The Golden

Globes will be presented Sunday night and soon afterward, Feb. 12, the

Oscar nominations will be announced.

This is a special

time of the year for movie buffs, as they dash to theaters all around

the metro area to see the films that are considered to be favorites for

the awards. The Golden Globes are usually a good indicator for what will

be nominated for an Academy Award.

Of The nominees

for Best Drama at the Golden Globes it is a toss-up between "Lord

of the Rings," and "A Beautiful Mind." Ron Howard will

most likely be rewarded this year for a stellar career as a director.

He has made a number of excellent films, all very different, and his film

this year, "A Beautiful Mind," is excellent.

Russell Crowe

gives yet another amazing performance as John Forbes Nash, Jr. and Howard's

direction is nimble. He moves the story, which transcends several decades,

along well. It is touching and sentimental in the some parts and intense

and frightening in others.

I prefer "Lord

of the Rings" for Best Drama. It is a grand epic, reminiscent of

"Gladiator." It feels like a "Best Picture." Every

actor gives a great performance, the cinematography is amazing and the

special effects are blended in perfectly. If "Lord of the Rings"

wins here, it may steam-roll it's way through the Oscars. Director Peter

Jackson will have to battle Howard in the Directing category and because

of Howard's longevity in the biz, Jackson will most likely lose.

In the comedy

category, "Gosford Park" and "Bridget Jones' Diary"

will battle for the award and "Gosford Park" will probably win.

The critics love Robert Altman and his all-star cast is a who's who of

British actors. "Bridget Jones' Diary" was cute and Renee Zellweger

gave a great performance, but it came out too long ago and is probably

out of the judges' minds by now.

Russell Crowe

will win Best Actor in a Drama for his performance in "A Beautiful

Mind." He ages from a 20-something graduate student at Princeton

to a 70-something professor, all the while struggling with schizophrenia.

He is one of the best actors in Hollywood and will be rewarded with another

Oscar nomination soon. Gene Hackman will win for his performance in "The

Royal Tenenbaums." He is the heart of the movie as a man who crippled

his family of geniuses by leaving them and now seeks redemption.

In the Actress

categories, Sissy Spacek is a shoo-in for her performance as a grieving

mother in "In The Bedroom." She has already captured a number

of awards and will continue winning through the Oscars. Renee Zellweger

should win for "Bridget Jones' Diary," if for no other reason

than because she was robbed last year for her performance in "Nurse

Betty." You would think she is a one-note actress due to her voice

and looks, but she has pulled off two very diverse roles in the past two

years and is a definite up and comer.

As respected

as The Golden Globes are, Hollywood is anxiously awaiting what I have

to say. Here are my choices for the best five films of the year and the

worst five films of the year.

The Best

1. "The

Royal Tenenbaums" Director Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore)

creates a beautiful movie about family and forgiveness. Throughout the

film, Alec Baldwin narrates and pages of a book turn, making it appear

that the story of the Tenenbaums comes from a novel. It doesn't but the

film is as lush and descriptive as a novel, thanks to wonderful cinematography

and a great score and sound track. The film takes place in New York City

but it is a New York City that doesn't really exist. Anderson succeeds

because the audience wishes it did exist.

2. "Lord

of The Rings" Speaking of places that don't exist but audiences wish

they did, this film based on J.R.R. Tolkien's epic story is full of lush

scenery, rousing action and heart. The world is eagerly anticipating the

two sequels.

3. "A

Beautiful Mind" Well acted and well directed, this film about a genius

afflicted with schizophrenia is one of the year's best.

4. "Ocean's

Eleven" Last year Stephen Soderbergh made two of the year's best

films, "Erin Brockovich" and Traffic." This year he gave

us a super cool film about 11 people robbing three casinos. There was

limited violence and profanity and a gaggle of Hollywood's elite on the

screen.

5. "Harry

Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone" As a fan of the books, I was very

impressed with how true the film was to both the plot and the tone. The

children gave great performances and Alan Rickman stole the show as Professor

Snape. I think I am more excited for this sequel than any other.

The Worst

1. "Tomcats"

The last guy married out of a group of friends wins a lot of money. When

one guy owes a big time gambler, he tries to get his other friend married

off. This film was gross, insensitive and a waste of Horatio Sanz's talent.

2. "Freddy

Got Fingered" Tom Green wastes the audience's time with this 90-minute

mess. The plot is minimal and the gross-out jokes are absolutely nauseating.

If someone you know claims this is their favorite movie of all time, beware.

3. "Cats

and Dogs" Don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed to animals talking

on screen. I really enjoyed "Babe" and I didn't hate "Dr.

Doolittle." This film just fell short of my expectations. Way short.

It wasted the talents of every actor offering their voices and the lone

bright spot was Sean Hayes (Will and Grace) as the evil cat. This was

just boring and too childish for most children.

4. "Scary

Movie 2" I laughed when I saw it but in hindsight it was terrible.

Where the first film succeeded in satirizing the cheesiness of recent

horror films, the sequel failed, pandering to the lowest common denominator

and satirizing nothing. As a series of sketches, "Scary Movie 2"

would be fine, as a film it was a stinker.

5. "Joe

Dirt" I was excited that David Spade was finally going to play a

character other than old, snarky David Spade, but while watching the film

I was wishing for the Spade from "Tommy Boy" or "Black

Sheep." This was a bad movie with a silly plot and really disgusting

jokes.

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