Thanks to GreenCine Daily for alerting me to the fact that the good folks at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced their list of fifteen eligible feature documentaries for the 2007 Doc Oscar, chosen from an original list of 70 films. They are:
?Autism: The Musical?
?Body of War?
?For the Bible Tells Me So? (Ty's review)
?Lake of Fire?
?Nanking?
?No End in Sight? (Wesley's review)
?Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience? (Janice Page's review)
?Please Vote for Me?
?The Price of Sugar? (Wesley's review)
?A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman?
?The Rape of Europa? (Mark Feeney's review)
?Sicko? (Ty's review)
?Taxi to the Dark Side?
?War/Dance?
?White Light/Black Rain?
It's a war-obsessed list, in terms of both history and current events, whch is fine. Tony Kaye's hellacious abortion doc "Lake of Fire" may be the most audacious of the bunch, but it may scare some off. "Sicko"? Pfff, the bloom is off Michael Moore's rose, at least as Hollywood's concerned. My way-too-early guess is that either "Nanking" or "No End in Sight" will go the distance.
A few days back, AMPAS also announced a list of the 12 animated films that will be eligible in the Best Animated Feature category. It's much more depressing. (Links are to Globe reviews, where available.)
?Alvin and the Chipmunks?
?Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters?
?Bee Movie?
?Beowulf?
?Meet the Robinsons?
?Persepolis? (image, above)
?Ratatouille?
?Shrek the Third?
?The Simpsons Movie?
?Surf?s Up?
?Tekkonkinkreet? (Say what? It's an anime. Here's the IMDb link.)
?TMNT?
*Sigh* With luck, the classy craft of "Ratatouille" or the witty, low-res storytelling of "Persepolis" will sneak into the final five. At least half of this stuff is crap, though.
