Earthly war to top outer-space battle at Oscars

Jeremy Renner is a long shot in the Best Actor's race, although it could be a big night for "The Hurt Locker."  (Courtesy:  Summit Entertainment)

Academy Award predictions often appear to be easy-as-pie slam-dunks.

That's certainly the case going in this year.  Four of the six major award categories seemed to be locked in months ago. 

I should remind you, though, that even though the front-runners have had numerous award-show nights to polish their Oscar acceptance speech, anything can happen when the envelopes are ripped open Sunday night (7 p.m. Central Time) on ABC.

So, let's get right to the predictions, shall we?

Sandra Bullock's first Oscar win could come for a dramatic performance.  (Courtesy:  Warner Bros.)

Best Actress:  Imagine what it must be like to be Meryl Streep these days.  The perennial Oscar nominee draws her 16th Oscar nomination as jovial Julia Child, the late cookbook author.  While Streep is certainly deserving (as she always is), I think the voting members of the Academy are going to reward Texas-based Sandra Bullock for her fine dramatic work as the suburban mom who takes in a homeless African-American teen in "The Blind Side."

Best Actor:  I've been a little too hard on Jeff Bridges this awards season.  The more I look at his nuanced performance as the broken down, alcoholic country singer in "Crazy Heart," however, the more I appreciate it.  I just think the movie itself is a reworked "Tender Mercies" (a much better film).  It'll be Bridges at the winner's podium, although I wouldn't mind seeing George Clooney sneak in a win as the loner frequent flier of "Up in the Air."

Supporting Actress:  If ever there was a slam dunk, it's coming in both supporting categories.  From this aisle seat, it's comedienne/actress Mo'Nique as the abusive mother in "Precious" (the most emotionally charged movie of 2009).

Supporting Actor:  Sometimes you just know.  From the moment "Inglourious Basterds" writer-director Quentin Tarantino focused his camera on Christoph Waltz as vile Nazi investigator Col. Hans Landa, my gut feeling was that I was watching the future supporting actor Oscar winner.  Woody Harrelson ("The Messenger") and Stanley Tucci ("The Lovely Bones") are equally deserving.  But it'll be Waltz.

Director:  This race and the Best Picture sweepstakes are where predicting the outcome becomes an educated guessing game.  You may be aware by now that the Director's race comes down to a standoff between James Cameron ("Avatar") and Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker"), who was once married to Cameron.  Bigelow took top honors at the Directors Guild Awards, becoming the first woman to ever win that award in its 62-year history.  I think she'll also become the first woman to walk away with Oscar's Best Director golden statuette.

Best Picture:  Never say never, of course.  But it's extremely rare for the DGA winner not to follow-up with an Oscar win in the biggest race of all.  So it looks like "The Hurt Locker," Bigelow's Iraqi war drama.

There's a caveat, however.  Nicolas Chartier, one of the "Hurt Locker" producers, has been banned from attending the Oscar ceremonies for "an ethical lapse," which means he fired off an e-mail to the voting members urging them to vote for "The Hurt Locker" over "the $500 million film."  

That's an obvious reference to Cameron's "Avatar." "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" enters Sunday night's ceremonies with nine nominations each. Frankly, that X-factor makes the Best Picture race impossible to call.  So, I stupidly will anyway.

It'll be "The Hurt Locker."  This is Bigelow's year to roar.