Yep, the Oscars will be given out this Sunday. This year will be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. She's an entertainer most can trust and she even proved herself a good Oscar host seven years ago.
Once again, I’ve seen all the Best Picture nominees. This makes it the thirteenth year in a row in which I’ve done such. And I’m ready again to make my predictions for who Should Win (SW) for most categories, who Will Win (WW) and for the Closest Threat (CT) to upset my winner prediction for many categories. Anyways here I go:
BEST PICTURE:
SW & WW: Twelve Years A Slave
CT: Gravity
This has been a tight dilemma whether Gravity will win or Twelve Years A Slave. I'm with Twelve Years because of all the Best Picture wins it's received. However don't be surprised if there's an upset.
BEST DIRECTOR:
WW: ALFONSO CUARON/Gravity
SW & CT: STEVE McQUEEN/Twelve Years A Slave
Even if Gravity doesn't win Best Picture, Cuaron's win appears to be a definite lock. If you've seen Gravity, you'd know why.
BEST ACTOR:
WW: MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY/Dallas Buyers Club
SW & CT: CHIWETEL EJIOFOR/Twelve Years A Slave
This was a hard call as all five were excellent performances. Heck, any time you have a Best Actor five-set with Tom Hanks missing, you know the five have to be excellent. Nevertheless this is MattMac's year.
BEST ACTRESS:
SW & WW: CATE BLANCHETT/Blue Jasmine
CT: SANDRA BULLOCK/Gravity
It's been said that starring in a Woody Allen movie can give one an advantage come Oscar time. That seems to be the case for Cate this year.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
SW & WW: JARED LETO/Dallas Buyers Club
CT: BARKHAD ABDI/Captain Phillips
I remember reading Linda Hunt won a Supporting Actress Oscar in 1983 for playing a man. I think Jared will be the first actor for winning an Oscar for portraying a woman. Actually I don't think that will could since the woman used to be a man.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
SW & WW: LUPITA NYONG'O/Twelve Years A Slave
CT: JENNIFER LAWRENCE/American Hustle
Yes, Jennifer sure has won a lot at the age of 23. Already she has three Oscar nominations and a Best Actress win from last year. However I think the Oscar will go to Lupita. This will make it the first big screen debut performance since Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls to win. Surprisingly Lupita's performance isn't the only debut performance nominated this year. Barkhad Abdi was the other.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
SW: WOODY ALLEN/Blue Jasmine
WW: SPKE JONZE/Her
CT: DAVID O. RUSSELL & ERIC SINGER/American Hustle
Isn't it something how Her was intended to be the more eccentric movie but the script made more sense than American Hustle did? A deserving winner.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
SW & WW: JOHN RIDLEY/Twelve Years A Slave
CT: BILLY RAY/ Captain Phillips
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
SW & WW: Frozen
CT: The Wind Rises
Let's face it. Frozen is the animated movie of 2013. So popular it was even re-released with a sing-along version. In a year that saw fanfare amongst monsters and minions, who would've thought an ice queen and a goofy snowman would've blown past them?
BEST ART DIRECTION:
WW: The Great Gatsby
CT: Gravity
Yes, outer space is still considered set design. I think it was nominated because the design had 100% believability that the actors were in outer space.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
WW: EMMANUEL LUBEZKI/ Gravity
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
SW & WW: PATRICIA NORRIS/Twelve Years A Slave
CT: CATHERINE MARTIN/The Great Gatsby
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
20 Feet From Stardom
BEST FILM EDITING:
WW: ALFONSO CUARON & MARK SANGER/Gravity
CT: JOE WALKER/Twelve Years A Slave
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
SW & WW: The Great Beauty - Italy
CT: The Hunt - Denmark
BEST MAKEUP:
WW: Dallas Buyers Club
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
WW: STEVEN PRICE/Gravity
SW & CT: ARCADE FIRE/Her
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
SW & WW: Let It Go - Frozen
CT: Ordinary Love - Mandela
Admit it. Let It Go is not only the movie song of the year but the movie song of the decade so far. Hard-pressed to beat.
BEST SOUND MIXING:
WW: Gravity
BEST SOUND EDITING:
WW: Gravity
CT: Captain Phillips
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
WW: Gravity
CT: Star Trek Into Darkness
Admit it. Gravity had the effects of the year. Hands down.
And there you have it. My predictions for Sunday’s Oscars. Winners to be decided there and then. Let’s hope the wins go to the right movies.
