Oscar Nominated Shorts - Animation ****

The animated short features nominated for an Academy Award this year are a sumptuous visual feast.

"Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage," from France presents an animated scrapbook of images and encounters from a visit to Madagascar, complete with a village reburial ceremony and honking city traffic. Wonderfully realized, and the most arresting visually. By Bastien Dubois.

"Day & Night," from the U.S., and quite likely the only one you saw, since it preceded "Toy Story 3," by Teddy Newton is a bit of a one-note work with some hackneyed ideas. Not my favorite.

"Let's Pollute," also from the U.S. presents a '50's boosterish exhortation to do your part to keep wasteful consumerism flourishing. Cute and mercifully short. By Geefwee Boedoe.

"The Lost Thing," from Australia and the UK, presents the most original vision of all as it follows a boy's quest in a Kafkaesque world to find a place for a forlorn lost thing he befriended at the beach. By Andrew Ruheman and Shaun Tan. My favorite.

"The Gruffalo," by Max Lang from the UK and Germany illustrates the story told by a mother squirrel to her kids about a clever mouse. The longest and most conventional, it's very well realized and the likely winner.

Oscar Nominated Shorts - Live Action ****

A rich and varied collection of five live action short features are nominated for this year's Academy Award, once again collected and in limited release this award season:

"Na Wewe," from Belgium, is set in 1994 Burundi, where the Rwandan genocide and Hutu/Tutsi war has spread. A ragtag militia, including child soldiers, stops a bus in the countryside looking for Tutsis. A very tense interrogation ensues as the passengers must think quickly to escape execution. Ivan Goldschmidt director / writer / editor. Very good.

"God of Love," from the U.S., is a black and white fantasy about a singer who gets an unexpected aid in his quest to woo the band's beautiful drummer. Luke Matheny director / writer. Original, cute, and funny, but not the winner in my opinion.

"Wish 143," from the UK focuses on a 16 year old terminal cancer patient and his unconventional last wish. Directed by Ian Barnes. There were some unexpected, real moments in this piece, but it failed to move me.

"The Crush," from Ireland, is a well-crafted story about a school boy who has a crush on his teacher, but who is engaged to someone who doesn't appreciate her the way he should, and what the school boy does about it. Michael Creagh, writer and director. Suspenseful and surprising.

"The Confession," also from the UK, is a mini-horror movie about how the schemes of two school boys to come up with something original for their first confession goes horribly awry. Directed by Tanel Toom. Very well done, and I think the current favorite.

Blue Valentine ****

Sometimes when you see a couple heading for a breakup, you wonder how they got together in the first place. "Blue Valentine"shows us the before and after of love, from the heady warmth, support, fun, and transcendent sex of love awakening to the cold remains of a love lost, when it's too painful even to go through the motions of love making. Cutting back to the early days, and back to today, this movie shows us how a couple started out, even though there were signs of a mismatch from the beginning.

We see dreams deferred, dreams abandoned, and a lovely child that both adore. There are no easy answers about what happened, but many clues to consider. Often painful to watch, this ultra-realistic portrait of a working class couple coming apart is searing, with two truly outstanding performances from the principals. I think Ryan Gosling deserves the same recognition that Michelle Williams has received for her work. Cinematography is up close, expressive, and often inventive.

Rated R (originally rated NC-17 for sexual content, changed after an appeal by The Weinstein Company). 112 minutes. Derek Cianfrance - Director / Writer, Cami Delavigne - Writer, Joey Curtis - Writer, Lynette Howell - Producer, Alex Orlovsky - Producer, Jamie Patricof - Producer, Andrij Parekh -Cinematographer, Inbal Weinberg - Production Designer, Jim Helton - Editor, Ron Patane - Editor. Produced by Hunting Lane Films. Distributed by The Weinstein Company.

Principal actors: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka, John Doman, Mike Vogel.

Michelle Williams is nominated for the Academy Award for best performance by an actress in a leading role.