The Road to the Oscars

The Oscars are back! Even though the writer's strike led to the cancellation of the Golden Globes, the Academy Awards will still be held as planned, with Jon Stewart as the host again. Although both actress categories and a few others are up for grabs, all the other categories are already pretty much determined. For the first time since Lord of the Rings swept everything four years ago, there is a very clear frontrunner that has dominated all the precursor awards, No Country for Old Men. This frontrunner and the true darkhorse, There Will Be Blood, give the race a very dark and gritty feel, which is something the Oscars rarely has. All the other nominees are typical Oscar bait and come every year in different forms, but these two American arthouse films will most likely win big this Sunday and will be remembered long beyond our generation.

Best Actor

George Clooney - Michael Clayton Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will be Blood Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah ­Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood Will Win- Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

He's satanic, crazy, ambitious, irrational, and downright entertaining. "I drink your milkshake!" will go down as one of the best lines ever. Daniel Day-Lewis will leave his mark as achieving one of the greatest performances in film history, playing Daniel Plainview, the misanthropic oil baron. The other four actors don't even compare - in most other years, they wouldn't even be nominated. Depp can act, but he can't really sing. Clooney gets a nomination because of his star power. Tommy Lee Jones does a good job, but he doesn't branch out from sticking his own personality into the role. Mortensen shows promise, but it isn't enough. Plus, Day-Lewis has won almost every award to date. Oh yeah, and all the other nominees want Day-Lewis to win.

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age Julie Christie - Away from Her Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose Laura Linney - The Savages ­Ellen Page - Juno

Should Win: Ellen Page - Juno Will Win: Julie Christie - Away from Her

This is a tough category, but Christie has most of the buzz (and the Screen Actors Guild award) that it takes to win. Marion Cotillard has received almost as much praise for her portrayal of the French singer Edith Piaf, and she has just won the British Award of Film and Television Arts. Then there is the young Canadian Ellen Page, who is in the only movie most of the Academy members have actually seen. Page has a lot of things going for her; she plays a very different character in the only movie that has a Best Picture nod. Cotillard faces the discrimination of being in a foreign film, and Christie has already won. Page is wonderful in the film and most people are rooting for her, but the odds are against her as she faces two tough actresses.

Best Supporting Actress

Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There Ruby Dee - American Gangster Saoirse Ronan - Atonement Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Should Win: Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone Will Win: Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

This is easily the toughest category to predict because it is a race between all of them (well Saoirse Ronan doesn't really have a chance, but who's keeping track anyway). Cate Blanchett won the Golden Globe and her acclaim seems to be the only good thing said about that "experimental" piece. Plus, she played Bob Dylan, and not many actresses can pull that off. Amy Ryan is the critics' choice and did the best job playing the cokehead mother of a kidnapped toddler. Ruby Dee has only five minutes of screen time, but she certainly makes the most of it. Oh, and she won the SAG award. But, there is Tilda Swinton, who won the BAFTA and has currently generated the most buzz, so she will most likely pull off the victory even though Ryan deserves it.

Best Supporting Actor

Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

Should Win: Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men Will Win: Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Like Daniel Day-Lewis, Javier Bardem has perfected a character that will only get richer with age. Every nuance of his role is done to perfection. The rashness in his voice, the evil glare in his eyes, and the stagger in his walk all let us know who he is from one glance. He can flip a coin and say, "Call it," and everyone in the theater knows what will happen if the poor little clerk calls it wrong. The other four nominees all do a great job also, especially Casey Affleck, who has created a career for himself in this year alone. Holbrook makes the most out of his limited role. Hoffman provides entertainment in a movie that is lacking it, and Wilkinson does his usual great work as he always does. No one can and should beat Bardem, who has swept all the precursors and redefined fear.

Best Picture

Atonement Juno Michael Clayton No Country for Old Men There Will Be Blood

Should Win: No Country for Old Men Will Win: No Country for Old Men

You may hate the ending, but this one is simple. No Country for Old Men is the best film made this year and will be considered one of the all-time greats. Its ending is controversial, but many great films have survived with controversial endings. Chinatown, Vertigo, and practically every Stanley Kubrick film have done this, and those films keep audiences thinking for generations. There Will Be Blood is a film in the same class, but it will have to settle for the second spot this year. No Country has been sweeping the guild awards, the critic awards, and everything in between. There Will Be Blood has received some recognition too, but it may be too "different" for the Academy's taste. There is a rumor that the similarities between these two will create a vote split and make room for the much-loved Juno, which has the highest box office gross of the group.