Andrew Sarris, Are You Serious?

I'm still in shock. Andrew Sarris, a top film theorist, suggested in his review of "Find Me Guilty" that its star, Vin Diesel, be nominated for an Oscar:

Sidney Lumet plays his richest directorial notes of feeling and humor ever with Vin Diesel, a supposedly stereotyped action figure from the lower depths of contemporary moviemaking.... Now I’d be very upset if he weren’t nominated as one of the five best actors of 2006. He is that good.

So now Vin Diesel has replaced Al Pacino as Lumet's cinematic partner in crime? I have not seen this film, which Sarris describes as a "masterpiece," so maybe he's right (highly unlikely). I'm baffled at this review. It reminds me of the time that critic Gene Siskel suggested that James Woods be nominated for an Oscar for "Vampires" (1999). Siskel had a brain tumor and died a few weeks after that pronouncement. Could Sarris be ill? He's recently written a few questionnable reviews. But I guess I'll withhold judgment about Sarris's faculties until I've seen "Find Me Guilty," which will be never. (Image via Filmlinc.com)