Oscar Week, Day Six: Best Picture Preview

There's only one day left until the Oscars! Today we'll take a look at the big one, the Best Picture award. The nominees are:

Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Fearless Predictions
Who Will Win: This year is more about who won't win than who will win. Atonement started off with lots of buzz but that's dwindled down considerably. Michael Clayton never got the buzz it deserved. There Will Be Blood is too dark. Juno is too small. That leaves No Country for Old Men taking the big prize this year.

Who Should Win: Juno is hands down the best of the bunch. I'd love to see an upset in this category!

Oscar Week, Day Five: Best Actress Preview

Happy Friday! It's Day Five of Oscar Week, and that means we are looking at the Best Actress category. The nominees are:

Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno

Fearless Predictions
Who Will Win: Julie Christie is the favorite for Away From Her, and I doubt there will be an upset. It's been 42 years since she last took home the Oscar, and she'll do it again on Sunday night.

Who Should Win: Ellen Page's performance in Juno is astonishing. At age 21, she has plenty of time to make a date with Oscar, so keep an eye on her in the future.

Oscar Week, Day Four: Best Actor Preview

It's already day four of Oscar Week and that means it's time to take a look at the Best Actor category. The nominees are:

George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises


Fearless Predictions
Who Will Win: Everyone is predicting Daniel Day-Lewis will take home the Academy Award. Who am I to disagree? He's been consistent in all of his performances, and this may be his best performance to date. He'll win for There Will Be Blood.

Who Should Win: Johnny Depp has never won an Oscar and he is one of the hardest working actors in the industry. If I had a ballot, Johnny Depp's Sweeney Todd would get my vote.

Oscar Week, Day Three: Best Supporting Actress Preview

Welcome to day three of Oscar Week. Today's focus is on the category of Best Supporting Actress. The nominees are:

Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Fearless Predictions
Who will win: Cate Blanchett is an Academy favorite, having been nominated previously along with winning for The Aviator in 2005. She's also a double nominee this year for Best Actress in Elizabeth: The Golden Age along with Supporting Actress for I'm Not There. Don't count out Ruby Dee for American Gangster. The Academy loves to honor veteran actors and actresses. I think Ruby Dee will slip past Cate Blanchett and take the Oscar home.

Who Should Win: Everyone in this category is more than deserving, but Tilda Swinton stole Michael Clayton from George Clooney with her powerhouse performance as a woman who would do anything - anything - to succeed.

Oscar Week, Day Two: Best Supporting Actor Preview

It's day two of Oscar Week and today our eyes are on the Best Supporting Actor category. The nominees are:

Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Fearless Predictions
Who will win: Javier Bardem has won just about every acting award this year for No Country for Old Men. Anyone else would be an upset and that is highly unlikely.

Who should win: Everyone is right about him. Bardem earned all of his accolades.

Oscar Week, Day One: Best Director Preview

Welcome to Oscar Week at Chronicles of von Klapp. We'll highlight one of the major categories each day. Today, we're going to look at the Best Director category. The nominees are:

Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Fearless Predictions:
Who Will Win: This award has Cohen written all over it. The closest competition is Paul Thomas Anderson, but his work may be considered uneven by the Academy. Joel and Ethan Cohen will win for No Country for Old Men.

Who Should Win: Joel and Ethan Cohen for No Country for Old Men. They won for writing Fargo, but lost the directing Oscar the same year. With credits that go all the way back to 1984's Blood Simple, this is their year.

Fearless Predictions for 2008

I am not a psychic, nor do I believe in them. I believe in logic and luck, and therefore I have prepared a list of my predictions for 2008.

I'm not predicting natural disasters or the celebrity deaths, but instead two things that I think everyone should be thinking about: the presidential elections and the Academy Awards!

Academy Awards:
Best Picture: "There Will Be Blood"
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson ("There Will Be Blood")
Best Actress: Julie Christie ("Away from Her")
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood")

Presidential Election:
Republican nominee: John McCain
Democrat nominee: Hillary Clinton
President: Hillary Clinton

Time will tell if I'm right or wrong.

Cymbalta will be back tomorrow. I'll be here next weekend. Have a great week and thanks for reading!