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Time for the big finish — the fourth and final part of The Cricket's predictions for the 87th Academy Awards, covering the major categories.

On Tuesday, The Cricket tackled the technical categories, and on Wednesday, the crafts. On Thursday, it was the specialty categories, of animated, documentary, foreign-language and short films.

Follow along with The Cricket on his Twitter feed — @moviecricket — for live analysis and commentary on the Academy Award ceremony, starting Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Mountain time. (The Oscar telecast starts with the red-carpet stuff, at 5 p.m. Mountain time, on ABC, KTVX Ch. 4 in Utah.)

Adapted screenplay

The nominees are • Jason Hall, "American Sniper"; Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"; Paul Thomas Anderson, "Inherent Vice"; Anthony McCarten, "The Theory of Everything"; Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash."

Who will win • Despite the Academy's pedantic insistence that "Whiplash" is an adapted screenplay (it was "adapted" from Chazelle's short film, which he excerpted from the screenplay of the finished film), Chazelle is the favorite to win.

Who should win • Nobody ever successfully adapted a Thomas Pynchon novel to screen before "Inherent Vice," and Anderson pulled it off brilliantly.

Original screenplay

The nominees are • Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Armando Bo, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"; Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"; E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, "Foxcatcher"; Wes Anderson (screenplay), Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness (story), "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler."

Who will win • The bravura of "Birdman," conceived as a single-shot movie that runs through and over Manhattan.

Who should win • The unadorned beauty of "Boyhood."

Supporting actress

The nominees are • Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"; Laura Dern, "Wild"; Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"; Emma Stone, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"; Meryl Streep, "Into The Woods."

Who will win • Arquette, for committing to a performance delivered in installments.

Who should win • Arquette, who is the heart and soul of "Boyhood."

Supporting actor

The nominees are • Robert Duvall, "The Judge"; Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"; Edward Norton, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"; Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"; J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash."

Who will win • Simmons has had this one in the bag since "Whiplash" premiered at Sundance, 13 months ago.

Who should win • Simmons, for making "not my tempo" the three scariest words in film this year.

Actress

The nominees are • Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night"; Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"; Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"; Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"; Reese Witherspoon, "Wild."

Who will win • Moore, both for her nuanced portrayal of an Alzheimer's patient and for her years of amazing work.

Who should win • Cotillard, running the gamut of emotions as a factory worker who must beg for her job.

Lead actor

The nominees are • Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"; Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper"; Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"; Michael Keaton, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"; Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything."

Who will win • Redmayne's portrayal of Stephen Hawking's physical deterioration is the sort of showy performance the Academy loves.

Who should win • Keaton poured his public persona into a career-defining performance that deserves many trophies.

Director

The nominees are • Alejandro G. Iñárritu, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"; Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"; Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher"; Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game."

Who will win • Iñárritu, for sheer audaciousness.

Who should win • Linklater, for the same reason — because only a madman would stake his entire movie on casting a five-year-old to drive a movie over the next 12 years.

Best Picture

The nominees are • "American Sniper," "Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)," "Boyhood," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "The Imitation Game," "Selma," "The Theory of Everything," "Whiplash."

Who will win • "Birdman," though "Boyhood" wouldn't be a complete surprise.

Who should win • When I am a very old man, I will still believe in the bottom of my heart that "Selma" was robbed. I also believe, over the years, that more people will agree with me.