Who will win at the Oscars?

So over at Blobby's blog, I'm sure there is much snark and some sharp taunts pointed in my direction. You see, it's time for each of us to pick the winners that will announced at the Oscar telecast one week from tonight.

I did receive a personal e-mail from Blobby -- saying that he had made his picks. But because I don't want to be swayed or mis-directed by his random choices, I'm going to stay away from his blog until I'm done selecting the winners myself.

An update: Seems Blobby won't be posting his selections until later this week. Scaredy cat.

I haven't seen most of the nominees this year. We did catch "Lincoln", "Zero Dark Thirty", and "Les Miserables" in the theater, but am waiting for the video release of everything else. But i've done countless hours of research (I looked at two websites, flipped through an industry magazine, and looked at the critic's choices in today's Boston Sunday Globe) and feel quite confident in my choices below.

To re-cap: we each need to select the winner in all 24 categories. No "shoulda's", "couldas" or "woulda's" will be counted, although comments are welcome. The winner will be determined via a  straight tally of the results as each gold envelope's contents are revealed. And much rides on our decisions -- a cold frosty cocktail (or three) will be awarded to the winner of this year's race, which last year, ended in a tie.

Here's the full list of what we'll be voting on. I've marked my predictions in bold blue. Take a look and let me know what you think in the comments section below. Then check out Blobby's predictions (I'll add a link here after I finish posting my votes). Who do you think is going to win? All I know is that I'm feeling awful thirsty...

1. Best Picture: "Amour," "Argo," "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Django Unchained," "Les Miserables," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Zero Dark Thirty."
Comment: Things seem to be swinging Ben Affleck's way recently -- and with a snub in the "Directing" category, the Academy just might award him the night's biggest prize.

2. Actor: Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"; Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"; Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"; Denzel Washington, "Flight."
Comment: Everyone is saying this a "lock" for Day-Lewis. Who am I to argue?

3. Actress: Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"; Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"; Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; Naomi Watts, "The Impossible."
Comment: Never have seen her in any movies, but seems to be the "darling" of the Hollywood circuit right now.

4. Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Argo"; Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"; Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"; Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained."
Comment: Lee Jones is an old crab, so I won't vote for him. De Niro seems to be getting some buzz and although I think he plays the same character in every movie he's in, I think he's going home with Oscar next Sunday night.

5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "The Master"; Sally Field, "Lincoln"; Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"; Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"; Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook."
Comment: Hate to make Hathaway's name bold, but her win for her bloated performance seems inevitable. She's so very annoying. You did see this video of her complaining about her name being misspelled at the Critics Choice Awards, didn't you?

6. Directing: Michael Haneke, "Amour"; Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"; Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"; David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook."

7. Foreign Language Film: "Amour," Austria; "Kon-Tiki," Norway; "No," Chile; "A Royal Affair," Denmark; "War Witch," Canada.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, "Argo"; Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; David Magee, "Life of Pi"; Tony Kushner, "Lincoln"; David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook."

9. Original Screenplay: Michael Haneke, "Amour"; Quentin Tarantino, "Django Unchained"; John Gatins, "Flight"; Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, "Moonrise Kingdom"; Mark Boal, "Zero Dark Thirty."

10. Animated Feature Film: "Brave"; "Frankenweenie"; "ParaNorman"; "The Pirates! Band of Misfits"; "Wreck-It Ralph."
Comment: Just want them to say "Frankenweenie" on TV.

11. Production Design: "Anna Karenina," "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Les Miserables," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln."

12. Cinematography: "Anna Karenina," "Django Unchained," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Skyfall."

13. Sound Mixing: "Argo," "Les Miserables," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Skyfall."
Comment: Much ado has been made about the actors all singing live, so this seems like a homerun.

14. Sound Editing: "Argo," "Django Unchained," "Life of Pi," "Skyfall," "Zero Dark Thirty."

15. Original Score: "Anna Karenina," Dario Marianelli; "Argo," Alexandre Desplat; "Life of Pi," Mychael Danna; "Lincoln," John Williams; "Skyfall," Thomas Newman.

16. Original Song: "Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice," J. Ralph; "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from "Ted," Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane; "Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi," Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri; "Skyfall" from "Skyfall," Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth; "Suddenly" from "Les Miserables," Claude-Michel Schonberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil.
Comment: Who doesn't want to see Adele win an Oscar?

17. Costume: "Anna Karenina," "Les Miserables," "Lincoln," "Mirror Mirror," "Snow White and the Huntsman."

18. Documentary Feature: "5 Broken Cameras," "The Gatekeepers," "How to Survive a Plague," "The Invisible War," "Searching for Sugar Man."

19. Documentary (short subject): "Inocente," "Kings Point," "Mondays at Racine," "Open Heart," "Redemption."

20. Film Editing: "Argo," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Zero Dark Thirty."

21. Makeup and Hairstyling: "Hitchcock," "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Les Miserables."
Comment: Hairy feet (no, not Anne Hathaway's) will rule this category.

22. Animated Short Film: "Adam and Dog," "Fresh Guacamole," "Head over Heels," "Maggie Simpson in `The Longest Daycare,'" "Paperman."

23. Live Action Short Film: "Asad," "Buzkashi Boys," "Curfew," "Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)," "Henry."

24. Visual Effects: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "Life of Pi," "Marvel's The Avengers," "Prometheus," "Snow White and the Huntsman."