This year, like every year, a small number of films have been nominated for a hefty chunk of the awards and have a strong chance of winning them. This year the battle is between the box office giant, Avatar, and the critically acclaimed, The Hurt Locker. There have been many an article or blog post on this rivalry, so I shan’t bore you with anything that’s been mentioned a number if times before. Instead, I’ll begin with my predictions. Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Last year I made the mistake of choosing the actor playing the role of someone living a life that was once filled with success and was mistaken with the classic biopic taking the gold. This year, I shall do the exact same thing, only the end result shan’t be the same (hopefully). In Crazy Heart, Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake, a previously successful country and western singer who’s fallen on hard times. Bridges performance has certainly been the most critically popular performance in the category. Additionally, he’s one a fair few of the pre-Oscar awards including the Golden Globes, the Independent Spirit awards and the SAG awards. A performance that deserves a mention is that of Colin Firth in A Single Man. Firth delivers what has unanimously been referred to as his greatest performance. He is breathtaking, if he, as opposed to Bridges was the win the award, I would not be surprised. A pleasant alternative: Colin Firth in A Single Man Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role This year has been a wonderful year for performances by younger actresses. Gabourey Sidibe is breathtaking in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. She is completely believable as the teenager who appears to be for the most part of the film, for lack of a better word, broken. Carey Mulligan plays the precocious and intelligent Jenny inAn Education. After much thought, I’ve decided to describe her as charming, in her role. Mulligan carries the film, it would have suffered greatly without a lead as strong as her. Unfortunately, these newcomers have some acting giants to compete against. Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren have been nominated, once again, for their roles in Julia & Juliaand The Last Station respectively. However, I don’t believe they shall be the winners. Instead, I think the gold will go to Sandra Bullock, for her role in The Blind Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society