I wish I could do this review justice, but truth is I watched much of it with my hands over my eyes. My husband and I take turns choosing the movies and this movie was his pick. He was so happy. I am such a good wife.

The ticketers checked my ID before I was allowed to purchase tickets, and I chalked that up to the fact that it's so gory they want to make sure no underage kids see it (although there were some idiot parents in the theater with their tweens).

The ultra-violent battle scenes dragged on and on. There was the stabbing and the hacking and the hail of arrows. There were the requisite beheadings and slashings where blood flew out of wounds in slow-motion.

When regular old soldiers weren't intimidating enough, the movie makers brought out stampeding rhinos and charging elephants. I sensed the audience was tiring of all the violence. In fact, even though the audience was loaded with teenage boys, the only yelps and cheers happened in a non-battle scene when Queen Gorgo (a badass in her own right) takes swordly matters into her own hands.

The cast consisted of a bunch of unknown actors (as far as the average movie goer is concerned), and that made it boooring for me to watch. I mean, I hated Troy, too, but at least there was Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom to provide some eye candy.

The movie was shot in a high-contrast, grainy style, where the actors looked like they were sprung from the pages of a comic book. The entire movie was dark and moody, and the only vibrant colors were blood and the red of the Spartan cloaks.

If you are a fan of Frank Miller and his graphic novels you'll probably love the movie. I read that the director was very true to the novel and matched it frame-for-frame. Me? I was just happy the movie was less than two hours and there was popcorn. My pick next time.

300, directed by Zack Snyder. Rated R.

Leading up to the awards, it's all about "Who are you wearing?"

4:12PM—Looking good! Helen Mirren=ethereal, Maggie Gyllenhaal=amazing, Rachel Weisz=beeyotiful. Djimon Hounsou=sizzlin'. Daniel Craig=Oh lalalala! Fire your stylist Jessica Biel and Cammie Diaz, I'm not feeling y'all. More in a bit.

4:37PM—Fire your stylist: Kristen Dunst (too much going on), Gwyneth Paltrow (the hair ain't workin'), Spike Lee, Eddie Murphy's date (a mirror on your chest?), and Anne Hathaway. And for the first time in a long time, I think JLo missed the mark. Lookin' good: Clint Eastwood and Steve Carrell.

5:31PM—Who are these people? Oh, there's Leo. And Helen Mirren.

5:36PM—Ellen is doing well. And her shoes: rule.

5:45PM—Art Direction (presented by Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman): Pan's Labyrinth wins!

Darn, I missed Will Ferrell. Had to prep dinner for my kids.

5:57PM—Make-up: Pan's Labyrinth wins again!

5:59PM—Best Animated Short (Thank God they dressed Abigail Breslin like a child. My daughters give her dress a big, "Ooh that's pretty!"): The Danish Poet

6:02PM—Another short something (didn't quite catch that): Too busy chuckling to catch who won. Oh, West Bank Stories.

6:15PM—Sound Editing: Letters From Iwo Jima. Hooray Clint Eastwood. Ooh, Ken Watanabe, and his date looks amazing in that kimono.

6:17PM—Sound Mixing: I can't believe they saved all the acting awards until the end...two more hours of this? Maybe I should ease up on the Hearty Burgundy, oh Dream Girls won.

Anyone notice that it's MEN escorting the people off stage??

6:22PM—Oh wait, it's Best Supporting Actor. And it's Alan Arkin! Giving the most booooring speech ever.

6:36PM—It's Al Gore and Leo! And a funny joke!

6:43PM Animated film given out by Cameron Diaz (wearing a Barbie dress "made out of a silk napkin") to Happy Feet? My kids will be so pissed.

6:48PM Best Adapted Screenplay goes to The Depaaaahted. My husband is doubly happy since Helen Mirren presented the Oscar.

7:00PM—Costume Design presented by the Ugly Dress Twins to Marie Antoinette for its fabulous costumes.

7:04PM—Oh EW. Not Tom Cruise.

7:11PM Cinematography presented by Gwynnie wearing Nicole Kidman's curtain of hair. And the Oscar goes to Pan's Labyrinth.

7:20PM—Pirates of the Caribbean wins for Best Visual Effects...which it probably deserves.

7:22PM—Catherine Deneuve wearing a very unusual brooch, and a very dashing Ken Watanabe present, oh who cares. They are fabulous. Let's soak it all in.

7:30PM—The ethereal duo of Clive Owen and Cate Blanchett present The Lives of Others with Best Foreign Language Honors.

7:43PM—Jennifer Hudson wins!

7:43PM—I missed whatever was before this because I had to change a diaper. Best Documentary goes to An Inconvenient Truth. More Gore!

8:06PM Celine Dion put me to sleep a little bit. Okay! We're back with Best Original Score and the winnner is Babel.

8:11PM—Best original screenplay. Is this thing over yet? I'm starting to get a little punchy. Little Miss Sunshines takes it! Yay!

HOMESTRETCH PEOPLE.

8:21PM—It's Jennifer Hudson and BeeYAWNcé performing songs from Dreamgirls. I'm worried about a nipple slip. I don't think we're ready for this jelly.

8:28PM—Best Original Song goes to Melissa Etheridge for An Inconvenient Truth. So far, it's Al's night! And a big diss for Dreamgirls!

Overall the montages in this movies are too too long. If they had been shorter (or removed) the show would have come in under 3 hours.

8:40—Kate Winslet presents the Best Film Editing award to Thelma Schoonmaker. Who is an amazing editor. And she makes Martin Scorsese cry. Awww!

8:46—I see dead people.

8:52—Best Actress goes to Helen Mirren, as it should.

The interpretive dance HAS to go. Makes you miss a good Debi Allen number, doesn't it?

9:00—Eat your heart out, Ryan Phillipe. Please, please, please, please. YES! Forest Whitaker!

9:07—Director. Scorsese. FINALLY.

9:11—Best Picture is The Departed.

Thank you, and good night.

We'll talk speeches, celebrity style, and who shoulda won.

If you'll also be blogging along, please leave a link to your site in the comments below. And, as Jimmy Kimmel so famously said, that night, "I'm wearing Costco"...with accessories by Target.

Go Mark Wahlberg!

In Music and Lyrics, the pair have an undeniable chemistry. Both Drew and Hugh recently broke up with their long-term partners "IRL," and I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up together (a la Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) that is how much I believed in their romance.

Music and Lyrics tells the tale of Hugh Grant as an aging 80's "has-been"(think Andrew Ridgely, the lesser known member of Wham! because that is what the movie makers want you to think) pairing up with a writer-turn-lyricist (Drew Barrymore) to write a song for the biggest pop star in the world (bigger than Britney and Christina combined). Beyond that, it's a pretty formulaic romantic comedy, but it is witty and intelligent and the characters actually get to "talk" instead of standing around making weird faces at each other. It reminded me of When Harry Met Sally, and that's a good thing.

Hugh and Drew working their magic are definitely the reason to see the movie, but I'd have to say running a very close second is the 80's-style music video that opens the movie (complete with 80's hair, dance moves, and abundance of 80's video cliches) and the "VH1 Pop Up Video-style" montage at the end. And you know what else? The songs by Adam Schlesinger really are catchy and clever. Even the '80's ones.

Music and Lyrics, Written and Directed by Marc Lawrence, Rated PG-13.

Tell us who you think should have been nominated and why. You can also share who you think doesn't deserve to be nominated. (Did any nominations shock you?)

You have the mic, the spotlight is on you, and there's no music to drown you out, so spill. Who deserves the prize?

And speaking of prizes, don't forget to enter BlogHer's Academy Awards contest for chance to win a free pass to a BlogHer conference!

Also honored was the film about a dysfunctional family on a road trip to a beauty pageant, Little Miss Sunshine, which won the prize for best film ensemble, SAG's version of a best-picture award.

Also winning supporting player honors last night for Dreamgirls were Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson, who continue their winning streak.

Also, contest alert! BlogHer is holding a very exciting and super-fun Oscar-iffic contest. We want to get each and every one of you "blogHers" involved so we've made the prize a good one. (It's much better than a gold statue, trust me!) Look for complete details to be announced on February 1.

A partial list of nominees:

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson” (THINKFilm)
Peter O’Toole in “Venus” (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Forest Whitaker in “The Last King of Scotland” (Fox Searchlight)

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children” (New Line)
Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Diamond” (Warner Bros.)
Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Mark Wahlberg in “The Departed” (Warner Bros.) (I totally called it!)

Best Actress
Penélope Cruz in “Volver” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Helen Mirren in “The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” (20th Century Fox)
Kate Winslet in “Little Children” (New Line)

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight)
Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)

Best Film
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
.
.
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Stefania Pomponi Butler
Contributing Editor, Arts & Entertainment, BlogHer

I blog:
CityMama
Kimchi Mamas
Family Food

Charlotte's Web has never been a favorite of mine. The book is alright and the original animated movie just grates on my nerves. I know I am in the minority on this, but I could never abide Wilbur's whiny voice or Charlotte's condescending tone. And those geese. Also, the original movie's borderline-macabre focus on death seems inappropriate for small children, and despite its cartooniness, has kept me from showing it to my own girls.

But this latest version of Charlotte's Web is different. It's wonderful in every way. Dakota Fanning manages to pull off acting like a child that is acting like a child. She's sensitive and spunky and because I have two daughters, her actions and reactions seem realistic as well as familiar. I loved that her hair was always messy (and not styled to be messy, just messy as if she did it herself) and that her teeth were a little crooked. I could see my own children in her. Dominic Scott Kay, as the voice of Wilbur, also hits all the right notes. He's boyish and curious, and above all, "humble." He drew me in with his voice and I because of that, I loved every minute of hearing Wilbur talk. Of course, the scenery is charming, and in that Babe-esque style, you never know if it's the 1940's or present day.

But what made the movie for me was that rather than focusing on death and all that "circle of life" stuff (which is a part of the story, to be sure), the movie focuses on friendship and what it means to be a friend. Something I totally missed in the original animated movie. Wilbur wants a friend, and by choosing spidery Charlotte, he shows all the other barn animals how to be one, too. Of course Charlotte, played by Julia Roberts, teaches Wilbur a thing or two as well. Roberts is a motherly, "take no guff" Charlotte. Her rich and soothing voice with just a hint of that "Roberts feistyness" wraps you in a warm embrace.

My children loved the movie and I suppose that is the true test. They sat quietly munching their popcorn while their mother wiped away tears everytime Charlotte spun her miraculous webs.

Charlotte's Web(2006), directed by Gary Winick. Rated G.

Contributing Editor Stefania Pomponi Butler blogs CityMama and Family Food and is a Founding Editor of Kimchi Mamas.

Casino Royale is a fantasticly entertaining film. The movie has gotten great reviews and, huh, I wonder where the nay-sayers are now? Like they say, acting well is the best revenge.

I admit a certain bias.  I am an unabashed Craig fan. He first caught my eye playing Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath's poet husband, in Sylvia (2003). Then there is his role as Steve, one of the assassins in Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005). Whenever he is on screen, no matter what the role, Daniel Craig, with his steel-blue eyes, is riveting.

I'm too young to have had any Bond pre-Roger Moore make an impression on me.  I'm not a die-hard fan of the genre, but I've seen all of the Bond films made since the 70's.  I'm not going to put on airs and say that "Sean Connery is the best Bond ever" (what people expect one to say, right?) because he's not a reference point for me.  Up until now, I thought that Pierce Brosnan was a pretty-fine Bond, but I'm going to have to revise that statement and say that Daniel Craig takes the cake as best Bond ever.

He is the most "real" Bond by far. He doesn't play Bond broadly, like a cartoon. He plays a more private, more human Bond. Bond the man. The scenes where he orders drinks (they have fun with this in the movie) speak to that. "Shaken or stirred," says the bartender. "Do I look like I give a fuck?" says Craig's Bond.

He plays the role with just the right blend of detachment, coldness, and wry humor.  He is a Bond that you know could take you out in a split-second and he never lets you forget that. Craig plays the most intimidating Bond I've ever seen.  He's scary, and you get the sense that he is that way because he doesn't care what happens to him. He doesn't waste the movie flirting with every woman he comes into contact with like other Bonds (which, frankly, gets old doesn't it?), he has a job to do, and that job comes first.

And yet, he plays both Bond and "Bond Girl," with equal aplomb. There are two bathing suit scenes that are pure eye-candy, including two (two!) requisite "just-emerged-from-the-ocean-dripping-wet" shots. In fact, he is naked more than any woman in the entire movie. Which, you know, I didn't have a problem with.

The movie is a visual treat from start to finish. The opening sequence is stunning and will have you holding your breath until it ends some fifteen to twenty minutes later.

Side note: The free-running stunts in the opening, coordinated by Sebastien Foucan, are sick. You may already know his work. He had a popular video floating around YouTube a couple of months ago that was so amazing it was almost not to be believed, and he recently worked on Madonna's "Jump" video. Once you become familiar with his work, it's easy to spot.

As is to be expected, the stunts are dazzling and the plot twists come just at the right time. The gadgety spy-stuff is cool. There is a torture scene in the movie that will have every man in the audience crossing their legs and wincing, but even still, Craig manages to inject humor into the scene.

To all the people that didn't think a blond could pull off James Bond I say:  Go see the movie, and tell me what you think afterwards. I venture to say most people who thought Craig would fail have never seen any of his films.  Those of us who are fans of his acting knew he could pull it off.  Go see Casino Royale and let Daniel Craig change your mind.

Casino Royale (2006), directed by Martin Campbell. Rated R.

Contributing Editor Stefania Pomponi Butler blogs CityMama and Family Food and is a Founding Editor of Kimchi Mamas.

Tomcruise—from now on I am going to refer to you as a one word name because
you are not an actor—you are a caricature of yourself.  You are
never believable as any character in a movie because you are always
playing yourself, a.k.a. Tomcruise. In fact, I can't look at you without thinking of Ben Stiller's spoof of you. Which, scarily, is more like you than you are.

I'm just wondering, how many movies do you have left in you? (I think: none.) Surely you have enough money now that you don't need to make any movies. You and your production partner have taken over United Artists so maybe you can just keep busy with the behind-the-scenes stuff. (Please?) 

Look at it this way, Tomcruise. If you stop "acting," at least you'll be able to spend more time with your stress tests and alien clam people!

Contributing Editor Stefania Pomponi Butler blogs CityMama and Family Food and is a Founding Editor of Kimchi Mamas.

[Photo credit of Tomcruise at Yahoo: Maidelba]

What makes a great political movie? Is it possible for a film to be fair and unbiased? Is it better if the film presents a specific point of view? Have you ever been motivated to action after seeing a political film?

Let's discuss! Please share your political favorites, and if there are movies that you think we should see, by all means tell us!

Contributing Editor Stefania Pomponi Butler blogs CityMama and Family Food and is a Founding Editor of Kimchi Mamas.