I Was Psychic?

Back on Oct. 19 I laid out my predictions for how the Oscar nominations would pan out. I got two of the five best picture nominees correct (I was pleased to be wrong about "Dreamgirls." And a generous grader would give me credit for a third correct prediction thanks to "Letters from Iwo Jima," which Warner Bros. swapped out for "Flags of Our Fathers" - another side of the same Clint Eastwood Iwo Jima coin), two best director nominees (although I tagged Clint Eastwood with "Flags of Our Fathers" rather than "Letters from Iwo Jima") three best actors (I tabbed Leonardo DiCaprio for "The Departed" but hedged by noting he may well get it for "Blood Diamond," which he did) and three best actresses.

This was all before I or anyone else had seen most of the films that were in play. I'm writing this not to prove what a visionary genius I am (I'm less Nostradamus than Nostra-Dumbass - I was dead certain the Cardinals would win the NFC West this year), but to show how ridiculously predictable the Oscar races are each year. At least the politics and campaigning that defines the nominations allows for at least a little wiggle room for voters to actually see the films and praise accordingly. That's why the awful "Dreamgirls" got booted - I'm sick of hearing the film's few fans crying about how it deserved a best picture nom because it got 8 nominations. Three of those came in the meaningless "best song" category - and phenomenal "United 93" director Paul Greengrass slipped into the best director field. If only the flick had also nabbed a best picture nom, I would have nailed a 60 percent clip.