Take them as an arbiter of whats actually the best of anything, and youre on far shakier ground.
But I think most people have long accepted that.
Ask 5-10,000 people to choose the best thing, and many times, theyre not going to choose yours.
But lets just say that would be an unwise choice.
Neither strikes us as best film of the year material.
That said, we suspectBoyhoodmay still sneak this, and we cant grumble with that.
Its an excellent film, a real one-of-a-kind.
Its a two horse race again, which every bookmaker seems to agree with.
Linklaters is less overt, more relaxed, and far more patient.
Will win:Alejandro G InarrituShould win:Good question.
Richard Linklater, probably.
Yet Redmaynes work is not just brilliant, its also firmly in the safety zone of what Oscar likes.
Its harsh on Steve Carell, less harsh on Benedict Cumberbatch and Bradley Cooper perhaps.
But this isnt any other year.
This is Julianne Moores year.
Shell have one by Monday morning.
Will win:Julianne MooreShould win:Take your pick: Moore, Rosamund Pike or Marion Cotillard.
Yet every indicator on Planet Earth suggests that Patricia Arquette has this one nailed.
Arquette would be a popular and worthy winner.
With particular apologies to Ethan.
Turner, Dick PopeUnbroken, Roger Deakins
Could this be the year to break the Roger Deakins duck?
Its been a long time coming, but we fear he may be thwarted again.
The gorgeous photography of Wes AndersonsThe Grand Budapest Hotelis going toe to toe with Emmanuel Lubezkis work onBirdmanhere.
But we think Robert Yeoman will be the recipient of gongage.
Moral of the story?
Listen to the writers.
The running favourite at the moment for this one appears to beThe Imitation Game.
Hopefully, good sense will prevail, andWhiplashwill snag the award.
And thats accepting the strength of what its up against.
But we wonder ifThe Grand Budapest HotelandBirdmanare the more likely candidates for the prize here.
Certainly we expect Wes Andersons movie to total up a few prizes, although none of the big five.
Were going with Original Screenplay being its highest profile win.
Sadly, nobody seems to be givingThe Boxtrollsmuch of a look in.
Yet its the two lower profile projects that perhaps deserve to be front of the queue here.
The front runners areDawn Of The Planet Of The Apesand Christopher NolansInterstellar.
Instead, we wonder if the gloriousWhiplashmight nick this one from under the nose ofBoyhood?
Mainly because it deserves to go toThe Grand Budapest Hotel.
Alexandre Desplat,The Grand Budapest HotelAlexandre Desplat,The Imitation GameHans Zimmer,InterstellarGary Yershon,Mr.
Johann Johannssons score for the Hawking biopic picked up the Golden Globe, whileBudapestbagged the BAFTA.
Ivan Radford
The two frontrunners are surelyGloryfromSelmaandEverything Is AwesomefromThe LEGO Movie.
Even with his stuck on snout,Foxcatcheraint going to win this one though.The Grand Budapest Hotelwill.
But, again, this one feels like its going toThe Grand Budapest Hotel.
We would happily put three English pounds on it doing so.
Weve simply not seen enough of them to call it.
