Oscars

Best Actress

Penelope Cruz (Volver)	Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal)	Helen Mirren (The Queen)	Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)	Kate Winslet (Little Children)

Should Win: Helen Mirren Could Win: Helen Mirren Will Win: Helen Mirren

This is an interesting category because, despite my categoric should/could/would going for Mirren, all five nominees have had great performances, all deserving of a win if it was a different year. Mirren doesn't necessarily stand out as the best performance by far, but rather as a great performance that also happens to be in the most important role out of the 5. Can't deny the win, when you can hardly tell the difference between acted sequences and archive footage of the real Queen.