Best Picture

Well if you are going to talk about the Oscars the place you have to start is with the grand prize... The best picture of the year. And the nominees are...

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (The stereotypical Oscar type film)
Frost/Nixon (An intelligent political film that is as entertaining as it is well-crafted)
Milk (Another political film that benefits from its outstanding lead performance... and the current political climate)
The Reader (I have nothing nice to say about this film... Except Winslet's performance)
Slumdog Millionaire (A heartfelt love story that watches the modern history and growth of India along with its characters)

Breakdown:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(13 total nominations) (Dir-David Fincher): Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who ages in reverse, this film is epic in scope as it investigates the way we view the passage of time in our lives and how that view affects our decisions and relationships. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star along with a fine supporting turn from Taraji Henson. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a deserving nominee but not an appropriate winner in my opinion. (Chances of Winning= Very Good)
Frost/Nixon (5 total nominations)- (Dir-Ron Howard): Based on the theatrical play that documents the Frost/Nixon interviews where talk show playboy David Frost took on the daunting task of interviewing/interrogating disgraced President Richard Nixon following his resignation due to the Watergate scandal. Micheal Sheen and Frank Langella both give outstanding performances along with several notable supporting roles in a film that is both captivating and entertaining. This would be my second choice for the win but it is realistically a long shot. (Chances of Winning= Slim)
Milk (8 total nominations)- (Dir-Gus Van Sant): Based on the real life of Harvey Milk who was the first elected gay official in the city of San Francisco. The high point of the film is the exceptional performance from Sean Penn as Milk, along with the strong supporting cast of James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin and Diego Luna. I however felt that the great performances masked what was otherwise a very average film. I understand the appeal for a movie of this type in the current political climate, but felt it was undeserving of a best picture nomination. (Chances of Winning= Good)
The Reader (5 total nominations)- (Dir-Stephen Daldry): Based on the acclaimed German novel by Bernhard Schlink, The Reader explores questions of responsibility and guilt through the relationship of a teenage boy and his adult lover who is later convicted for war crimes committed during her duty as a Nazi SS officer in WWII. Kate Winslet gives one of the best performances of the year as Hanna Schmitz, but besides that I found this film severly lacking both in terms of scope and voice. I was actually appalled that it stole a nomination from multiple more deserving films. (Chances of Winning= Slim to None)
Slumdog Millionaire (10 total nominations)- (Dir-Danny Boyle): The underdog movie of the year that is taking the award circuit by storm is based on an Indian novel entitled Q&A written by Vikas Swarup. This beautifully shot film follows the lives of three slumdog children (two brothers and a girl) as they grow up on the poor, harsh streets of Mumbai. The movie intersects their lives into the culture, history and modernization of India so that we watch the maturation of India at the same time as the orphans. Movies like this one are the reason I go the theatre. (Chances of Winning= Excellent)

-More in depth reviews on all 5 of these films will be coming shortly
-My Final Oscar predictions will be posted Feb 21 (the day before the ceremony)

What I would have nominated:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Gran Torino
Slumdog Millionaire