Golden Sunday

The Oscar telecast will be at 8 p.m. on ABC. Hosted by Hugh Jackman.

Film Critic

This weekend, stars descend on Hollywood for the 81st Academy Awards. A few of the categories seem to be slam-dunks, but the rest of the field seems wide open.

Story lines such as Mickey Rourke storming back from the abyss and the death of his beloved Loki and the late Heath Ledger's nomination of his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight have dominated the pre-Oscar buzz. It will be interesting to see if the two aforementioned performers are able to add Oscar-winner to their name.

One category I have my eye on is for the Best Animated Feature. Recently, the Annies were held and Disney/Pixar's Wall-E was shut out. Kung-Fu Panda dominated the night, leaving this critic to wonder -- did the voters actually view the films?

Wall-E could have easily snuck its way into the Best Picture category, so it should walk away with the golden statue with little opposition. Maybe the Annies were simply a 'Here's an award for you Kung-Fu Panda, cause you ain't getting one on Feb. 22.' statement.

Harsh? Well, you watch the films and decide for yourself. One film harkens back to the beautiful, sweeping romances of yesteryear, while the other features Jack Black. Enough said.

Below are my major category predictions for the 81st Academy Awards, so check back Sunday evening and keep score. I will be publishing a follow-up blog tomorrow regarding the awards.

Drop me some comments before the telecast and let me know who you believe will be taking home some hardware and give me your observations throughout the night.

Be there or be square.

2009 Academy Award Predictions:

Lead Actor: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Lead Actress: Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis (Doubt)

Animated Feature: Wall-E

Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Documentary: Man on Wire

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

Visual Effects: Iron Man