2010 Oscar Predictions for Best Picture, Actress and Cinematography

No matter who wins this year's Oscars, there are going to be some upsets. This year's nominations for Best Picture include the harrowing story of a 16-year-old teenager, a feel good commentary on today's high flying, fast paced lifestyle and a stunning masterpiece 10 years in the making, among other excellent films. The following are my predictions for three of the biggest of this year's Oscar categories. Keep in mind that I am not a film critic, just an avid fan making a few humble predictions.

Best Picture -

The nominees include:Avatar, Precious, An Education, Up in the Air, Up, The Blind Side, A Serious Man, District 9, The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds

Who do I predict will take the win?

The answer is not simple; this year's nominees are all so incredibly different that it's hard to choose just one. However, I do believe that Precious will take the win in this category. It's hard to deny such an intense, culturally relevant drama the win. I have a feeling that Precious will sweep a number of categories in the 2010 Oscars, with this being the big win for Lee Daniels. Memorable, well-acted, and incredibly directed, Precious brings new life to the novel Push by Sapphire. Praised by Oprah and by Tyler Perry, it would be a huge upset for Precious to NOT win this category.

Best Actress in a Leading Role - The nominees include: Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Gabourey Sidibe, Sandra Bullock and Carey Mulligan

Who do I predict will take the win? With big names like Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock thrown in a category with newcomers like Gabourey Sidibe, one would automatically think that one of these seasoned actresses would win this category. Who knows what wins and losses Oscar night might bring, but I have a few ideas as to who deserves the win in this category. I'd have to say that Meryl is going to get snubbed on this one. Julie and Julia was far from her best role, and although she is quite the power-house actress, I think Sandra Bullock deserves the win for this one. Her performance in The Blind Side was spot on and we saw a depth from her that I don't think we've ever seen before. She has grown quite a bit from her Miss Congeniality days (not mocking those fine films, of course) and it is obvious in The Blind Side.

Cinematography - The nominees include: Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds and The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)

Who do I predict will take the win?

As much as I adore the Harry Potter movies (and books) and as much as I would love to see Half-Blood Prince take home the win, my money is on Avatar. While Avatar has been criticized for not having the most original screen-play, visually it was gorgeous. James Cameron sucked you into the world of Pandora and maybe, even if just for a moment, you felt like this world was real. I myself thought that I could just reach out and touch those nifty little tree spores that gathered around our hero, Jake Sully. With all of the new technology that is available for film-making, I thought this was a brilliant use of CGI. With some films, CGI can look and feel fake, but I do believe that this was not the case with Avatar and if any film deserves the Oscar in this category, it's Avatar.

So that does it for my picks! Please feel free to share your own and make sure to tune into this year's Oscars Sunday, March 7th 2010 8 p.m./5 p.m. EST on ABC!