(Click on the ‘picture’ above for a larger, more expansive version of the chart)

Yes, it’s that salutary time of year again, when the Hollywood floodgates open and movie lovers across the globe get to bathe themselves in the kind of serious, adult-minded movie fare that spells Oscar.
Over the course of the next six weeks, Tinseltown will release more than four dozen prestige pics, most of which will vie for Oscar attention. Of course, only five will be honoured with one of those cherished Best Picture nominations, but there’s always Best Actress / Supporting Actress, Best Actor / Supporting Actor, and Best Director to consider. In Hollywood, everyone deserving comes away with something, even if it’s just the Oscar nod that places a studio pic in contention, a prize itself of sorts.
Having taken a look at the insider websites and blogs which focus on the upcoming Oscar race — including Oscarwatch, The Gurus o’ Gold (from MovieCityNews), the Oscar Igloo, Gold Derby (from the Los Angeles Times), In Contention, and Jeffrey Wells’ Oscar Balloon, among others — VanRamblings is confident that the chart above pretty much covers the main contenders for 2006 — although, we’ll admit that we’re partial to Little Children, which we consider to be the best American film of the year, and were probably a bit kinder to the film than is the case with some critics.
All said, though, there are actors and actresses, other than those listed above, who may garner Oscar recognition, this upcoming February 25th.
In the Best Supporting Actress category, for instance, buzz continues to build for Vanessa Redgrave (Venus), Anika Noui Rose (Dreamgirls), Juliette Binoche (Breaking and Entering), Emma Thompson (Stranger Than Fiction), Gillian Anderson (The Last King of Scotland), Sandra Bullock (Infamous), Salma Hayek (Lonely Hearts), Demi Moore (Bobby), and Ellen Burstyn (The Fountain). Any one of these fine actresses could displace one of the Oscar contenders currently listed in the top five for this category.
In the Best Supporting Actor category, Ewan McGregor could get a nomination for Miss Potter, as could Michael Pena for World Trade Center. James McEvoy (The Last King Of Scotland), Freddy Rodriguez (Bobby), James Cromwell (The Queen), Michael Caine (Children of Men), and Albert Finney (A Good Year) are also receiving consideration.
In the Best Actor and Actress categories, the first four contenders would seem to be a lock, with fifth position up for grabs among the remaining eight contenders in each category.
Whatever the case, there are a good many films for you to see this upcoming holiday movie season.
Of those currently in release, VanRamblings highly recommends: Babel, a moving and often difficult to watch parable of disconnection and melancholy, but still one of the best American films of the year; The Last King of Scotland, a riveting portrait of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, with an outstanding performance by Forest Whitaker in the lead role; Todd Field’s Little Children, the best American film of 2006, now playing exclusively at Tinseltown, just off Yaletown; Philip Noyce’s Catch A Fire (a very good film, even if no one is bothering to attend screenings of one of the better films of the year); Flags of Our Fathers, a not entirely successful film for director Clint Eastwood, but very well made nonetheless; and, the well-reviewed and unexpected late comer to the Oscar table, Casino Royale, a re-inventing of the Bond saga, gritty, taciturn and surprisingly often, poignant.
We’re not quite as enthused about Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, which VanRamblings believes is far from the director’s best work. Nor are we particularly excited about The Queen, which is workmanlike, but hardly thrilling, revelatory or moving in any meaningful way. As for Little Miss Sunshine, VanRamblings feels this indie film is much ado about not very much (we much preferred the Sundance winner, Quinceañera).
We eagerly await what is bound to be an overwhelmingly positive reception for the odds-on-favourite for a Best Picture Oscar, Dreamgirls (opening Christmas Day in Vancouver), the feel-good family film of the holiday season, with a breakout performance from newcomer Jennifer Hudson. VanRamblings loved this film when we saw it at an early media screening.
Other films to keep an eye out for include Robert DeNiro’s sophomore film behind the camera, The Good Shepherd; Steven Soderbergh’s, The Good German; Notes On A Scandal, starring probable Oscar nominees, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett; and Miss Potter, the story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children’s book, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”, with possible Oscar nominee Renée Zelwegger in the title role.
Then, there’s the Tony award-winning, The History Boys; probable Oscar nominee Leonardo diCaprio, in Blood Diamond; The Pursuit of Happyness (set for release on December 15th), starring Will Smith (and his young son) in what should prove to be a box-office smash over the Christmas season; Peter O’Toole in Venus; Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver; Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth; Sienna Miller in Factory Girl, the story of Andy Warhol protégé Edie Sedgwick; and, in the indie category, the Sundance film, Come Early Morning, among other worthy film fare to look forward to.
There’s lots to see. For video previews of all the films listed in this posting, surf on over to Apple’s Quicktime trailers site, or go to YouTube.
Chances are, we’ll be seeing you at the movies this holiday season.