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Should Win: "American Hustle"
"American Hustle" jumped out to an early lead this awards season, winning the Golden Globe for Best Picture: Comedy/Musical and the SAG Award for Best Ensemble. But it peaked too early, allowing time for backlash from those who deemed it "more style than substance." These folks aren't looking closely enough. Repeat viewings reveal a rare synergy between song lyrics and symbolic image, proving David O. Russell is in the zone. Years from now, we may look back at "American Hustle" as the prime achievement of his Bale-Adams-Lawrence-Cooper stable.
Could Win: "Gravity"
Alfonso Cuaron reinvented visual storytelling with a weightless 20-minute opening single-take, hyperventilating POV shots and 3D tear drops floating toward our own glassy eyes. Expect Academy voters to give him best director, then cast their best picture ballots elsewhere. But don't rule out "Gravity." It was the movie-going experience of the year and could very well score a 3D IMAX upset.
Will Win: "12 Years a Slave"
Steve McQueen's historical drama is an undisputed masterpiece. Freeze any frame and you could hang it on your wall as a piece of artwork. The cast is incredible from top to bottom, with an Oscar worthy lead performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor backed by a stellar supporting cast, ranging from the horrific (Michael Fassbender and Paul Dano) to the heartbreaking (Lupita Nyong'o). If the Oscars were held two weeks earlier, it may have been "American Hustle," but an extended Oscar period over Black History Month has made "12 Years" the odds-on favorite. Roll Jordan, roll.(YouTube/WTOP)
