by Harry Tournemille

Created on: January 24, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

I admit it: I like to watch The Academy Awards. I know they're silly, I know they're not a good representation of quality film making in the world, I know they're pompous and superficial. And yet I watch them every year, glued to the television with popcorn in hand.
Criticism aside, I think The Oscars may have gotten in right this time. There is a good selection of films to choose from and most of the performances were noteworthy, albeit some more typical than others.

So, here are my picks; who should win, and who I think will actually win:

1) Best Actor In a Leading Role: Ryan Gosling should win for Half Nelson, an edgy heartfelt film, but I think Forrest Whitaker will for The Last King of Scotland, which was also great and worth noting.

2) Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin should win this award for playing the grandfather in Little Miss Sunshine superbly. Oddly enough, I think the voters will feel the same way.

3) Best Actress in a Leading Role: I loved Helen Mirren in The Queen, but I think the nod may go to Kate Winslet for Little Children. Both were wonderful in their respective films, so it could go either way.

4) Best Supporting Actress: This one is tough. Both actresses from Babel (Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi) displayed exquisite talent, so did the little girl in Little Miss Sunshine (Abigail Breslin). But I wouldn't be surprised if Jennifer Hudson from Dreamgirls got the nod, which would be bogus really. No one should be awarded for their first attempts in film. I love Cate Blanchett, but haven't seen Notes on A Scandal yet.

5) Best Director: My vote is for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and his film Babel, which I felt was the best film of the year. Stephen Frears will likely get the award for The Queen, which was also good... but a little formulaic. The Departed was a great film too, but likely not to receive the award.

6) Best Foreign Film: Pan's Labyrinth gets my vote. I haven't seen the other nominations, which is really a shame. Foreign films tend to be superior, but extremely difficult to find in theatres.

7) Best Picture: Every single film in this category is worth watching, but my ultimate pick was Babel. The style, cinematography, and characters are so human and real it resonates deeply for days afterwards. I think the voters may have agreed as well, but The Queen or Little Miss Sunshine are also likely candidates.

I know there are many other categories, but I thought I'd limit it to the major ones for the sake of brevity.

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