Film critic Alonso Duralde shares his dream Oscars exclusively with Watermark.

"I can't even count the number of times in my life that my favorite movie in any given year was even nominated, much less a front-runner, but I would absolutely hand this deliciously achy-breaky gay romance the big prize."

"Yes, Heath Ledger and Philip Seymour Hoffman kicked some major thespian ass this year, but Gordon-Levitt's portrait of a child sexual abuse victim turned teen hustler was some of the most affecting and devastating screen work I've ever seen."

"Try to forget her ludicrous turn in Memoirs of a Geisha if you can, and focus instead on her perfect performance in Wong Kar-Wai's visionary romance. Zhang plays tough as well as she does fragile, and she perfectly captures both the ‘cat’ and ‘mouse’ of seduction. The fact that she’s sporting awesome 1960s hairdos and dresses hurts not in the slightest."

"The veteran character actor has just one or two scenes in George Clooney’s understated drama, but he’s ferociously compelling as the president of CBS. Langella’s greatly underrated in the whole ‘I could hear him read the phone book’ sweepstakes, but oh, that voice. He’s extraordinary."

"Not to take anything away from Michelle Williams, but I thought Hathaway's range in the movie was just outstanding. From spunky daddy’s girl to bleached-blonde and bitter, she nails every facet of this subtly intriguing character. And her final scene on the phone with Heath Ledger packs a real punch and provides one of the film’s several powerful emotional climaxes."

"I would also say ‘most improved,’ if that didn’t carry the connotation that Araki wasn’t already a superlative filmmaker. But with his adaptation of Scott Heim’s novel, Araki's skill behind the camera reaches a whole new level. Moving away from his trademark raw, guerrilla style without losing himself to slickness, Araki’s portrait of two boys whose childhoods were shattered by sexual abuse is gut-punch powerful without ever being exploitive or excessive." W