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It's that time of year again. When actors, actresses and others involved in the making of films, hold their breath after hearing And the Oscar goes to....

I always try to sit down and try to guess who will take the little golden man home, but I seldom get it right. Check out last year, for example. Let's see how I do this year.

I tried to watch most of the nominated movies, but couldn't manage to cover them all. Here's a list of those I haven't watched:

• Munich
• North Country
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Transamerica
• Good Night and Good Luck
• Pride and Prejudice

So with that in mind, let's start guessin' the main categories.
(here's the link for the Nominations List)

• Best actor in a leading role

  My hunch Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)

  Winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)

• Best actor in a supporting role

  My hunch Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)

  Winner George Clooney (Syriana)

• Best actress in a leading role

  My hunch Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)

  Winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)

• Best actress in a supporting role

  My hunch Rachel Weisz (Constant Gardener)

  Winner Rachel Weisz (Constant Gardener)

• Achievement in directing

  My hunch George Clooney (Good night, and Good luck)

  Winner Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)

• Best motion picture of the year

  My hunch Crash

  Winner Crash

• Best adapted screenplay

  My hunch Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana (Brokeback Mountain)

  Winner Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana (Brokeback Mountain)

• Best original screenplay

  My hunch Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco (Crash)

  Winner Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco (Crash)

Comments

• George Clooney wins supporting actor I was really hoping for Giamatti. Loved him in the movie and I thought the academy could have gone for him on this one. Guess I should've seen Syriana to put it in perspective. Also, I felt sorry for Jack Gyllenhaal. He was amazing, but he had a very tough competition in this category.
• Rachel Weisz wins supporting actress From all the nominees, Rachel was the one that made the most significant impression on me as a viewer. A hard role, since she didn't get much screen time. Michelle Williams was great in Brokeback Mountain, but only for brief periods of time – and by that, I mean, one scene. It wasn't enough for an Oscar.
• Philip Seymour Hoffman wins leading actor He didn't bark like a dog as he promised but that wasn't why he won the award. He won for his constantly above average performance as Truman Capote. The person he portrayed was a cold, fake man, but still he did it flawlessly and he went way beyond the voice. Too bad for Joaquin Phoenix and Heath Ledger. I think Joaquin has been waiting for this role his entire life – as did Reese Witherspoon – and he grasped the opportunity to show his value. I, at least, have changed my opinion of him as an actor. Too bad he was up against Philip this year.
• Reese wins supporting actress As I've mentioned above, Reese has been one of those actresses that have been making movies for a couple of years but never got a role that enabled her to shine. Maybe those roles made her grow as an actress so that she could now fill the shoes of June Carter so wonderfully. I'm still very curious to see Charlize's performance in North Country.
• Brokeback Mountain wins adapted screenplay I was expecting this, even though I didn't watch Munich. The story is so intense and so compelling that it was, in my opinion, the strongest point of the movie. The way it unfolds on screen is well paced and the view on the emotional relationship between the two men is what makes the whole thing interesting and drives the film all the way through. That's what made this movie far more than just a tale about gay cowboys.
• Crash wins original screenplay wow! I Does this mean it won't win best picture? I wasn't sure about this one, despite loving the way the story was told. You never know which direction the Academy is going to take. The way all of the stories are told and woven together makes this story one-of-a-kind and totally oscar-worthy.
• Ang Lee wins Direction I knew I had this wrong when Clooney won for supporting actor. I just didn't know which film would get the award. Maybe I'm not aware of what is evaluated in direction, but I don't see Brokeback Mountain as an achievement or breakthrough in directing. I think they're rewarding the movie somehow, since they're not going to award it best picture. ;)
• Crash won best motion picture of the year! Wonderful!!! It was a surprise to me to see this movie as a nominee and not because I didn't believe in it, just because there was a lot of hype surrounding more recent movies. Crash has been out for way longer than any other nominee in this category, so it had time against it. I'm glad it prevailed and they awarded this controversial, shocking and touching movie the best picture of the year.

Roundup

It's now 4:34 am (GMT) as I write this.

I liked Jon Stewart as the host, however, in the first segment it seemed like he was pissing off the audience. His humor is a lot more politically conscious than the previous hosts, and even though I enjoyed it, I was expecting more. Maybe because he had to refrain a bit, to avoid controversy. He said on Larry King he wouldn't be the source of more controversy.

As for the awards themselves, it's a shame Joaquin Phoenix didn't get rewarded by his great performance as Johnny Cash, nor Jack Gyllenhaal. They both deserved it, but the competition was tougher. I believe they were all fair, even the special effects going to King Kong and not Narnia. Kong was exceptionally well created, with a lot of credit – recognized in the acceptance speech – to Andy Serkis who served as a model. He's making a career out of acting as a model for virtual characters.

A big highlight for Crash, the big surprise of the evening. Despite being the oldest movie being nominated, it got the deserved recognition and took home Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. It beat the hyped Brokeback Mountain, just like I expected.

Good show this year. When the Best Original Song is entitled It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp, you know you had a multi-cultural Academy Awards show.

Oh and I got 6 out of 8 guesses right. That's 75%. ;) Way better than last year!

[Finished @ March 6th, 4:52am GMT]

(I've updated this post throughout the evening)