Diving Bell is a sorry omission. At least Julian is nominated. He was a riot at the showing of this film in Telluride where he appeared before the film to introduce it in his trademark pajamas and a dressing gown; but gave a moving account of his own fathers passing and how it inspired him to make the film. The vintage X-Rays in the opening credits were brilliant as was the imaginative use of lenses to describe the view of Bauby in his paralysis, as he --the patient -- may have seen it.

Now you guys have made me wonder, what should I run out to see first? I have heard great things about Juno and I read somewhere recently that every character in Juno means something, that everyone is special and everyone surprises you, even characters you would dismiss initially turn out to be substantial. That sounds like my kind of film.

I loved Juno--- but the writing was flawed, despite Diablo Cody's burgeoning reputation. All of her characters sound the same, and often use oddball expressions like 'wizard!!" that only exist in her world. Which is funny, because Cody sounded just like her characters when she was on Letterman.

Ratatouille should've gotten a best picture nod, but maybe that's just me. The academy's understanding or appreciation of animation has been pretty wonky.

But anyway, I think the only other nominated movie I saw was There Will Be Blood. Which was also great (...though I think the third act could have benefited from a less abrupt, or more conclusive, ending). nonetheless, I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!

Ellen Page did a fantastic job balancing comic genius and a story-line with heavy content. It's this year's Little Miss Sunshine.

I agree, Juno is this year's "Little Miss Sunshine". I enjoyed both of these movies. But I must say "No Country for Old Men" might get the Best Picture award. The bad guy, Sugar, is the greatest villain I have ever seen in a movie. I love the guy. But if not that, it should go to Juno. I loved all the other movies, but Juno was something so different for me.

True, true aorin. I wasn't a big fan of the dialogue in Juno either. It was fun and all but really far fetched. It took a good 20 min to relax into the movie and get past the way they talked. That said, I loved all the relationships - parent to child, wife to husband, teen boyfriend to girlfriend. Good stuff. And the end of 'No Country' annoyed me too! I also didn't care for the movie 'La Vie en Rose'. She was was great but the movie was so over the top it was painful! I need to try to see Sweeney Todd before Sunday so I'll know if Johnny should win (when shouldn't he?).

I enjoyed watching Juno but am still scratching my head over the Oscar hoopla over this film. Tells me that a little PR from the right people can go a loooooooong way.

Little Miss Sunshine was far wittier -- you can't really beat a secret weapon like Alan Arkin's grandfather teaching Abigail Breslin's granddaughter a strip-tease routine for her beauty queen number.

I have no complaints with Daniel Day-Lewis walking off with his 2nd Oscar for "There Will Be Blood" because he created a character out of thin air. Upton Sinclair's book was not invested in creating fully fleshed out personalities so Daniel was on his own. The rest of the ensemble cast in this film did not get enough credit from the press and they should have. I am not familiar with many of the actors that appear in this film but Paul Dano's character had a very complicated role and relationship with Daniel Plainview.

The Coen Brothers have had very few failures in their career and while "No Country For Old Men" was very different from many American movies I've seen, I still put "Brother, Where Art Thou?" at the top of my favorite list for this directing duo. I am ecstatic that Javier Bardem got this Oscar and got to stick in a jab about the wretched haircut he had to sport in that film. That haircut alone would've killed me and Chigur could've saved his weapon for the next victim. It was U-G-L-Y.

I haven't seen "La Vie en Rose" but my gut instinct tells me that the Academy flubbed on all the female nominees this year. Marion Cotillard versus JULIE CHRISTIE???? Uh, I don't think so. Not only was Julie Christie pulled out of retirement for this jewel of a role but "Away from Her" is a bold story for an exceptionally young and talented Canadian director, Sarah Polley, to adapt. Who happens to be an excellent actress too. And, Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton"? Her American accent wasn't very consistent and the story wasn’t that complicated. I'm guessing Amy Ryan, Cate Blanchett, and Ruby Dee should've had more of a fighting chance. I saw "Gone Baby Gone" and was shocked, shocked, that Ben Affleck managed to direct a disturbing film of some consequence. And Amy Ryan was really good as a mom no child should have.

Alas, how to embark upon my elegy for "The Diving Bell And The Butterfly”? I told everyone within a shouting distance to go see this film. Let’s put aside my adulation for Mathieu Amalric and just focus on the film itself. It deserves to be seen on the big screen. Audiences got scared off by the weird title; it sounds bizarre in French too. The story seemed depressing; it wasn’t. Jean-Dominique Bauby had electricity running through his being and suddenly, the plug was pulled.

Instead of crashing to earth, he sunk into the deep ocean of a vibrant memory where sensory experiences of love, romance, and life were still active within the spirit of his defunct body.