Last year was a big one for me as far as seeing most of the major Oscar-nominated movies before the actual ceremony.  This year wasn’t quite as good, but I feel like I put in a decent effort.

So before the statues get awarded, let me chime in on some of the major categories, ranked in the order I would choose (* means I haven’t seen it yet).

Best Picture
12 Years A Slave 
The Wolf of Wall Street
Her
Dallas Buyers Club
Inside Llewyn Davis (how was this not nominated? maybe my favorite movie of the year)
Gravity
American Hustle
Nebraska (Winter’s Bone award for movie nobody saw, but is pretty decent)
Captain Phillips
Philomena*

Best Actor
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club (no doubt on this one)
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave (…and yet a close 2nd)
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis (also not nominated, but I’m putting him in here)
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Christian Bale, American Hustle

Best Actress
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Sandra Bullock, Gravity (would be okay with her winning)
Cate Blanchette, Blue Jasmine (hate hate hated this character)
Judi Dench, Philomena*
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County*

Best Supporting Actor
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club (can we have a tie? I want to split this one)
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Supporting Actress
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years A Slave (should not be close)
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle (sorry…though last year I put you 2nd and you won…)
June Squibb, Nebraska
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County*

Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity (feels like this movie should win something, so here you go)
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Alexander Payne, Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Wolf of Wall Street (3-hour movie that doesn’t feel like 3 hours is doing something right)
12 Years A Slave
Captain Phillips
Before Midnight*
Philomena*

Best Original Screenplay
Her (another movie that needs to win something, definitely “original”)
Dallas Buyers Club
Nebraska
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine

My big failure this year: not seeing enough animated features or documentaries.