Weekend picks the Oscars

Best Picture
Will Win: “No Country For Old Men”
Should Win: “There Will Be Blood”

Of the two grandiose and technically flawless existential Westerns, “Blood” has a soul, and “No Country,” like its inhuman murderer Anton Chigurh, does not. “No Country” is a parable about the absurdity of life executed as masterfully, and as emptily, as a Beckett play. “Blood” portrays the cost of the lust for power on human relationships and ultimately carries more weight as a drama about human life, not a rehashing of ’50s French philosophy set in a desert.

Best Direction
Will Win: Joel and Ethan Coen
Should Win: Paul Thomas Anderson

As reflected in my own predictions, the big winners of Oscar night are bound to be “There Will Be Blood” and “No Country for Old Men.” P.T. Anderson ought to receive this award for his astounding vision as executed in superb acting and writing, haunting music and cinematography that captures both the epic (in sweeping landscape shots) and the minute (in incisive close-ups of the faces).

Best Leading Actress
Will Win: Julie Christie
Should Win: Julie Christie

“Away from Her” is just the kind of movie the Academy loves – heartbreaking, subtle and beautifully portrayed. No mouthy teenager (Ellen Page as Juno), stifled, ambiguous and haunting ghost of a woman (Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth) or, um, French person (Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf) can come in the way of an Oscar for Julie Christie’s direct, even timeless portrayal of a woman with Alzheimer’s.

Best Leading Actor
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis

This is the easiest decision the Academy has to make. Although the other nominees were strong (especially Clooney, Mortensen and Depp), none carry the earth-shattering significance of Day-Lewis’ portrayal of the ferocious rise and fall of an American industry patriarch in “There Will Be Blood.”

Best Screenplay (Original)
Will Win: “Juno”
Should Win: “Michael Clayton”

The writing in “Juno” is cutesy and contrived. “Michael Clayton” will be unduly ignored come Oscar night, but that doesn’t mean I forgot how Tony Gilroy’s script so excellently captured emotional distance, mental instability and ethical dilemmas.