Oscar nominations 2004: Time to sigh

So, the Oscar nominations are out for 2004. We can all breathe easier now, even if some of us will do so while sighing with disappointment. Or disgust. Whatever.

I’ve done both. Forget the fact that Nicole Kidman didn’t get a Best Actress nomination for “Cold Mountain.” I didn’t think her performance was all that great anyway. And forget that “American Splendor” was virtually ignored (Best Adapted Screenplay only? What about Paul Giamatti? What about Hope Davis?). No, here are what I consider to be the biggest surprises of this year’s Oscar nominations:

Keisha Castle-Hughes , Best Actress: As good as the 13-year-old New Zealander was in “Whale Rider,” this nomination owes everything to one heartbreaking scene, when Castle-Hughes’ character stands on the stage and sobs as she talks about how much she loves her grandfather — who, I’ve got to say, doesn’t deserve her affection, much less attention. This was the spot that Kidman was supposed to snare. But that’s OK because we did get…

Johnny Depp , for Best Actor: I said from the start that he deserved a nomination for what he did in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” But rewards for comic performances are rare. Which is why I’m also surprised by…

Bill Murray , Best Actor: Sure, he was the best he’s ever been in Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation.” He took his regular act and toned it down to the point where, probably for the first time, he acted real. Of course, he owes a lot to…

Scarlett Johansson : She, of course, joins Kidman as one of the overlooked Best Actress nods. I would have put her on the list in place of Samantha Morton (“In America”), but that’s just me. Morton, by the way, joins the list of actresses (Naomi Watts, too) who earned an Oscar nomination after doing a nude scene — which, I’m sure, is just a coincidence, if hardly a disappointment, like the rejection of…

Sean Astin : Which is one of my biggest disappointments. If there was a performance that deserved notice from the final installment of Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Return of the King,” it was Astin as Sam. That he would be ignored in favor of, say, Alec Baldwin for “The Cooler” (what?) or Djimon Hounsou for playing one of the year’s most cliched characters in Jim Sheridan’s “In America” is not just silly. It’s absurd. Unlike, say, the overlooking of…

Anthony Minghella : No Best Director nomination? Hey, I didn’t like “Cold Mountain” the movies any more than I did “Cold Mountain” the novel, so I’m not complaining that it didn’t get slobbered over as some critics thought it would. But Minghella is exactly the kind of guy that Hollywood traditionally likes to reward. This clearly isn’t a regular year, not when Hollywood ignores someone of his stature and places its attention on a foreign film such as…

“City of God” : This little Brazilian effort, which follows the misadventures of a gaggle of sociopaths in Rio’s most dangerous neighborhood in the 1970s, is a fine movie. But an Oscar nominee for Best Director, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography? It’s not just that I think this is a bit much. I’m not even shocked that the film is not up for Best Foreign Language Film . Mostly, I’m in shock at how much Hollywood’s tastes are ever so slowly inching toward sophistication. Which is further indicated by such nominations as…

“Girl With a Pearl Earring” (Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design) and “The Triplets of Belleville” (Best Animated Feature): I can’t say anything about either of these because I haven’t seen them. What do you expect? I live in Spokane. AMC and Regal Cinemas, the two chains that have a lock on Spokane theaters, need to get smart and figure out that folks in the Inland Northwest do love alternative film. Hey, we’re moviergoers, too, eh?

Oh, yeah, I forgot. AMC did play “American Splendor.” And a couple of others. Seems we are becoming a bit more refined out here in the boondocks.

Anyway, time to sigh now. OOOOMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm………..