When it comes to the Oscars, there is no definite prediction because the voting members of the Academy of Motion Pictures for Arts and Sciences don’t follow the general rules. They always leave the audience stunned with their final verdict. While predictions of the Oscars depend heavily on how the nominees fared in other awards such as the Emmy and the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) Awards, there is no guarantee that the Academy Awards will follow same pattern to choose its winners.
Nevertheless, there is no harm in guessing who the winners of movies’ biggest night will be, particularly in the most coveted categories. As actors, producers, screenwriters, directors, musicians storm the Delby Theatre tonight.
Best Picture
Who will win: La La Land
There are not so many odds stacked against the neo-musical. Its obvious sins are its actors not being professional dancers, yet one can’t take away the gooey feeling La La Land leaves on its audience. Facing a stiff competition with ‘Moonlight’, ‘Manchester by the Sea’, ‘Hacksaw Ridge’, ‘Hell or High Water’, ‘Lion’, ‘Hidden Figures’, and ‘Arrival’, ‘La La Land’ is the most preferred winner of tonight’s Oscars. Moreover, it has been packing awards from numerous events this season apart from the SAG Awards miss. There is a high possibility that it may continue its winning streak.
Actor in a Leading Role
Who will Win: Casey Affleck
Although Hollywood has a way of bringing up the past to rob one off his due glory, like Nate Parker’s unlucky fate with ‘Birth of a Nation’, the possibility of Casey Affleck walking away with the Oscars tonight is still there, even if it’s not on a high percentage. Most critics dropped the actor whose enigmatic character in the movie ‘Manchester by the Sea’ has earned him accolades in the awards season, due to his sexual harassment past. The most favoured act in the suspenseful list that boasts of names like Andrew Garfield in ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ and Viggo Mortensen in ‘Captain Fantastic’; is Denzel Washington. Washington is loudly applauded for his showy performance in ‘Fences’.
Actress in a Leading Role
Who will win: Emma Stone
No one can take the sweet charming aura of Emma Stone. Whether she is captivating us with her dreamy eyes in ‘La La Land’, or her ambivalence in ‘Crazy, Stupid Love’, Emma Stone is a sweetheart on screens. On that note,we hope she will defeat her big contenders in this list: Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Ruth Negga (Loving) and Isabelle Huppert (Elle). It is absolutely time that. Stone takes home an Oscar.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Who will win: Mahershala Ali
We will go with critics on this one. Mahershala Ali’s performance in ‘Moonlight’ needs no convincing. He was born to be an actor. The captivating way he transforms and interprets his character is peerless. Other nominees in this list include Lucas Hedges in ‘Manchester by the Sea’, Dev Patel in ‘Lion’, Michael Shannon in ‘Nocturnal Animals’, and Jeff Bridges in ‘Hell or High Water’.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Who will win: Viola Davis
Again, we are sticking with critics on this one. Viola Davis was exceptional in ‘Fences’. She played her role to the T, evoking true emotions from her audience particularly the snot scene. Octavia Spencer would have been a good choice if only the director changed her role. She is becoming too familiar as the daring black lady who upend the odds stacked against her. Nicole Kidman who is also nominated for her role in ‘Lion’ did little to win our vote while Michelle Williams’ character in ‘Manchester by the Sea’ didn’t live up to our expectations. Naomie Harris on the other hand is also a good choice for her role in ‘Moonlight’, but our guts is still stuck with Viola Davis.
Best Director
Who will win: Damien Chazelle
Everybody is rooting for Damien Chazelle, so are we. ‘La La Land’ may not have the happy ending everyone longed for but credence must be given to Chazelle for the way he navigated the plot with all the theatrical aesthetics one can think of. Everyone on this list: Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge), Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) deserves an Oscar for their productions. But there can only be one winner. In our case, we choose Chazelle.
Best Animation
This is a tough one being that two Disney movies are up against each other: Moana and Zootopia.
On one hand, critics praise Zootopia for addressing the issue of inclusion which is a topic the Academy Awards is very familiar with. Moana on the other hand has the visible signs of a typical Disney animation. The Red Turtle is a good contender for its simplicity and strong message while ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ and ‘My Life as a Zucchini’ are entertaining in their own way. Our best choice in this tough list is ‘Moana’. We love the songs, the catchy phrases and the captivating will of Moana. We just love the good feeling Moana brings to the screen.
