"And the Bucho goes to..."

HOLLYWOOD - The envelopes are sealed, the red carpet unfurled. As nominees agonize over last minute accessory upgrades, the Gangsta methodically funnels his choices for Bucho gold. Besides Oscar's big name change, this year's ceremony promises to be a gala night for unprecedented and deserved acclaim. A banner year for film concludes with industry acknowledgement of the highest order: the Bucho. My picks for the year's best:

Adapted Screenplay

• Christopher Hampton, Atonement
  Sarah Polley, Away From Her


• Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly


• Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men - Give it to the Coens for adapting verbatim Cormac McCarthy's literary accusation on the new American motivation, yet somehow making it their own.


• Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood

Original Screenplay

• Diablo Cody, Juno - Diablo Cody's sass-filled script of one-liners and life-changers is pure bliss.


• Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl


• Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton


• Brad Bird, Ratatouille


• Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

Supporting Actress

• Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There


• Ruby Dee, American Gangster


• Saoirse Ronan, Atonement


• Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone - Amy Ryan forgoes judgement of character and turns in the year's most truthful performance in the year's best film.


• Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Supporting Actor

• Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford


• Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men - In blood he trusts. You can't stop what's coming and what's coming for Bardem is the evening's safest bet.


• Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War


• Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild


• Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Actress

• Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There


• Julie Christie, Away From Her


• Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose


• Laura Linney, The Savages


• Ellen Page, Juno - A role that could've gone wrong in every conceivable way. Instead, everything goes right.

Actor

• George Clooney, Michael Clayton


• Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood - Since De Niro in Raging Bull, no one even comes close to this monumental geyser of slick, black, rage.


• Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street


• Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah


• Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

Director

• Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly


• Jason Reitman, Juno


• Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton


• Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men


• Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood - P.T. Anderson's maturation into a landmark auteur. His film is perfection void of a self-indulgence some say hindered his previous efforts. No one's saying shit now.

Picture

• Atonement


• Juno


• Michael Clayton


• No Country for Old Men


• There Will Be Blood

I'm torn between these two. Both are uncompromising indictments of American greed. Both have endings that pull the rug out from conventionality, daring audiences to make sense of the whole bloody mess.