(UPDATE 03/03/14, 12:13 a.m.: I correctly guessed 22/24, my best prediction score to date! The only categories I got wrong were Film Editing, which “Gravity” won, and Animated Short Film, which went to “Mr. Hublot.”)

Every year, I think about how funny it is that so many people care about the Academy Awards – or any other awards, for that matter. That’s when I realize the irony of those thoughts: I’ve been following the awards season for the past seven years now, and I care about them as much those very people whom I chuckle about.

For me, when it comes to movies, the only opinion that ultimately matters the most is my own, and that should go for everyone as well. If I like one film and don’t like another, that’s my opinion, and I stand by it. No awards should say otherwise; for example, The Great Gatsby will probably win both of the Oscars it’s nominated for, making it an Academy Award-winning film, yet that won’t change my opinion that I absolutely despised, hated, and loathed it with all my heart (seriously, fuck that movie).

Yet, why do people care about awards, even though their opinions probably won’t change regardless of the outcomes? I think that we want certain movies to be awarded so much that we want our opinions to be validated by a larger body of people. And even then, will it be enough? Will it ever be enough? Add the competitive aspect of awards, and we’ve got drama – which in the end is good only for television ratings. Me, I’ve just learned to roll with it and have fun – heck, my favorite film of 2013 isn’t even nominated for Best Picture. I just hope that tomorrow’s results won’t piss me off.

For each category, my predictions are in bold.

I’ve placed asterisks (*) next to the categories – 12 out of the 24 – for which I’ve seen all the nominated films, and in those, I’ve listed the nominees in order of preferences (AKA which ones I think should win, from most to least). Even though there are certain nominees in other categories I’d like to see win, I don’t think it’s right for me to push for one without having seen them all – even if I’ve seen all but one. That said, the nominees for the asterisk-less categories are listed in alphabetical order.

Best Picture *

• “12 Years a Slave”
• “Her”
• “Gravity”
• “Philomena”
• “Nebraska”
• “American Hustle”
• “The Wolf of Wall Street”
• “Captain Phillips”
• “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Director *

• Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”
• Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
• Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”
• David O. Russell, “American Hustle”
• Martin Scorsese, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Actor *

• Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
• Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
• Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
• Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
• Christian Bale, “American Hustle”

Best Actress *

• Judi Dench, “Philomena”
• Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
• Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
• Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”
• Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”

Best Supporting Actor *

• Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
• Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
• Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
• Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”
• Jonah Hill, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Supporting Actress *

• Lupita N’yongo, “12 Years a Slave”
• Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
• Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
• June Squibb, “Nebraska”
• Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”

Best Animated Feature Film

• “The Croods”
• “Despicable Me 2”
• “Ernest & Celeste”
• “Frozen”
• “The Wind Rises”

Best Foreign Language Film

• “The Broken Circle Beatdown” – Belgium
• “The Great Beauty” – Italy
• “The Hunt” – Denmark
• “The Missing Picture” – Cambodia
• “Omar” – Palestine

Best Documentary – Feature

• “The Act of Killing”
• “Cutie and the Boxer”
• “Dirty Wars”
• “The Square”
• “20 Feet from Stardom”

Best Adapted Screenplay *

• “Before Midnight”
• “Philomena”
• “The Wolf of Wall Street”
• “12 Years a Slave”
• “Captain Phillips”

Best Original Screenplay *

• “Her”
• “Nebraska”
• “American Hustle”
• “Blue Jasmine”
• “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Film Editing *

• “Gravity”
• “Captain Phillips”
• “American Hustle”
• “12 Years a Slave”
• “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Cinematography

• “The Grandmaster”
• “Gravity”
• “Inside Llewyn Davis”
• “Nebraska”
• “Prisoners”

Best Production Design *

• “Her”
• “The Great Gatsby”
• “12 Years a Slave”
• “American Hustle”
• “Gravity”

Best Costume Design

• “American Hustle”
• “The Grandmaster”
• “The Great Gatsby”
• “The Invisible Woman”
• “12 Years a Slave”

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• “Dallas Buyers Club”
• “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”
• “The Lone Ranger”

Best Visual Effects

• “Gravity”
• “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
• “Iron Man 3”
• “The Lone Ranger”
• “Star Trek Into Darkness”

Best Original Score

• “The Book Thief”
• “Gravity”
• “Her”
• “Philomena”
• “Saving Mr. Banks”

Best Original Song

• “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”
• “Let It Go” from “Frozen”
• “The Moon Song” from “Her”
• “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”

Best Sound Editing *

• “Captain Phillips”
• “All is Lost”
• “Lone Survivor”
• “Gravity”
• “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”

Best Sound Mixing *

• “Gravity”
• “Captain Phillips”
• “Inside Llewyn Davis”
• “Lone Survivor”
• “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”

Best Live Action Short Film

• “Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)”
• “Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)”
• “Helium”
• “Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)”
• “The Voorman Problem”

Best Animated Short Film

• “Feral”
• “Get a Horse!”
• “Mr. Hublot”
• “Possessions”
• “Room on the Broom”

Best Documentary – Short Subject

• “CaveDigger”
• “Facing Fear”
• “Karama Has No Walls”
• “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”
• “Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall”