RobertR

My utterly safe and predictable list: 1. The Godfather 2. Goodfellas 3. The Godfather, Part II 4. Mean Streets 5. Once Upon a Time in America HM: Miller's Crossing, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels I really need to go catch some of the classics of the 30s one of these days. Especially the original Scarface. Robert

I've no problem with people picking the Cubs to win the NL Central. You pick the Cardinals, Astros, or Pirates and I question your touch with reality, but the Cubs are a more than defensible pick. I do question blindly adding Brian Roberts though. He's not a free agent and the Cubs are going to have to give up something to get him. If the Cubs gave up, say Gallagher and Pie, I'd question whether they truly helped themselves or just made a trade to get attention. Until that trade happens and you see what the Cubs give up, it's truly getting ahead of yourselves to say it help the Cubs. Robert

Let's just leave it as both should have served jail time. I wanted to mention it as a significant event, but don't want to derail the rest of the post. Robert

No he didn't have any malicious intent, but that's the difference between murder and manslaughter. He still was completely negligent and openly and knowingly violated child labor laws and a host of safety concerns. It's hard for me to imagine a worse outcome than four people killed while making a movie. Robert

Moving on to 1983 Best Picture Terms of Endearment The Big Chill The Dresser The Right Stuff Tender Mercies Other Notables: Educating Rita, Silkwood, Yentl, Fanny and Alexander, Wargames, Return of the Jedi, Trading Places, The Dead Zone, The King of Comedy, Local Hero, Scarface, A Christmas Story, National Lampoon's Vacation, Videodrome, Zelig My Pick of the Nominees: The Right Stuff My Pick Overall: The Right Stuff with the caveat that I haven't seen Fanny and Alexander. My Thoughts: I'd imagine that Terms of Endearment and The Right Stuff would be nominated again if the awards were held today. And that The Big Chill would stand no chance. I doubt The Dresser would make it either and Tender Mercies would be iffy. By reputation, Fanny and Alexander would almost certainly be a replacement. Looking at the above group of nominated films and other notables, I'd consider it an average to slightly above average year. Very good year for David Croenenberg. Of the nominated films, I haven't seen The Dresser or The Big Chill, but I have seen the rest. Tender Mercies, which I watched a couple of weeks back, has aged well, partly because of its low key nature and partly because of Robert Duvall's terrific lead performance. It's been awhile since I watched Terms of Endearment, but even with all of the soap opera elements it's a well acted entertaining movie. That said, the movie that most resonated with me was The Right Stuff which was both mythic and myth puncturing all at the same time with a real sense of danger. Best Actor Robert Duvall - Tender Mercies Tom Courtenay - The Dresser Albert Finney - The Dresser Michael Caine - Educating Rita Tom Conti - Reuben, Reuben Other notables: Robert DeNiro - The King of Comedy, Eddie Murphy - Trading Places, Christopher Walken - The Dead Zone, Al Pacino - Scarface, Richard Farnsworth - The Grey Fox, Eric Roberts - Star 80, Woody Allen - Zelig, Matthew Broderick - Wargames, Ed Harris - The Right Stuff, James Woods - Videodrome My Pick: Robert Duvall - Tender Mercies My thoughts: Considering I haven't seen The Dresser and Reuben, Reuben I'm at a distinct disadvantage when assessing this category. Then again, it's never stopped me before. Probably the biggest surprise to me is that DeNiro didn't snag a nomination. He'd almost certainly do so today. That said, if you want to see Robert Duvall effortlessly carry a movie and cover a full gamut of emotions for a complex person, Tender Mercies is a showcase of a movie. It's one of his best performances and one where he doesn't need long speeches to explain his character. Good choice by the Academy. Best Actress Shirley MacLaine - Terms of Endearment Julie Walters - Educating Rita Meryl Streep - Silkwood Debra Winger - Terms of Endearment Jane Alexander - Testament Other Notables: Bonnie Bedelia - Heart Like a Wheel, Barbara Streisand - Yentl, Tess Harper - Tender Mercies, Mary Steenburgen - Cross Creek, Jennifer Beals - Flashdance My Pick: Shirley MacLaine - Terms of Endearment My thoughts: There's a little scenery chewing there by MacLaine but it's a good performance in an atypical role. Probably her second best performance with The Apartment being her pinnacle. A solid enough group, although I'm surprised that Bonnie Bedelia didn't snag a nomination over Jane Alexander. No doubt that Debra Winger would be pushed as a Supporting Actress, and probably win, in modern Hollywood. I've never had much love for Yentl, but I'm sure it has its constituency and I'm slightly surprised that Streisand didn't get a nomination in retrospect. Best Supporting Actor Jack Nicholson - Terms of Endearment Rip Torn - Cross Creek Sam Shepard - The Right Stuff John Lithgow - Terms of Endearment Charles Durning - To Be or Not to Be Other Notables: Don Ameche - Trading Places, John Lithgow - Twilight Zone: The Movie, Jerry Lewis - The King of Comedy, Burt Lancaster - Local Hero, Darren McGavin - A Christmas Story, any random cast member of The Right Stuff My Pick: Sam Shepard - The Right Stuff Thoughts: Charles Durning was nominated for To Be or Not to Be? That's just wrong. And I like Charles Durning. Lots of memorable supporting performances here. You can probably make a compelling case for everyone but Durning. I do suspect that it came down to Nicholson vs. Shepard though and it's hard to go wrong with either. Nicholson is, of course, a scene stealer and someone who uses his charisma and confidence well and an ex-astronaut is a great fit for him. That said, Shepard's mythmaking as Chuck Yeager is outstanding and memorable. Arguably, it's not as hard a part as others, but he just nails it. Best Supporting Actress Linda Hunt - The Year of Living Dangerously Glenn Close - The Big Chill Alfre Woodard - Cross Creek Cher - Silkwood Amy Irving - Yentl Other Notables: Ellen Barkin - Tender Mercies My Pick: Cher - Silkwood Thoughts: Gimmick alert. Linda Hunt playing an Asian man is something of a stunt. It's a good performance, but in a stronger year I don't think it stands a chance. I don't feel strongly about this category. Looks like a weak year to me. I suspect that it would be easier to vote for Cher now in retrospect than it would have been in 1984 when there still were questions about whether this was all some sort of attention getting gimmick from her. Not the worst or best year of the 1980s. The acting awards don't look unreasonable in retrospect. OTOH, shutting out Fanny and Alexander and Ingmar Bergman at the Oscars certainly looks completely indefensible in retrospect. Screenplay or Director would have been completely defensible awards and would have been looked at well in retrospect. Other thoughts about 1983. Tom Cruise became a star with Risky Business. Matthew Broderick too, although there was a time when you thought he would have been bigger than he became. Eddie Murphy further cemented himself. And Michael Keaton had a hit in Mr. Mom. I'd like to think this is the year that started the derailment of John Landis. Trading Places is arguably his pinnacle, but that was followed immediately by Twilight Zone: The Movie. Say what you want about Roman Polanski, how John Landis stayed out of jail is a complete mystery to me and the bigger miscarriage of justice. Then again, I look at his filmography and it really isn't until the 90s that he stops getting significant projects. Robert

True Grit Catching up on some older movies. The principal reason to see this one is for John Wayne's performance which is quite good. It's not up to his performances in The Searchers or Red River and his award for this role probably rightly could be considered a career award, but it's likable and naturalistic and stands out in contrast to the young leads around him. Glen Campbell in particular is quite wooden. There's some nice cinematography and a good climax too, but it's not a classic. My Neighbor Totoro For various reasons, I ended up watching one of Miyazaki's earlier animated movies. The animation is gorgeous, the imagination on display in character creation is impressive, and the word cute hardly begins to describe it. Too bad there's no real story here, just a series of vignettes. Across the Universe There's some impressive numbers in this movie, but it's really for people that are unfamiliar with The Beatles. And The Sixties. The main problem is that it tries to cram the whole Beatles catalog of hits into the movie to the detriment of the main story. As far as I can tell the only reason there's a character named Prudence in the movie is for the song Dear Prudence to be sung at some point. It tries to hard, by at least half, to stuff in enough references, the main characters are named Jude and Lucy, the major supporting characters are named Maxwell who has a hammer at one point, alas not silver, and Sadie, who's indeed sexy, and it tries to hit all of the major points of the sixties. There's too much going on and there's no time in between songs to let the characters breathe. The songs themselves alternate between being completely random and too on the nose. As a series of music videos, it's hit and miss. Some do really work. As a movie as a whole that wants to have a narrative, it's a complete mess. Michael Clayton Saw it in the theater and see that it's out on DVD. It's well acted and the dialogue aims for more than the standard thriller, shooting for the quality of NETWORK during some speeches, but it's really just dressed up John Grisham and the ending is ridiculously pat. Not to mention the villainous corporation thing has been done to death. Clooney, Wilkinson, and Swinton (perhaps most impressively) give fine performances and give it a gravity that might otherwise be lacking. I don't think it's a Best Picture quality film, but I liked it with reservations. Robert

I'd be hard pressed to find a theme more evocative of the actual show than Twin Peaks. Others that haven't been mentioned: Batman - the Adam West show and Danny Elfman's theme for Tim Burton's movies. Star Trek - Jerry Goldsmith's great movie theme. Robert

TOOTSIE today would likely be criticized for making the female characters too passive. And for being outdated in its view of women in the workplace. It definitely wouldn't be seen as cutting edge. Still, I'd be willing to be that it would be received decently critically. It is well acted, up and down the cast. And some of the observations are still pretty sharp and funny. I'm particularly enamored of the scene where Jessica Lange tells Dustin Hoffman in disguise how she'd like a man to approach her, and how he gets a drink thrown in his face later when he actually tries that approach. Would it be received as one of the best movies of the year? No. Would it get a better critical reception than BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE, I've no question about that. I fully agree that removing it from the context of its time is problematic. It's not a timeless classic like the best of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, DR. STRANGELOVE, or GROUNDHOG DAY, for instance. Heck, it's not as good a guy in drag comedy as SOME LIKE IT HOT. I'd never vote it as high as #2 on a list of great comedies. But I understand why it's an important comedy and appreciate it for the context in which it appeared. Something like BOUDU SAVED FROM DROWNING or THE GREAT DICTATOR are probably more apt comparisons. Of their time, not timeless. Robert

Yeah Newman had an excellent performance there and would have been a fine choice. Still, all years aren't created equal and sometimes it has as much to do with who you're up against than the quality of your performance. Case in point, Peter O'Toole. His very best shot may have been in Lawrence of Arabia and he had the misfortune of going up against Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird. Maybe next year I'll do the 70s and we can argue over who should have won Best Picture for 1976. Robert

And is there something wrong if you did? See http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19820101/REVIEWS/201010340/1023 Robert

A few final thoughts on CADDYSHACK, which I do find very funny by the way. The "slobs vs. the snobs" is a very 80s theme and emblematic of that whole era and it perhaps should receive additional consideration because of that. And, of course, it's a very influential movie. You can probably draw a direct connection to what I consider the 80s comedy pinnacle GHOSTBUSTERS, which will be mentioned as a consideration for Best Picture. It's one of the comedy highlights for the careers of Murray, Dangerfield, and Chase. Ted Knight too. But, as I said, I find Danny Noonan's plotline mostly uninvolving. I realize he's the straight man that most of the other characters bounce off of, but I'd like him to be a little more interesting. I will agree that I could have included it as a Best Picture consideration. I don't think it would have made the cut regardless. As far as Airplane!, I do think removing it from the context of its time takes off some of the edge. After a decade of Airport movies, a parody was right in line. The fact that they also took a couple of supporting actors known for being straight and serious in Leslie Nielsen and Lloyd Bridges and then subverted audience expectations is an effect that has diminished over time. And the rapid fire nature of the jokes, admittedly many quite childish, hadn't been approached in a long time. Airplane! single handedly made the parody movie a perennial subgenre, for good or ill. As for The Blues Brothers, I'd agree that comedy-wise it probably hasn't aged the best. That said, it's still a fairly unique concoction. The comedy-action-musical. How many of those have their been? BTW, I appreciate the feedback on what was happening in Hong Kong and the east during that period. Obviously, I recognize that significant things were happening there during that decade, but I'm not afraid to admit my knowledge is limited. At least until John Woo comes around. Robert

A couple of thoughts. Re: Tron I was more speaking to the commercial (and critical) success at the time. Of course, by that same criteria Blade Runner is also a "failure". There's no doubt that it's a gorgeous movie to watch though. Re: Tootsie I don't know if we're that off on Tootsie. I like the film, but I don't love it and I realize it hasn't aged without issues. Still, it's a well acted movie and it showed up on the AFI top 100 comedies list, so it has its fan base. It wouldn't make my top 5 for 1982, but it wouldn't surprise me if you polled a bunch of people if it still did well. Robert

Re: 1982 FWIW, I'm totally serious about Shatner and Montalban. Obviously, neither one was engaging in subtle method acting that will be studied for years to come. But even though those two performances are full of scenery chewing, it's fun, charismatic scenery chewing that creates two epic opponents. The fact that they don't even meet face to face is an interesting facet of those performances as well. Let's see Daniel Day-Lewis scream "Khan!" at the top of his voice and make it a highlight. Robert

1982 might not be 1939. Or 1999 for that matter, but it was a very solid year. Especially for genre filmmaking. So, on to the major categories, winners listed first. Best Picture Gandhi E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial Missing Tootsie The Verdict Other notable films: Das Boot, Diva, Fitzcarraldo, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Thing, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, Sophie's Choice, Victor Victoria, Diner, One From the Heart (Note: Fanny and Alexander not eligible until the following year) My Choice of Nominated Films: E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial My Overall Choice: Blade Runner Thoughts: I'm giving E.T. extra credit in that choice for being representative of an overall wave of science fiction where even the failures, Tron and The Dark Crystal, were interesting, ambitious failures. But it was a strong year and while I'm still slightly turned off by the campaigning for Gandhi, ("A vote for Gandhi is a vote for world peace.") I at least recognize it as a very well acted, good looking, respectable biography. There certainly have been worse best picture winners. Tootsie and The Verdict have also stood the test of time. I suspect that if the awards were held today, E.T., Tootsie, and The Verdict would stand a strong chance of being nominated again. But look at that other notables list. You can tell its a strong year when you can fashion a perfectly respectable Best Picture list out of the movies that weren't nominated. Heck, I'm kind of surprised Sophie's Choice wasn't nominated. Das Boot got a Best Director nomination for Wolfgang Peterson and I'm sort of surprised it wasn't nominated either. Diva is a terrific movie as well. There's at least a half dozen movies that I can make legit arguments as Best Picture. I admit that I'm a Blade Runner junkie though and the fact that I have the deluxe five disc final cut settled any arguments in my mind as to what my choice was. That's a film who's reputation has grown over the years. Best Actor Ben Kingsley - Gandhi Peter O'Toole - My Favorite Year Dustin Hoffman - Tootsie Paul Newman - The Verdict Jack Lemmon - Missing Other Notables: Jurgen Prochnow - Das Boot, Albert Finney - Shoot the Moon, William Shatner - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Richard Gere - An Officer and a Gentleman, Kevin Kline - Sophie's Choice, Klaus Kinski - Fitzcarraldo, Jack Nicholson - The Border, Nick Nolte - 48 Hrs., Kurt Russell - The Thing, Michael Moriarty - Q, the Winged Serpent My Pick: Ben Kingsley - Gandhi Thoughts: Hard to complain about the choice. Kingsley carries that movie and is always interesting to watch. He'd probably win again if the vote was held today. Good set of nominees overall. Hoffman and Newman would probably still be nominated. O'Toole and Lemmon would have stiff competition though. I'd probably go with Prochnow and Kinski to round out the nominees in place of O'Toole and Lemmon. 1982 is also notable as the year that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger as a legit lead actor with Conan the Barbarian. Not the only significant breakthrough. It was Kevin Kline's first major role as well. Best Actress Meryl Streep - Sophie's Choice Jessica Lange - Frances Sissy Spacek - Missing Debra Winger - An Officer and a Gentleman Julie Andrews - Victor Victoria Other notables: JoBeth Williams - Poltergeist, Diane Keaton - Shoot the Moon, Jennifer Jason Leigh - Fast Times at Ridgemont High My pick: Meryl Streep - Sophie's Choice Thoughts: Hard to argue with the nominees or the winner here. I've no doubt that Meryl Streep would win, convincingly, if the vote was held again today. And why not? Jennifer Jason Leigh is, of course, notable for breaking through and launching her acting career. There was a time when I thought she'd have an Oscar by now. And 1982 is the year where Jessica Lange got real traction as a serious actress. Best Supporting Actor Louis Gossett Jr. - An Officer and a Gentleman Charles Durning - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas James Mason - The Verdict Robert Preston - Victor Victoria John Lithgow - The World According to Garp Other notables: Michael Keaton - Night Shift, Eddie Murphy - 48 Hrs., Sean Penn - Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ray Walston - Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Mickey Rourke - Diner, Rutger Hauer - Blade Runner, Ricardo Montalban - Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan, Dabney Coleman - Tootsie, Sydney Pollack - Tootsie My Pick: Do I have to? I suppose Louis Gossett Jr. is a fine choice, and the award made Iron Eagle possible, although it was practically impossible to go wrong. Thoughts: You'd be hard pressed to come up with a better group of supporting actors than the above. Or a more significant group as Michael Keaton, Eddie Murphy, and Sean Penn went on to be stars from these breakout roles. I suppose Robert Preston's performance hasn't aged as well as many of the others, but it's still a ridiculously strong group. I believe Charles Durning has to be in the running for shortest appearance that earned an acting Oscar nomination. It's a standout scene though in an otherwise unremarkable movie. Best Supporting Actress Jessica Lange - Tootsie Kim Stanley - Frances Teri Garr - Tootsie Leslie Ann Warren - Victor Victoria Glen Close - The World According to Garp Other notables: Cher - Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Lainie Kazan - My Favorite Year, Daryl Hannah - Blade Runner My Pick: Jessica Lange - Tootsie Thoughts: Relatively the weakest category, but still not a weak one. I suspect that then and now Jessica Lange vs. Glen Close would be the actual decision. It was probably seen as a bit of a concilation prize at the time, but Lange is very good in Tootsie and the award still looks good in hindsight. I suspect that if the awards were held now that Cher would get a nomination. Probably over Leslie Ann Warren. She'd go on to have a significant acting career, but that's the performance that made her a credible actor. Terrific year. And although I'd disagree with the Best Picture winner, the Academy looks pretty sharp on the acting awards. About the only thing they have to be ashamed of is not awarding Blade Runner Best Art Direction (that went to Gandhi of all films) and not giving Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid an editing nomination. Tim Burton's Vincent also should have snagged a Best Animated Short nomination and perhaps won. But, in a year as strong as this one it's impossible to go really wrong. Robert

Correlation does not equal causation. That said, I see nothing wrong with a team signing Podsednik to $700K as a backup/insurance policy. He runs well and it's not like he's been putting up .500 OPS seasons where there's no justification for his bat in the lineup. Really, is he any worse than Craig Counsell offensively? Robert

Correlation does not equal causation. That said, I see nothing wrong with a team signing Podsednik to $700K as a backup/insurance policy. He runs well and it's not like he's been putting up .500 OPS seasons where there's no justification for his bat in the lineup. Really, is he any worse than Craig Counsell offensively? Robert

Correlation does not equal causation. That said, I see nothing wrong with a team signing Podsednik to $700K as a backup/insurance policy. He runs well and it's not like he's been putting up .500 OPS seasons where there's no justification for his bat in the lineup. Really, is he any worse than Craig Counsell offensively? Robert

It's probably worth noting that the 1987, 1989, and 1992 teams were plenty interesting in themselves and would have been post-season teams under the current format. And it's not like the 2007 team wasn't entertaining. That's a throwaway sentence that doesn't mean a lot. That said, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the 2008 team. Robert

I suspect that whatever the future holds it's not with the Brewers. He's a guy that a team like the Nationals or Marlins should spend a waiver claim on and stick him in long relief or #5 starter and see what he does in MLB over the course of a season. He might not stick, but he wouldn't cost either of those teams a playoff spot either and there's enough upside there to make it worth the risk, even if it's just as a #4/#5 starter. Those guys are no longer cheap. Robert

I'd imagine the concencus is Cubs #1, Brewers #2, followed by the Reds, Astros, Cardinals, and Pirates. The publications that appreciate the Brewers defensive improvements and aren't obsessed with closers as the sole measure of the bullpen will probably be bullish on the Brewers. With the wealth of information on the internet (and the ability to include things like Spring Training trades and late free agent signings), I think these publications have likely outlived their usefulness. What are they providing that ESPN, Fox, CBS, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus aren't? Robert

It's hard to say that Roberts helps the Cubs until you know what they give up to get him. Like all teams the Cubs will likely need to tap into their pitching depth this season and giving up a couple of pitchers would hurt them. I also think they'd be fairly foolish to deal Pie at this stage of his career. I'd be a lot more concerned if they were talking about upgrading SS instead of 2B. Theriot is the guy that should be the supersub, not an everyday starter. Robert

DAS BOOT will be brought up in 1982. As will the also excellent DIVA. Two movies that technically had 1982 eligibility. They'll both be, at least, on the other notables list. I thought about CADDYSHACK but decided that the other two are better crafted comedies and that CADDYSHACK works in spite of a rather bland main storyline involving Danny Noonan. It's the supporting characters that make CADDYSHACK work. SCANNERS didn't make the list for similar reasoning. I fully agree that Nielsen would have been a good choice for a supporting actor nod, a performance that people hadn't seen before and one that totally worked against his public image at the time. I perhaps didn't make it clear, but I do find the running scenes of CHARIOTS OF FIRE stirring. That's the reason that the movie hasn't dropped totally out of cultural awareness. There are plenty of Best Picture winners that don't have that sort of cultural awareness, but I'd argue that most are better overall movies. Still, it is worthwhile to note that it does touch greatness on occasion and is memorable in parts. Also thanks for the reminder on Hong Kong and the east. The rise of the Asian action film is an important and influential trend of the 1980s that I totally forgotten about. Like Japanese horror in the 90s and what's emerging in South Korea this decade. Robert

On to 1981 (Winner's listed first) Best Picture Chariots of Fire Raiders of the Lost Ark Reds Atlantic City On Golden Pond Other Notable Films: Ragtime, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Road Warrior, The Evil Dead (ok, not a serious candidate, but it did launch the career of Sam Raimi), Gallipoli, Body Heat, My Dinner With Andre, Mephisto, Time Bandits, Blow Out, An American Werewolf in London, Excalibur, Prince of the City, Pennies From Heaven My Choice: Raiders of the Lost Ark Thoughts: Chariots of Fire: bad best picture winner or the worst best picture winner? Honestly, other than shots of people running on the beach in slow motion to the music of Vangelis, I'd rather watch The English Patient again. It's competently acted and nicely shot, but I found the story wholely uninvolving. Heck, I'd sooner justify Ordinary People over Raging Bull than Chariots of Fire winning. Reds is, of course, the sweeping epic that most closely resembles a normal best picture winner and I admire Atlantic City's grit, solid acting, and low key nature, can't say I've ever cared for On Golden Pond though, but Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the classic action adventure movies. Nowadays, it probably wouldn't get nominated, but in a time when the blockbuster tentpole was still a relatively new thing and not the norm. It was a good year for film with quite a few films that have stood the test of time. Best Actor Henry Fonda - On Golden Pond Paul Newman - Absence of Malice Dudley Moore - Arthur Burt Lancaster - Atlantic City Warren Beatty - Reds Other notables: Mel Gibson - The Road Warrior, Gallipoli, Harrison Ford - Raiders of the Lost Ark, Treat Williams - Prince of the City, Timothy Hutton - Taps, Steve Martin - Pennies From Heaven, Klaus Maria Brandauer - Mephisto, Bill Murray - Stripes My Pick: Burt Lancaster Thoughts: Thank heavens that Dudley Moore didn't win. That's a performance that hasn't aged well at all. As I recall Henry Fonda was fine in On Golden Pond, but I don't think it's wrong to suggest that sentimentality played more than a little role in that award. To me, the standout performances of the nominees were Warren Beatty and Burt Lancaster and I really like Lancaster's performance as a small time aging hood to this day. I do wish Ford had been nominated, it's not every day that a classic character is created and Ford had more than a little to do with that, including perhaps the most famous feat of improvisation in a blockbuster. Best Actress Katherine Hepburn - On Golden Pond Susan Sarandon - Atlantic City Meryl Streep - The French Lieutenant's Woman Marsha Mason - Only When I Laugh Diane Keaton - Reds Other Notables: Sissy Spacek - Raggedy Man, Sally Field - Absence of Malice, Bernadette Peters - Pennies From Heaven, Kathleen Turner - Body Heat, Faye Dunaway - Mommie Dearest, Karen Allen - Raiders of the Lost Ark My Pick: Susan Sarandon Thoughts: I think sentimentality was a factor in this race as well. But, it looks like a very competitive field. Hepburn and Streep are all time greats. Susan Sarandon put The Rocky Horror Picture Show far behind her with Atlantic City. Diane Keaton is no slouch. I'm totally unfamiliar with Only When I Laugh, apparently it must have done well. And there are certainly some notable other female performances. It was a strong year. To me it came down to Sarandon vs. Streep and while Streep is, as usual, terrific there's something about that role that comes off as a technical exercise to me. Sarandon feels all natural. Best Supporting Actor John Gielgud - Arthur Ian Holm - Chariots of Fire Jack Nicholson - Reds Howard E. Rollins Jr. - Ragtime James Coco - Only When I Laugh Other notables: Ralph Richardson - Time Bandits, Dragonslayer, Warren Oates - Stripes, John Candy - Stripes My Pick: John Gielgud Thoughts: I suspect Nicholson would win it if they voted again today. And it would be defensible. That said, I like the choice of Gielgud. I don't think Arthur holds up, but Gielgud's performance was pitch perfect then and it remains so to this day. I had a tough time coming up with additional choices, anyone care to throw some others up there I'm forgetting? Seems like a weak year in a category that's usually pretty strong. Best Supporting Actress Maureen Stapleton - Reds Melinda Dillon - Absence of Malice Jane Fonda - On Golden Pond Joan Hackett - Only When I Laugh Elizabeth McGovern - Ragtime Other Notables: Mary Steenburgen - Ragtime, Vermithrax Pejorative - Dragonslayer Thoughts: Seems like a perfectly reasonable set of nominees. And I'd suspect that Maureen Stapleton would win again. I've no real pick in this race as I haven't seen any of these performances in a long time. I'd guess I'd go with Stapleton based on rep, but that's all I have going. Anybody I missed here too? Overall a pretty good year, and a respectable set of nominees for the most part, but the big winners of the biggest categories (with the exception of Beatty winning director for Reds) did the Academy no favors and look pretty bad in hindsight. It was a pretty good year in genre filmmaking only to be wholely transcended in 1982, but unfortunately only Raiders reflected that in the awards. One of the worst winners of all time, IMO, in Chariots, and one of the worst nominated performances ever in Dudley Moore. This is a year that really could use a do over. Robert

I gave up beer last year. I've also done the "cheater's" way of giving up blended Scotch. I'm think soda this year. Caffinated soda anyways. Robert

I'd be happy picking up CoCo Crisp. Start him in April in CF and then shift him around as needed for the rest of the season. Possibly give him a chance to be the starting CFer in 2009. Or move him in a later trade. Certainly, I think he'd be far more valuable than Gabe Kapler and Tony Gwynn Jr. this year. He certainly seems a more attainable sort than some of the names mentioned, at least if we're discussing the likes of Bush and Vargas. Robert