Best Picture: Argo (Ben Affleck)
Despite his epic snub in the best director category, we think Ben Affleck’s Iranian hostage drama Argo will win the night’s biggest award. It won the Golden Globe in the same category, and we think it’s deserving of a little gold man too.
Best Director: Stephen Spielberg (Lincoln)
Although – might we add – that Ang Lee is in with a big chance for his visually stunning Life of Pi. But, if you ask us, it should have been Ben Affleck for Argo. (See above for our reasoning.)
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
By far the toughest of all categories, it was a hard job choosing between Jennifer Lawrence and Emmanuelle Riva (Amour). In fact, Naomi Watts (The Impossible), Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) are all worthy candidates. But Lawrence’s role as the quirky divorcee Tiffany in Silver Linings is probably the most memorable of the group.
Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln)
This one is a battle between heart and mind. We would love for Bradley Cooper to bag his first Oscar for his super endearing portrayal of a bipolar man suffering from anger management issues and a broken heart (Silver Linings Playbook), but the realist in us says that Daniel Day-Lewis has him beat, for his depiction of the 16th President of the United States. Having won every award in the lead up to this one, it seems likely that Day-Lewis will bask in Oscar’s glory once more.
Best Supporting Actor: Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook)
We loved De Niro’s portrayal of the neurotic bookie dad in Silver Linings. In fact, we love Robert De Niro. Full stop. But Tommy Lee Jones is also a serious contender for this one, as is Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), who took out the BAFTA and Golden Globe. So basically, anyone could win, but we’d like De Niro to.
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
This is the one category that Les Miserables is almost a sure thing in. Despite the brevity of her role in it, Hathaway, along with Jackman, was considered one of the best things about this flick. Sally Field poses a mild threat, but considering she has already won two Oscars in her time, we think the Academy will cast their net wider this year… and deservedly so.
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture, best director, best actress and best original screenplay, if Amour doesn’t win in this category, it will be a huge upset. It’s also interesting to note that no foreign language film nominated in both the best film and best foreign language film categories has ever failed to bag the latter.
Best Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man
Following the epic journey of two South Africans who are trying to hunt down an elusive Detroit folk singer, Searching for Sugar Man explores the life of musician Sixto Rodriguez, and is our pick for the Oscar.
