Oscar Predictions 2015

Here are my official 2015 Academy Awards predictions for your perusal. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments.

BEST PICTURE-
Boyhood is the emotional vote and it's been the frontrunner for so long that I doubt anything has changed. Yes, Birdman has been sweeping the guild awards, but I still say it's too weird for the Academy. I would be overjoyed beyond measure if Whiplash won, as that was my absolute number one favorite movie of the year, but that's just not happening. The other five nominees were safe bets that just don't have enough momentum to be real contenders.
The winner was Birdman.

BEST DIRECTOR-
Alejandro G. Inarritu did something very cinematic and special with Birdman, was snubbed for his work on Babel a few years ago, and just won the Director's Guild top prize (and they get it right 90% of the time), but I must again root for Boyhood. Richard Linklater has a more impressive past body of work and the dedication he showed in making this movie the way he did, AND making it work, was too impressive to ignore.
The winner was Alejandro G. Inarritu.

BEST ACTOR-
There is no reason at all to award Bradley Cooper for his acceptable work in American Sniper just because it's his third consecutive nod without a win (If that was the way things worked, Amy Adams would have won last year.). Benedict Cumberbatch was good in The Imitation Game and Steve Carell was wonderfully creepy in Foxcatcher, but it's obviously between up-and-comer Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything and the career-turnaround work of Michael Keaton in Birdman. Redmayne seems to be the frontrunner and I would not be surprised if he won for his Stephen Hawking impersonation (which really is something. considering he can't even move half the movie), but the Birdman performance was more dynamic and difficult, and I think the acting voters will appreciate that.
The winner was Eddie Redmayne.

BEST ACTRESS-
I still haven't seen Still Alice, but Julianne Moore has had this in the bag for months now. As great as Reese Witherspoon, Marion Cotillard, and Rosamund Pike were in Wild, Two Days-One Night, and Gone Girl (Pay no mind to Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything, please, thank you.), nobody's beating the Alzheimer's movie.
The winner was Julianne Moore.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR-
What a great group of nominees this year! I didn't like The Judge, but Robert Duvall is a great actor who is still punting them over 4th base (or whatever). Foxcatcher is the first time I really liked Mark Ruffalo. Ethan Hawke in Boyhood and Edward Norton in Birdman were two energetic performances that stand out in already exceptional films. But this is J K Simmons' award for Whiplash. That is a performance for the ages. No contest.
The winner was J. K. Simmons

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS-
I really don't know how Laura Dern got in for Wild instead of Jessica Chastain for A Most Violent Year, but whatever, she's not gonna win. Keira Knightley is solid in The Imitation Game, and she deserves to win something someday, but not for this. I love Emma Stone and she is great in Birdman, but is wildly overshadowed by Meryl Streep's powerhouse turn in Into the Woods. But the winner here is Patricia Arquette who is astonishingly natural and heartbreaking in Boyhood.
The winner was Patricia Arquette.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY-
Nightcrawler should really be winning here as it was one of the most original and unforgettable all-around screenplays of the year, but my vote is for Birdman which had lots of really sharp and funny dialogue, regardless of its overall weirdness. Boyhood and Foxcatcher don't stand a chance, and while I wouldn't complain if The Grand Budapest Hotel won, that's really a movie more notable for its visuals than its screenplay.
The winner was Birdman.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY-
Where the heck is Gone Girl? Anyway, as much as I would like Whiplash to get this, it's gonna go to something safe and typical like The Imitation Game or The Theory of Everything. And then there's American Sniper, which I imagine is the dark horse, and which is my least favorite in this category. At any rate, deserving though it may be, if Inherent Vice wins this I'll eat my own kidney.
The winner was The Imitation Game.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE-
There's nothing special about The Imitation Game's music. I haven't heard Mr. Turner's. And Interstellar's score is, sorry fanboys, gruesomely overbearing and obnoxious. So, my vote would go to Alexander Desplat's whimsical music for The Grand Budapest Hotel, but my prediction is for Johan Johansson's flowery The Theory of Everything score.
The winner was The Grand Budapest Hotel.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG-
I don't think "Grateful" from Beyond the Lights is that good and The Lego Movie's "Everything is Awesome" is catchy and fun, but prone to cause insanity. Begin Again's 'Lost Stars" is the only one that really worked as a driving force in the movie itself, but the winner will surely be "Glory" from Selma, even if it is just a make-up award for the movie being ignored elsewhere. The only other possibility is if Glenn Campbell wins the pity award for his song from that documentary.
The winner was Glory.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM-
I would vote for Ida. Most people seem to be leaning towards Leviathan. Wild Tales is all of the sudden the talk of the town. So, if there's gonna be a major upset this year, it'll probably be here. It could be any of these three.
The winner was Ida.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT-
I really think Boogaloo and Graham has this because it's fun and easily digestible. Otherwise, it'll be The Phone Call, because it's got all that emotion up in there, not to mention Sally Hawkins, who is incredible.
The winner was The Phone Call.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE-
With The Lego Movie out of the running, the popular vote would be How to Train Your Dragon 2, which will surely win. Never mind that Song of the Sea, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, and even The Boxtrolls are more creative and entertaining, and feature greater technical acheivements in the field of hand-made animation. But nobody saw them, so there you have it. (And I didn't think Big Hero 6 was so great. My apologies to the human race.)
The winner was Big Hero 6.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT-
All five of these are good. I liked The Dam Keeper the best because it had an interesting style and a surreal story, and yet was a crowd-pleaser. But Disney's Feast is cute and was more widely seen, so...
The winner was Feast.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE-
Citizenfour needs to win this. Beside the fact that it's an important document of modern history, it's darn entertaining. What other documentary have you seen recently that looked and felt like a thriller?
The winner was Citizenfour.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT-
I keep hearing Joanna mentioned here, and though it is good, I have to put my money on Crisis Hotline. I mean, isn't mental instability the theme this year?
The winner was Crisis Hotline.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY-
Even though I haven't seen Mr. Turner, you can see in the adverts how stunning it is. Unbroken is good-looking, but not exactly mind-blowing. Ida is so unique it'll definitely turn off those who aren't prepared for its uncommon compositions. Birdman's "it's all one shot" effort deserves the win, escept the photographer just won last year for Gravity and, again, it's a weird movie. Then there's The Grand Budapest Hotel, juggling equally astonsihing classic and modern aspect ratios, looking all lush and colorful and filmy. Either Birdman or Budapest is winning here and I refuse to choose which.
The winner was Birdman.

BEST FILM EDITING-
If Boyhood doesn't win here, what's the point of living? Unless Whiplash gets it, of course, because it needs all the attention it can get.
The winner was Whiplash.

BEST SOUND EDITING-
As much as I hate to say it, Interstellar actually deserves this one (It was the sound mix that was all screwed up originally; this award would be for all the undeniably effective sound effects and such.). Otherwise, American Sniper, I guess, because surely it'll win something, as popular as it is.
The winner was American Sniper.

BEST SOUND MIXING-
I really think this should be Whiplash's, which would be something if such a little indie beat out the big studio films for something technical like sound mixing! But I think this one will really go to American Sniper. Leastways, it just better not go to Interstellar, for the reasons stated above.
The winner was Whiplash.

BEST PRODUCTION/COSTUME DESIGN-
Both of these awards are going to The Grand Budapest Hotel, because as much as everyone always talks about how great Wes Anderson's movies look, here is finally the chance to recognize the people who make them look that way. The only real competition here is Into the Woods, which has beautiful costumes and impressive sets, considering they were all on soundstages.
The winners were The Grand Budapest Hotel.

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR-
There's no way Guardians of the Galaxy is losing this. Not only is it a movie beloved by the unwashed masses, it also ACTUALLY HAS THE BEST MAKEUP OF THE YEAR.
The winner was The Grand Budapest Hotel.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS-
I haven't seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier and both Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: Days of Future Past are typical superhero works (Good-looking, I confess, but still typical.). I wouldn't be surprised or upset if Interstellar won, because if nothing else, its effects are superb, but I'm really rooting for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I mean, when you become emotionally involved with a computer-generated image, somebody's doing something right.
The winner was Interstellar.

EDIT: Wow, I really didn't think Birdman had it coming! I'm not upset, though! Not at all!

Even though several of my predictions were either/or style, which made it easier for me to get more right than wrong, I'm gonna say I got 17 out of the 24 right, which is about usual. The only award that really and truly surprised me was Big Hero 6 winning Best Animated Feature. It makes me think that the voters did not actually see all the nominees, cause, I mean, COME ON!