Oscar Snub #1

Oh Alfonso, what have you done to be ignored, embarrassed, robbed, and gored like an unwitting participant in the running of the bulls?

Maybe I'm engaging in a little hyperbole here, but really what sort of person who has seen "Children of Men" wouldn't nominate this movie for best picture? I walked out after this film and thought "this might be the most important film in the past 25 years (except for An Inconvenient Truth, another nominee)." Yeah, I do talk parenthetically, what of it?

So I did some decidedly unscientific research on Rotten Tomatoes. Children of Men gets a freshness rating of 91% (this is an aggregate score of reviewers on the site). The Departed received a score of 93, Little Miss Sunshine and Letters From Iwo Jima received 91. Babel received a 68.

Certainly, according to Rotten Tomatoes, Children of Men deserves to be nominated.

Additionally, the political and social context of this film, the rich environment these tragic characters inhabit, the ultimate triumph of faith and trust in mankind—regardless of how slim the odds—gives it added weight, and in my mind, historical importance. It deserves a nomination at the least, for chrissakes.

Don't get me started on his snub for directing. My guess is that the Academy will give the award finally to Scorsese, who should have received several by now (Goodfellas definitely and The Aviator). They give it to him this year, in their lame effort to right past wrongs. If Eastwood gets it, I'm nailing myself to a cross. That fucker already robbed Scorsese two years ago, receiving the gold statue for Million Dollar Baby over the Aviator. How can this guy get snubbed by Costner and Eastwood? Seriously, It would be like Michael Olowokandi being chosen over Shaq to play in the All-Star Game, or Rex Grossman starting a game for the Colts, while Manning sits on the bench. It's just wrong.

Paul Greengrass deserves his nomination here for the fantastic job he did with United 93. But seriously, snub Scorsese again, and the Academy might wake up in the trunk of a 68 Pontiac making its way to some state park in New Jersey. With that being said, you don't even nominate Cuaron for directing Children of Men? Jesus.

The good news is, Cuaron was the producer for Pan's Labyrinth, which is up for best foreign film, cinematography, and original screenplay. This guy is perhaps the greatest film talent right now. I'm also a big fan. He at least should have been nominated for directing. I'm just sayin'....