Oscars

Best Actress

Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson Presents)	Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)	Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice)	Charlize Theron (North Country)	Reese Witherspoon (Walk The Line)

Should Win: Reese Witherspoon Could Win: Felicity Huffman Will Win: Reese Witherspoon

The most interesting characteristic about the five leading ladies is that none of them played in one of the five leading movies!

Judy Dench garners her 5th nomination (she is the only non first timer of the group) with a slightly nuanced version of the same performance that we're used to expect from her. She pulled off a win for a 5 minute role in Shakespeare in Love and she will have to be truly amazing and out of her usual character if she wants to hope for another win.

Keira Knightley was the surprise nomination of this year's perhaps entire Oscars with a lively performance as Jane Austen's beloved heroine. Surprise nomination however means this will be the status her nomination will be remembered as.

Charlize Theron is one of the few nominations that I could predict a year in advance and I was certain she will make it despite the early release of the movie and the relative low buzz during awards season. While her performance may seem like a Monster redux, it is actually not entirely in the same vein. She keeps a subdued beauty while playing a character with important social implications, but... the Academy does have two better fits this year for their final vote.

Felicity Huffman is one of the main contenders in the category. As a transsexual on the brink of her gender-altering operation, she draws her chances from two directions: the "uglification", a process that always worked wonders for the Academy. And... Desperate Housewives! It's true, the Academy is not the Grammy's, but they all watched, or at least pretend to, what is one of the biggest hits on TV. Hopefully though, they will remember that they do not give awards for television but rather for movie roles and vote for...

... Reese Witherspoon. She was every bit as magnetic as Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line if not more, bringing into just spotlight Johnny Cash's lifelong wife and partner, musician June Carter. Her performance is so natural, full of life but also depth, in a significant distance from the roles that we are used watching Reese in. Her win should be just as clear as Jamie Foxx's was last year, yet I can't help feeling that she is the most likely to be upset out of the top 4 categories.