and the oscar goes to...

I've never been a big Oscar fan. I don't do the big Oscar parties or get into Oscar pools on who will win. It's impossible not to be aware of them, but I just don't get wrapped up in them. Part of it may be that over the past few years I haven't had great access to first run movies. At best, I'll watch the pre-show just to see what people are wearing.

I do remember when Oscar made the switch away from winners and losers. Presenters were told not to say "and the winner is", because it made the other nominees seem like losers. They did lose. However, in an effort to making everyone feel good, presenters must say "and the Oscar goes to to".

I haven't seen a lot of this year's movies, but as noted earlier, I did see the Queen, and Helen Mirren's performance was spectacular and I hope she wins the Oscar. Also, I haven't seen the whole movie, but the following clip from Dreamgirls shows why I think Jennifer Hudson should win for this scene alone. I was a fan of hers when she was on American Idol, but in this scene, she tears up the screen. I liked her rendition of the song, but when you see her perform it in the context of the movie, it's even more impressive. The acting and emotion that she puts into the song is just incredible.