Oscar Poll Position

In TheCelebrityCafe.com's recent poll for Oscar-winning best picture, "Ray" squeaked out a win over Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" 29 to 28 percent. Director Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" finished third with 20 percent of the vote, followed by "Finding Neverland" at 16 percent and "Sideways" at a dismal 7 percent.

Directed by Taylor Hackford, "Ray" is the story of the extraordinary life of megastar Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx gives a stunning performance as Charles, getting all the moves down to an art form. The movie doesn't depict him as a saint, but shows all his blemishes along with his greatness.

"The Aviator," a period piece on the early life of Howard Hughes, has Leonardo DiCaprio strutting his stuff as Hughes with Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn, Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner, and Alec Baldwin as Juan Trippe.

Clint Eastwood continues to shine as a director in "Million Dollar Baby," in which Hilary Swank plays a woman determined at establishing herself as a boxer. Eastwood plays trainer Frankie Dunn and Morgan Freeman is Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris.

"Finding Neverland" stars Johnny Depp as Sir James Matthew Barrie, father of the Peter Pan legend. Kate Winslet is Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. Depp shows his creativity and childlike imagination throughout the film, giving an excellent performance.

"Sideways" stars Paul Giamatti as Miles Raymond and Thomas Haden Church as Jack in this comedy about two men who reach middle age. To battle their disappointment with life, they leave on a weeklong road trip to the California wine country just as one of them is to get married.

It's a shame only one movie can win the prize. The Academy has some lovely choices, although my favorite is "Ray." Jamie Foxx is superb and brings the darkness and light of Ray Charles to the screen with an incredible performance.