Oscar, Schmoscar

Well, the Oscar nominations were announced today, and they were, as usual, completely unrepresentative of the best films of the year. Granted, I'm not really the best source, as pretty much the only films I saw all year were cartoons and super-hero movies, but I'll wager Iron Man and Kung Fu Panda were better than Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon (even the nicest reviews of which have dubbed meandering and unnecessary.) As an alternative, I present to you the nominees for the first annual Sean Michael Henry Awards For Excellence In Films That I Saw Last Year, heretofore known as 'The Babas'.

Best Actor In A Motion Picture:
Robert Downey, Jr, Iron Man
Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Jason Siegel, Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Best Actress In A Motion Picture:
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading
Amy Poehler, Baby Mama
Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long

Best Director:
Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler
Jon Favreau, Iron Man
Michel Gondry, Be Kind, Rewind
David Gordon Green, Pineapple Express
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Best Picture Of The Year:
The Dark Knight
Doomsday
Igor
Iron Man
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Gran Torino
Kung Fu Panda
Man On Wire
Pineapple Express
Tropic Thunder
WALL*E
The Wrestler

And The Baba goes to ... ?