Best Actress

Now, let's look at the ladies. These are the Academy's choices.

Best Actress Nominees:
Jessica Chastain--Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence--Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva--Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis--Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts--The Impossible

Winner: It's a toss up between Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence. Both have won Golden Globe awards and Lawrence also won the SAG award. However, if I had an vote at the Academy, I would vote for Naomi Watts. Her performance in The Impossible was strong and moving.

Here's my additions to the Oscar crowd. Again, perhaps not the most academic of choices, but here it goes.

Dream Nominees:
Judi Dench-The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel--I would vote for her in almost any role.
Amy Adams-Trouble with the Curve--I always love it when the girl knows a little about baseball.
Katherine Heigl--One for the Money--Stephanie Plum gets to have a thing for Jason O'Mara, enough said.
Rachel McAdam--The Vow--She gets to be in love with Channing Tatum, forget to you are in love with him, and then fall in love with him again.
Reese Witherspoon--This Means War-- She gets to have Tom Hardy and Chris Pine fight over her, I completely envied her.

Winner: Amy Adams as the feisty daughter of a baseball scout (Clint Eastwood) in Trouble with the Curve. This was one of my favorite movies of the year. All she ever wanted was to spend time with and be noticed by her dad.