My two cents on the Oscar nominees (for what it's worth)

This year, for the first time, I've actually seen all 5 of the Best Picture nominees and a majority of the best actor, best actress, best supporting actress, and best supporting actor nominees. Below are my thoughts on the top five categories. These are not the ones that I think will win....they're the ones I hope will win. It's who I would have voted for if I was an Academy member.

BEST ACTOR:

• Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
• Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
• Sean Penn, Milk
• Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Of the five movies I have seen Frost/Nixon, Milk, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. All the buzz is about Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler and it sounds like he has a good chance of winning tonight. Since I haven't seen The Wrestler yet I can't really weigh in on Mickey Rourke's performance so I would say it's a tough call between Frank Langella and Sean Penn. They both did a fantastic job. I liked Milk better than Frost/Nixon but since this award is for acting and not the movie I have to say I would vote for Frank Langella.

BEST ACTRESS:

• Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
• Angelina Jolie, Changeling
• Melissa Leo, Frozen River
• Meryl Streep, Doubt
• Kate Winslet, The Reader

Of the five movies I've seen Rachel Getting Married, Doubt, and The Reader. The Reader was definitely my favorite movie out of those three but I would cast my vote for Anne Hathaway. Meryl Streep, at this point in her career, has set her own bar so high that even though she was fantastic in Doubt it just seemed like nothing less that you expect out of Meryl Streep at this point. Kate Winslet is becoming the Susan Lucci of the Oscars (nominated 6 times so far with no wins yet) and she did an absolutely incredible job in The Reader but I think Anne Hathaway was better in Rachel Getting Married. Best known for The Princess Diaries she really knocked it out the park in this movie about a recovering drug addict. Unfortunately Rachel Getting Married came out last fall and I think most people have forgotten about it. There is also a long dinner scene in the movie that turns some people off but once again, this is about acting and not the movie itself. Therefore, I vote for Anne Hathaway.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

• Josh Brolin, Milk
• Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
• Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
• Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
• Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Of these five movies I've seen Milk, Tropic Thunder, Doubt, and Revolutionary Road. I wasn't terribly impressed with Josh Brolin's performance; I thought Robert Downey Jr. was great but there is little chance a comedic performance like that would win; and I thought Michael Shannon was fantastic even though he's only in a handful of scenes....they were pretty powerful scenes. I'm pretty sure Heath Ledger is going to win this one and even though I haven't seen The Dark Knight yet I've heard he's fantastic in it and I would vote for him because he got screwed out of an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain if nothing else. I realize that's not fair to the others but in this imaginary voting system I would vote for Heath Ledger. If you take Heath out of the running though I would definitely vote for Michael Shannon.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

• Amy Adams, Doubt
• Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Viola Davis, Doubt
• Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Of the four movies I've seen Doubt and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Amy Adams does a great job and she definitely has incredible potential as a great actress. Penelope Cruz is supposed to be really great in her role and that movie is one that I wish I had seen prior to the show tonight but it wasn't meant to be. The critics say she has a good chance of winning. So without having seen Vicky Cristina Barcelona I would have to say I would be voting for Viola Davis. She doesn't have a very big role at all but the power that she puts into her few scenes blew me away. And she's up against Meryl Streep in those scenes and she more than holds her own. I think she even overshadows Meryl Streep in those few scenes.

BEST PICTURE

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• The Reader
• Slumdog Millionaire

I'm pretty sure that Slumdog Millionaire is going to walk away with this grand prize but you can read my thoughts on the Best Picture contest here. I would definitely be voting for The Reader.