Alas, the awards season is among us again with its typical surprises and snubs. Although I love seeing wonderful work being highlighted and recognized by the greater film community, I’m always disappointed over the Academy Awards’ superficial attempts to objectively select what art that year was best, as well as the usual exclusion of underrepresented films and their creators. However, it’s still fun and we should remember that we can like and dislike whatever art we want whether the Academy recognizes it or not. After a riveting Golden Globe Awards in January that projected what films would be most successful in this upcoming Oscars, I thought it might be time to take a closer look and share what films I predict will take home gold statues on March 12th. (NOTE: Certain categories and nominees have been excluded for space and priority. You can find the full list at

https://www.oscars.org/)

BEST PICTURE:

The Banshees of Inisherin

,

Elvis

,

Everything Everywhere All at Once

, or

The Fabelmans

One can never have one straight answer for Best Picture, which is why I highlighted the four I thought had the best shot.

Elvis

and

The Fablemans

have an edge as biopics (the Academy’s favorite) with strong performances at the center, but

Banshees

and

Everything Everywhere

were so celebrated for their stellar performances and originality by audiences this year that it would be hard to deny their impact.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: AUSTIN BUTLER for

Elvis

Much like at the Golden Globes, Austin Butler will most likely take home gold again for superbly portraying an American icon despite his newcomer status. Although I’m still pulling for Colin Farrell in my heart, Butler does deliver a spectacular performance that is hard to beat as far as dedication and resemblance to his real-life counterpart go.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Barry Keoghan for

The Banshees of Inisherin

or Ke Huy Quan for

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Both Barry Keoghan and Ke Huy Quan stole many scenes in their films this season. Their sly charm and lovability as characters pushes them over the edge as favorites for the award. Brendan Gleeson (

Banshees

) would be the classic choice in terms of types of performances the Oscars like, but I’m pulling for the cheeky and tenderhearted underdogs of this race.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: CATE BLANCHETT for

Tár

I see this as Cate Blanchett picking up her third Oscar simply due to the type of role and critical acclaim, but I’d like to honorably mention Michelle Yeoh for her mind-blowing range in

Everything Everywhere.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Kerry Condon for

The Banshees of Inisherin

or Jamie Lee Curtis for

Everything Everywhere All at Once

I suspect that Condon’s understated yet emotionally intense and humorous performance will prevail at the end of the night, but I want to see Jamie Lee Curtis win for her lovable vulnerability in this role.

DIRECTING: Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans or Todd Field for

Tár

As an Academy Favorite, Spielberg does have a legitimized claim in the classic favor of biopics and as a beacon of the industry, but

Tár

marks Field’s glowingly-received return to the stage after a 15 year hiatus. In a season full of comebacks, Field may pull through on this one with his powerful return.

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY):

Living

by Kazuo Ishiguro or

Women Talking

by Sarah Polley

Top Gun

and

All Quiet

will certainly receive other awards, and

Glass Onion

doesn’t have a realistic chance with these competitors. Regarding these eliminations, I believe

Living

and

Women Talking

stand the most opportune for a win especially with such raw and poetically eloquent dialogue.

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY):

The Banshees of Inisherin

by Martin McDonagh or

Triangle Of Sadness

by Ruben Östlund

Triangle

and

Banshees

have such remarkably sing-songy and humorous dialogue that it’s difficult for me to believe the Oscars will overlook that, especially since the other nominees don’t stand out primarily for their writing.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: A

ll Quiet On The Waterfront

or

Bardo

,

False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

Since this is

Bardo

’s only nomination, it does have a small shot of getting a foot in the door, but

All Quiet

’s expansive and tragic capturing of WW1 is very powerful and would fit a pattern of war films receiving the cinematography awards.

FILM EDITING:

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Editing is hands down one of the most important and effective factors making this film as chaotically beautiful as it is, and for the Oscars to deny that would be somewhat surprising to me unless they go with the classically safe choice of

Tár

.

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE):

All Quiet On The Western Front

or

Babylon

While these films have starkly different moods, I’m aware that both boast an impressive composer and effect on the audience with its music, making it harder to narrow down to a single one.

COSTUME DESIGN:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

or

Elvis

While this may be the opportunity for the Oscars to recognize Marvel in some way this season, Elvis’s costume does boast incredible detail and effect in terms of bringing him and his world to life making it the clear frontrunner in my mind.

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:

The Batman

or

The Whale

Simply for prosthetics and character building alone, these two stand out as the most likely to win due to their incredible detail and transformative abilities.