Oscar Predictions

I've trimmed the list down to its most basic elements sans the Best Director category for which I am still struggling to decide between David Fincher for "Benjamin Button" and Danny Boyle for "Slumdog."

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire

I've only seen two (Benjamin Button and Slumdog) and I hope that doesn't disqualify me, but "Slumdog Millionaire" won me over.

Whether it's the East meets West vibe in the music, the personal style that some of the handheld camerawork lends it, or most importantly, the connection to the characters that builds over the course of the film, "Slumdog" deserves to be recognized.

With the director Danny Boyle helming the project and Indian co-director Loveleen Tandan, the two take us through India's slums and their poshest suburbs, traveling by train or walking on pipelines. Even at its grittiest, the film never strays too far away from hope, making it both a crowd-pleaser and a critical favorite. These two haven't gone together in an Oscar-nominated film in a while.

BEST ACTOR
Mickey Rourke for "The Wrestler"

The rise and fall and rise again of Mickey Rourke mirrors the story of his title character in "The Wrestler."

With films in the 80's like "The Pope of Greenwich Village" and "Barfly," Rourke was a favorite of low budget indies for his tough exterior and his straightforward acting style. Rourke can credit this to his upbringing in boxing, an endeavor he would fall back on in the 90's after a few disappointing films and drug abuse sent his career into turmoil.

His background really paid off in this film, coming off as authentic and shrugging off any notions that director Darren Aronofsky was doing some stunt casting for his role.

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep for "Doubt"

Streep has been reluctant to join the political campaign that is the Oscar nomination press tour. In a move that would make her "Devil Wears Prada" character sneer, she's been refreshingly down to earth about her nomination and past nominations.

All of this aside, her performance as a domineering nun who represents the old guard at a Catholic school truly shines. Set up in the midst of turbulent and changing times of the mid-60's, the film is set up with her on the old-fashioned spectrum and Phillip Seymour Hoffman's troubled priest at the other end. The two clash beautifully.

Streep holds the record for Academy Award acting nominations with a staggering 15 nods. There's a reason why she's an Oscar favorite and this film is proof.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger for "The Dark Knight"

I don't want to seem like I'm jumping on a big bandwagon for Heath Ledger, but his performance as the Joker completely demolished my previous thoughts about the character entirely. I grew up reading DC Comics and as my tastes went from the campy Batman that permeated the movie theaters in the mid-90's with "Batman Forever" to the more complex character studies of "The Long Halloween" and "The Killing Joke" graphic novels.

The change was that I grew up and eventually, so did the Batman movie franchise. Christopher Nolan went from award-winning indies like "Memento" to reboot the series with the origin story "Batman Begins." While that film had its flaws (a lot of villains and a lot of time to devote to Bruce Wayne's roots), his next film used the Joker to amazing effect. Gone is the confusion over who the main antagonist is. Heath Ledger's performance lets you know right away that the man who paints himself in clown makeup and kills people can't be laughed off like Jack Nicholson's version in Tim Burton's "Batman."

The organized chaos of Ledger shows up in even the subtle aspects of the character. The twitches, the way he hunches his back and continually licks his scars.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams for "Doubt"

The underdog candidate in this category is definitely Adams, facing off against the popular Penelope Cruz and the critical favorite Marisa Tomei. Adams had to step up to the plate against heavyweights like this before, especially in the film she's nominated for.

Going toe to toe with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep in this John Patrick Shanley play-turned-film, she proves that she can hold her own as the naive nun Sister James. Due to it originally being a play, "Doubt" really hinged on the acting of its ensemble and by the looks of it with Streep, Hoffman and another supporting actress candidate Viola Davis up for Oscars, they succeeded.