Status: Excited
Music: Be Without You - Mary J. Blige

It’s awards season once again. And after the Grammy and the Golden Globe, here comes the Oscars. The Oscars remains to be my favourite award-giving body because the people and films that I want to win usually grab the major awards. For example, last year, when everyone was rooting for Brokeback Mountain, I was confident that it would be Crash which would bag the Best Picture award. (My next favourite last year was Munich.) And my bets for the Best Actress and Best Actor awards (especially these past years) usually go home smiling — Nicole Kidman, Adrien Brody, Cate Blanchett, Sean Penn, Reese Witherspoon, Charlize Theron, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellwegger, etc. Some major disappointments that I got from the Oscars are: when Chicago won over The Hours for Best Picture; Moulin Rouge losing to A Beautiful Mind; and Halle Berry stealing the Best Actress award from Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge) a few years ago. But you know, I easily move on.

This year, it’s harder to predict who would go home with the golden statuettes and who would go home with utter frustration. But here are some of the nominees, my faves, and my predictions:

Best Picture:
Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

What I want to win: Little Miss Sunshine
What might win: Little Miss Sunshine

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Blood Diamond”
Ryan Gosling, “Half Nelson”
Peter O’Toole, “Venus”
Will Smith, “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland”

Who I want to win: Ryan Gosling
Who might win: Forest Whitaker

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Penelope Cruz, “Volver”
Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”
Helen Mirren, “The Queen”
Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada”
Kate Winslet, “Little Children”

Who I want to win: Meryl Streep
Who might win: Kate Winslet / Helen Mirren

Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jackie Earle Haley, “Little Children”
Djimon Hounsou, “Blood Diamond”
Eddie Murphy, “Dreamgirls”
Mark Wahlberg, “The Departed”

Who I want to win: Alan Arkin
Who might win: Eddie Murphy

Best Supporting Actress:
Adriana Barraza, “Babel”
Cate Blanchett, “Notes on a Scandal”
Abigail Breslin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”
Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel”

Who I want to win: Adriana Barraza / Rinko Kikuchi
Who might win: Jennifer Hudson

I really, really love Little Miss Sunshine and Babel and I know it’s going to be a tough battle between them. Babel has an edge now that they’ve just won the Golden Globe. (Not that it matters.) But I liked Little Miss Sunshine a little better than Babel. Besides, I want a comedy to win this time.

As for Meryl Streep, I’ve adored her since the beginning of time (hehe). Her performance for The Devil Wears Prada is definitely not her best but damn, it still deserves an Oscar nod.

I’ve never seen Dreamgirls yet so it’s somewhat unfair to Jennifer Hudson for me to root for the two Babel stars. But watching the film alone, I was deeply moved by these two actresses. I am 70% sure that Adriana Barraza will take home the statuette. I just hope my instict is right.

So there. On February 25, will I be satisfied or will I be right? Hmmm…

*pictures courtesy of pbs.org, hispanicbusiness.com, and apple.com.

If you liked this post, you might want to check out: