Fearless Oscar Predictions.

The 80th Annual Academy Awards will be given out on Sunday night, and unlike previous years, this year I've actually seen some of the nominated films. Regardless, it doesn't stop me from having an opinion, because I'm an American, and I don't have to see something to know what I think of it. To wit, here are my predictions:

Performance by an actor in a leading role

George Clooney in "Michael Clayton"

Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"

Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah"

Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises"

If anyone besides Daniel Day-Lewis wins this award, there should be a federal investigation. I haven't seen a performance like his that I can remember, and when one recalls great acting performances, it should be about actors who gave us something memorable. His work is far too deep and emotional to ignore.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"

Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men"

Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War"

Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild"

Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton"

Since Bardem has already won the Screen Actor's Guild award, I figure he'll win the Oscar as well. It's a menacing performance, if not a bit shallow. If I had a vote, I would give it to Hoffman, who lights up the screen when he finally appears in "Charlie Wilson's War". The film would be nearly worthless without him, which is what an acting award should represent.

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"

Julie Christie in "Away from Her"

Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose"

Laura Linney in "The Savages"

Ellen Page in "Juno"

Page is wonderful in "Juno", but they'll never give the award to a kid. Again, it's a performance that makes the film special. I suspect that Marion Cotilliard will win because the Academy often has its nose up its ass, and likes to remind us that they're more sophisticated than we. Now, we're all supposed to run out and see "La Vie en Rose", whatever that is. The life of Rose? I'd give it to the pregnant kid who wise-cracks her way through 90 minutes, but I'm funny that way.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There"

Ruby Dee in "American Gangster"

Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement"

Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone"

Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton"

Every year, there's a sentimental old-timer who is given an award and the public says, "Oh, is she still alive?" Such will be the case when Ruby Dee wins the Oscar for best supporting actress. Hal Holbrook could be the male version of this distinction, but there are at least two other performances that would cry "foul" if he won. Amy Ryan is great as the drug-addled mother, and Swinton doesn't have much to do until the last 10 minutes of "Michael Clayton", which I didn't like to begin with. Overall, I think this is a pretty weak bunch.

Since the soundtrack for "There Will Be Blood" was not nominated for best music, I have no opinion on the winner for this award. It's a beautiful score by Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead), and I can't imagine any of the other nominees being close. It helps the film build its drama, which is what good music is supposed to do. The "Michael Clayton" soundtrack was nominated and I can't recall a single note.

"Juno" will win perhaps its only award of the night for Best original screenplay, and "There Will Be Blood" will win for Best adapted screenplay.

Pray that "Sicko" doesn't win for best documentary, or we'll have to listen to more inane dribble from Michael Moore. I'll bet you a week's pay he shows up in a tuxedo and a baseball cap. What a clown.

The Coen brothers will likely win for best directing ("No Country for Old Men"), although Paul Thomas Anderson's work in "There Will Be Blood" is hard to ignore. I'm always amazed that there are still places in the world where one can make a film that looks like it was shot a hundred years ago.

Best motion picture of the year

"Atonement"

"Juno"

"Michael Clayton"

"No Country for Old Men"

"There Will Be Blood"

I've seen all of these except "Atonement", which I have no intention of seeing. Overall, this is a decent group, and if I had a vote, it would go to "Juno". But the Oscar rarely, if ever goes to a film that has that sort of appeal. Just as "Little Miss Sunshine" lost out last year, so will "Juno" this year. I suspect that "No Country for Old Men" will win, in spite of complaints that the ending is vague. We like our movie endings neatly tied up, and the end of this film leaves one thinking, and we don't like to think. It's a great film and worthy of an Oscar.

I didn't care for "Michael Clayton", and I don't see how a rather ordinary film about corruption, suspense and industrial espionage got nominated for best picture. "There Will Be Blood" is my dark horse, and if it won, I could completely understand.

They also give out awards for best animated short film and best live action short film, but I don't know anyone who has ever seen a short-subject film in a movie theater. Maybe, when they give out the awards, they could tell us where we can go to see them.

I'll be asleep long before the last award is handed out, and may skip the program altogether. I don't care much for the pomp of the TV show. After Jon Stewart finishes his monologue, I start to lose interest. I can read the winners' names in the newspaper and enjoy a good night's sleep, and I suggest you do the same.