the 2nd Annual M.A.Y.A.Years Oscar picks!!!!!

I know you've been waiting for this and I'm never one to disappoint when it comes to excessive glamour and glitz.

This year was a good year for movies. Several strong movies came out at the end of the year and there was a good mix all-in-all. I'm still peeved my parents made me watch "Enchanted" and I'm happy to have continued my vows to avoid Lindsay Lohan at all costs.

So, here are the major categories and the picks:

Original Song:
Should win: "Once" was simply exceptional and it's a damn shame that more songs weren't nominated. Instead we have Cinderella in New York.
Will win: Probably "Once" as I'm hoping all the "Enchanted" songs will cancel each other out.

Foreign Language Film:
No picks, just a note: the academy really, really needs to revamp this. Because of the stupid rules, films like "Persepolis" and "The Band's Visit" aren't in this. Stupid academy.

Documentary Feature:
Should win: "No End in Sight." This movie captured the essence of everything that went wrong in Iraq. It's terrifying and incredibly sad. "Sicko" was superb as well, except when it went into dancing with Fidel Castro mode.
Will win: Probably "No End in Sight," but "War/Dance" might make an upset.

Cinematography:
Should win: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" was a complex and lush film, beautifully filmed to show the true tragedy of locked-in syndrome and the majesty of imagination. "There will be Blood" was stark and gripping in its summation of capitalism and oil. The filming was fantastic.
Will win: Probably "Atonement," by the way, did anyone see this? I tried to avoid it like the plague.

Animated Film:
Should win: I didn't see "Ratatouille," but I probably will. But "Persepolis" was amazing.
Will win: "Ratatouille."

Adapted Screenplay:
Should win: Hard category, because they're all good. I'm going on a limb and saying that Sarah Polley's adaptation of Alice Munro's short story was stunning, sad and redemptive all at once.
Will win:
Coen Brothers did hit the marks with "No Country for Old Men."

Original Screenplay:
Should win: The strongest category by far. Yay for originality and creativity. In the end, "Juno" stands out, with "Lars and the Real Girl" a very close second.
Will win: "Juno."

Supporting Actress:
Should win: I didn't see "American Gangster" and "Gone Baby Gone," but Amy Ryan is great in "The Wire." "Michael Clayton" is a great movie and Tilda Swinton is phenomenal in what her role is in the mess the movie portrays. But Cate Blanchett is the reincarnation of Bob Dylan that makes "I'm not There" plausible. If she doesn't look or sorta sound like Dylan, the other portrayals of Dylan-esque will won't make sense unless one is a major fan.
Will win: Blanchett.

Supporting Actor:
Should win: Javier Bardem is scary as hell. Didn't see "Jessie James," but I heard that was good. Tom Wilkinson was terrific as always, but he's one of those actors that is going to suffer from "terrfic as always" syndrome.
Will win: Bardem.

Best Actress:
Should win: I'm not sure. All are good in their own way. Didn't see "La Vie en Rose," but I heard the movie was uneven. Missed out on "The Savages," and I'm kicking myself for that. I heard "Elizabeth" sucked too, but Julie Christie really did a great job in "Away from Her."
Will win: Christie, but Cotillard could pull off the upset.

Best Actor:
Will win and should win: No question, Day-Lewis was freakishly terrific.

Best Director:
Should win: The second strongest category. All are really good. If I had it my way, I would give it to Schnabel. The vision of the movie, the process of storytelling and the implmentation was simply stunning. The same can be said for Anderson and the Coen Bros., but there's something just a little different about "Diving Bell." Sad not to see Tim Burton here.
Will win: Eeek, I'm really not sure, but I'll go with the Coen Bros. Well deserved for an incredible body of work for for the Academy to finally recognize duel directors.

Best Picture:
Should win: I'm going with "Juno." There was just something amazing and simple about this movie. "There will be Blood" was exquisite, as was "No Country for Old Men."
Will win: You read it here first (or maybe ninth, but who's counting?); "Michael Clayton" will win and here's why: "No Country" and "Blood" will cancel each other out and no one still wants to vote for a comedy. That leaves "Atonement" and "Clayton." "Clayton" is a drama that reflects our times better than the British flick and Clooney is more of a movie star than Kiera Knightly. So, the Academy goes to the morally ambiguous fixer.


For an added bonus, here are my picks of the best movies of the year:
Juno
Once
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
There will be Blood
The Lookout
I'm Not There
No End in Sight
Lars and the Real Girl
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Knocked Up