It is once again one of my favorite times of the year. Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen, it's Oscar season. This is the time of the year when the best films of 2015 (according to a group of older white males as the argument usually goes) fight it out in a variety of categories in order to see what films make it out on top. With the nominations for the Oscars being announced last week it is time for me to give my opinion on the nominations that were and were not made in each of categories.

1. Best Picture: The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Spotlight

To start we have the Best Picture category which if you don't know is essentially the best overall when it comes to the Oscars. Now I am not going to claim that I have seen every movie that is on the block this year but if there are two major surprises from this list that I see it is the inclusion of Mad Max, which honestly for me was a good film but not exactly award-worthy and the exclusion of Creed which I honestly feel is one of the best movies of the year overall. Which makes this exclusion from the Best Picture category especially heartbreaking. I honestly feel though that The Revenant and The Martian are the most likely winners of this category in terms of directing, acting, and overall cinematography.

2. Best Actor in a Leading Role: Bryan Cranston, Trumbo; Matt Damon, The Martian; Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant; Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs; Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

This category once again is actually stacked with some pretty decent talent within it. I really hope (just like every other American that even pays attention to movie awards) that Leonardo Dicaprio is able to snag his first Oscar with the Revenant. Its really the best chance that he has with all of the work that he put into the film and with Alejandro G. Iñárritu being his director is going to be the best shot that he ever has so fingers crossed on this one.

3. Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Carol; Brie Larson, Room; Jennifer Lawrence, Joy; Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years; Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

With this category I am honestly at a loss for words when it comes to these nominees. I really haven't seen any of these films so as far as my thoughts on it I cannot make any reasonable educated guess or predictions, but I have heard a lot of praise for Cate Blanchett and Brie Larson so I expect one of them might take home the prize.

4. Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Big Short; Tom Hardy, The Revenant; Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight, Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies; Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Stallone has already made a big showing at the Golden Globes for his portrayal of the Italian Stallion once again in Creed so expect either another nod to him from the Academy or possibly Tom Hardy or Christian Bale who both made strong showing in their films.

5. Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight; Rooney Mara, Carol; Rachel McAdams, Spotlight; Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl; Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

This is another category where I am slightly clueless when it comes to picking out favorites within this category, but Rachel McAdams is always a strong contender for an award, although the sleeper for this group might be Jennifer Jason Leigh for Tarantino's Hateful Eight especially with its lack of nominations within the Academy Awards.

6. Best Director: Adam McKay - The Big Short; George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road; Alejandro G. Iñárritu - The Revenant; Lenny Abrahamson - Room; Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

This category I honestly think is only going to go one of two ways either Alejandro Iñárritu is going to get his second best director win in two years or Adam McKay might be able to pull out a win against him with The Big Short.

7. Original Score: Bridge of Spies, Carol,, The Hateful Eight, Sicario, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I add this category simply for the fact that John Williams is finally in the running again thanks to his work on Star Wars The Force Awakens which once again was absolutely phenomenal. Although Junkie XL could give Williams a run for his money thanks to his work on Mad Max Fury Road.

8. Best Original Screenplay: Bridge of Spies; Ex Machina; Inside Out; Spotlight; Straight Outta Compton

I believe that is going to be one of the most competitive categories in the entire awards show. With Bridge of Spies, Ex Machina, and Inside Out all being extremely strong front runners for the category I think it is going to be a toss up between the three films. Although Ex Machina might edge out the win thanks to its amazing story and complex characterizations that the film was able to portray with Oscar Issac and Alicia Vikander.

9. Best Adapted Screenplay: The Big Short; Brooklyn; Carol; The Martian; Room

The last category that I will be covering today will be the adapted screenplay which for me is really a toss up between the Big Short and The Martian for me. I feel that both of these films had amazing source material to derive from and both made particularly faithful adpations of the source material that they were pulled from.

If you want to watch the Oscars live on TV you can check them out on February 28, 2016 on your local ABC channel.