Okay, I'll rent Crash

Here's what I've learned after just watching the Academy Award nominations announced on Good Morning America:

1) I think I might type fast enough to be a court stenographer.
2) I really, really need to rent Crash. It's been at the top of my Netflix queue forever.

Even though you may have seen these elsewhere by the time you read this, I went to the trouble of typing them out, dammit, so they're being posted here. (I should've just waited until the complete list was posted online.)

Best supporting actress:
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

Best supporting actor:
Matt Dillon - Crash
George Clooney - Syriana
William Hurt - A History of Violence
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain

Best Actress:
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
Keira Knightley - Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line

Best Actor:
Terrance Howard - Hustle & Flow
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Director:
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller - Capote
Paul Haggis - Crash
George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck
Steven Spielberg - Munich

Best Original Screenplay:
Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco - Crash
George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck
Woody Allen - Match Point
Noah Baumbach - The Squid and the Whale
Stephen Gaghan - Syriana

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana - Brokeback Mountain
Dan Futterman - Capote
Jeffrey Caine - The Constant Gardener
Josh Olson - A History of Violence
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth - Munich

Best Picture:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich

The first thoughts to come to my mind?

▪▪ I think Walk the Line got ripped off a bit. Yet as I look at the Best Picture nominees, I can't think of one movie to replace. (Again, I haven't seen Crash.) Same with the Best Director category. Maybe it could've gotten a Best Screenplay nomination instead of Match Point (which I'll write about later this week; here's a preview: I didn't like it) or Good Night, and Good Luck (which was structured well, but seems like more of an actor's showcase). But I realize I probably liked that movie more because of my feelings for Johnny Cash's music.

▪▪ If Brokeback Mountain won for each of its eight nominations, I wouldn't have a problem with that. Each of them would be well-deserved.

▪▪ I haven't seen Cinderella Man yet (though a disc from Netflix is currently sitting on top of my TV), so I can't say if Russell Crowe got snubbed. I think Ralph Fiennes could've been nominated for The Constant Gardener. What about Viggo Mortenson for A History of Violence? Or Jeff Daniels for The Squid and the Whale? But look at the other nominees for Best Actor. Who would you replace? That might be the toughest category.

▪▪ I should really rent Crash. Others I need to see: Hustle & Flow and Junebug.

▪▪ I thought William Hurt was awful in A History of Violence, but I'm apparently in the minority with that opinion. Anyone else who's seen it thinks I'm wrong, and obviously the Academy thinks highly of Hurt's performance. I thought it was a bad Christopher Walken imitation. I'd have nominated Clifton Collins, Jr. for Capote instead.

▪▪ I haven't seen Mrs. Henderson Presents or Pride & Prejudice, so I can't say if you'd replace Judi Dench or Keira Knightley, but I think you could've nominated Maria Bello for A History of Violence.