Anyone who’s talked to me this year about movies knows darn well what film I’d give top honors come Sunday night: “Arrival,” which was far and away the best moviegoing experience I had this year, such that I felt my review couldn’t come close to doing it justice.

Unfortunately, it’s not up to me where those little golden statuettes go, so we’re left with a sort-of-race between “La La Land” and “Moonlight” for Best Picture, with the former figuring as the frontrunner and likely winner.

While this reviewer much preferred “Moonlight,” Damien Chazelle’s musical has about as much momentum as it could possibly get, having picked up top honors at the Directors Guild of America and British Academy Film Awards (the DGAs and BAFTAs, respectively).

“La La Land” figures to do very well in general, as Chazelle is certainly the favorite for Best Director. Though “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins also did admirably, in some categories more is more, and the flashiness of “La La Land” will certainly benefit Chazelle more than the restraint of “Moonlight.”

That’s not to take anything away from Chazelle – he’s my top choice for directing as well.

While the night’s biggest awards have a clear frontrunner, many other categories are far more closely contested.

The races for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay actually became more difficult to predict following the Writers Guild Awards (WGAs). The night’s biggest winners, “Moonlight” and “Arrival,” are nominated in the same category for the Oscars despite being separated at the WGAs.

This likely opens the door for “La La Land” to win Best Original Screenplay – Chazelle’s films are typically strong in writing as it is – but it’s difficult to pick for the other category. I expect “Arrival” to win, even when accounting for my love for that film, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the award go to “Moonlight” (for which Jenkins also wrote the screenplay).

The acting categories, though, are at best well-contested – and at worst practically unfathomable.

Best Actor, for example, has turned into a veritable coin-flip, with Denzel Washington (“Fences”) rapidly gaining ground on Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”), who was the clear favorite for months.

Affleck won the BAFTA (Washington wasn’t nominated), but Washington beat him for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award. I suspect that, in light of Washington’s momentum entering the Oscars, the “Fences” star will take this category.

Best Actress is also almost too close to call, with Emma Stone (“La La Land”) and Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”) duking it out. Still, Stone seems a bit safer of a pick considering her SAG and BAFTA wins.

Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”) seemed to be all alone as the favorite for Best Supporting Actor, and he would certainly be my choice. However, at the BAFTAs he was upset by Dev Patel, whose turn in “Lion” was much closer to a leading performance than a supporting one.

Viola Davis (“Fences”), the only clear acting favorite (up for Best Supporting Actress), also had what was essentially a leading role, which is an unfortunate problem with the Oscars, as films will submit actors in what are clearly much larger than “supporting” roles to give them a better chance to win.

And while both Davis and Patel were wonderful, it takes away from someone like, for example, Ali, who left a lasting impact in “Moonlight” while only showing up in a small handful of scenes.

Overall, though, while not all the categories can be covered here, there are plenty of tight races to look forward to at this year’s Academy Awards. The awards ceremony is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. (Central Time), and it will air on ABC.