My vote, so far, for the Academy Awards....

Every year before the Academy Awards, I take it upon myself to try and see as many movies up for awards as possible.

So far I've seen Milk with Sean Penn, the story of San Francisco gay supervisor Harvey Milk who was murdered along with Mayor George Moscone; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt; The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei; and tonite with Mike and Rebecca I saw The Dark Knight which featured Heath Ledger as the Joker.

Cowabunga! This is definitely a year for outstanding performances by men. When I saw Milk I completely forgot that Sean Penn was the actor playing Harvey Milk. He was Harvey Milk! What a performance! When I went to see Benjamin Button I was blown away by Brad Pitt's performance -- what a movie, what scope, what a script, what amazing music!!! I wept non-stop during the last half hour into my wadded up kleenex. Then I saw The Wrestler, holding my hands up to my face and peeking through my fingers as heads were banged up against the ring, etc., etc.... Mickey Rourke, where have you been for the last several decades???

I ask myself -- if I was the Academy Awards and had to choose which of these three men deserved the Oscar, who would I choose? The envelope, please....

As much as I loved Sean Penn's performance, and as amazing a job that Brad Pitt did, I would have to choose Mickey Rourke. Here's why. He really got to me. I felt like I knew him, wanted to know him, could feel what he was feeling when he was standing up on the ropes, felt his heartbreaking desire to re-unite with his daughter, his up-against-the-wall dilemma of being nobody to no one except when he was in the ring. He was truly amazing!

The Dark Knight, a completely different experience. Mike and I hated it, wanted to watch something else while Rebecca hung in there for 2 1/2 hours of violence while Mike laughed at it and I played around with his new laptop for someting to do.... I couldn't stand the way Batman talked in that sore throat voice of his and did the thing have a plot??? Heath Ledger was pretty darn good as the Joker and it's fine with me if he gets a post-humous Oscar. He deserved it for Brokeback Mountain -- that was his role of a lifetime.

So Rebecca and I are going to try and see The Changeling with Angelina Jolie and I want to see Revolutionary Road but don't think I'll go see Doubt. Not my cup of tea....

I'd like to go to the Balboa Theatre on Academy Awards night, maybe even dress up this year as one of the characters and win a prize....

Onward to the movies!