The Academy Awards take place this Sunday, Feb. 24, which means that it’s time to start making predictions. If you’re like most people, the Oscars come and go without you having seen any of the nominated movies, so here’s your experts’ picks from Arts & Entertainment Editor Nate Day, Sports Editor Chris Freud and The Movie Guru, Jenniffer Wardell:
Best Picture
Nate: Unfortunately, most of the movies in this category are going to be a little short on Oscar love this season, and while I’d love to see “BlacKkKlansman” or “A Star Is Born” win, I’d bet it’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” (even though it’s terrible).
Freud: When not being a sports writer who goes to the movies a lot, I’m a political junkie, so my vote goes to “Vice.” As he did in “The Big Short,” Adam McKay uses humor to explain the more technical aspects, and Christian Bale and company all deliver superb performances.
Jenniffer: If you look at the picks for best picture over the last two years, there is literally one thing that “Moonlight” and “The Shape of Water” have in common. Both movies were strong directorial visions executed with almost complete disregard of film norms. This year, the movie that fits that bill is Cuaron’s “Roma.” Also, it has the benefit of being low on controversy, which isn’t true for other nominees such as “Green Book.”
Best Director
Nate: No one deserves this award more than Alfonso Cuaron. His movie “Roma” (available on Netflix) is semi-autobiographical and painstakingly recreates his own childhood home right down to the furniture.
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Freud: It’s time for Spike Lee. “BlacKkKlansman” was timely in our political environment. It also struck the right tone between humor and gravity. The juxtaposition, toward the climax of the movie, of the Klan’s activities and Harry Belafonte’s elegant appearance as Jerome Turner was masterful.
Jenniffer: Going to have to go with Alfonso Cuaron here, even though it always annoys me when the same person wins in both categories. Sadly, I can’t argue with the buffet of awards the man has already picked up this season. Smart money says it’ll happen again.
Best Actress
Nate: Even though Glenn Close is massively favored in every conceivable way, but I’m holding out hope that Lady Gaga will take home the trophy — and I believe she can do it.
Freud: “The Favourite” didn’t do it for me, but it seems that all signs point
to Olivia Colman. I’d like to see Glenn Close (“The Wife”) win for her lifetime work, but that isn’t how it works.
Jenniffer: I’ve gotta go with Glenn Close (“The Wife”) on this one. She’s made a slightly bigger splash this awards season than Olivia Coleman (“The Favourite”), the other front runner. More importantly, Close has never won an Oscar in her career. The Academy may see this as an opportunity to reward a lifetime of work.
Best Actor
Nate: Rami Malek has taken home pretty much every award out there for playing Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which he deserves, and he’ll take this one, too.
Freud: Christian Bale transformed himself into the incarnation of Dick Cheney. It wasn’t just the makeup and the weight gain, but the smirk and the rhythmic cadence of speech. Bale wins his second Oscar.
Jenniffer: If there’s any justice in the world, Rami Malek will rack up one more award for his masterful work in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Critics may be divided about whether they liked the movie, but Malek has already gotten a lot of love this awards season. Fingers crossed that he gets one more.
Best Supporting Actress
Nate: From day one, Regina King was the favorite for “If Beale Street Could Talk,” and I still think she’ll win, despite competition from the ladies of “The Favourite.”
Freud: Tough on two counts. First off, “Roma” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” haven’t been, to my knowledge, at local cinemas, and I really like Regina King, who was nominated for the latter. I also really love Amy Adams. Think about it — she was in “Talladega Nights,” “Julie & Julia” to “Arrival,” and now Lynne Cheney in “Vice.” Adams is fast becoming an actress whose movies one goes to see automatically.
Jenniffer: Though this isn’t as cut-and-dry as some of the other races, my money is on Regina King for “If Beale Street Could Talk.” The ladies in “The Favourite” are fantastic, but the fact that there’s two in this category split attention between the two. And I love Amy Adams as much as Chris, but “Vice” isn’t her best work.
Best Supporting Actor
Nate: Mahershala Ali won the Golden Globe in this category, so it’s likely he’ll win the Oscar on Sunday, however, Richard E. Grant has been slowly taking over the awards-chatter in recent weeks as well.
Freud: This is a strong field. Sam Rockwell (George W. Bush in “Vice”) is eliminated by the no-repeat rule. With the caveat that “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (Richard E. Grant) never made it to local theaters, we’ll go with Mahershala Ali from “Green Book.”
Jenniffer: This is a no brainer. Mahershala Ali is the one thing in “Green Book” everyone can agree on liking, and he’s swept up literally every major award in this category this season. He’ll do it again here.
Best Original Song
Nate: “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born.” Plain and simple, no question.
Freud: “Shallow” by Lady Gaga because there’s a certain amount of divvying up the goodies and “A Star is Born” needs just representation.
Jenniffer: I’m going to put “All The Stars” from “Black Panther” here. Not because I think it’ll necessarily win, but because if “Black Panther doesn’t get some love from the Academy, I will cry.
Best Animated Feature Film
Nate: Almost every year, Disney takes home this trophy (“Incredibles 2” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet” qualifying this year), but the Academy would be remiss for not recognizing “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” for its groundbreaking animation in addition to its storytelling.
Freud: I’m simply proud I saw last year’s winner, “Coco.”
Jenniffer: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is already the most honored film this awards season, and there’s no sign of that love fading. Odds are that it’ll be the movie to finally break the Disney/Pixar stranglehold on this category.
The Oscars will air on Sunday from 6–9 p.m. on ABC.
