The 2008 Academy Awards

It's Oscar time again. (Insert a apathetic "yay" here.) But, unlike the last few years, with the exception of Scorsese's wins last year, this year has been fairly exceptional. For once, all 5 Best Picture nominees I have enjoyed. Here's my breakdown of how I want the evening to go for the major categories, followed by a lazy rundown of my picks for the "lesser" categories.

BEST PICTURE
Nominees:
ATONEMENT
JUNO
MICHAEL CLAYTON
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
THERE WILL BE BLOOD

My Pick: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

BEST ACTOR
Nominees:
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

My Pick: Daniel Day Lewis

BEST ACTRESS
Nominees:
Cate Blanchett ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
Julie Christie AWAY FROM HER
Marion Cotillard LA MOME [LA VIE EN ROSE]
Laura Linney THE SAVAGES
Ellen Page JUNO

My Pick: Julie Christie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nominees:
Casey Affleck THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
Javier Bardem NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Phillip Seymour Hoffman CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR
Hal Holbrook INTO THE WILD
Tom Wilkinson MICHAEL CLAYTON

My Pick: Javier Bardem

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nominees:
Cate Blanchett I’M NOT THERE
Ruby Dee AMERICAN GANGSTER
Saoirse Ronan ATONEMENT
Amy Ryan GONE BABY GONE
Tilda Swinton MICHAEL CLAYTON

My Pick: Amy Ryan

BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees:
Paul Thomas Anderson THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Joel Coen / Ethan Coen NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Tony Gilroy MICHAEL CLAYTON
Jason Reitman JUNO
Julian Schnabel LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLION [THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY]

My Pick: Joel Coen / Ethan Coen

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Nominees:
Diablo Cody JUNO
Nancy Oliver LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
Tony Gilroy MICHAEL CLAYTON
Brad Bird / Jan Pinkava /Jim Capobianco RATATOUILLE
Tamara Jenkins THE SAVAGES

My Pick: Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nominees:
Christopher Hampton ATONEMENT
Sarah Polley AWAY FROM HER
Ronald Harwood LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLION
[THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY]
Joel Coen / Ethan Coen NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Paul Thomas Anderson THERE WILL BE BLOOD

My Pick: Paul Thomas Anderson

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nominees:
Roger Deakins THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
Seamus McGarvey ATONEMENT
Roger Deakins NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Janusz Kaminski LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLION
[THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY]
Robert Elswit THERE WILL BE BLOOD

My Pick: Seamus McGarvey

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Nominees:
Dario Marianelli ATONEMENT
Alberto Iglesias THE KITE RUNNER
James Newton Howard MICHAEL CLAYTON
Michael Giacchino RATATOUILLE
Marco Beltrami 3:10 TO YUMA

My Pick: Dario Marianelli

BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Nominees:
NO END IN SIGHT
OPERATION HOMECOMING
SICKO
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE
WAR DANCE

My Pick: SICKO

The Other Categories:

BEST EDITING
My Pick: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
My Pick: “Falling Slowly” (ONCE)

BEST ART DIRECTION
My Pick: SWEENEY TODD

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
My Pick: ATONEMENT

BEST MAKEUP
My Pick: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END

BEST SOUND
My Pick: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

BEST SOUND EDITING
My Pick: TRANSFORMERS

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
My Pick: TRANSFORMERS

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
My Pick: PERSEPOLIS

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
My Pick: KATYN (Poland)