My Pick for Best Actress

5. Helen Mirren- The Last Station
She is so explosive and wonderful in this movie, an exact opposite of her performance in The Queen, but there is no way she is going to win so close to her last win. She completely makes the movie, and every scene seems dry without her, but I still cannot pick her. But she works it.

4. Gabourey Sidibe- Precious
Considering she had never even acted before Precious her talent is really impressive. I'm more excited to see what she can do post-Precious in order to confirm that she is no one-hit wonder. Gabourey cannot compete with Mo'Nique in the movie, but considering her (Mo's) attention-grabbing performance, the level of realness she brings is a welcome balance to Mo'Nique's aggression. Gabourey's honor is being nominated for a first-time performance; quite a rare feat.

3. Sandra Bullock- The Blind Side
A year ago, if you had told me that the star of The Net would win an Oscar, I would have laughed till I peed and then pretended to throw up (on your face, natch). Well, Hell has frozen over and pigs are flying right outside my window because she is the clear frontrunner for Best Actress, and I'm not even mad about it. She does an admirable job in The Blind Side, and the Academy will reward her because she was able to mask her cutesy romantic comedy self and instead be a strong, quiet Southern woman. Is it one of the great performances? Certainly not. Could another actress have played it as well or better? Absolutely. But that does not mean that Sandra does not deserve an accolade for playing a role against-character for her and making you forget that you are watching her in the process. Plus, she gives great speech.

2. Carey Mulligan- An Education
It is shocking to realize that An Education was Carey's first starring role; she is so poised, so sure in the movie that she almost comes across as a seasoned vet who has finally stumbled upon the perfect role. At the ripe old age of 24. While watching it you can see her blossom onscreen, and later I marveled at what a wonderful career she has ahead of her. Comparisons to Audrey Hepburn are unfair and I do not see it, but perhaps instead she can carve out her own niche of strong, clearheaded roles.

1. Meryl Streep- Julie & Julia
Someday Meryl will win the third Oscar she so obviously deserves. In the first few minutes of her role as Julia Child in Julie & Julia, I was genuinely concerned because I thought with that voice and her exaggerated expressions how easily she could become a caricature. Before I even knew it I had fallen in love with her joy and her infectious nature. Beyond that, her real triumph for me in the movie was when she opened a letter. She does it several times, and each time you could plainly see a wide range of emotions in just a flash of a second- hope, fear, vulnerability, strength- and then a quick shrug of shoulders and it was opened, and full emotions runneth over. None of the other actresses nominated even came close to doing so much in such a fraction of time, and thus she proves why she is La Streep.

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