Reel Critic:

Despite the release of a few blockbusters, including the highest grossing picture ever made, 2009 was actually a weak year for film. As a result, this may be the most predictable year for Oscar wins in recent memory. With that prophetic statement poised to make me look foolish, I boldly offer my predictions for the 2010 Academy Awards, which will take place March 7.

Best Picture

In a blatant move to stimulate the box office by allowing more films to be advertised as “Oscar-nominated,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expanded the Best Picture category from five to 10 films. This allowed several films that would never have been considered in previous years to be nominated. The 10 films are “Avatar,” “The Blind Side,” “District 9,” “An Education,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “A Serious Man,” “Up” and “Up in the Air.”

Even though the new nomination format has diluted the field, Hollywood cannot ignore the highest-grossing film in history. The success of “Avatar” will encourage the studios to continue to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in such blockbusters, and Hollywood will recognize this by giving James Cameron his second Oscar for Best Picture.

Best Actor

The acting Oscars this year may be the most predictable in history if past years serve as a guide. The nominees for Best Actor are Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart,” George Clooney in “Up in the Air,” Colin Firth in “A Single Man,” Morgan Freeman in “Invictus” and Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker.”

Bridges has already won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance, so it would be a huge upset if he were to lose. If Bridges is somehow passed over, Renner may pull an upset, with Clooney having an extreme outside shot at taking home the award.

Best Actress

Of all the acting categories this one is perhaps hardest to call. The nominees are Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side,” Helen Mirren in “The Last Station,” Carey Mulligan in “An Education,” Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” and Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia.”

As with the Best Picture category, Best Actress is almost assuredly going to one of two nominees: Bullock or Streep. They both won Golden Globes, which splits the dramatic and comedic categories. However, Bullock won the Screen Actors Guild award, which should make her the favorite. If Bullock were to win the award, it would clearly propel her to the front ranks of working actresses, much as it did for Julia Roberts. Still, Streep is practically an institution and has received an astonishing 16 Oscar nominations. Nonetheless, this appears to be Bullock’s year.

Best Supporting Actor

This category is probably the least contentious of any of the major awards this year. The nominees are Matt Damon in “Invictus,” Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger,” Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station,” Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones” and Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds.”

Waltz has won everything so far, including the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards. The “buzz” regarding his performance started before the picture was released. Additionally, other than his performance, this category is unusually weak this year. It would be absolutely shocking if Waltz does not walk away with the Oscar.

Best Supporting Actress

This is probably the strongest acting category this year, but will yield no surprises. The nominees are Penélope Cruz in “Nine,” Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air,” Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart,” Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air” and Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

Again, this is a category with one clear favorite. Mo’Nique, like Waltz, has won both the Golden Glove and Screen Actors Guild awards. The Academy will probably also want to reward “Precious,” a powerful film that will most likely not be recognized in its other nominated categories. Mo’Nique should, in all likelihood, add to her trophy case on Oscar night.

Best Director

This is another category where only two contenders have a chance at winning. The nominees are James Cameron for “Avatar,” Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker,” Quentin Tarantino for “Inglourious Basterds,” Lee Daniels for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” and Jason Reitman for “Up in the Air.”

In my view, Cameron deserves this award. Like it or hate it, “Avatar” represents a huge leap forward in movie technology and may have single-handedly saved the IMAX format. He is certainly more deserving than Peter Jackson, who won for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 2004 against stiffer competitors.

Surprisingly, Bigelow won the Directors Guild of America award, usually a reliable predictor of the Best Director Oscar. She was the first woman to win this award. The Academy could split the vote as they have in the past by recognizing Cameron for Best Picture and Bigelow for Best Director.

In the final analysis, I believe the Academy will recognize the biggest blockbuster in history and Cameron will receive this award.

Without listing all the nominees, my picks for some of the remaining categories include “Up” for Best Animated Feature Film, “Up in the Air” for Best Adapted Screenplay and “The Hurt Locker” for Best Original Screenplay.

My nods are based on who I think will win, not necessarily who should win. At the risk of future public embarrassment, I stand by my prognostications and, like many others, will be glued to my television March 7.

VAN NOVACK is the assistant vice president of institutional research and assessment at Cal State Long Beach and lives in Huntington Beach with his wife, Elizabeth.