Best Actor: George Clooney , “ Michael Clayton ,” Daniel Day-Lewis , “ There Will Be Blood ,” Johnny Depp , “ Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street ,” Tommy Lee Jones , “ In the Valley of Elah ,” Viggo Mortensen , “ Eastern Promises .”

My Choice: Daniel Day-Lewis – “There Will Be Blood.” It's a close call because Tommy Lee Jones delivered what could be the best performance of his career in a little seen movie, but Day-Lewis' howl “You're a bastard in a basket!” sends chills down the spine. Watch Day-Lewis slowly boil for two-and-a-half hours. It's steadily rising inflammation in a cold-blooded character.

Who Got Snubbed: Christian Bale – “Rescue Dawn. ” He's one of our most exciting actors to watch, but to see his greatness and his resilience, in both character and performance, is to see him play Dieter Dengler , a crashed fighter pilot who finds himself a POW captive in Laos during the Vietnam War. No other actor physically drains himself into a role quite like Bale who here goes beyond the call of an actor's duty.

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

My Choice: Julie Christie – “Away From Her.” The subject matter of Alzheimer's may steer some viewers away, but her work is heartbreaking in her declining state of fragility. Painfully realistic, cannot be forgotten. Ellen Page, though, is a strong second choice.

Who Got Snubbed: Ashley Judd – “Bug.” Hysterical madness expertly depicted by Judd, whose character is fueled by the loss of her child, spousal abuse, alcohol, and excess reclusion. Her mastery of dissolve earns the tripped-out freaky finale.

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

My Choice: Javier Bardem – “No Country for Old Men.” Anton Chigurh is the most grimly fascinating psychopath in the movies this side of Hannibal Lechter and Norman Bates. Actually, I find Chigurh more fascinating than either one of those comparisons.

Who Got Snubbed: Tommy Lee Jones – “No Country for Old Men. ” The heart and soul of the movie, his character Sheriff Bell preserves a sense of dignity when no one else possesses any. God forbid, I guess it would have been too much to nominate two actors from the film.

Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett , “ I'm Not There ,” Ruby Dee , “ American Gangster ,” Saoirse Ronan, “ Atonement ,” Amy Ryan, “ Gone Baby Gone ,” Tilda Swinton , “ Michael Clayton .”

My Choice: Tilda Swinton – “Michael Clayton.” Her cold dispassionate performance is far more compelling than any other nominee in her field. Outstanding to the point that she's the best part in a very complicated, very intricately plotted movie.

Who Got Snubbed: Charlize Theron – “In the Valley of Elah . ” Her character covers the same territory as her Oscar nominated performance in “North Country” from a couple years ago as a sexually harassed woman in the workplace not given her due, but I think her work is even stronger here.

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

My Choice: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – “No Country for Old Men.” Perfect camerawork. Check. Perfect suspense timing. Check. Perfect backdrops in every shot. Perfect deadpan style. Check. And the most perfect thing of all is how they've preserved author Cormac McCarthy's ideas without overstating them.

Who Got Snubbed: Danny Boyle – “ Sunshine. ” He provided one of the most visually eye-popping and visceral experience at the movies last year. Sci-fi is brainy, imaginative and wildly inventive once again.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton , “ Atonement ,” Sarah Polley , “Away from Her,” Ronald Harwood, “ The Diving Bell and the Butterfly ,” Joel Coen & Ethan Coen , “ No Country for Old Men ,” Paul Thomas Anderson , “ There Will Be Blood .”

My Choice: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – “No Country for Old Men.” A perfect adaptation. Read the final two chapters of the book to catch the poetry of the message.

Who Got Snubbed: Andrew Dominik and Ron Hansen – “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. ” The language so evocative that we feel we are eavesdropping on real people from 1800's Midwest America.

Best Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, “ Juno ,” Nancy Oliver, “Lars and the Real Girl,” Tony Gilroy , “ Michael Clayton ,” Brad Bird , Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco , “ Ratatouille ,” Tamara Jenkins , “ The Savages .”

My Choice: Diablo Cody – “Juno.” For all its unpredictable situations and for all its shenanigans. The Pixar team for the animated rat comedy “Ratatouille” deserves honorable accolades, too.

Who Got Snubbed: Adrienne Shelly – “ Waitress. ” Shelly revived the chick flick with honest and real situations that both men and women can recognize.

Best Animated Feature Film: “ Persepolis ,” “ Ratatouille ,” “Surf's Up.”

My Choice: “Ratatouille.” Never would I have thought that an animated rat could steal my heart.

Who Got Snubbed: “The Simpsons Movie. ” Damn funny, but it's still no “Ratatouille.”

Best Art Direction: “ American Gangster ,” “ Atonement ,” “The Golden Compass,” “ Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street ,” “ There Will Be Blood .”

My Choice: “American Gangster.” The New York '70's is impeccably resurrected.

Who Got Snubbed: “ Sunshine. ” For starters, the oxygen plant room is amazing.

Best Cinematography: “ The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ,” “ Atonement ,” “ The Diving Bell and the Butterfly ,” “ No Country for Old Men ,” “ There Will Be Blood .”

My Choice: “No Country for Old Men.” Perfect camerawork. But the rest of the nominees are indeed superb, and “The Assassination of Jesse James” with its crystal-ball effects and painterly images is near-perfect and a close second choice.

Who Got Snubbed: “ Sunshine. ” Vertiginous free-falling camerawork is dizzying and exhilarating.

Best Documentary Feature: “ No End in Sight ,” “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” “ Sicko ,” “Taxi to the Dark Side,” “War/Dance.”

My Choice: “No End in Sight.” Bumbled miscalculations in America's war strategy in Iraq is what propelled Charles Ferguson's brilliant documentary, easily the best. But “ Sicko ” too is also very good as a nationwide beacon call and might lead to positive change in the health care system in this country.

Best Sound Mixing: “ The Bourne Ultimatum ,” “ No Country for Old Men ,” “ Ratatouille ,” “ 3:10 to Yuma ,” “ Transformers .”

My Choice: “The Bourne Ultimatum.” Consider how many sound effects are employed in the train station cat and mouse chase. A clear winner.

Best Sound Editing: “ The Bourne Ultimatum ,” “ No Country for Old Men ,” “ Ratatouille ,” “ There Will Be Blood ,” “ Transformers .”

My Choice: “There Will Be Blood.” Manufactured sounds are created for busting oil wells.

Best Original Score: “ Atonement ,” by Dario Marianelli ; “ The Kite Runner ,” by Alberto Iglesias ; “ Michael Clayton ,” by James Newton Howard; “ Ratatouille ,” by Michael Giacchino ; “ 3:10 to Yuma ,” by Marco Beltrami.

My Choice: Michael Giacchino – “Ratatouille.” I feel Paris when I'm solely listening to the music, one of many great delights of the film.

Best Film Editing: “ The Bourne Ultimatum ,” “ The Diving Bell and the Butterfly ,” “ Into the Wild ,” “ No Country for Old Men ,” “ There Will Be Blood .”

My Choice: “No Country for Old Men.” Sure, “The Bourne Ultimatum” in another year would be a hands-down winner for its hair-trigger jolts but also for its clarity control, but the suspense timing for “No Country” is… perfect.