I really am sick of Billy Crystal hosting the Academy Awards. Why not have Chris Rock or Jay Mohr or Ben Stiller. Lets get some younger and better comedians. Ah well, let's see who will win. It's always interesting to me to see who should win as opposed to who actually wins. And the envelope please:
(The A's are my picks, the O's are Oscar's)

A-Best Picture: LOTR. Just for the fact that it made history being filmed all at once. No more George Lucas crap where we wait 10 years between each film.

O-Best Picture: Lost in Translation. It has the buzz, a female director and is a good movie. Master & Commander, please lets give Crowe a break from Oscar. Seabiscuit? Its too formula. It smells like inspirational Hollywood sap. Empty calories.

A-Actor:I'd like to see Johnny Depp get it for Pirates only because it was a very good character. But for full depth of acting ability, I pick Bill Murray. He should have received an Oscar for his role in Wild Things.

O-Actor: Tough one. But I think they will go with Bill Murray. Again the buzz. Sean Penn yah he's gained serious status over the years, Ben Kingsley another great actor, but who even saw this movie? Johnny Depp is a favorite, but the role was too light and fun. Jude Law, the movie had some buzz, but he's young and they would likely see him get one later in his career.

A-Actress:Naomi Watts for 21 Grams. Good actress.

O-Actress: Ugh, Charlize Theron is a favorite. It's almost a sure thing.

A-Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro. That guy is a good actor.

O-Supporting Actor: Tough one to figure out. Tim Robbins is a favorite, but they may want to give a nod to Alec Baldwin.

A-Supporting Actress: Marcia Gay Harden, she is a really good actress. Go see her.

O-Supporting Actress: Renee Zellweger is the favorite here.

A-Director: Peter Jackson. Again he did something amazing with this movie. It could have turned into a flop Willow-style. But it made gobs of cash, was fun to watch, and did a good job all around.

O-Director: Clint has won before, so it's not likely they will give him one this time, though winning before does make anyone seem more Oscar worthy. (It's like the presidential election) Sofia Coppola may just walk away with the Oscar for this one. It was a good movie, and again has the buzz. Jackson may be snubbed purely for the fact that the movie is a fantasy movie. Comedy movies dont win many Oscars.

As for the rest? Who really cares. Costumes and Sound and Editing and all the rest. Hey I am sure good work was done, but it's not exciting to me.