OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2016!

Here we are folks! Just a couple of days away from this year's Academy Awards. In the past few years I've tried to tell myself there was drama between the big category (Best Picture) to hype myself up for the show...but deep down I've pretty much known every year what was going to win, and which of my other movies in that category it would trump. The King's Speech quietly swept away Social Network's Oscar. The Artist silently pranced with jazz hands away with the top prize, leaving The Descendants in the dust. Last year Birdman swooped in and clutched it right out of Boyhood's fingers. But this year: I have an idea...but I am genuinely unsure of how things are going to play out. The way I see it, there are three contenders. There's The Revenant, The Big Short and Spotlight. And then there's the race of Supporting Actress: will Oscar veteran Kate Winslet scoop up her second trophy, or will breakout newcomer Alicia Vikander steal it with her stellar supporting performance in Ex Machina The Danish Girl? Will The Big Short shock us all like McKay shocked us with his dramatic directing chops and sweep the night? Read below to see my analysis!

Bold= will win
Red= should win

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Inside Out is of course my favorite of the year, but this category is full of creative choices. Spotlight will take it home because it has won the WGA and the Critic's Choice.

• Inside Out
• Ex Machina
• Spotlight
• Straight Outta Compton
• Bridge of Spies

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Anorthy worthy set of nominees, but anytime you can combine a scathing look at the events leading to the 2008 Recession and a certain celebrity enjoying a bubble bath, you're going to win. All signs point to Adam McKay and Randolph Scott's (difficult) but wonderful, wall-breaking script.

• Room
• The Big Short
• The Martian
• Carol
• Brooklyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Once I see Creed I'm sure I'll be glad Sly is taking home Best Supporting Actor for his seventh turn as Rocky Balboa. Somehow this feels better than when older actors usually get "consolation" prizes for their long list of work. I heard nothing but great things about Stallone when Creed  premiered.

• Sylvester Stallone- Creed
• Mark Ruffalo- Spotlight
• Tom Hardy- The Revenant
• Christian Bale- The Big Short
• Mark Rylance- Bridge of Spies

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: I haven't seen the bulk of these other nominees, but this is really a showdown between Winslet and Vikander. I'm giving the edge to the newbie, who has a slight advantage because from what I've heard her portrayal as artist Gerda Wegener is more of a lead role. Winslet won the Globe and the BAFTA's because they're both obsessed with her, but here in the States I'm giving it to Alicia. I would've loved to've seen Leigh take this home, for holding her own against some truly despicable  men.

• Kate Winslet- Steve Jobs
• Alicia Vikander- The Danish Girl
• Rachel McAdams- Spotlight
• Rooney Mara- Carol
• Jennifer Jason Leigh- The Hateful Eight

BEST ACTOR: Yes, Internet. Leo will be finally getting his rightly deserved statue. Why didn't you make this big a deal when Peter O'Toole lost the Oscar eight times?!

• Matt Damon- The Martian
• Leonardo DiCaprio- The Revenant
• Bryan Cranston- Trumbo
• Eddie Redmayne- The Danish Girl
• Michael Fassbender- Steve Jobs

BEST ACTRESS: This award was never any one else's. Unless Leo loses, this'll be the biggest shocker of the night if the award goes to anyone but Brie Larson.

• Cate Blanchett- Carol
• Brie Larson- Room
• Saoirse Ronan- Brooklyn
• Charlotte Rampling- 45 Years
• Jennifer Lawrence- Joy

BEST ANIMATED FILM: What a bizarre assortment of nominees. There was some early doubt that Anamolisa could prove an upset, but now there seems no stopping Pixar's first offering of 2015 from taking home the gold.

• When Marnie Was There
• Anamolisa
• Inside Out
• Boy and the World
• Shaun the Sheep Movie

BEST DIRECTOR: This award has me so torn. What Iñárritu did, and what he went through is astonishing, and the movie is a spectacle. BUT SO WAS FURY ROAD! Miller's passionate project went through the Dante's Inferno equivalent of development hell, and it's been reported that every minute decision went through him. Miller's Critic's Choice win made me cross my fingers in hope, but the DGA win solidifies it. AGI is going to accomplish a rare feat, matched only by the iconic likes of John Ford and Joseph L. Mankiewicz: back-to-back Best Director wins.

• Tom McCarthy- Spotlight
• George Miller- Mad Max: Fury Road
• Alejandro G. Iñárritu- The Revenant
• Adam McKay- The Big Short
• Lenny Abramson- Room

BEST PICTURE: As I've said, I haven't been so unsure about a film winning Best Picture in a long time. With Leo, Iñárritu, and inevitably cinematographer Chivo's Oscars, I think four will be The Revenant's lucky number. As soon as I came out of the theaters in October 2012, I predicted in the parking lot Argo would deservedly take home Best Picture. I did the exact same thing after seeing Spotlight. Well, I was wrong. If my predictions are correct, Hugh Glass's tale of survival will join the leagues of Wings, Lawrence of Arabia and Titanic.

• The Martian
• Room
• The Big Short
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Spotlight
• The Revenant
• Brooklyn
• Bridge of Spies