2007 Oscar Nominees (movies to watch before Feb. 24)

In 1970s America, a detective works to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas, a heroin kingpin from Manhattan, who is smuggling the drug into the country from the Far East in the midst of the Vietnam War.

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee), Art Direction

Verdict: I don't like many gangster movies. And I very rarely like Denzel Washington. And even though Denzel is playing the same I'm-tough-yet-emotionally-torn character he's played in every other movie, American Gangster kept me glued to the screen. The plot was expected but the characters are dynamic and I was invested in how their lives would turn out.

Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's (Keira Knightley) lover (James McAvoy) of a crime he did not commit. Based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan.

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Original Score

Verdict: Keira Knightley is, um, pretty but Saoirse Ronan steals the movie as the young Briony. The movie is beyond sappy and has head-smacking moments but the story is intriguing. Rather, the first half hour of the movie is intriguing...the rest is just tiresome.

Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual and bizarre decision regarding her unborn child.

Nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Best Actress (Ellen Page), Original Screenplay

Verdict: I love it when all the components of a movie come together: the acting, the screenwriting, costumes, cinematography, etc. Juno is all of that and seriously one of the best movies I've seen this year.

After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing

Verdict: A bloody thriller that takes a while to get going and ends abruptly, but I can see why critics love it. I am now and forever afraid of air guns.

An attorney known as the "fixer" in his law firm, comes across the biggest case of his career that could produce disastrous results for those involved.

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (George Clooney), Best Supporting Actor (Tom Wilkinson), Best Supporting Actor (Tilda Swinton), Original Screenplay, Original Score

Verdict: There are scores of movies that are coy about the sequence of events until the end of the film. Christopher Nolan does this to great effect in Memento. But Michael Clayton, an exhausting whodunit, is no Memento. As the title character George Clooney is like Danny Ocean + brooding and Tilda Swinton is a hapless, shaky chihuahua. I have a rule when it comes to movies: never let a stellar ending mask an otherwise lackluster film.

A drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Phillip Seymour Hoffman)

Verdict: A cleverly written script brought to life by a group of brilliant actors. Plus, Julia Roberts in a bikini.

Based on the hit Broadway musical which tells the infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett.

Nominated for Best Actor (Johnny Depp), Art Direction, Costume Design

Verdict: Sweeney Todd is gruesome to say the least. But beyond the blood is a fascinating story about love... and revenge. The music in many recent movie musicals can be tiring after awhile, but the Sondheim sound greatly enhances Tim Burton's macabre tale.

A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories.

Nominated for Best Documentary
Verdict: I ran through a gamut of emotions watching Sicko: incredulity, anger, despair. I cried at a couple parts which means this doc could rake in Oscar gold.

A classic Disney fairytale collides with modern-day New York City in a story about a fairytale princess who is sent to our world by an evil queen. Soon after her arrival, Princess Giselle begins to change her views on life and love after meeting a handsome lawyer.

Nominated for Best Song (3 times!)

Verdict: Easily one of the best movies of 2007. I went in not expecting much --just another Disney movie-- but I was wowed by the warmth I felt coming from the screen. Plus the song and dance number in Central Park is well worth the price of admission.

The life story of singer Edith Piaf.

Nominated for Best Actress (Marion Cotillard), Best Costume, Best Makeup

Verdict: Very tragic. And very French. Kind of like Joan of Arc but with more singing. Marion Cotillard's believable transformation through the film reminds me of Eddie Murphy (in a good way).

A sister (Linney) and brother (Hoffman) face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.

Nominated for Best Actress (Laura Linney), Original Screenplay

Verdict: Laura Linney is neurotic and I love it. The tone of the movie is less serious than I expected and for that I am thankful.

Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where seven characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.

Best Actress (I'm Not There)

Verdict: I can't say I know much about Bob Dylan beyond what I've seen in his Victoria's Secret commercial, but after having watched I'm Not There, I didn't know much more after leaving the theater. Its a choppy, art house flick that reminds me of a speaker who has "three points" but takes forever to make those three points and in the meantime all you're thinking about is the leftover chicken sandwich in your refrigerator.

Remy is a young rat in the French countryside who arrives in Paris, only to find out that his cooking idol is dead. When he makes an unusual alliance with a restaurant's new garbage boy, the culinary and personal adventures begin despite Remy's family's skepticism and the rat-hating world of humans.

Nominated for Original Screenplay, Best Animated Film, Original Score, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing

Verdict: I saw this not expecting to be impressed, but it is one of the best animated movies since Toy Story.

Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle.

Nominated for Best Makeup, Best Visual Effects

Verdict: What a letdown of a film. The first Pirates was such an amazing film and yet the blockbustery third installation was a mix of big effects and a bad script.