The top honors in movies is just days away and it’s interesting how award season has turned out, with many surprises along the way.  As with the previous awards, I’m sure there will be more to come as envelopes are opened to reveal the Oscar winners.

Back when I first saw trailers for “Captain Phillips,” I thought Tom Hanks would be in the mix of Oscar nominees.  Recently, I saw an episode of “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” featuring Matthew McConaughey as the guest.  From seeing more of “Dallas Buyers Club” on the show and elsewhere, McConaughey became another one of my favorites to win among those in the Best Actor category.  I’d love to see Leonardo DiCaprio win, of course.  I think it’s possible for him to win because of his success so far this year for his role as Jordan Belfort.

Another category I’m anxious for this year is Best Actress.  Cate Blanchett is one of my overall favorite actresses, but I’ve been rooting for Sandra Bullock ever since seeing “Gravity.”  With its dramatic life-and-death situation, it reminded me of James Franco’s Best Actor nomination for “127 Hours.”  Franco was my favorite to win in that category.  In both that case and Bullock as an astronaut knocked loose from the space shuttle, it was the drama of such extreme ordeals and how amazing each star was in bringing it to life.

No matter who wins this year, there sure is a lot of great talent from familiar faces to newcomers.  I hadn’t heard much at all about in the short film and documentary short categories.  But other than those, here are my favorites:

  • Best Picture: “12 Years a Slave” or “Gravity”
  • Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity”)
  • Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club”) or Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Wolf of Wall Street”)
  • Best Actress: Sandra Bullock (“Gravity”)
  • Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club”)
  • Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”)
  • Best Original Screenplay: “American Hustle” – David O. Russell, Eric Warren Singer
  • Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Wolf of Wall Street” – Terence Winter
  • Best Animated Feature: “Frozen”
  • Best Foreign Feature: “The Great Beauty”
  • Best Music (Original Song): “Let it Go” (“Frozen”)
  • Best Music (Original Score): “Gravity” – Steven Price
  • Best Cinematography: “Gravity”
  • Best Costume Design: “The Great Gatsby”
  • Best Documentary Feature: “20 Feet From Stardom”
  • Best Film Editing: “Gravity” – Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
  • Best Makeup & Hairstyling: “Dallas Buyers Club” – Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews
  • Best Production Design: “The Great Gatsby” or “Gravity”
  • Best Visual Effects: “Gravity”
  • Best Sound Mixing: “Gravity”
  • Best Sound Editing: “Gravity”
  • Best Short Film (Live Action): ?
  • Best Short Film (Animated): ?
  • Best Documentary Short: ?

Any thoughts on which nominees will take home Oscars this year?