by Madeline Best, photo from MCT Campus

This past year was full of cinematic masterpieces, which makes choosing winners for this year’s 86th annual Academy Awards difficult. With a total of 58 films up for various nominations and nine up for “Best Picture”, it is anyones game.

Popular favorites like American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Her, 12 Years A Slave, and Gravity lead the way in nominations, while some films were snubbed from the running. Tom Hanks, who starred in both Captain Phillips and Saving Mr. Banks, received no nomination for best “Actor in a Leading Role”. Since Hanks is absent from this category, I predict the Oscar will go to either Leonardo DiCaprio for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street or Matthew McConaughey for his role in Dallas Buyers Club. I have to admit, I would like to see DiCaprio win, so he can finally receive an Oscar. Another noticeable snub was Blackfish in the “Documentary Feature” category. Blackfish gained high popularity this year for its exposure of animal cruelty at Seaworld. The documentary originally aired on CNN and then was placed on Netflix instant streaming, which helped its circulation amongst viewers. Finally, I noticed The Great Gatsby had only received two nominations for “Costume Design” and “Production Design”. I was surprised to learn it had not earned a nomination for “Cinematography”, considering the film was full of unique camera angles and grand decorations, or that none of the leading and supporting actors had earned nominations.

While Meryl Streep is yet again up for best “Actress in a Leading Role” for her role in August: Osage County, I have a feeling she might be outdone by Amy Adams, who was also nominated for her role in American Hustle. Also nominated for her part in American Hustle, Jennifer Lawrence is, in my opinion, the clear winner for “Actress in a Supporting Role”. As much of a Jennifer Lawrence fan as I am, I admit she has some tough competition, considering Oscar newcomer Lupita Nyong’o is also nominated for her role in 12 Years A Slave. When it comes to “Actor in A Supporting Role”, I can already assure you Bradley Cooper will be walking away with the Oscar. Another clear winner hard to argue against is Frozen for “Animated Feature Film”. If you have not already seen this movie, I literally cannot express how much you are missing out. Disney has yet again made another smash hit.

As you can tell, I have a sneaking suspicion American Hustle will be picking up quite a few of the awards this year, considering they have ten award nominations, which ties them in first place with Gravity. In the end, my prediction for “Best Picture” is American Hustle. Will my predictions be right? There is only one way to tell. Tune into the 86th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2nd at 7 p.m. to see who walks away with an Oscar and who did not quite make the cut.