In just a few hours the 91st Academy Awards ceremony will be in full swing and the best and brightest stars in Hollywood will come together to pat themselves on their already much too celebrated backs. I can’t say I’m a big believer in the sheer amount of film awards that there are but I guess it’s all good for the industry. And it’s fun to see people get all dressed up and excited. 2019 has already been made an absolute delight because of how much of a good time Richard E. Grant is having just being nominated. Imagine what it’s going to be like if he wins? As I have done for the past few years, I managed to successfully watch all of the Best Picture nominations before the ceremony as well as a few other nominated films. I still have a few big ones to see though. A fact that might make my next task kind of difficult. I missed it last year but I’m here again to attempt to understand the Academy voters. It’s a weird year for Oscar nominations so, really, it’s kind of anyone’s game. But let’s give this a go anyway.

Best Picture
• Will win: Roma
• Should win: Roma
• My favourite: The Favourite

I absolutely loved The Favourite and definitely think it deserves to win but I’m just not convinced the voters will see it as a winner. The 2019 awards season has been all about Roma so it feels like a pretty safe choice. Unless the voters have something against a Netflix creation being names Best Picture. If that’s the case I can see the very undeserving Green Book coming out on top.

Best Actor
• Will win: Christian Bale
• Should win: Willem Dafoe
• My favourite: Rami Malik

This has to be one of the worst Best Actor selections in history, right? Either the films were kind of rubbish or the performances weren’t all that. I have an inkling that Christian Bale will walk away with the title because I’m not sure At Eternity’s Gate really made enough of an impact. Although, Willem Dafoe was absolutely incredible. And would be a worthy winner. Rami is still an outside choice but it doesn’t feel very Oscar-y. He was the best thing about Bohemian Rhapsody but I’m not sure it’ll go his way tonight.

Best Actress
• Will win: Glenn Close
• Should win: Olivia Colman
• My favourite: Olivia Colman

So, I’ve hopefully made my love for Olivia Colman clear by now. She’s an amazing creature that the world doesn’t deserve. She’s charming, sweet, funny, perfect.. god I love her. And I have done since I first saw her in whichever Mitchell and Webb project she was in first. She deserves to win an Oscar to go along with her recent BAFTA… I’m just not sure that she will. And I have to admit that Glenn Close was fucking amazing in The Wife. Such a subtle but powerful performance. If anyone was going to beat Colman it could only be Close.

Best Supporting Actor
• Will win: Mahershala Ali
• Should win: Richard E. Grant
• My favourite: Richard E. Grant/ Adam Driver

Oh Richard E. Grant. You have been utter perfection in the last few months. Your social media posts conveying your excitement at the nomination is everything. You’ve been waiting too long for this nomination and you certainly deserve to win. So it’s a massive shame that you won’t. The supporting actor category was so much stronger than the Best Actor this year that I could, conceivably, see anyone walking off with the award. However, it looks like there’s one man breaking away from the pack. And, to be fair, Mahershala Ali was great in Green Book.

Best Supporting Actress
• Will win: Regina King
• Should win: Rachel Weisz
• My favourite: Emma Stone

Gonna be honest, I’ve still not seen If Beale Street Could Talk so this has been an absolute blind guess. Regina King does seem like the safe choice though. Look at what she’s already achieved. It’s possible that The Favourite stars could pip her to the post but I don’t see how the voters could separate them. Rachel Weisz feels like the stronger choice but Emma Stone was the funnier performer. King just feels like the only real pick.

Best Director
• Will win: Alfonso Cuaron
• Should win: Alfonso Cuaron
• My favourite: Yorgos Lanthimos

Again, I haven’t seen Cold War so I’m not entirely confident. It looks amazing but I’m not sure anyone but Alfonso Cuaron stands much of a choice. He’s the man of the moment and Roma was genuinely astounding. Although, I think Yorgos Lanthimos did amazing work with The Favourite. I’m just not sure he’ll have the “mass appeal” with the voters.

Best Cinematography
• Will win: Alfonso Cuaron
• Should win: Robbie Ryan
• My favourite: Robbie Ryan

Another absolute guess because there are two films in this category that I haven’t seen. However, Cuaron, again, seems like the strongest choice. He’s been getting all of the attention and Roma was fucking beautiful. He really evoked the Mexico of his childhood and it was so sensitively done. However, anyone who ignores the masterful cinematography of The Favourite is an idiot. Even if you didn’t like the film you can’t deny that the cinematography made that narrative so much better.

Best Animated Feature
• Will win: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
• Should win: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
• My favourite: Isle of Dogs

So, considering it was my number 1 film of 2018, nobody will be surprised that I’m backing this film all the way. It was a perfect animated film and has been the strongest film in this category. I just don’t see any other film in this category here beating it. And the only one I’d be happy to see do it would be Isle of Dogs. Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animation was glorious and dark and weird. I loved it.