On January 31 of this year, I posted some preliminary picks concerning this year's Oscar race. Having now had time to reflect on all of the categories, I am now in a position to demonstrate how little I really know about the awards process. Nonetheless, here it goes.

First, let me simply list the selections that I already made in my previous column. For those of you interested in taking another look, I briefly stated my reasons for my selections in that article.

BEST PICTURE No Country for Old Men

BEST DIRECTOR The Coen Brothers

BEST ACTOR Daniel Day Lewis

BEST ACTRESS Julie Christie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Javier Bardem

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE No End In Sight

MUSIC (SONG) Falling Slowly from "Once"

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) Diablo Cody for "Juno"

VISUAL EFFECTS Transformers

MAKE-UP La Vie en Rose

ART DIRECTION Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

COSTUME DESIGN Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

CINEMATOGRAPHY There Will Be Blood

And now to complete the list:

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Tilda Swinton

As I alluded to previously, this is probably the most difficult category to pick this year. All five actresses gave incredible performances, and you almost have to put their names on a wall, throw a dart at them blindfolded, and live with whomever you accidentally hit.
Quite frankly, no performance this year was as visually compelling as Ms. Blanchett's Bob Dylan impersonation. While Ruby Dee's performance is probably the least deserving of the five actresses, she clearly remains the sentimental favorite.

With all due respect to McAvoy and Knightley, "Atonement" doesn't get nominated for best picture without the mesmerizing performance of Ms. Ronan as the sexually conflicted teenage betrayer. And no one in the history of film (with the possible exception of Shelley Winters in "A Place in The Sun - 1951") embodies the true definition of white trash better than Amy Ryan.

However, I pick Ms. Swinton for three reasons. "Michael Clayton" is too good a film not to be recognized in some category; Ms. Swinton's moral meltdown is equaled in film only to the Wicked Witch of the West's literal meltdown in "The Wizard of Oz"; and her compelling, broad body of work over the years that has consistently elevated films to a higher level has gone unrecognized to this point.

BEST-ANIMATED FEATURE Ratatouille

I previously picked "Ratatouille", and I did so without seeing "Persepolis." In my recent review of the latter, I noted at some length how I thought it was one of the great movies of the year. Ironically, while I stand by those comments, I think the quality of "Ratatouille" still wins this category.

FILM EDITING The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

While it is probably foolish not to go with either "No Country" or "There Will Be Blood", the editing of "Diving Bell" is spectacularly unique. This is particularly true of the scenes where you literally become the paralyzed Mr. Bauby, looking through his one functional eye. This extraordinary film has to be recognized in the end for something, and I think this is it.

SOUND EDITING There Will Be Blood

In my earlier article, I picked "Transformers" to win this category. However, upon reflection, one of the things that drew the audience into Daniel Plainview's megalomaniac capitalistic dementia was the sound associated with the oil drilling process itself. The sound in "Transformers" was stunning, but "Blood" was the more significant movie, and I think it will win this category.

SOUND MIXING Transformers

Again, upon reflection, I probably shouldn't pick "Transformers" to win this category given the fact that "No Country For Old Men" is also nominated. As we all know, great movies tend to gobble up these type of awards. However, I stand by "Transformers", because no film this year matched the magical quality of its sound and visual effects.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY No Country For Old Men

This is another extraordinarily difficult category. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Sarah Polley won for "Away From Her?" Or how about Ronald Harwood for "The Diving Bell?" However, if "No Country" is the best picture of the year, as I truly believe, then that was overwhelmingly due to its screenplay, and I see the Coen Brothers walking away with the trifecta.

That leaves the following categories:

1. Best Animated Short Film;
2. Best Live Action Short Film;
3. Best Documentary Short Subject;
4. Best Foreign Film.

Since none of the nominated films have played in Indianapolis, it would obviously be a leap into darkness to pick a likely winner. But I remain infuriated concerning the foreign language film nominees, particularly in light of the fact that the magnificent "The Diving Bell" was not nominated. Something is "rotten in Denmark" - - - or in this case, the selection process in this category.