Let's Get Something Right People

Two big happenings today. And neither of them are safe from criticism. First, the much-anticipated Academy Awards nominations. Let's run them down, and point out the blunders and successes.

Best Picture:

Babel
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Departed
The Queen
Little Miss Sunshine

Since I've only seen one of the five (Little Miss Sunshine), it's hard for me to comment. I wanted badly to see Babel and The Departed, but had little interest in both Letters From Iwo Jima and The Queen. Here's my issue. I'm sick of the late-entries invading the list, opening just technically in time to become elligible. Letters fits this mold. Sure, it's probably a great film, but it opened nationwide January 19. It's showing on only 360 screens, and hasn't yet made $2.5 million. Although there's plenty of time to see the movie before the awards, let's reward movies that people have seen and can talk about. Now that I've cleared that up, let me contradict myself by suggesting another film (and no, it's not Dreamgirls). Children of Men was by far the most gripping and memorable theater experience I had last year. It deserved to be nominated. Letters is out. And the MPAA missed a huge opportunity to crack it's anchored mold by not nominating Borat, the year's most talked about film. I've never laughed more at a film, and nobody should feel bad about admitting that. A screenplay nod is not nearly enough. Out goes...it's difficult because I haven't seen them...The Departed. Just a hunch, but I have a feeling that film was a lot of hype (Scorsese, Nicholson, DiCaprio, Damon, Wahlberg). I'm thrilled that Little Miss Sunshine earned a nod, as it made me smile more than any other movie last year. Does it stand a chance? Well, Crash won.

Best Actor:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond (Seriously? This movie got panned)
Peter O'Toole, Venus (Honestly, never heard of it)
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson (Ditto)
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland (Ladies and gentlemen, the winner...)
Will Smith, Pursuit of Happyness (Now I give up)

Wait, was Jack Nicholson NOT in The Departed? How did he miss out? It's like Meryl Streep not getting nominated (she did). Clive Owen, in Children of Men, was great, not award-worthy, but he sure beats out the Fresh Prince. And no Sacha Baren Cohen??? You've got to be kidding me.

Best Actress:

Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada (Even Kristie didn't like this movie)
Helen Mirren, The Queen (Wrap it up)
Judi Dench, Notes On a Scandal (Is there any young talent out there?)
Penelope Cruz, Volver (Thanks)
Kate Winslet, Little Children (This generation's Meryl Streep?)

Nothing to say here really. There just haven't been that many memorable female performances lately. And I haven't seen enough movies. Still trying to decide whether or not I can handle Pan's Labyrinth.

My predictions:

Picture: The Departed
Actor: Whitaker
Actress: Mirren
Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Supporting Actress: Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Whatever.


Next up: The firing of Timberwolves head coach Dwane Casey. It's beyond evident, the man who should be shouldering the blame, Kevin McHale, never will. He and owner Glen Taylor (and KG?) are way too close to part on their own, and are always looking for scapegoats. And the timing? Yes, the Wolves have lost four straight, but the last two were road games at Phoenix (without Garnett and Ricky Davis) and Utah. Not exactly cupcakes. And the Wolves were clearly still in the playoff hunt. It just doesn't seem right to fire a coach in the middle of a road trip. And do McHale and Taylor really think Randy Wittman is a better option? Ask Cleveland about him.

Let's point out a few of the numerous reasons McHale should turn his firing finger around. Of course, it all starts with the under-the-table Joe Smith deal. That travesty cost the Wolves multiple draft picks and really hurt the team's chances to develop and stay young. And for Joe Smith? Honestly? That right there should have been a sign. And then there's the major turning point. Four years ago, the Wolves finally had a first-round pick, and a chance to add young talent to an aging team. And with that pick, McHale, on his own, defied the rest of the organization and chose high-schooler Ndudi Ebi. Word is that McHale was so enamored with Ebi, after seeing him practice once, that he vetoed the group's decision to draft Josh Howard, a proven college player. Howard is now deserving of an all-star selection and could be called the Mavericks most irreplaceable cog. Ebi is out of the league. Oops. Finally, McHale's calling was his creativity in the post and ability to score in multiple ways around the basket. Fans thought he could transfer his knowledge to Wolves big men. The list: Cherokee Parks, Dean Garrett, Rasho Nesterovic, Loren Woods, Marc Jackson, Michael Olowokandi, and finally, Mark Blount. The one that has played the best? Blount, recently, under Casey. Good luck to Randy Wittman, and any future coach who tests the freezing waters of the upper midwest. Just know that if success wanes, Kevin McHale will have one long, icy cold finger pointed directly at you.