So, here are my picks for the 2004 Academy Awards in the top six categories:

The nominees for Best Picture are:

'Collateral'
'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2-Disc Collector's Edition)'
'The Incredibles (Widescreen 2-Disc Collector's Edition)'
'Million Dollar Baby (3 Disc Deluxe Edition Including CD Soundtrack)'
'Sideways (Widescreen Edition)'

And the winner is...Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind!

That rare film that is intelligent and extremely entertaining. Brilliantly acted, written and directed. It's lack of major Oscar attention is a travesty.

For Best Director, the nominees are:

Clint Eastwood--Million Dollar Baby
Marc Forster--'Finding Neverland (Widescreen Edition)'
Michel Gondry--Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Michael Mann--Collateral
Alexander Payne--Sideways

And the winner is...Michael Mann for Collateral!

As good as the actors are in the film, Mann is the star of Collateral. Los Angeles has never looked lovelier or, conversely, more seamy. Mann is long overdue for a statuette.

The nominees for Best Actor are:

Jim Carrey--Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Tom Cruise--Collateral
Johnny Depp--Finding Neverland
Paul Giamatti--Sideways
Liam Neeson--'Kinsey (Two-Disc Special Edition)'

And the winner is...Paul Giamatti for Sideways!

If anyone needs proof of just how clueless the Academy can be, check the fact that Giamatti didn't even get a nomination for his brilliant turn in this film. Perhaps viewers were put off at how real this performance is - we all know someone like him or ARE him in some ways.

(No, I did not nominate Jamie Foxx for 'Ray (Widescreen Edition)'. He's good, but it's an impression, not acting. Check Joaquin Phoenix in 2005's Walk the Line for someone who inhabits a real-life musician.)

The nominees for Best Actress are:

Julia Roberts--'Closer (Superbit Edition)'
Imelda Staunton--'Vera Drake'
Hilary Swank--Million Dollar Baby
Uma Thurman--'Kill Bill, Volume 2'
Kate Winslet--Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

And the winner is...Kate Winslet for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind!

Swank was awesome, but Winslet is simply amazing. She's Clementine. Period. Winslet is an Academy darling, but they always pass her over. She's long overdue.

For Best Supporting Actor, the nominees are:

Alan Alda--'The Aviator (2-Disc Widescreen Edition)'
Thomas Haden Church--Sideways
Morgan Freeman--Million Dollar Baby
Clive Owen--Closer
Peter Sarsgaard--Kinsey

And the winner is...Clive Owen for Closer!

Owen's a revelation in this film. Closer's great screenplay lifts the actors to places they've never been (hence Julia Roberts's nomination, too), but Owen is brilliant.

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are:

Cate Blanchett--The Aviator
Laura Linney--Kinsey
Virginia Madsen--Sideways
Meryl Streep--'The Manchurian Candidate (Widescreen Edition)'
Kate Winslet--Finding Neverland

And the winner is...Laura Linney for Kinsey!

Linney amazes in a role that could have easily been cliched and thankless. She gets to the heart of a woman married to a man that only she seems to understand.

And there they are. Maybe one day the Academy and I will be in total agreement, but somehow I doubt it. The safe choice is usually their choice. Sad, but true!

Here are more films I enjoyed in 2004:

'Fahrenheit 9/11'
'The Bourne Supremacy (Widescreen Edition)'
'Spider-Man 2 (Widescreen Special Edition)'
'Super Size Me'
'The Polar Express (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)'
'The Ladykillers (Widescreen Edition)'
'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Widescreen Edition) (Harry Potter 3)'
'Shrek 2 (Widescreen Edition)'
'Open Water (Widescreen Edition)'