With the 89th annual Oscars coming up on Sunday, it seems to be a pretty straight forward show, La La Land and Moonlight being the favorites to dominate the award season this year.

I will be predicting who will probably win, and also who should win the award for each respective category. 

First up is writing, or original screenplay. The nominees for best original screenplay are: Hell or High Water, La La Land, The Lobster, Manchester by the Sea, and 20th Century Women. The overall winner of this will most likely be La La Land. However, the award should go to Manchester by the Sea. With the work of Kenneth Lonergan, the writer behind the great movie Gangs of New York, his work will be looked over for La La Land. 

Now for visual effects. This a tough one to call. All the nominees: Deepwater Horizon, Doctor Strange, The Jungle Book, Kubo and the Two Strings and Rogue One deserve an Oscar trophy.  However, the one that truly deserves this award is the Jungle Book, and it should carry through with the win. 

The best director for the 89th Academy Awards is a pretty straight forward one this year. La La Land’s Damien Chazelle truly deserves to win best director with the different shots he incorporated in his movie. I would be very surprised if he does not win this award.

With animated movies starting to dominate the box office again, it was a very strong year for them. The nominees for best animated film are: Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, My Life as a Zucchini, Zootopia and The Red Turtle. There are two movies that realistically have a chance at winning, which are Kubo and the Two Strings and Zootopia. The thing with Kubo and the Two Strings is that it isn’t your everyday animated film: It’s filmed in stop-motion and with 3D printing. I can not call the winner of this category, having seen both of these and loving them. Both deserve to win the award for best animated film.

For best supporting actress, there are many possible winners. The nominees are: Viola Davis (Fences), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Nicole Kidman (Lion), Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures), and Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea). There isn’t really a favorite for one of these ladies to win, but if I had to guess it will be Viola Davis from Fences.

Just like the supporting actress award, the supporting actor is also hard to call this year. The nominees are: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea), Dev Petal (Lion), and Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals). If I had to pick one winner from this talented group, I say Jeff Bridges wins, because the committee loves Jeff, and his performance in Hell or High Water was powerful. 

Now for the last three categories everyone waits for each year.

The best actress in a leading role is obvious, but the nominees are Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Ruth Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Emma Stone (La La Land), and Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins). And you you guessed it right — it will be Emma Stone. 

Just like the best actress in a leading role, the best actor in a leading role is mostly straightforward. However, there could be an upset. The nominees are: Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), and Denzel Washington (Fences). The favorite is Ryan Gosling, but it is very possible that Casey Affleck can upset him in this category. This will be one of the most interesting awards of the night.

Ah, yes, Best Picture. There is a favorite to win this one, but there are also two films that could surprise. The nominees are: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea, and Moonlight. Overall, I think that La La Land deserves to win the best picture of the year award, but it is very possible that Moonlight or even Manchester by the Sea can pull it off.

It should be a very entertaining night at the Oscars on Sunday to say the least.