My first blog tagline was Everyone is Entitled to My Opinion. That still holds true. 

Each year there are films, actors, writers and directors that I root for. They may not be the most obvious choices or odds-on favorites to win, but I support films and performances that stick with me long after the credits have rolled. 

Below are my picks in the major Oscar categories. And yes, I will be tweeting live on Sunday, beginning at 5pm PST if you’d like to follow along with the snark!

* Caveats: I have seen 9 out of the 10 Best Picture nominees (I missed 127 Hours). Sadly, I did not see any of the Documentaries or Foreign Films this year (so I am not including them below).

BEST PICTURE

1. Black Swan
2. The Fighter
3. Inception (should win)
4. The Kids Are All Right
5. The King’s Speech
6. 127 Hours
7. The Social Network (will win)
8. Toy Story 3
9. True Grit
10. Winter’s Bone

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

1. Javier Bardem: Biutiful
2. Jeff Bridges: True Grit
3. Jesse Eisenberg: The Social Network
4. Colin Firth: The King’s Speech (should win, will win)
5. James Franco: 127 Hours

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

1. Christian Bale: The Fighter (will win)
2. John Hawkes: Winter’s Bone
3. Jeremy Renner: The Town
4. Mark Ruffalo: The Kids Are All Right
5. Geoffrey Rush: The King’s Speech (should win)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

1. Annette Bening: The Kids Are All Right (will win)
2. Nicole Kidman: Rabbit Hole
3. Jennifer Lawrence: Winter’s Bone
4. Natalie Portman: Black Swan (should win)
5. Michelle Williams: Blue Valentine

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

1. Amy Adams: The Fighter
2. Helena Bonham Carter: The King’s Speech
3. Melissa Leo: The Fighter (will win)
4. Hailee Steinfeld: True Grit (should win)
5. Jacki Weaver: Animal Kingdom

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

1. How to Train Your Dragon
2. The Illusionist
3. Toy Story 3 (should win, will win)

ART DIRECTION

1. Alice in Wonderland (will win)
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (should win)
3. Inception 
4. The King’s Speech
5. True Grit

CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Black Swan (will win)
2. Inception (should win)
3. The King’s Speech
4. The Social Network 
5. True Grit

COSTUME DESIGN

1. Alice in Wonderland (should win, will win)
2. I Am Love
3. The King’s Speech
4. The Tempest
5. True Grit

DIRECTING

1. Black Swan: Darren Aronofsky
2. The Fighter: David O. Russell
3. The King’s Speech: Tom Hooper (will win)
4. The Social Network: David Fincher (should win)
5. True Grit: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

[my vote would have gone to Christopher Nolan for Inception; his omission is egregious and outrageous]

FILM EDITING

1. Black Swan  
2. The Fighter
3. The King’s Speech 
4. 127 Hours (will win)
5. The Social Network (should win)

[again, my vote would have gone to Inception]

MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE

1. How to Train Your Dragon: John Powell
2. Inception: Hans Zimmer (should win)
3. The King’s Speech: Alexandre Desplat
4. 127 Hours: A.R. Rahman
5. The Social Network: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (will win)

MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG

1. “Coming Home” from Country Strong
2. “I See the Light” from Tangled
3. “If I Rise” from 127 Hours (will win)
4. “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3 (should win)

SOUND EDITING

1. Inception (should win, will win)
2. Toy Story 3
3. Tron: Legacy
4. True Grit
5. Unstoppable 

SOUND MIXING

1. Inception (should win)
2. The King’s Speech (will win)
3. Salt
4. The Social Network
5. True Grit

VISUAL EFFECTS

1. Alice in Wonderland
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
3. Hereafter
4. Inception (should win, will win)
5. Iron Man 2

WRITING - ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

1. 127 Hours: Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
2. The Social Network: Aaron Sorkin (should win, will win)
3. Toy Story 3: Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
4. True Grit: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
5. Winter’s Bone: Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

WRITING - ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Another Year: Mike Leigh
2. The Fighter: Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington 
3. Inception: Christopher Nolan (should win)
4. The Kids Are All Right: Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
5. The King’s Speech: David Seidler (will win)