It's two weeks to Oscar time!

It just suddenly struck me this morning that Oscar night is exactly two weeks from tonight!!! And I'm finally starting to feel the tension, the nail-biting excitement of what will win top gold this year.

So far I've seen several (though not all) of the contenders, my most recent being No Country for Old Men, which I found to be rather unusual—which probably shouldn't surprise me, given that it's a Coen brothers movie. So far it's gained quite a lot of ground as the clear frontrunner for many of the categories, not the least of which are Best Picture, Best Director(s) (since both Coens directed the film), Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem, and Best Adapted Screenplay. I have to admit, I might be a little disappointed if this wins any of the first three awards I mentioned, because I think I'm leaning more in the direction of There Will Be Blood for Best Picture and Best Director (though if that film wins any award, it'll be Daniel Day-Lewis, who's a veritable shoo-in for Best Actor).

Again, I wouldn't be surprised to see Javier Bardem win Best Supporting Actor for No Country, though I find myself actually leaning in the direction of Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Crawford. I was able to grab that DVD from Netflix right when it was released, and I found Affleck's performance unexpectedly riveting!

Speaking of Jesse James, I'm very surprised that it didn't receive a nomination for Best Original Score! The scores for this and There Will Be Blood were utterly fabulous, and I'm actually a tad perturbed that neither were recognized by the Academy. But in the case of Jesse James, I am pleased that it received a Cinematography nomination, and I'm crossing my fingers that it'll win (over No Country), because the cinematography in Jesse James was utterly stunning! Truth be told, I'm a little surprised that Jesse James didn't get a Best Picture and Director nomination, but I'm nevertheless pleased that it got some recognition by the Academy. (Speaking of snubs, there's even a school of thought that Ratatouille was snubbed for Best Picture! I personally don't have strong feelings on the matter, but I'm sure it'll pick up the win for Best Animated Feature.)

But going back to Best Supporting Actor for a moment, I almost forgot to mention Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton. Sadly, I don't think he has a shot at winning, which is a shame because he was unbelievable as the high-priced lawyer who experiences a profound change of heart—very much reminiscent of Peter Finch's Howard Beale from Network.

Just as a reminder, I'm still planning to live-blog the Oscar ceremony in two weeks, so if you don't find yourself near a TV on Oscar night (Kaylyn, I'm looking in your direction!), tune in here for the wins as they happen!