Predictions for the 86th Academy Awards

Well now we come to a post that i have been meaning to write for quite a while, my predictions for the Academy Awards, due to be held on the second of march this sunday. It pains me to say that i won't be watching the ceremony live, as i need my beauty sleep, so i will have to wait for the following evening to binge out on the telecast! I will not be predicting all the categories, as there are many that either interest me little or of which i don't have enough knowledge of the nominees. So in reverse order of importance here we go.

Best Visual Effects:  This one seems easy to predict, Gravity was the kind of groundbreaking film that revolutionized the use of visual effects and the use of CGI on film, and deserves to be recognized partially for this film and partly for the technology created that will become broadly used in the years to come.

Best Costume Design:  Whilst i undersztand that i am more than a little biased here, Catherine Martin's costumes for The Great Gatsby were stunning, and her win at the BAFTA's almost guarantees her a statuette.

Best Cinematography: Normally i wouldn't comment on this category, but Emmanuel Lubezki's work on Gravity was hugely praised, he won the BAFTA, and he surely deserves a statuette.

Best Original Song: Well my choice may seem a little bizarre, as this song has yet to win any major awards, but Let It Go from Frozen is an incredible song, and it's the emotional tour de force that the Academy seems to love.

Best Animated Feature Film: I really can't see any film other than Frozen taking this category, my second favorite film of last year is an emotional roller coaster featuring spectacular animation, and i am sure that it will give Disney their first win in this category.

Best Foreign Language Feature Film: Well, this award seems to be taken as well, whilst i am very proud that Belgium has a horse in this race, it seems to me that La Grande Bellezza which has won most foreign language awards this season is poised for the win.

Best Writing - Original Screenplay: Well as much as i though Blue Jasmine was a fantastically written film and that Woody Allen deserves another win in this category, it seems to me that Spike Jonze's  Her is one of this season's most original films.

Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay: This is a tough one and it seems like a tight race between Philomena and 12 Years A Slave, and as much as i would like beloved brit Steve Coogan to win, 12 Years A Slave written by John Ridley is the historically charged racially driven script that the Academy seems to adore.

Best Supporting Actress: This is the easiest and most difficult category to predict, right now it is an absolute dead heat between Lupita Nyong'o and Jennifer Lawrence. While Nyong'o did win the SAG award and the Critic's Choice, the Golden Globe and the BAFTA have always been better barometers of Oscar success, and thus i predict that Jennifer Lawrence is perhaps the most likely to win on Sunday night.

Best Supporting Actor: Well i know I'd be an idiot to predict otherwise, but Jared Leto is perhaps the only person on this list who could conceivably be called to the stage on sunday night, anything else would be unthinkable.

Best Actress: Again this is easy to predict, and i can't see anyone other than Cate Blanchett taking home the statuette, her performance in Blue Jasmine was incredible and she rightly deserves her first win in this category (after having the award stolen by Gwyneth last time!)

Best Actor: Again here we have a dead heat between Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthew McConaughey, and it is tough to predict this one, however i believe that Matthew McConaughey will take home the gold on Sunday.

Best Director: This one is easy, and i believe that Alfonso Cuaron will win for his work on groundbreaking epic Gravity. This film is a cinematic and technological breakthrough for which Cuaron has won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA, and a win at the Oscar's seems now inevitable.

Best Picture: This is the big one, and it seems to me that we would need a Crash-like upset in order for 12 Years A Slave not to take home the win on Oscar night.

So there we have it, my predictions for this sunday, what saddens me, is that award season is coming to a close, and thus i will have to wait a full year for it to start again, but all good things must come to an end i suppose.