The SAGs!

Another day, another Oscar precursor announcement. The Screen Actors' Guild has announced their nominees, and the result is...the same old thing that everyone else has been talking about. And since the SAGs are pretty good indicators of the Oscars, then it's possible that what we see here is what we'll see on February 2. BEST CAST

• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Nine
• Precious

The Hurt Locker, Precious, and Inglourious Basterds were already sure things for the Oscars, and that is affirmed here (in general, 4 out of the 5 nominees in this category usually go on to become Best Picture nominations). I must admit though that the Basterds nomination is unexpected to me, but fantastic. An Education and Nine have gained some ground here, though Nine really shouldn't be that big of a surprise. In fact, the most striking thing about this set is that Up in the Air is missing: perhaps the individual nominations were enough for the SAG?
BEST ACTOR

• Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
• George Clooney, Up in the Air
• Colin Firth, A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman, Invictus
• Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

I think this is probably going to be the Oscar line-up; the only doubt I have is Renner, who will probably have to fight Nine's Daniel Day-Lewis all the way up to February for that final spot. It's not often that such naturalistic performances get nominations, so I'm glad that Renner is getting the recognition he deserves.
BEST ACTRESS

• Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren, The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan, An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Barring the end of the world, ladies and gentlemen, your Oscar line-up.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Matt Damon, Invictus
• Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Remember Alfred Molina? I wonder whatever happened to him. Since the critics awards started, he's virtually disappeared from the a race that he was at one point considered a frontrunner. It seems that Harrelson has since replaced him; I didn't think Harrelson was the real deal, but it seems like he may be on his way back to the Oscars. Who would have thought?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Penelope Cruz, Nine
• Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
• Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
• Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
• Mo'Nique, Precious

Once again, same old, same old, until you get down to that 4th nominee. Diane Kruger? As in, Bridget von Hammersmark, that Diane Kruger? Though the lady she snubbed out, Julianne Moore, will be laughing all the way to the Oscar ceremony, Kruger's nomination is a wonderful surprise, if for nothing more than the fact that someone other than Christoph Waltz is getting credit for his/her performance in Basterds. On that note, however, I would have preferred Melaine Laurent be noticed, but you take what you get, I suppose.