And here they are:

Best Picture: "Babel," "The Departed," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Queen."

Eric's pick: No idea; I'm just glad that "Dreamgirls" wasn't nominated. It speaks highly of the Academy that it ignored the hype and saw the movie for what it is: a plooding, dull, cliché fest. And the music isn't very good, either.

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"; Peter O'Toole, "Venus"; Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland."

Eric's pick: Whitaker is pretty much a sure thing for his turn as Idi Amin, but it's nice to see Gosling recognized for the under-appreciated "Half Nelson."

Best Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children."

Eric's pick: Little-known fact: "Mirren" means "Oscar winner" in Swahili. In any event, I'm glad Streep wasn't overlooked for "Prada." She was killer in a really fun, satisfying flick.

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"; Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"; Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"; Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed."

Eric's pick: Tough crowd to pick from. It'll probably go to Murphy, but I'd rather see Hounsou or Wahlberg, who constantly surprise me with how good they are.

Best Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, "Babel"; Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"; Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"; Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel."

Eric's pick: I'm a Hudson fan from her "Idol" days, so that would be sweet (and is a pretty good bet). Besides, she was the real lead actress in that movie. I don't care what Beyonce's manager says.

Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel"; Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"; Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima"; Stephen Frears, "The Queen"; Paul Greengrass, "United 93."

Eric's pick: Just give it to Scorsese, if only to end his decades-long pity party.

What do you think? You can vote for your favorites as part of City's Oscar contest, in conjunction with the George Eastman House's Academy Awards party. Head to one of our pub nights at Woody's on Thursday nights (starting January 25) to pick up a ballot.