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

NOTABLE OMISSIONS: “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” I completely agree with the Academy, but I’m still shocked to see such a star powered movie like “Sweeney Todd” left out of the Best Picture category. Good for “Juno,” no doubt the box office helped its case.

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"

NOTABLE OMISSIONS: Angelina Jolie for “A Mighty Heart.” With a contemporary political topic (the execution of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl), you’d think Angelina’s gut-busting performance would have made the cut. But the Academy still loves movies with English accents, ridiculous costumes, and Cate Blanchett (“Elizabeth”). Good for Ellen Page, however.

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

SURPRISE!: Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah?” So the Academy DID see this movie! Weird, because nobody else did! Although I agree with Denzel being left out for “American Gangster, there’s no way James McAvoy could be left out of this category. His work in “Atonement” was some of the finest of the year. But none of this matters, because Daniel Day-Lewis hammers home one of the best performances ever in “There Will Be Blood.” He is a lock.

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"

SURPRISE!: Ruby Dee? For “American Gangster?” Love Ruby Dee, but Ruby Dee in “American Gangster?”

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"
Tommy Lee Jones, "No Country For Old Men"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"

A FEW THOUGHTS: The strongest this category has been since 2000’s blockbuster (Haley Joel Osment “The Sixth Sense,” Michael Caine “Cider House Rules,” Tom Cruise “Magnolia” Michael Clarke Duncan “The Green Mile,” Jude Law “The Talented Mr. Ripley.”) A big congratulations to Hal Holbrook. Not a lot of people saw “Into the Wild,” but if you did, you know big Hal was phenomenal as an aging man looking for some company. He won’t win, but if Affleck and Bardem split, he might have a shot.

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"

A FEW THOUGHTS: This is why we love the Oscars. No Ridley Scott, no Tim Burton. And how about the love for Jason Reitman and “Juno” going on? No Best Director nomination for “Atonement’s” Joe Wright does not bode well for its Best Picture chances! Could “There Will Be Blood” take that category? Or will the Academy finally award a comedy and go with “Juno?”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Brad Bird, Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird, "Ratatouille"
Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"
Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"
Ronald Harwood, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Sarah Polley, "Away From Her"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Beaufort" (Israel)
"The Counterfeiters" (Austria)
"Katyn" (Poland)
"Mongol" (Kazakhstan)
"12" (Russia)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
"Persepolis"
"Ratatouille"
"Surf's Up"

SURPRISE!: “Surf’s Up?” Really? No love for “Bee Movie!” I’m glad they honored “Persepolis” in this category and not the Best Foreign Language film category. It shows that 2D animation still works, at least when you have a great story. I mean, “Surf’s Up?”

BEST ART DIRECTION
"American Gangster"
"Atonement"
"The Golden Compass"
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
"There Will Be Blood"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" Roger Deakins
"Atonement," Seamus Mcgarvey
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Janusz Kaminski
"No Country For Old Men," Roger Deakins
"There Will Be Blood," Robert Elswit

THOUGHTS: This is “There Will Be Blood” vs. “No Country.” Two of the most beautiful representations of the desolate American landscape in some time, although “Jesse James” could give them a run for their money.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"Across the Universe," Albert Wolsky
"Atonement," Jacqueline Durran
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age," Alexandra Byrne
"La Vie En Rose," Marit Allen
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street," Colleen Atwood

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"No End in Sight"
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
"Sicko"
"Taxi to the Dark Side"
"War/Dance"

SURPRISE: Where is “The King of Kong?” Easily the best documentary of the year, but not only does the Academy tend to dislike comedy, but it seems they have something against video games. Maybe if they were playing some sort of war game instead of Donkey Kong? I’ll let you discuss.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
"Freeheld"
"La Corona" ("The Crown")
"Salim Baba"
"Sari's Mother"

BEST FILM EDITING
"The Bourne Ultimatum," Christopher Rouse
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Juliette Welfling
"Into the Wild," Jay Cassidy
"No Country for Old Men," Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood," Dylan Tichenor

BEST MAKEUP
"La Vie en Rose"
"Norbit"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"Atonement", Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner", Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton", James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille", Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma", Marco Beltrami

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Falling Slowly" from "Once"
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted"
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush"
"So Close" from "Enchanted"
"Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" from "Hairspray"
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted"

FINALLY: Some “Once” love. My favorite movie of 2007 has to win this category.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"I Met the Walrus"
"Madame Tutli-Putli"
"Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)"
"My Love (Moya Lyubov)"
"Peter & the Wolf"

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"At Night"
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)"
"Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)"
"Tanghi Argentini"
"The Tonto Woman"

BEST SOUND EDITING
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country For Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Transformers"

BEST SOUND MIXING
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country For Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"3:10 to Yuma"
"Transformers"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Golden Compass"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
"Transformers"

It should be an interesting show. Let’s hope this strike is settled soon and the show can go on. I want to see Daniel Day Lewis accept his statue, which will have milkshake-makers across the world holding their heads up high. You are the real heroes!