Gosh, a thread about the Razzies, but nothing about the Oscars? Time to correct that, as well as lay down your picks and thoughts for this year's Academy Awards.

Best Picture

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

All the buzz leading up to the Oscars has been for Slumdog Millionaire; it's a good film to be sure, a fun, wild ride through a part of the world we rarely see in a Hollywood film, but the movie that moved me the most last year was Milk. A passionate and compassionate story, well written, wonderfully acted, tightly directed.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

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

Wow, tough category. All but Brad Pitt are worthy winners. I loved Richard Jenkins in The Visitor, a career character actor finally gets the chance to lead a movie and he put in quietly dignified performance. Langella does an awesome turn as Richard Nixon. And Mickey Rourke is The Wrestler, but again, I keep coming back to Sean Penn's performance as Harvey Milk.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Ledger is the popular choice, and his manic, menacing Joker certainly propelled The Dark Knight, but subsequent viewings of the movie haven't held up for me. Downey is hilarious in Tropic Thunder, but hilarious usually doesn't win an Oscar. Hoffman is awesome as always, but Brolin could take it because he should have gotten a nomination for W,

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, The Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Haven't yet seen the Hathaway or Jolie movies. Melissa Leo is great in Frozen River, but hardly anyone has seen the movie. Streep manages to be menacing and vulnerable in Doubt, but this is Kate Winslet's Oscar to lose, she puts in a courageous performance in The Reader.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

It would be cool to see Tomei win for her role as a stripper in The Wrestler, but Viola Davis knocks her brief appearance in Doubt out of the park.

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

Conventional wisdom says the best director helms the best picture, so that means Gus Van Sant, but this is where the Academy may throw Danny Boyle a bone for managing to keep a tight reign on Slumdog Millionaire, an ambitious little film that could have easily spun out of control.

LOS ANGELES — Slumdog Millionaire is the Academy Awards champion, wrapping up its ghetto-to-glory story by winning best picture and seven other Oscars, including the directing honor for Danny Boyle. (http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2009-02-22-oscar-main_N.htm)

one of the most dull oscars ever....snoozefest. I think the movies that the academy finds to be oscar worthy are just so out of touch with the box office that people just tune it out these days. I know i have only watched 1 of the movies so I find it hard to relate to the choices.

We get it academy..slum dog was a great movie...did it really need 8 oscars??

I didn't bother watching the awards last night.

On 680 News this morning, they pointed out that the awards part of the evening was all words. There were no clips from the winning movies, or from the contenders prior to the award being announced. That takes away something from the entertainment of the evening, and makes it a very wordy evening.

Perhaps those who thing this show should be watched by everyone are those who love to hear themselves talk...and think everyone else should as well? :)

I thought Slumdog Millionaire was a good movie, but I didn't think it deserved to win Oscars.

I also thought Meryl Streep deserved the Oscar for Doubt.

I haven't seen all nominated movies so I can't comment on whether or not it was the best movie.

I believe many people like rooting for an underdog thus the wins.

He did 28 days, and 28 months. Two of the best Zombie movies ever.

Yeah - the "mutual admiration society" method of introducing the nominees in the acting categories was a bit ridiculous. I mean, really? Anthony Hopkins telling Brad Pitt what a fine actor he is?!
Kinda like if Michael Schumacher was telling me what a great driver I was.... ;)

There was some connection to the madness. Hopkins & Pitt were together in "Meet Joe Black" plus DeNiro & Penn are very good pals.

Danny Boyle also did "Trainspotting" very cool.

I saw everyone of the films except for Frost/Nixon...I ran out of time. It makes a difference when watching the awards for sure. However, I did find this year kinda boring.

The only award beef I have is for Winslet winning for "The Reader"...average film at best...perhaps that's being to generous! She was better in "Revolutionary Road" and she should've won for "Little Children" a couple years ago.

Hugh Jackman was hilarious and did a fantastic job of hosting the Oscars. This was one of the best Oscar shows I've seen in years!

After watching the nominated movies, I have to throw in my .82 cents and jump on the MILK bandwagon. It was an incredibly powerful and historic film that moved everyone watching to emotion. (good or bad) and Sean Penn was amazing. Slumdog was over hyped and over done considering the book (Q & A) was a very well written journey.

It's hard to watch any Sean Penn movie. He's an ass.

Anyway, last weeked I watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Not sure why Penelope Cruz was nominated since she is hardly in the movie.

Wow! james99, did some Spicoli-like surfer dude in high school bogart your milk money or something? ;)
You got a major hate-on for the guy.

While I can see how Penn's actions in the past can be construed as "ass-like", of late (Mystic River, and now Milk), he seems to have grown up substantially.