The 79th annual Academy Awards will be handed out once again on February 25th and early indications show that they are bound to be as predictable as ever. Despite some strong and compelling nominations, the majority of those in line for the top prize fall comfortably into the Academyí¢â‚¬â„¢s notorious history of playing it safe. The Best Picture Oscar is the top honor that any film can receive, holding more prestige than any other award in the industry. It is an award that can propel the winning film into a new dimension: increasing its ticket sales, amplifying the amount of DVD revenue and securing it a place in the annuls of film history. It allows directors and stars to call their own shots, demand multi million dollar salaries and gain creative control in Hollywood. However, since 9/11, a more conservative Oscar ceremony has emerged, one that is less about rewarding the art of cinema and more about expensive promotional campaigns and popularity within the industry.

The Best Picture category has always reflected the times. During the early days of the Oscars, epics and musicals dominated the category with winners like Gone With The Wind and My Fair Lady. This trend continued into the late 60s, until more dramatic and hard-hitting films emerged, such as In the Heat of the Night and The Godfather. Throughout the 70s and 80s, character driven dramas reigned supreme at the Oscars, with films like Kramer vs. Kramer and Ordinary People. The trend continued into the late 80s and early 90s, with emotionally charged films like Rain Main and Driving Miss Daisy. Something began to change in the early 90s when the gritty thriller The Silence of the Lambs won the prize. The shift continued as Schindlerí¢â‚¬â„¢s List and Braveheart won in the 90s and the Academy Awards began to reflect a much darker time that was upon us. The last film of the 20th century to win the Best Picture Oscar was American Beauty, foreshadowing the independent angst ridden dramas that would dominate the award show for the coming years.

This year, the films competing for the Best Picture award are The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, Babel, The Queen and Letters from Iwo Jima. Martin Scorseseí¢â‚¬â„¢s The Departed is an emotional exploration of the corrupt underworld of Bostoní¢â‚¬â„¢s police department, ripe with vibrant characters and brilliant performances. If the Academy based their votes on the quality of cinema and acting, instead of what the popular vote is, then The Departed would win, hands down. The nomination of the touching and character driven Little Miss Sunshine is a nice gesture on the part of the Academy, but it will be years before an independent film of this magnitude, which deals so eloquently with humanity will be given the top honor. Babel however is just the kind of film the Academy loves. Beautifully shot, well acted and the front-runner for Best Picture. The Queen is a case of an extraordinary performance (Helen Mirren, nominated for Best Actress) in an ordinary film. Good, but not great, the film tells the story of Queen Elizabethí¢â‚¬â„¢s reaction to the death of Princess Diana. It is emotionally compelling, with its exploration of the effects of the Princessí¢â‚¬â„¢s death, but The Queen isní¢â‚¬â„¢t riveting enough to win for Best Picture. Letters from Iwo Jima is Clint Eastwoodí¢â‚¬â„¢s latest directorial effort and is his follow up to Flags of our Fathers. It focuses on the ill-fated battle of Iwo Jima, telling the story through letters written by Japanese soldiers. Visually stunning and compelling, this is a wonderful film, but one that isní¢â‚¬â„¢t strong enough to take down ití¢â‚¬â„¢s competitors.

The top honor of the night will most likely go to Babel. The potential fun of the evening will come if Martin Scorsese finally receives his long-awaited Best Director award for The Departed. In 2005, the racially charged film Crash won for Best Picture and viewers can only hope that this unexpected shift is only the beginning of a new and improved Academy that looks at all types of cinema and awards films and actors that break new ground and speak of the tumultuous times we live in. Hopefully over the next few years will see a more realistic representation of the art of cinema in the Oscars, rather than just a popularity contest amongst Hollywoodí¢â‚¬â„¢s heavy weights.