Dreamgirls: 7/10

Very entertaining film with fantastic musical numbers. As a movie musical goes, this was well made. The costuming, art direction, and choreagraphy were all top notch. The acting, however, was nothing more than okay. Jennifer Hudson did do an impressive, no...breathtaking, vocal performance. But...her acting was not the best I have seen. I never really believed in her love of Jamie Foxx's character to the level that her song needed to portray. I think she did good enough, but not oscar worthy work. Beyonce, who I normally am not a fan of, did just as good of an acting performance here as Jennifer. The big dissapointments here for me were Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. Both came off as Saturday Night Live characters and I never fully believed them in their roles. All in all, an entertaining movie, but not an acting achievement on anyone's part...

The Queen: 8/10

Now this was an acting tour de force! Helen Mirren absolutely deserves all of the accolades she has been receiving for this film. She took command of this role and you couldn't tear your eyes off of her. Strong supporting performances surrounded her as well from all. Once again the costuming, art direction and cinematography were all top notch. The only fault I found were a few pacing problems where the film dragged at times.

Half Nelson: 9/10

Ryan Gosling absolutely deserved his nomination for this film!
See my review here: http://teamsugar.com/group/119699/reviews/140983