Every year Mike Smith and Matt Drinnenberg have this personal challenge with each other, and usually I chime in on a few titles, but unfortunately over the last few years I haven't been able to access the movies quite as easily as my comrades. That said, I did see some of the nominated titles, and I generally agreed with Mike and Matt's choices---but then so did nearly every other critic in America. While the Oscars didn't present any true upsets, it was satisfying in what it did accomplish. All I can say is I saw Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and absolutely agree it deserved to win as many awards as it did AND become the first fantasy film in Hollywood to win Best Picture, as well as garner a Best Director award for its captain, Peter Jackson. I was devastated by Charlize Theron's performance in Monster and thought she had a great shot at an Oscar, but I didn't see any of the other nominees' movies. That Finding Nemo won Best Animated Feature is really kind of a no-brainer, it was a great film and was an odds-on favorite from the start. (In fact, at one point TV critic Roger Ebert suggested Finding Nemo be lifted out of the "Animated" category and put in with Best Pictures! 'Course that was early in the year; not to say an animated film won't win SOMEday, but not this time.)
So here are the results of what Mike & Matt had to say. I'll be back at the end with my summary...

THE WINNERS	MIKE & MATT'S CHOICES
BEST PICTURE: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: LOTR: ROTK Matt: LOTR:ROTK
BEST DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: Peter Jackson, LOTR: ROTK Matt: Peter Jackson, LOTR: ROTK
BEST ACTOR: Sean Penn, Mystic River	Mike: Sean Penn, Mystic River Matt: Bill Murray, Lost In Translation
BEST ACTRESS: Charlize Theron, Monster	Mike: Charlize Theron, Monster Matt: Charlize Theron, Monster
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tim Robbins, Mystic River	Mike: Tim Robbins, Mystic River Matt: Tim Robbins, Mystic River
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain	Mike: Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain Matt: Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: Mystic River Matt: City of God
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Lost in Translation	Mike: Lost In Translation Matt: Lost In Translation
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Barbarian Invasions	Mike: The Barbarian Invasions Matt: Evil
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: Finding Nemo	Mike: Finding Nemo Matt: Finding Nemo
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World	Mike: Cold Mountain Matt: LOTR: ROTK
BEST SHORT FILM (live action): Two Soldiers	Mike: No vote Matt: No vote
BEST SHORT FILM (animation): Harvie Krumpet	Mike: No vote Matt: No vote
BEST DOCUMENTARY (short): Chernobyl Heart	Mike: No vote Matt: No vote
BEST DOCUMENTARY (feature): The Fog of War	Mike: The Fog of War Matt: The Fog of War
BEST ART DIRECTION: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: LOTR: ROTK Matt: LOTR: ROTK
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: LOTR: ROTK Matt: LOTR: ROTK
BEST SOUND MIXING: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: No vote Matt: No vote
BEST SOUND EDITING: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World	Mike: No vote Matt: No vote
BEST FILM EDITING: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: LOTR: ROTK Matt: LOTR: ROTK
BEST SONG: "Into the West" LOTR: ROTK	Mike: "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow", A Mighty Wind Matt: STING: "You Will Be By Ain True Love", Cold Mountain
BEST SCORE: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: LOTR: ROTK Matt: LOTR: ROTK
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: The Last Samurai Matt: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
BEST MAKE-UP: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King	Mike: LOTR: ROTK Matt: LOTR: ROTK

FINAL SCORE:  MIKE--15, MATT--13.  Comments, qualifications, and analysis:
Did you notice the four categories when one got it wrong, they both got it wrong? ("Best Costume Design", "Best Song", "Best Cinematography" and "Best Adapted Screenplay" were total wipeouts.) That in itself is unusual. And they chose the same categories not to vote on. Birds of a feather. All in all, though, another very close contest! Wish I could've been more of an active participant---maybe next year!
CONGRATULATIONS GENTLEMEN, ANOTHER FINE JOB.