I realize that back on Tuesday, I said I wasn’t gonna blog for a while. But now, I’m a little bit more level-headed. So, I feel a little more confident trying to get back in the game. Reviews might come out a little slower, but hopefully this will help distract me from the state of our country right now.

So, there are two big pieces of Oscar news this month. And both of them are shockers. The first one is that Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk isn’t really all that good. It could still contend in some minor categories, but it’s no longer the juggernaut that we all thought it was.

The other news is that Viola Davis is headed for Supporting Actress for Fences. It looks like she’s assured herself an Oscar, it’s just a shame that it had to be in the supporting category.

I’m gonna include Silence in my predictions, although we still don’t have a poster or trailer.

BEST PICTURE

Arrival
Fences
Jackie
La La Land
Loving
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight
Silence
Sully
Zootopia

Replaced Billy Lynn with Arrival and added Jackie. That makes ten nominees. There will probably be less than that, but it’s hard to get a good read on the Best Picture race right now.

BEST DIRECTOR

Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester By The Sea
Martin Scorsese – Silence
Denis Villenueve – Arrival

Replaced Lee and Nichols with Jenkins and Villenueve.

BEST ACTOR

Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
Joel Edgerton – Loving
Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Tom Hanks – Sully
Denzel Washington – Fences

Replaced Keaton with Gosling. Made Washington my winner.

BEST ACTRESS

Annette Bening – 20th Century Women
Ruth Negga – Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Emma Stone – La La Land
Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

Replaced Blunt and Davis with Bening and Streep. This is such an incredible level.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins
Lucas Hedges – Manchester By The Sea
Liam Neeson – Silence
Peter Sarsgaard – Jackie

Replaces Steve Martin with Peter Sarsgaard. Made Hugh Grant my winner.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Viola Davis – Fences
Greta Gerwig – 20th Century Women
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Nicole Kidman – Lion
Michelle Williams – Manchester By The Sea

Replaced Nyong’o and Stewart with Viola Davis and Greta Gerwig.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Jackie
La La Land
Loving
Manchester By The Sea
Zootopia

No change.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Arrival
Fences
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

Replaced Billy Lynn and Nocturnal Animals with

BEST FILM EDITING

Arrival
La La Land
Manchester By The Sea
Silence
Sully

Replaced Billy Lynn with Arrival. Made La La Land my winner.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Arrival
La La Land
The Light Between Oceans
The Jungle Book
Silence

Replaced Billy Lynn with The Jungle Book. Made La La Land my winner

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

The BFG
Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them
La La Land
Passengers
Silence

Replaced Billy Lynn with The BFG.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Love & Friendship
Rules Don’t Apply
Silence

Replaced Hidden Figures with Rules Don’t Apply.

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them
La La Land
Silence

No change.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Arrival
Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them
The Jungle Book
Passengers
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Replaced Billy Lynn with Passengers.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Arrival
The BFG
Finding Dory
Loving
Silence

Replaced Billy Lynn with Loving. Made Arrival my winnerw.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” – La La Land
“City Of Stars” – La La Land
“Drive It Like You Stole It” – Sing Street
“Try Everything” – Zootopia
“We Know The Way” – Moana

BEST SOUND EDITING

Arrival
The Jungle Book
Passengers
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Zootopia

Replaced Billy Lynn with Passengers and made The Jungle Book my winner.

BEST SOUND MIXING

Arrival
La La Land
Passengers
Silence
Sully

Replaced Billy Lynn with Passengers.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Finding Dory
Kubo & The Two Strings
Moana
The Red Turtle
Zootopia

Replaced The Little Prince with The Red Turtle.

BEST FOREIGN FILM

Belgica
Elle
It’s Only The End Of The World
Perfect Strangers
The Salesman

No change.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

13th
O.J.: Made In America
Tickled
Trapped
Weiner

Replaced Life, Animated with O.J.