Reading through Jeffrey Wells' mini-tirade yesterday regarding Oscar analysts and prognosticators "bowing" at the feet of conventional wisdom, I figured his heart was in the right place.

I mean, let's face it, as I noted in this blog's introductory entry, the Oscars piss many people off each and every year due to this perceived injustice or that.  Most of the time, we cover it as it happens because, well -- that's what journalists do.

But it doesn't mean we don't have favorites that we want to stand up for.  Personally I think Marco Beltrami's score in "3:10 to Yuma" is worth consideration from a music branch that tends to vote the same five or six guys into the line-up more often than not.

Ditto the cinematography branch, which one would never expect to nominate a deserving newbie like Andy Reed ("Quiet City") into the fold.  Just because he and the film don't have major awards pushes behind them doesn't mean they don't deserve a long, hard look.

I think the acting branch could do well by thinking outside of the box and taking into account the work on display from Greg Kinnear ("Feast of Love"), Sam Riley ("Control"), Michael Sheen ("Music Within") and Tang Wei ("Lust, Caution") this year, but so what?

We play it as it lays.  You'll drive yourself crazy if you get on that soap box for too long.