Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Nominees: Christian Bale (American Hustle), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Bruce Dern (Nebraska), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street) Matthew McConaughey has had a hell of a year, and he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. His role as Ron Woodruff in Dallas Buyers Club is hilarious, saddening, frustrating and hope-instilling in quick succession, and he is more than deserving of the Golden Globe he captured last week for the movie. All of the actors in this category gave great performances, but McConaughey's is the most effective.
Second Most Likely Winner: Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Best Documentary Feature Film - Cutie And The Boxer
Nominees: The Act of Killing, Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars, The Square, 20 Feet from Stardom By no means is Cutie and the Boxer the one to beat in this category - The Act of Killing is being touted as the frontrunner, and the Netflix documentary The Square is extremely powerful stuff. But Cutie and the Boxer, about a husband and wife finding varying degree of success in various art forms over a 40-year marriage, is poignant and resonant in a different way, and it may just eke out a Best Documentary win.
Second Most Likely Winner: The Act of Killing
Best Documentary Short Film - Karama Has No Walls
Nominees: CaveDigger, Facing Fear, Karama Has No Walls, The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life, Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall Another difficult one to call is the Award for Best Documentary Short Film. All five nominees deal with serious themes, but Karama Has No Walls, about the Yemen response during the Arab Spring, is arguably the best. Facing Fear and The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life could also be solid contenders in this category.
Second Most Likely Winner: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Best Foreign Language Film - The Hunt
Nominees: The Broken Circle Breakdown, The Great Beauty, The Hunt, The Missing Picture, Omar Admittedly, I haven't seen all of these films, so I'm mainly going on word-of-mouth and internet buzz here. I have, however, seen The Hunt, so I'll push that into my prediction list as a great entry into the Foreign Language Film Oscar race.
Second Most Likely Winner: The Great Beauty