The envelope, please.

Without revealing my means, I am prepared to cross off my first item, conveniently #1 on my list. "See all Best Picture nominees before the Oscars" Not only did I watch those five movies, but I extended it to all best actor and actress movies as well. (I believe you know I have a lot of time on my hands, right?) Aaaand, even better, I am going to review them for you!

Best Picture:

"Little Miss Sunshine" - I saw this movie for the first time on my flight back to Chicago and thought it was wonderfully done. I was also in a giddy mood because I was going to be home in a few (12) short hours. I thought the characters were believable (although I have heard complaints *ahem* about how all the bad stuff happening at once is a bit hard to swallow), and loved Steve Carrell and the grandpa guy. Plus the little girl is just too adorable. And I will never listen (do I ever really listen to it in the first place?) "Super Freak" the same way again. I watched this movie again at home with my parents and then again on the flight back. This movie has sticking power and although I am not a pre-eminent Proust scholar, I still have a soft spot for it.

"The Departed" - Props to United. I also saw this one on my flight back to Japan and was at first only watching because of Leonardo DiCaprio. I'll admit it. But I had heard good things about it and thought it was a good gritty, crime drama with enough humor and romance to keep my interest. The suspense is high on this one.

"Babel" - This movie took some work to get ahold of, and I was wondering if it could possibly live up to the hype. I thought it was a good, solid movie, but not the best or more memorable I've ever seen.

"The Queen" - How is it possible to make a movie about Princess Diana's death that isn't overly sentimental? Throw in a crabby family of monarchs and a sniveling Tony Blair and you've got yourself some great entertainment. I thought this movie was excellent, with a mix of footage and amazing acting from Helen Mirren. But I'm an Anglophile.

"Letters from Iwo Jima" - I found it impossible to watch "Letter" with English subtitles, so had to rely on my limited Japanese and a synopsis from wikipedia to understand exactly what was happening. I enjoyed the use of color in this movie and it did actually make me want to see "Flags of our Fathers" to contrast the two. However, I think that not knowing the actual dialogue impacted my viewing. I don't like Clint Eastwood movies as a general rule, so I was biased from the start.

My pick: Tough one because I liked "Little Miss Sunshine" best, but know it won't win. So I'll go with Scorcese finally getting his Oscar for "The Departed."

Best Actor:

Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond" - My first impression of Leonardo in this movie is "What accent is he supposed to be doing?!" but then once it is clarified that he is "Rhodesian" (from Zimbabwe), everything seemed much better. He's a complex character and I don't care what anyone says, that kid who will always be remembered as Jack, can certainly act. Really. He is phenomenal in every movie, including "The Departed."

Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness" - Alright, so I saw this movie because it was Ladies Day at the theater and it was the only respectable option. It's an average movie, I think. Will does succeed in making you forget that he was the Fresh Prince, but it was a bit melodramatic. In fact, the acting star in this movie was his son who is absolutely adorable.

Peter O'Toole in "Venus" - This performance depressed me. It creeped me out a bit. It made me laugh. I know that I never, ever want to get old. And Peter O'Toole reinforced that. An amazing performance. Well done, old chap.

Ryan Gosling in "Half-Nelson" - Who?! This movie definitely had the creepiness factor going. For those of you who don't know (as I didn't), Half Nelson is about a teacher who is addicted to drugs and befriends a student who learns his secret. It's a strong performance... in fact, maybe Gosling really did drugs to get it down.

Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland" - Forest gives an intense performance as a brutal dictator, Ibi Amin, of Uganda. His lazy eye put me on edge even more than his bipolar personality. Unfortunately, the annoying Scotsman detracted from his performance. At least in my eyes. My non-lazy eyes.

My pick: I think Forest will get this one, but I read a good synopsis of his performance somewhere. All he had to do was just act crazy, which is fairly easy to do. I think that Ryan Gosling did the most stretching for his role, so I'll give it to him, although he doesn't have a prayer.

Best Actress:

Kate Winslet in "Little Children" - This "Desperate Housewives-esque" movie focuses on a few characters who are all struggling with happiness and fitting in. I love Kate Winslet. I think she is an excellent actress and gives a great performance in the movie, but she doesn't have a chance of passing the next nominee.

Helen Mirren in "The Queen"- She's won the Golden Globe. And based on this performance, she will most likely win the Oscar. You actually cannot think of what she is like when she is not Queen Elizabeth II. She is absolutely amazing, making your skin crawl with her belief that the British people want "dignity" after the death of Princess Diana. She has also mastered the "seriously ticked off" look whenever Di's name is mentioned.

Penelope Cruz in "Volver" - I am not a huge Penelope Cruz fan. In fact, I generally cannot stand her. However, maybe she can act a little when she isn't attempting to speak English. A little. I don't think she has a chance of winning this award, although I really did enjoy "Volver." The only reason she seems like a great actress is because of the supporting actresses on the screen with her.

Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal" - Talk about creepy. This movie is great! My copy was terrible, but I was still very much involved in the flick. The Dame is psychotic, but not over-the-top. It's a great performance, but once again, no way it can compete with Mirren's.

Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada" - Call me old-fashioned, but I think to be nominated in this category, your movie also has to be good. I did not enjoy "Prada" all that much. I thought it was mediocre and overly flashy. I actually thought that the role of Miranda Priestly should have just been a voice with some legs(that's how I read it in the book for the most part). So, although she's a seasoned actress and has done some great things, this isn't one of them. There is no way she should win this year.

My pick: Hands down. Helen Mirren. No one else has a prayer. But I thought the actress pool, with the exception of Streep, was much stronger than the men's side.

Okay, Rachel. That's a lot of movies to watch. But I didn't stop there! NO! I also watched "Dreamgirls" to pick the best supporting actor and actress.

Best Supporting Actor -

Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine" - We've already established that I loved this movie. I actually thought Steve Carrell was better, but Arkin does a fine job of being a cranky yet lovable old man.

Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children" - Holy cow. Creepy. Really fit for this role. But, was it too over the top? The "mommy" bit was too much for me at times. See this movie.

Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond" - A strong performance, but nothing super spectacular. Kind of like the movie in general.

Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls" - So I understand that Murphy has been getting rave reviews for his performance in "Dreamgirls." While I thought he was good for the role, I pretty much felt like I was watching Donkey the live version. The movie itself was entertaining, but I'm glad it wasn't nominated for Best Picture. It's pretty formulaic and cheesy.

Mark Wahlburg in "The Departed" - I don't know about this one. I wasn't that impressed. Should I have been? I heard they are making a movie about his character next. I guess he just got lost in the shuffle with all the other strong performances.

My pick: I'm going to go with Jackie Earle Haley because every time I see him in an interview now, he absolutely freaks me out. Which means that his performance was a great one and left a lasting impression.

Best Supporting Actress -

Adriana Barraza in "Babel" - She tugged at my heartstrings a bit, but not enough for me to give her an award. Besides, she was totally irresponsible and even though I understand that was her role, I couldn't get over it.

Cate Blanchette in "Notes on a Scandal" - I think that Cate is one of the best actresses out there. She picks her roles wisely and was good at being shot and almost dying in "Babel" as well. This is a strong performance and she played off of Dench nicely.

Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine" - C'mon. Admit it. Of all of these performances, which one will you remember most in five years? Probably the cute little girl in "Little Miss Sunshine." But is it enough for an award? Nope. Not this year.

Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls" - No build-up on this one, was there? Sheesh. While I said the movie was cheesy above, this girl gave quite the performance. It is a fairly amazing debut performance for someone who was standing on the equally cheesy American Idol stage. I didn't want to stand up at the end of her song like people in theaters apparently did, though. Guess I'm heartless.

Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel" - This was an amazing performance and I'm not just saying that because I am in Japan. Really, the best part of the entire movie. She's all twisty-like.

My pick: Once again, the female performances are superior to the male counterparts. I know that Jennifer Hudson has this one on lockdown. But I am going to go with Rinko Kikuchi on an outside chance.

Six letter word for Rachel

You can decide what my word is.

Strangely, today on Oprah (woo hoo, AFN), she focused on people who construct crossword puzzles for a segment. It was a crazy process of starting with just boxes. The guy actually started making them when he was 6 years old! And then they showed Will Shortz from New York Times and he is the one decides which puzzles go into the newspaper and on which day. He said that Friday and Saturday editions are the most difficult, but Sundays are the largest. It just so happens that yesterday I finished not one, but TWO New York Times Wednesday puzzles without looking in the back and today, I conquered a Thursday one. I don't know if these are ones that are actually in the newspaper, but the moral of the story is that I am improving. I'm not ready to cross off my number just yet, but I am well on my way.

Book #2 - "Life and Death in Shanghai"

Approximately two years ago, I read a book called "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang, probably the most powerful, most infuriating book I have ever read. It focuses on three generations of women during the various upheavals in China, especially the Cultural Revolution, an attempt to purge a new communist nation of any threats to Chairman Mao.

With that book in mind, I selected "Life and Death in Shanghai" by Nien Cheng as my next read. Although I initially found the author slightly irritating with her pompous attitude (she did work for Shell and was very well-off), as she described her imprisonment in a detention center for six years, I felt as if I was serving the time with her. My stomach was sick as she described her various moments with interrogators and an especially horrible twelve days with punishment handcuffs on. This woman was a pawn in the various power struggles between the Red Guards, the Radicals, Mao, the Gang of Four, and whoever else decided to become involved. She was never really told why she was imprisoned and absolutely refused to budge into giving a confession, unlike most of her coworkers, friends, and fellow countrymen. As I read this book, I thought to myself, "I would definitely have joined the Red Guards! It would be much better than the alternative! Confess!" To survive during the cultural revolution, one had to change sides accordingly and accuse neighbors and friends, denounce family members, and try to blend in with the masses. This woman, Nien Cheng, defied this and was finally (after 12 years) "rehabilitated" witha semi-apology from the Chinese government. Her strength is beyond belief.

At the end of the book (which was written in 1986), she discusses the possiblity of a great Chinese future with new ties with the West. Little did she know. Who knew that today China would be in a prime position to become the most powerful nation in the world? That it would be the largest automotive market? That there would be one billion people grabbing onto technology with the rest of the world? That the 2008 Olympics would be held within sight of the Tiananmen Square massacres (which by the way, she mentions that there was one in 1976 that killed thousands and when I tried to find information online, there is a mention of a protest, but absolutely no reference to any deaths. Strange)? That Mao would be frozen in time with his Little Red Books being handed out to foreigners flocking to see this monster of a man? And I think of China--- with its tragic recent history, with its horrendous toilets, with billions of people still staring at Westerners, the friendliness and eagerness of its young people, and a Starbucks controversy in the Forbidden City (which I didn't even notice, so it can't be that prominent)--- and I just have to say, "Wow. China. Wow."