Time for the Bellamy -- um, Academy -- Awards

For 11 years now my friend Jason Bellamy, a fellow fantasy baseball nerd and a generous member of last year's "Team Mark" poker backers, has been putting an incredible amount of work into his other avocation, the movies.

I'd venture that Jason sees more flicks than most readers of M&M combined, and in a decidedly un-lucrative labor of love he has closed out every year by compiling a booklet of his thoughts on the year's films, including his picks for best picture and a number of other categories. These he dispenses by mail, complete with sealed envelopes containing the winners, as the "Bellamy Awards."

A few weeks ago, prompted he says by the encouragement of his friends, Jason launched a film blog, The Cooler Cinema, that I can tell will be one of my favorite movie sites. We don't always agree -- he liked "Juno" more than I did; I liked and he disliked the ending of "Atonement" -- but he's a thoughtful, engaging critic and I often find myself reassessing a picture after reading his take.

The blog's off to a good start, inviting participation from a small contingent of readers, and this week, in advance of Sunday's Oscars telecast, Jason reprinted his 2007 reviews of the best-picture nominees: "Atonement," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood."

Unlike a lot of film sites, The Cooler doesn't attempt to predict the Oscar winners, or even lobby for his favorites (although readers of the January Bellamy Awards booklet know where he stands). He just offers his thoughts and invites discussion. Coolio.

In a bit of Oscar preparation here, I took the girls tonight to see "Juno." (Michelle was working; she and I saw it together already.) All four of us enjoyed it: endearing characters, tremendous acting, quirky and memorable writing. We're also thinking about seeing "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" this weekend. And my ex, Greta, a member of the Screen Actors Guild, loaned me her screener-copy DVDs of several nominated films, so I may still get to see "Away from Her," with Julie Christie's Oscar-nominated performance, before Sunday night. Very nice.

We all love the Oscars around here. Our big plan is a family pizza-making and award-watching party Sunday evening.

Before the movie tonight I asked the girls their picks for the big awards. They weren't identical, but they were all combinations of "Sweeney Todd," "Atonement" and "Across the Universe" in every category.

We'll see.

For a professional's predictions, check out "The Carpetbagger," the New York Times' correspondent David Carr, who seems pretty plugged in.

Your thoughts?