Maybe Box is dissatisfied, but...

This is really the first year (in my ripe old age of 18) since I've started following the Oscars that everything has pretty much been all over the place.

And it's starting to get fun.

This is the most chaotic year since the Braveheart year IMO.

Yeah I like it too.

The only reason why it seemed like there weren't enough strong contenders is because many of the great movies this year were thought to be out, but it seems like that might not be the case after all (A History of Violence and The Constant Gardner in particular. Maybe Squid and Whale)

Yeah, I agree.

And I don´t understand the perception that this is a bad year. Maybe It because the most Oscar type of films haven´t done well... But there have been really good movies, from the fews I have seen, and I am really looking forward to many others (GNGL, BBM, Junebug, The squid and the whale, Memoirs...)

I gather you disagree with me?

I don't know. Isn't Brokeback Mountain really out in front of the pack right now and is likely to stay that way for the next couple of months? The pieces really seem to be coming together for a picture/director/actor/screenplay sweep, which would actually be quite boring. Of course this is my biased opinion, but Brokeback just looks like a movie that even if done superbly, still wont really register that highly with me. After seeing it I may be back to eat my words, buy yeah, that's how I feel right now and the prospect of it cleaning up on oscar night is disheartening. I must also lament the unfortunate lock-ness of Walk the Line, such a safe and boring inclusion that will be. We really desperately need a little spice in the line-up and I hope that King Kong can provide it, though that still seems unlikely to me considering what a certain fantasy trilogy just rewarded Jackson with two year ago. I really hope (sight unseen of course) that The New World can sneak into the final five as well.

My ideal 5 nominees for best picture would be:

1. Munich
2. King Kong
3. The New World
4. Sin City
5. Crash

Now that's a spicy line-up.

BBM, no matter how much of a frontrunner It is, because It tells a gay love story, It´s going to be a big question mark till the last second.

And then there are also other races that are crazy, like supporting actor and actress, and other highly competitive, like Best Actor.

Yeah, after the Sideways critical sweep last year and the obvious winners at the Oscars, this is a fun year. Now if only someone bedsides Hoffman (and Ledger) would win something in the actor category it would get more fun.

Best? No... Most interesting? Yes.

Yeah, I agree, and even if it does remain the frontrunner for a while, there's always the potential for a loss of steam at the very end.