Well, it’s that time of year again. Time for Josh to take a bath... no, wait - it’s time for the 77th Academy Award Nominations. Since Josh is busy with that bath, this year I get to cover who’s hot, and who’s not. With no further ado...

The Nominees Are...

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Don Cheadle - Hotel Rwanda
Johnny Depp - Finding Neverland
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Aviator
Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
Jamie Foxx - Ray

Rafe says: The appearance of Clint Eastwood is a bit of a surprise, otherwise this is exactly what was expected. It's a shame really. Where's Craig Wisniewski (Pizza: the Movie) day of glory? And everyone made such a big deal about the lead characters in Harold and Kumar being non-traditional racial roles. No acknowledgement of that? Seriously though, as we go forward, notice Paul Giamatti is the only Sideways actor not to get recognition. Apparently the movie didn't have a leading actor in it. I guess they should have given the role to George Clooney after all.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Alda - The Aviator
Thomas Haden Church - Sideways
Jamie Foxx - Collateral
Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby
Clive Owen - Closer

Rafe says: If someone were to tell me a few years ago that Lowell from "Wings" would be up against Hawkeye Pierce and Wanda the Ugly Woman from "In Living Color" for an Oscar... well, I probably would have lost my interest in Entertainment right then. You have to feel embarassed for the company Morgan Freeman's keeping these days.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Annette Bening - Being Julia
Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace
Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake
Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby
Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Rafe says: My jaw literally dropped when Kate Winslet's name was announced. With Eternal Sunshine being such an early 2004 release, I honestly thought all acting would be overlooked by the Academy. Go Oscar! Maybe you aren't the dried up puss-bag so many critics make you out to be these days after all.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett - The Aviator
Laura Linney - Kinsey
Virginia Madsen - Sideways
Sophie Okonedo - Hotel Rwanda
Natalie Portman - Closer

Rafe says: I was a huge fan of Portman in Garden State, but didn't catch her performance in Closer (yet). There is a precedence for women in roles as strippers/hookers/etc to win the Oscar though. Not sure what that says about the Academy...

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Incredibles
Shark Tale
Shrek 2

Rafe says: Dreamworks gets 2:1 odds against Incredibles, but they'll go home empty handed. Ogres and Sharks just can't take on Brad Bird's super heroes.

DIRECTING
Martin Scorsese - The Aviator
Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
Taylor Hackford - Ray
Alexander Payne - Sideways
Mike Leigh - Vera Drake

Rafe says: Absolutely no surprises in this category, although I'm disappointed to see the exclusion of The Incredibles. I really thought the animated flick might have the best chance to break into this category in years, but I guess the creation of that animated category has ruined it for all cartoons. Instead we get hacks like Eastwood and Scorsese. Guess what guys - nobody's forgotten Shark Tale or Paint Your Wagon! We know where you came from!!

BEST PICTURE
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Million Dollar Baby
Ray
Sideways

Rafe says: And this is what it comes down to... Howard Hughes, J.M. Barrie, Ray Charles, a female boxer, and a couple of drunken louts on a road trip. This is the best we could come up with for the year? No Michael Moore? No Passion of the Christ? What is this world coming to. Oh well, we can always have hope that next year will find Gladiator 2 in the running somewhere.

And then there are the categories nobody cares about... well, that's not true - these people have families. There's no need to disparage the work these people did though, because due to working behind the scenes, few people know who they are anyway. Here are the rest of the Oscar Categories...

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
Before Sunset
Finding Neverland
Million Dollar Baby
The Motorcycle Diaries
Sideways

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
The Aviator
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Hotel Rwanda
The Incredibles
Vera Drake

MUSIC (SCORE)
Finding Neverland
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Passion of the Christ
The Village

MUSIC (SONG)
"Accidentally In Love" - Shrek 2
"Al Otro Lado Del Río" - The Motorcycle Diaries
"Believe" - The Polar Express
"Learn To Be Lonely" - The Phantom of the Opera
"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" - The Chorus

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Born into Brothels
The Story of the Weeping Camel
Super Size Me
Tupac: Ressurection
Twist of Faith

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Autism is a World
The children of Leningradsky
Hardwood
Mighty Times: The Children's March
Sister Rose's Passion

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Birthday Boy
Gopher Broke
Guard Dog
Lorenzo
Ryan

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Everything in this Country Must
Little Terrorist
7:35 in the Morning
Two Cars, One Night
Wasp

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
As it is in Heaven
The Chorus
Downfall
The Sea Inside
Yesterday

ART DIRECTION
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Phantom of the Opera
A Very Long Engagement

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Aviator
House of Flying Daggers
The Passion of the Christ
The Phantom of the Opera
A Very Long Engagement

COSTUME DESIGN
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Ray
Troy

FILM EDITING
The Aviator
Collateral
Finding Neverland
Million Dollar Baby
Ray

MAKEUP
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Passion of the Christ
The Sea Inside

SOUND EDITING
The Incredibles
The Polar Express
Spider-Man 2

SOUND MIXING
The Aviator
The Incredibles
The Polar Express
Ray
Spider-Man 2

VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I, Robot
Spider-Man 2

The 77th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 27th on ABC Television at 5pm PST/8pm EST. Don’t forget to join us for Oscar Chat 4, where we’ll no doubt make fun of the winners, losers, and talk about how host Chris Rock is nowhere near as good as Billy Crystal.