Oscar Prep: Documentary Feature

I was hoping to have seen at least one of the nominees before the ceremony. The Act of Killing has been on my To See list for almost a year now. Frankly, I'm looking for a time when I can stomach that one. There's a lot of popular docs that were left out of the field this year from Blackfish to Tim's Vermeer (I think that was legible) to, most embarrassing for the Academy, The Stories We Tell. This is a strong enough batch though with potential to surprise on Oscar night.

A couple notes first:
-Each category is arrange from Most to Least likely to win by my measure.
-An '*' before the title indicates a movie that I have seen.
-I'm trying to keep the shorthand to a minimum (get it). A couple that come up though are BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), SAG (Screen Actors Guild), PGA (Producers Guild of America, WGA (Writers Guild of America), DGA (Directors Guild of America).

Other Picks

Best Documentary – Feature


Front Runner: The Act of Killing
Winner: BAFTA - Best Documentary
Nominee: BAFTA – Best Foreign Film, DGA - Direction in a  Documentary
The only multiple nominee here. This movie has been floating around for a while and has quite the reputation. I hate picking a sight-unseen favorite, but this has the look of one.

Dark Horse: 20 Feet from Stardom
It lacks any major nominations but I have to assume if something was released in a local theater by me, it must be the populist vote on the list which can never be ignored.

Other Nominees:
The Square
Winner: DGA - Direction in Documentary
A Director's Guild win is nothing to ignore. It isn't nearly as buzzy as the front runner or dark horse though.

Cutie and the BoxerNominee: DGA - Direction in Documentary
Haven't seen it so all I can go off is the DGA nomination.
Dirty Wars
Nominee: WGA - Best Documentary Screenplay
I have no reason for rating a DGA nomination over a WGA nomination. Maybe it's the perception that non-fiction doesn't need a writer. That's an asinine thought process, but it's probably at play.