Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Cate Blanchett earned another nod from the Academy as the Virgin Queen -- reprising her Oscar-nominated role from 1998's Elizabeth -- in this lushly costumed but historically muddy sequel from director Shekhar Kapur. Focusing on the queen's tempestuous relationship with the adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen), the film also stars Geoffrey Rush as the queen's adviser, Sir Francis Walsingham, and Samantha Morton as Mary, Queen of Scots.