little screen time and his character was very much comic relief.

- Everywhere I go, people are bitching about lack of noms for Children of Men. I agree that the movie deserves recognition (esp in cinematography, for which it WAS nominated ...), but I don't see why this is the geek movie poster child for snubbed films. Let's talk about snubs ... Hugo Weaving in V FOR VENDETTA - maybe my fav acting performance of 2006. Sure, he had no chance in hell of a nomination, just because, but his name should be mentioned. You want to talk scifi movies? How about THE FOUNTAIN - Hugh Jackman was amazing in this, and the direction by Darren Aranofsky was spectacular. And the muscal score was amazing! No nominations = a crime. And what about THE PRESTIGE, another ridiculously overlooked film with yet another great, great performance from Hugh Jackman as well as Christian Bale. No noms for either, or for director Christopher Nolan (perenially snubbed by the Oscars). Children of Men, on the other hand, in my view, wasn't as good as any of those three, so enough already.

- On the other hand, I hate the fact that any serious performance by Will Smith is considered defacto Oscar-worthy. Pursuit of Happiness was a great film, sure, but was Smith in this better than Jackman in The fountain / The Prestige, Clive Owen in Chldren of Men, Hugo Weaving, and any number of others?

- Also, on another semi-geeky note, nice to see Pan's Labrynth get so much recognition, as while it wasn't my personal favorite, I totally respect Guillermo Del Toro and what he accomplished with the movie. I hope this one wins Best Foreign Language, anything for Sound, etc.

- Hey, the movie I just talked about in yesterday's blog, Curse of the Golden Flower, gets a costume design award. Definitely deserves to win that ... Also, CARS has gotta be a shoe-in for animated movie.

- How is Borat an adapted screenplay?

- PIRATES for best f/x.

- I've got to see Last King of Scotland, Notes on a Scandal, The Queen, Babel, Jesus Camp, and Letters from Iwo Jima (the OSCAR movie that no one saw!).

I think that about wraps it up for my Oscar thoughts. Everything else to me is pretty "meh." And anyways, I've got more important stuff to talk about, because ...

TV STUFF:

Dayum, what a night of televised action last night.

PRISON BREAK

Yep, this one deserves a: "daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!"

Prison Break returned from its winter hiatus last night and, as the kids say these days, it totally pwned (just flexing my geek cred ... word). I mean, damn, last night's episode was just 100% badass from start to finish, and I think the TV critics at EW, who gave it a C, are certifiably insane. From The tension between Michael, Lincoln and Kellerman on the run, to T-Bag's twisted attempts at restarting his old family life, to the hysterically awesome scenes of Bellick doing hard time (in more ways than one), this was pure and simple great television. And William Fichter, luckily not dead, and whose character I now FINALLY realize is named Mahoney / Mahone (I think?), well, he ruled it as always, and I love his loose-cannon role.

But let me just say this: the whole scene with Bellick confronting that gigantic inmate at the lunch table had to be one of the most entertaining things I've seen in ages. "The deal was ... one dessert." "Well, I'm fickle, BITCH." (followed by Bellick unleashing the dreaded SACK OF ROCKS on big dude's candy ass). Oh man, now THAT is awesome. Also, T-Bag's crazy dialogue in this episode was great. "Soon enough it'll be time to learn you my razor." "Doesn't have a white man's chance in harlem ..." "Jesus was a carpenter ..." etc, etc. OVer-the-top action at it's finest.

Finally ... awesome cliffhanger ending. And that's all I'll say about that. Suffice to say, Prison Break ruled it.

My Grade: A

TWENTY 24 FOUR:

- I really liked this episode in that its slightly slower pace and focus on Jack's life outside of CTU gave it a real Season 1 feel. For a while now, 24 has seemingly just been balls-to-the-wall, mile a minute action, which is all well and good, but at some point Jack Bauer went from patriotic family man to unstoppable killing machine who doesn't stop for even a second. So, it was cool to simmer things down a bit and remember that Jack has a largely unexplored past rife with story potential. Of course, only at a Bauer family reunion would greetings soon be followed by binding your brother to a chair (who is secretly an evil mastermind controlling the world's governments), and suffocating him with a plastic bag. Can't wait to see what happens when Papa Bauer enters the equation ...

SPOILERS

- But yeah, Bluetooth Man / Graham being Jack's brother was definitely one of the most unexpected twists in a while. Does it make sense in the context of the show and the seeming lack of conenction between the two in Season 5? Well, they sure have some 'splainin to do, but I'm eager to see what they come up with. I like them adding to the show's mythology though, and it's about time they brought the focus back to Jack.

- My main question is this: Does Jack know or strongly suspect who his brother really is? If so, I guess I can see why Jack went so nutso on his own flesh and blood. But, if Jack truly does NOT know the kind of stuff his brother's involved in, then this is in many ways the MOST INSANE we've ever seen Jack, which is kind of disturbing. I hope that Jack does end up having some suspicions about Graham, because if not, his actions are pretty crazy.

- The one big downer in this ep was the already highly-annoying Regina King as First Sister Palmer. Basically, she sucks, and makes me want to flip the channel whenever she comes on the screen. Her character is totally stereotypical "take-charge Black woman" and King's acting is just gratingly unsubtle. I actually kind of dig the whole detention-camp mole storyline, but King's involvement just really drags it down.

- So overall, an excellent, change-of-pace episode with a nice tilt of the spotlight to Jack and his backstory, which promises for much coolness. Speaking of coolness, "You're hurting me now." "Trust me, I'm not ..." is an insta-classic Bauer line. My one plea: I already see some hints that Graham's son is actually Jack's (the blonde hair is the giveaway), but I feel uneasy that giving Jack a son in this manner would be very cheesy. So yeah, hoping the kid isn't his. Excellent ep though, like I said - and it only reaffirms that Bluetooth technology is EVIL.

My Grade: A -

- On another note, VERONICA MARS returns tonight for an all-new 5 episode storyarc. Now, this is great, but it leads to some of the most disturbing TV news in quite a while ...

After these 5 episodes, Mars will be on hiatus until MAY, and will be replaced with of all things, the new Pussycat Dolls reality show. This is just insulting. The CW has just taken one of the best shows on television and replaced it with a reality show featuring a C-list, talentless pop group. Ugh. So I beg you -- if ever there was a time, now is it -- WATCH Veronica Mars tonight. Everything else is prempted / in reruns due to Bush's State of the Union.

So if you value good television and not brainless crap, WATCH VERONICA MARS - TONIGHT at 9pm!

- Finally, I dedicate this blog entry to the memory of the late great "Bam Bam" Bigelow, who passed away earlier this week. Growing up, Bam Bam was a larger than life character who inspired awe and fear in us young wrestling fans with his monstrous appearance, and distinctive bald, tattooed head and black tights highlighted by orange flames. I remember meeting Bam Bam at the WWE's fanfest event - as a kid he was like a comic book villain come to life. Later that night, my brother and I watched him live at the Hartford Civic Center, where he fought NFL star Laurence Taylor at Wrestlemania 11. It was an epic clash of pro-football titan with wrestling behemoth. Bam Bam was one of the most revolutionary big men of all time, and despite being something like 400 pounds he was famous for his finishing move - a diving headbutt off the top rope. Few if any big men were capable of having such great matches - and Bam Bam had many great bouts against the likes of Bret Hart, Chris Kanyon, Rob Van Dam, Tazz, and many more. And by all accounts, despite his fearsome look, he was one of the nicest guys in the locker room. So RIP Bam Bam Bigelow, the Beast From the East.

- And that's all for now -- UNTIL NEXT TIME.