The two categories that really seem to interest me this year are Best Picture and Best Actress. If they go the route of ’12 Years’ and ‘Blue Jasmine’ in these awards, it will just be The Academy being The Academy. If they give both awards to ‘Gravity’ however, then it will be the ceremony where the academy changed for the better.

Let’s look at all of the nominees. First up is American Hustle. 10 Nominations, including Directing, Writing, Editing, and all four of it’s main leads. It’s the kind of movie that might have swept in a different year. But this year, it seems to have been all but forgotten. And good riddance, because I hated the film.

Next up is Captain Phillips. Okay, is anybody really going to vote for this? Hanks and Greengrass were both left off the nomination list, and the film is being labeled as an ‘action’ film, which could hurt it. I just don’t see it happening.

Then there’s Dallas Buyers Club. Now, strangely enough, I could actually see this winning. The film is expected to win three other awards, including Actor and Supporting Actor, and it has crucial nominations in writing and editing. However, it lacks a directing nomination. If it had one, then it would be in a great position to pull off a win.

What will, and by all means, should win, is Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity. The film shocked many when it tied with 12 Years A Slave at the PGA award. And since the film is already packed to take home so many Academy Awards, who’s to say it can’t win Best Picture? True, it’s not nominated for writing, but that didn’t stop Titanic.

Then we have Her. In practically any other year, Her would be my vote for Best Picture. The film, while graphic in certain parts, is just creative and charming enough to make academy voters fall in love. But apparently it’s not serious love, because Jonze, Phoenix, and Johnasson were all snubbed.

Much like last year’s Amour, Nebraska feels like it was practically made for older Academy voters. Unlike Amour, however, Nebraska is a film that younger voters can enjoy. However, you get the feeling that Nebraska should just be glad to be nominated. If it had an editing nomination, then maybe.

Three more films to go. Philomena was a surprise nomination, but it got in thanks to Harvey Weinstein’s campaigning. But I don’t think even he can campaign hard enough to pull off a surprise win. The film is certainly good, and I recommend it. But it doesn’t have enough supporters to win.

And then there’s 12 Years A Slave. This is Gravity‘s closest competition. It won the Globe, The Critic’s Choice, and the BAFTA. It’s a film that everybody seems to like to some degree. And let’s be honest, it’d the film that has ‘Oscar’ written all over it. But we know that Cuaron is winning Director, so is it really wise to predict a split? Especially when Gravity is winning so much technical categories?

Finally, we have The Wolf Of Wall Street. A lot of people were predicting this film when it was first announced. When it came out, people were offended by the amount of drugs, nudity, and swearing in the film. On top of the lack of an editing nomination, the controversy surrounding the film may disprove the film’s statement, “No such thing as bad publicity.”

WILL WIN: Gravity
RUNNER UP: 12 Years A Slave
SHOULD WIN: Gravity