The other day Kevin, our brother-in-law and I were talking about Golden Globes/Oscar season, and wondering what movies would be nominated. For the most part there haven't been any mentionable blockbusters this year that are award-worthy.

So the nominees were announced and I wasn't surprised to see Brokeback Mountain pick up a lot of nominations. It seems that there's been a trend in the past few years - if you want a best actor/actress award, you've gotta do something that's out of the ordinary sexually. Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, and now Heath Ledger. It makes me sad that the first African American woman to get Best Actress had to win it with that role. A powerful role, yes, but sad that young, aspiring actresses have that to look up to.

And when those stars are interviewed and asked questions like, "How difficult was it to do those scenes?" they say, "Oh, well, it's my job and you just do what you have to do when you're an actor." Well, if it's nothing special and didn't take any extra talent on your part, then why should you win an award?

Explicit scenes get attention and stir up excitement about films. But if it weren't for those scenes and all the attention, would people still be impressed with the acting?