The 98th annual Academy Awards are this Sunday and this year’s class of Oscar nominees is among the most diverse in history. With one small exception, the Academy has highlighted the very best from the world of cinema, embracing divergent artistry from an array of actors and filmmakers. Here are my breakdowns of and predictions for the eight premiere categories.

Best Picture

The presence of F1 on this list of contenders is beyond understanding. The film is designed to entertain, but fails at even that. It’s challenging to stay engaged throughout the movie due to a lame script, impassive acting and heavy melodrama. The other nine nominees––Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sinners, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams––are remarkable feats of cinematic excellence. It’s a travesty It Was Just an Accident was left off this list in place of the F1 disaster.

The category’s race to Oscar seemed like a runaway win for One Battle After Another following wins at the Critics’ Choice Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA Awards and Producers Guild Awards. But Sinners is gaining momentum down the homestretch following a win for Best Cast Ensemble at the Actors Awards. One Battle After Another is a three-tiered masterpiece. The film incorporates a left-wing revolutionary group disrupting the country’s fascist military rule, a deranged Colonel on a capture and kill mission, and a secret society of white supremacists and Christian nationalists aimed at ridding the world of “lunatics, pranksters and punk-trash.” When this trio of warring factions becomes intimately involved, a series of battles ensue among a colorful cast of characters who take audiences on a glorious thrill ride. Sinners is a soulful dalliance with spirituality that takes place over the course of a single day. The story is centered on a pair of twin brothers who leave their troubled pasts behind, return to their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi and successfully open a juke joint to rejuvenate the community. The night begins in bliss, with old relationships reestablishing and new ones blossoming, but nightfall brings about supernatural forces that descend on the festivities forcing a fight for survival.

My prediction: One Battle After Another

My favorite: One Battle After Another

Best Actress

This is an illustrious group of females. Jessie Buckley is the embodiment of beauty and devastation with her performance as Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet. She lures audiences into her world where we experience her gamut of emotions from the thrill of young love to profound sorrow to the peacefulness of understanding. Rose Byrne delivers a raw, honest depiction of a mother in peril in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. She’s in every scene of the film, often in extreme close-ups, allowing intensity to build as her character loses her grip on sanity and spirals down a dangerous well of mental duress. In Song Sung Blue, Kate Hudson delivers a layered performance as the real-life hairdresser turned singer, Claire Sardina. Claire experiences the highs of fame and success with her husband before tragedy strikes, forcing her to rediscover what makes her whole. Renate Reinsve delivers a stirring performance in Sentimental Value. She portrays a troubled actress who does her best to maintain a steely facade as her character grapples with repressed, chaotic emotions brought upon by her desperate search for identity and belonging. In Bugonia, Emma Stone is an electric burst of unpredictability. She portrays a sharp-tongued CEO being held captive by a pair of conspiracy-obsessed men, and keeps audiences guessing what is truth and what is theorized until a twisted ending reveals the depths of her ability to beguile.

Buckley has swept awards season with a Critics’ Choice Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Actors Award. Oscar appears destined to become hers.

My prediction: Jessie Buckley

My favorite: Jessie Buckley

Best Actor

This category showcases a fine crop of leading men. As Marty Mauser in Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet becomes a machine run by passion. He’s determined to escape a life of mundanity and experience glory as a table tennis champion, but throughout his quest, he must hustle to overcome his sport’s shady funding, juggle complicated romances and handle familial chaos. Leonardo DiCaprio is a man with lost conviction in One Battle After Another. He plays Bob Ferguson, an ex-revolutionary whose sole driving force is to protect his daughter despite a propensity to slack in all other areas of life. But when his past becomes present, Bob talks himself out of panicking and fumbles his way back into fight mode. Ethan Hawke disappears into his role as Broadway lyricist Lorenz “Larry” Hart in Blue Moon. Larry is a legendary man in the final days of his life and clinging to a relevance he may have squandered. Hawke masterfully delivers enriched dialogue revealing Larry’s charm, artistic brilliance and profound inner beauty. In The Secret Agent, Wagner Moura delivers a performance of complexity. His character, Marcelo, is a former university researcher and inventor who is in hiding from the Brazilian regime at the height of the country’s military dictatorship. While awaiting forged papers so he can flee the country with his young son, he learns he’s the target of an assassination plot, but maintains calm reservation amid billowing tension. Michael B. Jordan is dynamic in Sinners. As twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, Jordan’s performance is layered with conflict, devotion and honor. Playing dual characters, he depicts seriousness and charisma in equal measure, and his final scene as Smoke moves mountains.

Chalamet emerged as the early favorite, winning the Critics’ Choice Award and Golden Globe, but Jordan is on a surge after winning the Actors Award.

My prediction: Michael B. Jordan

My favorite: Leonardo DiCaprio

Best Director

This category showcases a gauntlet of remarkable visionaries––Ryan Coogler (Sinners) Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme) Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value) and Chloe Zhao (Hamnet)––but those four contenders will remain spectators when Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) is announced as winner. He’s been on an awards season blitz, earning a Critics’ Choice Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Directors Guild Award. He is the most innovative filmmaker of this era and it will be a joy to hear the speech he crafts.

One Battle After Another is more than a movie. It’s an experience. The film starts with a bang as viewers are thrust into a dystopian world of chaos and extremism, then softens into a relatable story of family, honor and resilience. Anderson’s genius with the camera lies in his ability to digress. He utilizes wide shots during intimate moments, giving emotion time to resonate. The film is a high-octane thriller, but it also marinates on screen, which allows significance to linger.

My prediction: Paul Thomas Anderson

My favorite: Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Supporting Actress

This this year’s caliber of supporting women is so high, there wasn’t enough room to nominate standout performances from Odessa A’zion (Marty Supreme), Regina Hall (One Battle After Another), Margaret Qualey (Blue Moon), Hailee Steinfeld (Sinners) or Emily Watson (Hamnet). The ladies who did make the cut—Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) and Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)––shine in diverse ways. As movie star Rachel Kemp, Fanning is both delicate and spirited as she navigates her way through a family’s dysfunction before ultimately becoming a catalyst for healing. Ibsdotter Lilleaas delivers a quiet, vulnerable performance, serving as peacemaker between her emotionally charged sister and their ego-driven father, all the while searching for an escape where she can live the life of serenity for which she dreams. Madigan is transfixing as Aunt Gladys, who presents as caring, but has initiated a demonic plan to control and weaponize minds throughout the community in order to sustain her parasitic life. Taylor is an illustration of complex defiance as Perfidia Beverly Hills. She’s a cheeky revolutionary who utilizes her natural assets to manipulate men and reap their power. Mosaku masterfully portrays a Hoodoo practitioner in the 1930s Mississippi Delta. She’s a fierce protector of her community and culture, and harbors a tenderness capable of taming the wildest of hearts.

The race is hotly contested among Madigan, who won the Critics’ Choice and Actors awards, Taylor, who was awarded the Golden Globe, and Mosaku, who took home the BAFTA award.

My prediction: Amy Madigan

My favorite: Teyana Taylor

Best Supporting Actor

This category features an eclectic mix of powerful performances. Benicio del Toro is a source of calm within the chaos of One Battle After Another. He’s the quintessence of loyalty, integrity and principle, and injects necessary joy and humor into the story. Jacob Elordi portrays impassion as The Creature in Frankenstein. He translates the need for love and companionship with an overwhelming, yet calming presence. Delroy Lindo is a damaged harmonica-playing musician born and raised in the Jim Crow south in Sinners. His character is a representation of resilience, and his monologue about racial violence and self-loathing is a profound moment in the film. Sean Penn is evil personified in One Battle After Another. He portrays a deranged, obsessed and conflicted military colonel, and utilizes physical acting and menacing body language to illustrate his character’s profound angst. Stellan Skarsgard delivers a moving performance in Sentimental Value. As an aging film director desperate to reconnect with family, his character suffers an unspoken loneliness and emotes deep vulnerability in an urgent attempt to define his legacy.

This race to Oscar is hotly contested among Elordi, who won the Critics’ Choice Award, Skarsgard, who was awarded the Golden Globe, and Penn, who took home the BAFTA and Actors Award.

My prediction: Sean Penn

My favorite: Sean Penn

Best Adapted Screenplay

This category features an abundance of artistic genius. Will Tracy’s remake of the 2003 South Korean sci-fi black comedy Bugonia pits a conspiracy-obsessed beekeeper against a high-powered CEO. The dialogue is quick and witty, and allows suspense to simmer as the storyline builds into a thought-provoking finale that taps into real-world anxieties. Guillermo del Toro creates a gothic fairytale with his re-imagination of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The story has immense spiritual and emotional depth that examines the relationship between creator and creation, and reveals a nuanced take on the perception of monsters. Chloe Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell have scripted a tale of intoxicating beauty with Hamnet. The screenplay offers a meditation on family, relationships and the love that can grow out of pain, and has nature playing an intrinsic role throughout the storyline. Paul Thomas Anderson composes a multilayered juggernaut that explores legacy, rebellion and intergenerational conflict with One Battle After Another. The genius of his screenplay rests in Anderson’s ability to inject humor into high-stakes drama. Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar paint a portrait of stoicism with their script for Train Dreams. Set in the Pacific Northwest at the turn of the 20th century, the story is an introspective study on purpose and the ability to find meaning in an ordinary, yet oftentimes brutal, life.

My prediction: Paul Thomas Anderson

My favorite: Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Original Screenplay

The creativity among this field of contenders is supreme. Robert Kaplow’s screenplay for Blue Moon is 100 minutes of pure poetry. Audience are brought into Sardi’s restaurant in 1940s New York City on the opening night of Oklahoma! for a star–studded evening of rich conversation. Relying solely on dialogue to drive the story, the film captures profound intimacy, drunken reflection and the need for relevance. Jafar Panahi scribes a revenge mission brought about by anti-authoritarian vengeance with It Was Just An Accident. The story is a suspense thriller that digs deep into trauma, morality and self-doubt. The magic of the movie lies in its final, spine-tingling seconds. Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein create a nine month sprint to stardom with Marty Supreme. The story is told in a complete circle and incorporates ambition, family drama and surreal hijinks that should be unbelievable but execute and land with sublime precision. Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt build a captivating drama with Sentimental Value. The film tells a story of love, regret and redemption through the language of cinema. It’s an exploration of complex family dynamics magnified by memory and damming emotional patterns. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is a cultural rendezvous. The screenplay is edgy and thought-provoking with a mystical bend. It examines the folklore surrounding blues music through the lens of historical trauma, systematic racism and social identity.

My prediction: Ryan Coogler

My favorite: Josh Safdie and Ronald Bernstein