Oscar Predictions

Best Actor in a Leading Role
•    Christian Bale (American Hustle)
•    Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
•    Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
•    Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
•    Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
•    Amy Adams (American Hustle)
•    Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
•    Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
•    Judi Dench (Philomena)
•    Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
•    Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
•    Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
•    Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
•    Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
•    Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
•    Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
•    Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
•    Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
•    Julia Roberts  (August: Osage County)
•    June Squibb (Nebraska)

The race is on. Awards season has almost reached its culmination: The Academy Awards.

Each year the glamorous awards show draws in millions of viewers eager to see who walks away with the film industry’s most prestigious honor. The acting awards provide the most exciting battles, time and again pitting living legend against rookie in the race to see who gave the best performances of the year.

Best Leading Actor gives us this year’s tightest race with actors giving the performances of their lives in some of the best films of the decade. Matthew McConaughey seems favored to win, having walked away with most of the major awards so far. The romantic comedy veteran proved his versatility by playing an AIDS victim in the most captivating and disarming performance of his career. Leonardo DiCaprio pushes on McConaughey’s heels, desperate to win that elusive golden man. His thrilling performance as the drug-infused womanizer Jordan Belfort is deserving and could well end up winning him the Oscar. While other nominees gave incredible performances, it’s unlikely that even Christian “Batman” Bale could top these two brilliant actors this year.

The competitions for Best Leading Actress and Best Supporting Actor will give Oscar voters a breather, featuring two performances that will not go unrewarded. Cate Blanchett’s stirring portrayal of the armpit-stained ex-socialite carries the otherwise forgettable “Blue Jasmine” and will be honored, regardless of director Woody Allen’s recent bout with the press.

The competition for Supporting Actor is another predictable one. Though many fans of “Captain Phillips” will want to see rookie Barkhad Abdi take the prize, Jared Leto’s performance opposite McConaughey as a transgender drug addict blew away audiences and voters alike and will almost definitely win him a golden man.

Thus far in awards season, accolades for Best Supporting Actress have been split between newcomer Lupita Nyong’o and Internet darling Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence’s raw energy in “American Hustle” was electric, delivering a riveting performance with limited screen time. Nyong’o’s career-making turn in “12 Years a Slave” riveted audiences with its tear-inducing authenticity. Though Lawrence may seem the frontrunner after winning both the Golden Globe and BAFTA, the Oscar voters are unlikely to want to reward Lawrence twice in a row this early in her career. Regardless of Oscar politics, it would be a crime to ignore the sheer talent displayed in Nyong’o’s breathtaking performance.