Oscars are coming up in just a matter of days. Who will win? Who doesn't stand a chance? What's over-rated? Is the Academy ever on the right track? LMI hosts Lee Tistaert and Jason Kaplan, with special guest Jeremy discuss such issues and more...

Lee: I haven't seen Frida either, but I'd say Gangs offhand as the look of the film was truly solid.

Jeremy: Gangs is my choice.

Lee: Gangs wouldn't be there w/o art direction.

Jason: Frida has some very stylized shots.

Lee: But not as successful and talked about, even though there are exceptions.

Jason: It did get more nominations.

Jeremy: Although, Frida has the advantage of having Julie Taymor as its director, all she knows is art direction.

Jason: I don't think the Academy forgot about it.

Jeremy: She is usually directing theater shows, not movies

Lee: Same with Rob Marshall.

Jeremy: I was really surprised by the amount of nominations Frida received.

Jason: It's unfair that the nods for most categories only have the movie title and not the name. Animated…

Jeremy: Spirited away

Jason: Not to be confused with Spirit, which will not win.

Jeremy: It is the indie favorite, but because Ice Age was such a huge hit it might overtake Spirited Away.

Lee: Spirited Away looks like Princess Mononoke all over again.

Jason: Treasure planet and Spirit are sure losers.

Jeremy: Many of the members seem to appreciate those types of films, like Spirited Away.

Lee: Lilo doesn't deserve to be there, but it's Disney.

Jason: Lilo was a back to the basics, though.

Jeremy: It’s more deserving than Treasure Planet, but still both have no chance.

Jason: Neo-classical animation.

Lee: Haven't seen Spirit, but the animation in the previews was really corny and cheap.

Jason: Yes, I heard it's a lot of naying.

Jeremy: Both of them were fairly average films.

Lee: Lilo & Stitch was barely tolerable for me.

Jeremy: The fact that Waking Life was not nominated last year seems to say that the animated category may go to the more mainstream films.

Jason: It did last year.

Lee: I saw parts of that, it was pretty trippy.

Jason: Shrek was not that good.

Jeremy: Waking Life was an incredible film - very experimental and original.

Lee: I thought Shrek was the closest to Aladdin and Lion King studios have ever gotten.

Jason: I think Pixar outdoes Shrek every time.

Jeremy: Shrek was just a 90-minute long trashing of Disney films. It was entertaining if you cannot stand another Disney animated film.

Lee: Although, I guess I'm forgetting Toy Story 2, which was pretty good too.

Jason: Monsters Inc. - one of the best animated movies period, and one of the best family films ever.

Jeremy: I agree with the Pixar point.

Lee: But Shrek offered to more than just kids.

Jeremy: Yeah, it really was a clever film - great animation, too.

Lee: Something like Lilo is only for youngsters.

Jeremy: Monster, Inc. was for all ages too, though.

Lee: That was a little overrated.

Jason: Impressive only in that they got the rights to the Elvis songs for Lilo.

Lee: I didn't find Monsters as fun as some did.

Jeremy: No not at all, Shrek was overrated from my standpoint.

Jason: Best Actor…I've only seen Pianist for this one.

Jeremy: This year is going to come down to Ice age and Spirited Away.

Jason: Agreed. I'll add in my 2 cents after I see it.

Jeremy: Best Actor is an excellent category this year; every actor is deserving of the nomination.

Jason: Actor category is usually strong.

Jeremy: Adrien Brody was mesmerizing in The Pianist; he absolutely carries the film. I can't remember a year when there weren't at least 2 nominations that were head to head.

Jason: He is the movie.

Jeremy: Nic. Cage was also strong as the duel writers in Adaptation. However, Cage's performance did not carry the same emotional weight just due to the content.

Jason: I'd say it goes to Brody because of the subject and power of the movie.

Jeremy: The race seems to be between Brody, Nicholson, and Day-Lewis.

Jason: I don't think Nicholson will win.

Jeremy: Cage seems to be getting little consideration and Caine actually wasn't that great in Quiet American, which was an awful film by the way.

Jason: It's in the back of everyone's mind how many nominations he has.

Jeremy: That's why I think Day-Lewis will win this one.

Jason: What about Brody?

Jeremy: He has an incredible role and he has been away from the spotlight for so long. He could be the dark horse since both Brody and Day-Lewis carry both films

Lee: I doubt Brody will win. Pianist getting nominated to me is a sign that they won't give it anything but it's their way of giving it advertising.

Jeremy: Brody performance is a little understated; the academy usually likes more flashy roles such as Day-Lewis's.

Jason: I really don't think they nominated it for advertising reasons.

Lee: I say it's either Nicholson or Day-Lewis.

Jason: I agree with the flashy roles winning

Lee: Maybe not fully for advertising, but to get it attention it wouldn't normally receive.

Jason: It really deserved the nomination, though.

Jeremy: The academy really didn't seem to enjoy About Schmidt, considering it's measly 2 nominations after all the critical hype.

Lee: Day-Lewis’s shtick of waiting years between roles could be the winning factor, but Nicholson has been talked about more.

Jeremy: That could hurt Nicholson in this case.

Jason: Let's go to my favorite category this year…Best Director. Slight problem for one of the nominees.

Jeremy: Scorsese will win this one.

Lee: Even though I didn't like the film, Scorcese deserves it.

Jason: Roman Polanski is on the run from the law.

Jeremy: I am supremely confident about Scorsese.

Jason: I can't say because I haven't seen it.

Lee: Between Scorcese never winning anything and the execution of the time period, I think it's going to be easy.

Jason: I guess that's what the $100 million budget bought.

Jeremy: And 25 years of working on the project.

Jason: Isn't there a lifetime achievement for that?

Lee: Is it me or was Gangs missing all the components that made Goodfellas and Casino?

Jason: Best Picture: Chicago, Chicago, Chicago - that's all I hear. But just about every nomination was better. I can't see anyone justifying their vote for Chicago. I think this will be the upset of the night. Although, we haven't awarded Chicago too many chances. I think Two Towers is ensured not to win. I just really hope Chicago doesn't win, but it seems like war with Iraq (an impossible thing to stop).

Lee: I think the general public wants Chicago to win. When it opened, everyone was going crazy about how well made it was.

Jason: I think many of those people haven't seen any of the other nominations - besides TTT.

Lee: I don't think Miramax would've done all the Oscar hype if they stood a chance of losing picture.

Jason: This would be the biggest injustice since Shakespeare in Love.

Lee: I think picture was the central line of their goal. But at least there is no 5- min. cameo that's getting best supporting actress.

Jason: Which movie is that?

Lee: Shakespeare - Judi Dench

Jason: Oh…God. I don't know what they were thinking. Might as well nominate her for James Bond; she does more acting in those movies. So what's your call for best picture?

Lee: Chicago. I think Miramax owned it from the start.

Jason: And if you were voting?

Lee: Though Signs was my favorite of the year, if I were to go off the nominations - Pianist, probably. A day after I saw Chicago, people couldn't believe I was mixed.

Jason: I was bored for the first half of Chicago.

Lee: Whenever musical numbers broke out, I always contemplated leaving.

Jason: I don't understand how Richard Gere can drive the entire movie, but not be nominated.

Lee: Richard Gere and Reilly were the highlights.

Jason: He's got 3 votes on the poll (Source of Chicago’s Success).

Lee: If the movie were them, perhaps I would've liked it more. But then again, that's missing the entire story.

Jason: Without them, the movie would be an embarrassment.

Lee: I just never cared for the two main stars, and that is crucial.