Oscar time! Yes, time to take a breather from the politics for a second, as we take a good look at what I think about the Academy Awards' Best Picture hopefuls. Yes, I've now seen almost all ten (why'd they have to increase it to ten?) nominations, and so I'd like to briefly sum up the films that will lose out to Avatar on Sunday.

But first: Avatar - Yes, the story is incredibly cliché but it gave everyone a reason to go to the cinema again thanks to its wonderful 3D visuals. Cinema is facing its biggest ever challenge from the home: from TV in the 50s to video in the 80s, the quality of home entertainment (and the undoubtable effect of piracy) has hit box office receipts badly. To say that this isn't true because Avatar has taken $2bn (and is still on release) is like saying global warming is a myth because it's been a bit cold this winter. Which, sadly, people have suggested. Anyway, this'll obviously get Best Picture, so there's no real debate. But what about the others?

The Blind Side - Ticks all the Oscar boxes: race, inspirational story and so on. In the end it's the (true) story of a big black kid who's looked after by rich, smug white folk. Meh. I think Sandra Bullock's nomination for Best Actress is a little excessive, as the role's hardly an emotional stretch (incidentally, she just picked up a Razzie Award for Worst Actress, though it was for a different film). This is pretty much Precious for a family audience. The nomination surprises me.

District 9 - Only got half-way through this one, I'll watch the other half when I get chance. Looks good so far, though, very original. [EDIT: finished it now. It's great. Don't think it'd have won, but a great sci-fi type movie]

An Education - A British film, it got loads of Bafta noms but only won one (for the leading actress). The critical acclaim for this one is a little lost on me. It's certainly a nice film, but it was really quite pedestrian: there was no twist, I could see most of it coming a mile away. I understand it's based on an "autobiographical memoir", so maybe I shouldn't be insisting on the embellishment with falsehoods (I remember The Boat That Rocked not so long ago, which decided to fictionalise real events, with poor results). Nevertheless, there are no real surprises in this: it's a nice period piece, with a gentle story bobbing along, but no real tension to speak of. Meh.

The Hurt Locker - Iraq War movie. It's good, but I'm a little taken aback by all the coverage, awards and nominations. I'm not sure it's all that fantastic. It's a good film, sure, but that's all. I've seen similar war films before, and I wouldn't say it's a very new approach. It sounds like I'm being negative, but I must say I enjoyed it. I just think that cleaning up the Baftas and now getting nine Oscar noms is a tad too much.

Inglourious Basterds - Er, not seen this one at all. I'm sure it's great, as it's Tarantino, but I'll find out in the next day or so. [EDIT: seen now. Good, but very slow and long. Could do with a little bit of editing, Quentin]

Precious - No real surprise this was nominated: the Academy has a weakness for stories concerning people with disadvantages, be they disability, illness, poverty, or, in this case, being stuck in a nightmarish cycle of misery. I won't go into too many details, but this is really a rather depressing watch. I wouldn't call it 'uplifting' at all, as films of this ilk often are. There are some good performances, including from a rather famous singer who I completely didn't recognise until right near the end. That surprised me. In summary, it is a good film, and the nomination is, as I said, quite understandable.

A Serious Man - It seems to me that the Coen Brothers get nominations simply because they're the Coen Brothers. I'm not saying this is a bad film - the Coens find it hard to make 'bad' films - but it's far from their best. Following a man for whom nothing seems to go right, it's enjoyable in its bleak yet bright tone. On the whole, though... I don't know, it's the kind that'll get a nomination to fill out the ten, without much chance of winning.

Up - A charming and colourful family romp. After WALL-E, these guys have clearly got good at getting emotion from the audience without any words. The opening ten minutes showing the main character's journey from child to grumpy old man is very emotional, and it's hard to believe they achieve that in such a short timeframe. The rest of the film is a lot of fun, but the emotional heart is what keeps it alive. Not quite as good as WALL-E for me, but still a charming film.

And, last but not least, Up in the Air - A highly enjoyable comedy-drama. Good performances and an Oscar-type message. I liked it. Still won't win, mind.

So, there you have it. There's less than seven hours to go until the fun begins, but I won't be watching live, as it'll be the middle of the night for me.