I'm still finishing up my viewing of the big nominees, but i'm starting to form my general opinions for the major awards.
I'm pulling for a couple of favorites to win big, but i'm not sure that i really expect them to grab as many statues as they deserve. Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire would be walking out with the most awards if i were picking. Followed closely by Milk.
Best actor should go to Sean Penn and probably will.
Heath Ledger is going to walk away with best supporting actor, which is sad on a number of levels. Such a brilliant performance and Ledger will have no chance to prove to the world that he could do it again. He was always so talented and rarely given a role that showed how much he could do.
It is sad on another note though for Josh Brolin. Any other year, Brolin's complex portrayal of Dan White in Milk would have deserved the statue. Milk presented a deeply disturbed man who battled within himself between wanting to befriend Harvey Milk and kill him.
Best actress award will probably go to Kate Winslet, even though i think Meryl Streep deserves it. Doubt was not a great movie, but the performances carried it and Streep's was one of her best.
Best supporting actress should go to Viola Davis for her small role in Doubt, but the academy will probably hand it over to Taraji P. Henson because they seem to have a soft spot for Benjamin Button.

--jb--