As Hollywood's most prestigious awards, the Oscars, turn 90, the film industry is going through tremendous change.

In the past 12 months accusations against Hollywood heavyweights including Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Brian Singer have inspired the #metoo movement.  

From all-black red carpet attire to white roses and badges, actors have thrown their weight behind the call to end harassment and intimidation at precursory events such as the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and the BAFTAs.  

The recent scandals and ongoing discussions about how to stamp out corruption and inequality are sure to be a focal point at Monday's event, elevating it from a star-studded night of self-congratulation to one of politics and protest.

Returning host Jimmy Kimmel has a tricky task at hand. Should he crack jokes about the likes of Weinstein, or will he just be rubbing salt in the wound?   

He recently admitted to GQ he's damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't.  

"I think there are certain groups of people who think I shouldn't make any jokes about that situation. And there are groups of people who will be mad if I don't make jokes about that situation," he said.  

"So you just kind of have to figure it out. Whatever I do will be criticised by someone."  

Queenslander Margot Robbie is Australia's only major contender this year. Speaking to News Regional recently, the 27-year-old said she was honoured just to be nominated alongside the likes of Meryl Streep and Frances McDormand.   

"It's already too good to be true," she said. "I'll be happy if nothing else happens again in my lifetime."  

The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, Darkest Hour and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri are all in close contention but it's Guillermo del Toro's supernatural romance The Shape of Water that is tipped to take out Best Picture.  

But as last year's winner Moonlight proved, a film doesn't need a good awards track record to take home gold.  

Here are my 2018 Oscar predictions:  

BEST PICTURE  

Call Me by Your Name   

Darkest Hour  

Dunkirk   

Get Out   

Lady Bird   

Phantom Thread   

The Post   

The Shape of Water   

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri   

Who should win: The Shape of Water was the favourite but has been rocked by allegations that it ripped off the 1969 play Let Me Hear You Whisper. In light of the claims, Three Billboards could gain favour.   

LEAD ACTOR 

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name   

Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread 

Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out   

Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour   

Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.   

Who should win: Golden Globe and SAG winner Gary Oldman is a shoe-in for his total transformation into Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.  Read the review.

LEAD ACTRESS 

Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water 

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri   

Margot Robbie, I, Tonya 

Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird 

Meryl Streep, The Post   

Who should win: Sadly for our Margot, Frances McDormand is likely to take out this award for her powerful performance as a grieving mother in Three Billboards.  Read the review.

SUPPORTING ACTOR 

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project   

Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri   

Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water 

Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World   

Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri   

Who should win: This will come down to Willem Dafoe and Sam Rockwell, with Rockwell coming out on top thanks to his trifecta of Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA wins.   

SUPPORTING ACTRESS   

Mary J. Blige, Mudbound   

Allison Janney, I, Tonya 

Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread 

Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird   

Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water 

Who should win: Allison Janney deserves the gong, which would be her first Oscar, for her scene-stealing turn as Tonya Harding's tough-as-nails mother LaVonda. There's nothing subtle about the character, who was both emotionally and physically abusive, but Janney's brilliant portrayal found the darkly funny side to an otherwise detestable character.  Read the review.

DIRECTOR   

Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan   

Get Out, Jordan Peele   

Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig   

Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson 

The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro   

Who should win: Golden Globe and BAFTA winner Guillermo del Toro is my best bet in this highly competitive category. He has received plenty of praise for his immersive, Beauty and the Beast-style romance between a mute woman and an amphibious creature.  Read the review.

ANIMATED FEATURE   

The Boss Baby   

The Breadwinner   

Coco   

Ferdinand   

Loving Vincent   

Who should win: Pixar's Day of the Dead romp Coco should take home this award, although Loving Vincent - the first fully painted feature film - could be a dark horse. Read the review.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY   

Call Me By Your Name, James Ivory   

The Disaster Artist, Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber   

Logan, Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green   

Molly's Game, Aaron Sorkin   

Mudbound, Virgil Williams and Dee Rees   

Who should win: Call Me By Your Name should take this one out. Ivory's screenplay brings to life the intimacy of Andre Aciman's book and is full of developed, meaty characters. 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY   

The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani   

Get Out, Jordan Peele   

Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig   

The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Martin McDonagh   

Who should win: Peele should get the recognition he deserves, in this category anyway, for his subversive thriller Get Out. He may lose out to Gerwig, who also deserves to take something home for Lady Bird, but he's the rightful winner in my eyes. Read the review.

CINEMATOGRAPHY   

Blade Runner 2049, Roger Deakins   

Darkest Hour, Bruno Delbonnel   

Dunkirk, Hoyte van Hoytema   

Mudbound, Rachel Morrison

The Shape of Water, Dan Laustsen   

Who should win: Blade Runner 2049 and Dunkirk will battle it out for this one, with Blade Runner likely to come out on top after picking up the Critics' Choice Movie Award for best cinematography.  Read the review.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM   

A Fantastic Woman (Chile)   

The Insult (Lebanon)   

Loveless (Russia)   

On Body and Soul (Hungary)   

The Square (Sweden)   

Who should win: A Fantastic Woman should take out this award thanks to actor/singer Daniela Vega's soulful performance as a transgender woman who suffers prejudice after the death of her lover.  Read the review.

The 90th annual Academy Awards air on Monday from 11am Qld, noon NSW on Channel 9.