My Oscar Picks

Obviously I don't have a vote.  But if I did, here's how I would vote on the major categories in this year's Academy Awards competition:

Best Picture: I think 12 Years a Slave is not only the best movie of this year, but may be the most completely satisfying movie I've seen since The Thin Red Line in 1998.  Like the latter film, its power is simultaneously emotional, intellectual and artistic.  Such a combination is a rarity, so naturally I think it should win.  Having said that, I also have an immense amount of affection for Nebraska, and would not be too heartbroken if that took the prize.  In fact, this is the strongest field of contenders in memory (and I haven't even seen Gravity or Philomena yet), and several of the others might have been a favorite in a year that did not see the release of 12 Years a Slave. 

Best Director: Given what I wrote above, clearly Steve McQueen deserves this for 12 Years a Slave, and that's who I'm pulling for.  This is another strong field, and it doesn't even include the Coen Brothers, whose Inside Llewyn Davis was (to me) even better than I expected, and I had high hopes when I first heard about their intention to make a movie about the folk scene in Greenwich Village circa 1960.

Best Actor: Every one of the nominees did work good enough to win.  My sympathies are about evenly slip between Bruce Dern (Nebraska), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), and Chiwetel Ojiofor (12 Years a Slave).

Best Actress:  The only one of these performances that I've seen is Amy Adams in American Hustle.  I thought she was great, so I'm pulling for her. 

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave: he was fantastic as a slave master completely corrupted by the system that bred him.

Best Supporting Actress: I'd be equally happy if either June Squibb (Nebraska) or Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) won this category. 

Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel's photography on Inside Llewyn Davis was truly evocative of both a time and place (I wasn't there, but it made me think of stuff I've seen from the era by Robert Frank and John Cassavetes, among others).  Since this is the only really big award the film is up for, I'm pulling for Delbonnel.

Screenwriting: For adapted screenplay, I'm hoping Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy take the prize for Before Midnight (another movie ignored in the other categories), and for original screenplay I'd like to see Bob Nelson take the prize for Nebraska. 

Note that these picks represent who or what I think deserve to win, not necessarily who or what will win. Please feel free to post a comment with your favorites.