Here's a quick look at the films generating the most buzz, the ones we think are likely to pick up the awards, which are Hollywood's best-known precursor to the Oscars:

Brokeback Mountain
Nominee: Best Motion Picture - Drama

While many claim cowboy films always had strong homosexual subtext, it took Ang Lee, rising from the disgrace of The Hulk, to take two gay ranch-hands and craft what is being called the finest love story in ages. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, both extremely gifted actors, have apparently really come into their own in the film.

The reviews: Brokeback is a film critics have universally adored, and superlatives continue to be hurled with great, hyperbolic force. Peter Travers writes in Rolling Stone, 'Ang Lee's unmissable and unforgettable Brokeback Mountain hits you like a shot in the heart. It's a landmark film and a triumph for Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.'

While Stephanie Zachariek of Salon.com puts it down, saying, 'Brokeback Mountain takes great pains to be a compassionate love story; but the filmmaking itself, self-consciously restrained and desiccated, is inert and inexpressive.' Zachariek seems to be in the minority, as most major critics are busy gushing about the film.

Newsday's John Stewart declares, 'Brokeback Mountain coaxes audiences to walk several hundred miles in its characters' shoes, luring us with the scent of forbidden fruit and rewarding us with the sumptuous taste of complex storytelling'.

Influential critic Richard Roeper announces that 'Heath Ledger, in particular, I think really has to get an Oscar nomination."'

What is likely: A gay cowboy film might create cult buzz, but isn't the most award-friendly concept. A Best Film win is unlikely, but one of the leading men will probably pick up a prize.

Text: Raja Sen | Design: N V Reuben