Lord Of The Rings, The Return Of The KingSarah McQuillen takes a look at the would-be winners now showing.

SO, how about 2003 then? While a fairly ropey 365 days in many respects, it did give us its fair share of movie magic - everything from racehorses winning against the odds to love blossoming in impossible circumstances and war raging in distant and mythical lands.

The beginning of another year heralds an unseemly scramble to remind audiences and industry insiders of the highlights of the previous 12 months in film, ahead of the annual round of actorly backslapping and gold-grabbing that is the awards season.

It all kicks off in a scant couple of weeks with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Awards, aka the Golden Globes - Oscar's younger, funkier brother and the best predictor of the megabucks stars of 2004, bar none.

Last year's golden girl Nicole Kidman is in with a good chance of going two in a row. Her performance in Anthony 'English Patient' Minghella's Civil War epic Cold Mountain has made her hot favourite for the Best Actress gong.

The opposition includes Uma Thurman, nominated for her role as the Bride in gorefest Kill Bill: Volume 1 and up-and-coming Evan Rachel Wood in angst-drenched teen shocker Thirteen (famously slapped with an 18 certificate). Gwyneth Paltrow's much-tipped turn as tormented Sylvia Plath could be just too highbrow for the Globes.

Seabiscuit, the tale of the racehorse with a dodgy leg and a big heart, joins Russell Crowe showcase Master and Commander and the Lord of the Rings alongside Cold Mountain in the running for best drama.

Uniquely, the Globes separate out drama and comedy.

Among the 'laffers' that could make the Best Picture cut come the Oscars are Brit hits Bend it Like Beckham (yes, really) and Love Actually and fishy animation Finding Nemo.

But the leading dark horse candidate is probably Lost in Translation - Sofia Coppola's charmer about jaded travellers in Tokyo, which features career-best performances from stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.

And Tim Burton's whimsical family biopic Big Fish could also tug at the judges' heartstrings.

Murray looks a dead cert for comedy actor but the drama gong could go one of several ways.

It is a battle of the action heroes with Russell Crowe taking on Samurai Tom Cruise and Jude Law could also steal it with his role in odds-on favourite Cold Mountain, which, with eight nods, has garnered the largest number of nominations of the season so far.

On the TV front, the usual suspects The West Wing, CSI and Six Feet Under are back in the frame, joined by ultra-cool plastic surgery saga Nip/Tuck, which is soon to hit UK screens, having already made an even bigger star of female lead Joely Richardson stateside.

And there is even more Brit interest in the TV comedy categories.

Irony-starved Americans have taken The Office to their hearts in their droves, earning Ricky Gervais two very popular nominations in the best comedy series and best comedy actor categories.

The Friends swansong was snubbed, with Matt Le Blanc the sole acting nominee, but the final series of Sex and the City scored, notching up nominations for all four of the girls.

All the stars don their posh frocks and polish their oh-so-humble acceptance speeches on January 25th.

The only task remaining now is to try and catch as many of the contenders as possible so when the golden envelopes are opened, you too can tut tut and shake your head with real authority.

The Odeon, Salisbury, is currently showing frontrunners Cold Mountain, The Last Samurai, Love Actually and the Return of the King, among others.