Okay, Leo's been robbed.

The Oscars always do this. A star's risen to superlative levels, so they must cut him down. Especially a good-looking star. It happened to Clooney last year, as all his Good Night, And Good Luck efforts merely resulted in an ill-deserved Supporting Actor win for Syriana.

This year, Leo's up for Best Actor. Not for The Departed, Scorsese's triumphant return, but for Blood Diamond.

Pardon my Clouseau-ese, but what the ^*(&^?

There's nothing special about Blood Diamond. It's a partially well-produced film that loses steam fatally in the second half -- merely being noble in theme doesn't allow you to be stereotypically exploitative and distastefully commercial. I'm not saying the film is really bad, I'm just saying I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Just read a decent article on the diamond trade instead.

As for Leo, Blood really doesn't give him anything to do. An adventurer with an unspectacular accent, he glares angrily a couple of times, and cringeworthily meet his end, a la Jai from Sholay. Compared to his stellar work in The Departed, this nomination is a joke. Now that really is a fine job among a great cast. (Which reminds me, why isn't Damon getting any buzz at all from that film?)

Btw, an interesting profile lies here -- I wasn't aware that his first name is a result of him kicking inside his mother's stomach while she stood in front of a Da Vinci painting. Or that his dad was a comic-book dealer.

Also, Djimon Hounsou. Nobody disagrees that the man is a fine actor, evidenced in powerful work like Amistad, but Blood Diamond largely uses him for the look. Hounsou's haunted aboriginal look is compelling, but used here as a still-image to shock and push along the obvious storyline. Yes, the issue is huge. But outside of giving Hounsou ONE good and emotive scene, director Edward Zwick completely underuses him.

Of the actors in that film, if forced to pick, I'd probably go with Jennifer Connelly. (However, I did rewatch Requiem For A Dream a couple of months ago, so might just be fondly disposed towards the pretty actress.)

The surprising thing isn't people going on and on about Blood, it's them raving about the performances. Please, if you know just what made Leo's work in that challenging or special, write in.