Here we are again, the 79th Academy Awards® are right around the corner. The official nominations will be announced on January 23rd. Ellen DeGeneres will be hosting, which is a shame – only because I think Jon Stewart did an incredible job last year and should have returned to helm the ship.

At this point, I’m not sure if we’re going to dust off ye ole’ movievoter.com this year or not. I haven’t discussed it with my partner in crime. Brandon and I usually have the discussion mid-January to see if we’re willing to go for it again.

As I perused the list of 307 films produced in 2006 that are eligible to win an Academy Award, I was shocked – SHOCKED! – at not only the tiny quantity of films I saw this year, but also the TYPE of films I saw. Surely the burdens of life have clouded my ability to choose decent, award-winning films.

Not so long ago they would release the list of films nominated for Best Picture and I would have already seen 4 of the 5, if not all 5. As I look down my list below, I’m not sure I’ve seen any Best Picture candidates this year.
Here’s the run down in alphabetical order…

  • AQUAMARINE [trailer] (I simply MUST qualify this by saying it was screened at 30,000 feet on an in-flight movie when I couldn’t sleep and had already finished the book I was reading.)
  • THE BREAK-UP [trailer]
  • CHARLOTTE’S WEB [trailer] (Not great, but will be remembered as my 2-year old’s first theater movie.)
  • CURIOUS GEORGE [trailer]
  • THE DaVINCI CODE [trailer]
  • THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA [trailer]
  • INVINCIBLE [trailer]
  • LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE [trailer]
  • LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN [trailer]
  • A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION [trailer]
  • SUPERMAN RETURNS [trailer]
  • THANK YOU FOR SMOKING [trailer] (Probably my favorite film on this list.)

So, what’s your favorite film from 2006?