Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Sound

The competition: Captain Phillips (Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro), Gravity (Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro), The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson), Inside Llewyn Davis (Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland), Lone Survivor (Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow)

Previous winners: Les Miserables, Hugo, Inception, The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, The Bourne Ultimatum
My winner: Gravity
The facts: A handful of these nominees are regular repeat offenders in this race, and two of them – Chris Munro and Skip Lievsay – are even nominated for two different films this year. This award has gone to musicals and action films in the past, which bodes well for some of the nominees this year. The first “Hobbit” film wasn’t nominated last year, but Peter Jackson’s team did win in the past for “The Return of the King” and “King Kong.”

Who should win: “Gravity” or “Captain Phillips”
Who will win: I don’t see how anything beats Gravity, unless voters feel bad they didn’t bestow more love on “Inside Llewyn Davis.”