Preview This! Mike’s Fearless Oscar Picks

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriquez/Getty Images

The Academy Awards are this Sunday. Here are my Fearless Oscar picks 2014:

(Please note, I am picking the nominee whom I think will win, not who should win. Last year, I correctly picked 11 out of 13 Oscar winners.)

Best Picture:

“12 Years a Slave”      This was a great year for cinema and many of the nominees in this category would be worthy of a win, but I think it’s “12 Years a Slave.”  “Gravity” could sneak in, but I doubt it.  I think “12 Years” is just too strong a film to ignore.

Actor in a Leading Role:

Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”     McConaughey is going to be rewarded for taking on this role in a film that only got made because he took almost no money to be in it.

Actress in a Leading Role:

Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”    This is a sure thing as Blanchett was a force of nature on the screen as a woman going over the edge.

Actor in a Supporting Role:

Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”     Leto, playing the drug addict AIDS patient who helped shape McConaughey ’s character with his business, was amazing on the screen.

Actress in a Supporting Role:

Lupita Nyong’o “12 Years a Slave”    This is a tough one to pick as Jennifer Lawrence could pick up a 2nd Oscar for “American Hustle,” but I think Nyoung’o’s performance was magical.

Directing:

Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”    Cuaron created a beautiful looking film that kept audiences on the edge of their seats from the start.

Animated Feature Film:

“Frozen”     One of the best Disney films of the past 10 years, made even better by a wonderful score.

Adapted Screenplay:

“12 Years a Slave”

Original Screenplay:

“Her”

Foreign Language Film:

“The Great Beauty”  Italy

Documentary Feature:

“The Act of Killing”

Cinematography:

“Gravity”

Original Song:

“Let It Go” from the film “Frozen”