Patricia Clarkson puts herself into the Best Actress race with her performance in Cairo Time. Adam Spunberg reviews the film.

Lisa Cholodenko’s new film “The Kids Are All Right” takes a real view of modern day family relationships through the prism of a lesbian couple whose kids find their sperm donor father. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore both could be Oscar contenders if the Academy remembers them in winter.

Boasting a cast of Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Samuel L. Jackson, “Mother and Child” could get several acting Oscar nominations. But that’s all Rodrigo Garcia’s film has going for it. Rebecca Rose says the movie tries too hard, is heavy-handed, and wavers into melodrama.

A close vote for Best Actress of the 1990s had Kathy Bates in Misery edging out Hilary Swank for Boys Don’t Cry and Frances McDormand for Fargo.

Our decades series continues with Best Actress of the 2000s. In the end, our staff voted Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose just barely ahead of Charlize Theron for Monster.

Most pundits feel Best Actress is between Sandra Bullock for “The Blind Side” and Meryl Streep for “Julie and Julia.” Both won Golden Globes and they tied for the Critics Choice Award. But Bullock won the SAG, and Marla Seidell predicts an Oscar will cap off Sandra’s banner year.

Bryce Van Kooten sees the list of Oscar nominees and sees plenty of performances that got snubbed. His list includes “Star Trek” for Best Picture, Matt Damon’s for Best Actor in “The Informant!” and Zoe Saldana for her portrayal of Neytiri in “Avatar.” Who do you think got snubbed?

Before the nominees were announced, Adam Spunberg had a good idea what would be snubbed. Writing on Monday evening, Spunberg said that Viggo Mortensen and Zooey Deschanel put in just a handful of first-class performances that the Academy overlooked.

Sandra Bullock has passed Meryl Streep to become the frontrunner for Best Actress. Kit Bowen writes on the tight race for the award and Bullock’s incredible comeback.

Strong female characters highlight “An Education” and “Coco Before Chanel.” While the British “Education” could be nominated for several Oscars, including Carey Mulligan for Best Actress, the French “Chanel” might be in line for score and costume Oscars. Christa Youngpeter compares the two films.