Oscar Nominees: Best Picture

My predictions: 8/9, picking “Silence” over “Hacksaw Ridge”
My ballot: Come back in February!
The nominees: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight

I predicted nine nominees and that’s what we got, but my ninth choice got switched out for my tenth. “Silence” managed only a Best Cinematography bid, while “Hacksaw Ridge” earned six nominations, including Best Director. All but “Hacksaw Ridge” snagged a screenplay mention, and, sadly, all but “Arrival” scored at least one acting nomination. Based on what we saw from precursors, this list isn’t at all surprising, and there’s nothing that was doing well enough to be left off; just a question of if anything would surge. My three favorite films of the year (coming soon) are on this list, which isn’t always the case. I’m glad that I’ve seen all of these nominees and look forward to analyzing the race in the other categories in more detail since…

My current bet to win: …it’s all but guaranteed to be La La Land.