The moment an actor or actress wins an academy award is more often than not the pinnacle of his or her career. With the biggest night in film just around the corner- March 2^nd to be exact- the reality of being recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be experienced by a lucky few individuals.

2013 was quite a year for film. The nominees for the 86^th Annual Academy Awards were announced on Thursday, January 16^th.

With the Golden Globe Awards happening just four days before the nominees were announced, the nominations were not much of a surprise, with many of the nominees having just won Golden Globes.

The big kahuna, the Best Picture category, includes the films American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, Philomena, 12 Years a Slave, and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Having seen the majority of the nominated films, I would like to see Gravity win Best Picture. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity was visually and emotionally stunning. The performance given by Sandra Bullock was sublime. Bullock’s screen time encompasses the bulk of the film, and she did so without ever losing my attention, forcing me with her genuine emotion to believe that everything happening in the film could happen in reality. The beautiful panoramic shots combined with 3-D made me feel as if I was in outer space with the story. Everything about the film was well done; I have only raved about a film so voraciously on a few other occasions.

Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Times believes that Gravity will not win Best Picture, but instead will be honored “in the same way Life of Pi was last year. Gravity will likely win the two sound categories, visual effects, original score and cinematography. And director Alfonso Cuaron stands as the front-runner for director. Five Oscars would be a satisfying haul.”

Be sure to check out the rest of the films and creative teams who are nominated for this year’s Academy Awards to form your own predictions on who will win the Oscars!