The Oscars are coming up this Sunday and I always look forward to them. I still have a few movies to catch up on, but in the meantime here are my personal favorite picks:

Best Supporting Actor

• Casey Affleck
• Javier Bardem
• Philip Seymour Hoffman
• Hal Holbrook
• Tom Wilkinson

I liked Casey Affleck, was underwhelmed by the others, who just weren’t in movies I liked. Expect for Bardem, the creepiest villain I’ve seen in ages. Just his voice scares me to death.

Best Supporting Actress

• Cate Blanchett
• Ruby Dee
• Saoirse Ronan
• Amy Ryan
• Tilda Swinton

Ruby Dee was in the movie for only a few minutes, I liked Amy Ryan, Swinton I though was overrated, while Saoirse Ronan was good in her role. But the best performance has to be Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan.

Best Actor

• George Clooney
• Daniel Day Lewis
• Johnny Depp
• Tommy Lee Jones
• Viggo Mortensen

Haven’t seen There will be blodd yet, but I liked Mortensen and Clooney. Tommy Lee Jones is just on another level for me.

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett
• Julie Christie
• Marion Cotillard
• Laura Linney
• Ellen Page

I don’t even understand how Blanchett was nominated. Christie was excellent as was Cotillard. However the one that I enjoyed most was Ellen Page.

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Atonement
• Away From Her
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• No Country for Old Men
• There Will Be Blood

Haven’t read any of these books, so I am basing this on the screenplays alone. No Country was fairly simple, I didn’t get Atonement, but I loved the subtleties in Away From Her. Haven’t seen the other two.

Best Original Screenplay

• Juno
• Lars and the Real Girl
• Michael Clayton
• Ratatouille
• The Savages

Haven’t seen Savages or Lars. Liked Ratatouille, Clayton was ok, but Juno was a very strong screenplay.

Best Director

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

Haven’t seen Butterfly. Juno is fun, but a big part of it was the screenplay. I think the Coen brothers should get this one, this is really their vision.

Best Picture

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

I think Atonement and Michael Clayton are overrated and don’t belong in this list. I am really torn between Juno and No Country. No Country is technically a masterpiece, the suspense is incredible and the performances are great. However Juno had so much heart, I really had a great time with Juno. In the end that’s what I’ll best remember.

Of course there are some favorites of mine that weren’t nominated: Once, Zodiac, The Namesake.