Well we are in November and it is this month and next month that MANY of the Oscar contender movies come out.

Some of the movies that are oozing with buzz for BEST PICTURE

-Bobby

-For Your Consideration

-Flags Of Our Fathers

-The Departed

-The Good Shepherd

-The Nativity Story

-The Queen

-The Good German

-Little Miss Sunshine

-Dreamgirls

-United 93

-World Trade Center

LEADING THE BUZZ FROM THE ABOVE: The Departed, Bobby & Flags Of Our Fathers

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BEST ACTRESS:

Annette Bening (RUNNING WITH SCISSORS)

Helen Mirren (THE QUEEN)

Penelope Cruz (VOLVER)

Naomi Watts (THE PAINTED VEIL)

Meryl Streep (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA)

Judi Dench (NOTES ON A SCANDAL)

Sienna Miller (FACTORY GIRL)

Keisha Castle-Hughes (THE NATIVITY STORY)

Kate Winslet (LITTLE CHILDREN)

Renee Zellweger (MISS POTTER)

Cate Blanchett (THE GOOD GERMAN)

Beyonce Knowles (DREAMGIRLS)

Kirsten Dunst (MARIE ANTOINETTE)

Catharine O'Hara (FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION)

LEADING THE BUZZ FROM THE ABOVE: Helen Mirren, Penelope Cruz & Kate Winslet

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BEST ACTOR:

Leonardo DiCaprio (THE DEPARTED) or (BLOOD DIAMOND)

Matt Damon (THE GOOD SHEPHERD)

Sacha Baron Cohen (BORAT)

Forest Whitaker (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND)

Ryan Gosling (HALF NELSON)

Will Farrell (STRANGER THAN FICTION)

Peter O'Toole (VENUS)

George Clooney (THE GOOD GERMAN)

Will Smith (THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS)

Jamie Foxx (DREAMGIRLS)

Edward Norton (THE PAINTED VEIL)

Richard Griffiths (THE HISTORY BOYS)

LEADING THE BUZZ FROM THE ABOVE: Leo DiCaprio, Peter O'Toole & Forest Whitaker

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Maggie Gyllenhaal (WORLD TRADE CENTER)

Jennifer Hudson (DREAMGIRLS)

Cate Blanchett (NOTES ON A SCANDAL)

Phyllis Sommerville (LITTLE CHILDREN)

Emma Thompson (STRANGER THAN FICTION)

Sandra Bullock (INFAMOUS)

Sharon Stone (BOBBY)

Abigail Breslin (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE)

Adriana Barazaa (BABEL)

Rinko Kikuchi (BABEL)

Demi Moore (BOBBY)

Carmen Maura (VOLVER)

Meryl Streep (A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION)

LEADING THE BUZZ FROM THE ABOVE: Sharon Stone (big time), Rinko Kikurchi & Jennifer Hudson

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Eddie Murphy (DREAMGIRLS)

Jack Nicholson (THE DEPARTED)

Michael Sheen (THE QUEEN)

Brad Pitt (BABEL)

Alan Arkin (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE)

Adam Beach (FLAGS OF OUR FATHER)

Ryan Phillipe (FLAGS OF OUR FATHER)

Tobey Maguire (THE GOOD GERMAN)

Ben Affleck (HOLLYWOODLAND)

Jakie Earl Haley (LITTLE CHILDREN)

Steve Carrell (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE)

Djimon Hounsou (BLOOD DIAMOND)

Michael Caine (CHILDREN OF MEN)

LEADING THE BUZZ FROM THE ABOVE: Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt & Eddie Murphy

So far, I've only heard from Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker.

I don't think there's any clear front runner right now. Movies have been all over the place to have a favorite.

I've been hearing alot of critics raving on Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls. She's supposed to steal that show with her performance.

This is just some of the reviews...

There isn't a bad performance in the movie. But the powerful surprise is Jennifer Hudson, who will be winning an Oscar this year, no matter what category they run her in.

The studio long ago decided to go supporting, but the HFPA is considering moving her to lead and she is, indeed, the lead of this film. There is a fear of Dame Helen, but the reality is that this performance would win in any category, whether Actress, Supporting Actress, or Best Short Film. The reason to move her to lead would to make an opportunity available for another performance…

Beyonce absolutely deserves a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Dreamgirls. But given the brutal fight for Best Actress slots, I don't believe she can be sure of even a nomination there. As you watch the early parts of the film, it's not real clear that she deserves Academy recognition, but she really soars in the third act with a number of sequences, particularly with her performance of a new Henry Krieger song, "Listen," done almost completely in close-up.

And again… Jennifer Hudson will have an Oscar before the end of February.

And the movie introduces a megawatt talent in the form of Jennifer Hudson, a singer who lost out to Fantasia on “American Idol” and now will likely be giving acceptance speeches for months to come.

[...]

But the highlight of the endeavor is Hudson, playing the part of Effie White, which Jennifer Holliday made famous on Broadway. That’s not just because Effie gets to sing the two best songs in the show.

But you can’t change the fact that when Hudson launches into “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going,” all hope is lost for any actor who wants to come close to her in this movie or any other this year. The song is sensational, the presentation is dynamic, but the performer is simply stellar, bar none.

Beyonce comes close, but — naaaaaaaaaw — nothing tops Hudson. She not only owns this movie, she rides it like a rocket to instant superstardom. For months and months "Dreamgirls" fans have been beset with worry, wondering: Can Jennifer really nail "And I Am Telling You"? If she doesn't, the whole show falls apart.

The result is so good that DreamWorks now faces a strange problem: Should they bump Hudson up to the lead actress race or keep her in supporting? Frankly, this movie belongs to her. She should be in lead, but let's be realistic. If she goes up against Helen Mirren at the Oscars, she'll get clobbered. However, if only she'll just stay put in supporting, we can declare that race won, wrapped up and ready for the history books. No other divas need apply.

It is no coincidence that first-time actor Jennifer Hudson drew the majority of this applause; her performance is -- surprisingly, soulfully, impressively -- deserving of early Oscar speculation that she might make for a solid Supporting Actress candidate. Not so much for rumors that "Dreamgirls" could make Best Picture. Short of writing a full review (look for one to come), I'll leave it at that.

Last night I had the opportunity to see one of the first screenings of Dreamgirls, the Bill Condon film adaptation of the Broadway musical, and Condon has pulled off an inspiring and transcendent new classic. The musical production comes alive in its cinematic form so fluidly that at times you almost forget you're not watching a live production. I can't remember the last time I saw an audience provide such physical and vocal responses to onscreen performances. It's a great feeling to come to a film with high expectations and have them exceeded as that's so often not the case.

You might think that with star power like Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Danny Glover that the jockeying for the spotlight would be intense, but there is really no competition here. This is Jennifer Hudson's movie and she is astonishing.

Dreamgirls will make Jennifer Hudson a superstar. Her vocal performances are epic. No less than four times did the audience erupt into spontaneous ovations as she finished her numbers.

The pivotal scene on which the plot of the movie spins, when Effie is told that she's been forced out of the Dreamettes, is delivered in a dazzling musical one-two punch. As the number "It's All Over," a tour-de-force in its deft boxing match-like staging between Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Foxx), Deena Jones (Beyoncé Knowles), Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose), and Effie (Hudson) winds up we are left with Effie realizing, defiantly, that she's having her dream snatched from her. The movie takes a beautifully-choreographed deep breath before Hudson slides into her solitary and powerful rendition of "And I'm Telling You". This is the moment in the film everyone will be talking about. Hudson's chill-inducing performance made every hair on my scalp stand on end.

As an audience member there's no way to avoid looking at Hudson's performance against Beyoncé's, or to avoid noticing the way in which the show's plot mirrors the offscreen trajectory of these singers. At one point, Taylor points out to Deena Jones that she's being put up as lead singer because her voice is bland and has no character. Effie is the one with the voice, but she's being relegated to the back row because she is the 'ugly duckling'.

And you root for Hudson because of this. She does not have Beyoncé's model looks (which undergo their own stunning metamorphosis during the film) or her figure, and the filmmakers make no attempt to hide Hudson's heft in the film. But the differences only make you root for Effie even more. Hudson owns this film. It is all hers, and it is beautiful to watch, at the same time realizing that Hudson's real-life story (from American Idol contestant to what should and will be an Oscar-nominated star vehicle) bears an uncanny resemblance to the one unfolding before you.

Make no mistake. Beyoncé turns in a rock-solid performance which in a world without Hudson would garner acclaim. "Listen," one of the new and welcome additions to the show's set of stand-out tracks, wakes you up to the fact that there is another great singer in this movie, but in the end it's like holding a candle to Hudson, who has shot into Hollywood like a brilliant comet.

Fortunately for Sharon Leal and Anika Noni Rose (the other two members of the Dreams), the strength of the other singers offers them some deserved coattails to ride into the public's awareness, but they're essentially bit players here. Jamie Foxx gives a polished performance as the show's villain, but the return of Eddie Murphy makes it difficult for him to get in the spotlight. Murphy is as entertaining as ever as James 'Thunder' Early, the womanizing soul singer who offers the Dreamettes their first opportunity. Keith Robinson, as Effie's brother CC White, delivers a standout performance as well.

The wardrobe and sets in Dreamgirls bring back the slick, glistening environments of the late 60's and early 70's, and in the production is an obvious love for the glitz and excitement of live performance. This is not Evita whose characters were given little or no chance to breathe between numbers. And it is more three-dimensional and ebullient than Chicago. Dreamgirls is on its way to the Oscars.

Oh god. If J.Hud gets an OSCAR nod, I will DIE, DIE, DIE of happiness. DIE.

Same here Mike!

Those are great reviews and if that buzz continues, Mirren may have some competition

Bobby is the BEST MOVIE I have seen since The Passion of the Christ! So I'm picking that one. Also, anything about Jesus I'm pickin' too! So Keisha Castle-Hughes (THE NATIVITY STORY) would be my choice for Best Actress. I thought both Harry Belafonte, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Fishburne and...forget it! The entire CAST was incredible. I haven't cried that much at the end of a movie since, well.... since The Passion of the Christ!

Go Jennifer Hudson! Girl was ROBBED on Idol 3!