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George Rose: I swear to God, if Avatar wins Best Picture at the Oscars over Up in the Air, I'm going to turn my back on Hollywood and become a sports fan. I'm dead serious. It can win every technical award, that's fine. It can even win Best Actress for Zoe Saldana. I'd even support it winning Best Animated Movie instead of Pixar's Up. But $2 billion in worldwide box office does not make a movie the best movie of the year. By this logic, the winner should be whichever movie makes the most money in a year and that is rarely the case at the Oscars. Should Sandra Bullock win Best Actress? No, but they might throw her the bone as like a "career achievement" Oscar, which is wrong but still not the worst thing the Academy has ever done. James Cameron doesn't need a bone thrown in his direction. The $1 billion he'll make off the movie is more than enough, as are the many Oscars that Titanic walked away with.

As much as the Golden Globes are one big Hollywood joke, this was the first time I failed to laugh. I don't get the joke one bit. Why is Avatar trying to ruin my love of the film industry? Why don't the Golden Globes ever take anything seriously? Why does Drew Barrymore seem like the most insane, bipolar person on the planet, but is someone I'd kill to be friends with? Like everything else in the world, Hollywood is unpredictable. The joke isn't always funny, the good movies don't always win awards, and nothing... not awards, not opening weekends, not worldwide box office... can be predicted. That's why it's usually so much fun to follow! As for the Oscars, nothing is a foregone conclusion. The Golden Globes aren't the final say on anything, and while I hate almost every aspect of Avatar's release, it's going to make one very intense and interesting Oscar viewing party.

Tom Macy: For a second there I was worried I wasn't going to get to talk about Avatar this week, which has now overtaken Up in the Air as the film to beat at this year's Oscars. It's amazing how a box office phenom can translate into awards success. To me the most notable trait of each of the winners of Best Picture - Avatar and The Hangover - was their performance at the box office.

In more bad news for Up in the Air, Jeff Bridges - despite starring in a much lesser seen film (though a superior one) - is starting to look like a formidable opponent for George Clooney. But Clooney's still in it, in fact it's probably the most intriguing race at this point. As for Best Actress, I'm very bummed that the fantastic Carey Mulligan didn't get a boost, though I still see her as a dark horse to look out for in what's shaping up as a fairly weak category this year. Speaking of which, man what a year for Sandra Bullock, huh? The supporting acting awards seem to be a bit more of a lock and probably already have Christoph Waltz and Mo'Nique printed on the statues. Overall there's not a lot to chew on. I think I'm most intrigued to see if Avatar can match/surpass Titanic's Oscar pile. My hunch is no, but I know better than to doubt James Cameron again. Prediction: 27 Oscars.

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