------------------
Best
Picture
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest
Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of
Everything
Whiplash
What will win: Boyhood
What should win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Sadly missing from this
list are what I thought were the two best movies of the year: “Blue
Ruin” and “Wild”. I also think “Nightcrawler” deserved a
nomination. But of those on the list there are some very good films
– I especially enjoyed “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “American
Sniper” and “Whiplash”. But bet the farm on “Boyhood”
taking the big prize. Too much hype for anything else to happen,
even though it really is a very so-so movie. If it wasn't for the 12
year production, I don't think it would even have been a blip on the
Academy's radar.
Best
Director
Wes Anderson – The
Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro González
Iñárritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater –
Boyhood
Bennett Miller –
Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum – The
Imitation Game
Who will win - Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Who should win - Alejandro González
Iñárritu – Birdman
For the same reason, count
on Richard Linklater, the brains and driving force for “Boyhood”.
Man, I wish I liked this movie more. It will win, and I feel it
just isn't good enough to deserve it. Though I will love it if
Alejandro González Iñárritu wins for Birdman – it was totally
unique and adventurous, even if it wasn't always firing on all
cylinders.
Best
Actor
Steve Carell –
Foxcatcher as John du Pont
Bradley Cooper –
American Sniper as Chris Kyle
Benedict Cumberbatch –
The Imitation Game as Alan Turing
Michael Keaton –
Birdman as Riggan Thomson
Eddie Redmayne – The
Theory of Everything as Stephen Hawking
Who will win - Eddie Redmayne – The
Theory of Everything
Who should win - Redmayne, Cumberbatch or Keaton – all would deserve it
I think Cumberbatch,
Redmayne and Keaton all deserve the award. If you stuck a gun in my
face and asked what I thought was the “best” performance, the
most unique and impossible for anyone else to duplicate, I would go
with Keaton. But I believe Eddie Redmayne will win, and he will
deserve it too. Any of these three men would deserve it.
Best
Actress
Marion Cotillard –
Two Days, One Night as Sandra Bya
Felicity Jones – The
Theory of Everything as Jane Hawking
Julianne Moore –
Still Alice as Dr. Alice Howland
Rosamund Pike – Gone
Girl as Amy Elliott-Dunne
Reese Witherspoon –
Wild as Cheryl Strayed
Who will win - Julianne Moore –
Still Alice
Who should win - Reese Witherspoon –
Wild
When the nominees were
announced I thought that Reese Witherspoon would win, and I
personally will be rooting hard for it to happen - it was a career
performance from her. But since Julianne Moore won both the Golden Globe and
the SAG Award, it seems inevitable that she will get the big prize. A
great performance for sure, but I still think Witherspoon's was the
better one.
Best
Supporting Actor:
Robert Duvall – The
Judge as Judge Joseph Palmer
Ethan Hawke –
Boyhood as Mason Evans, Sr.
Edward Norton –
Birdman as Mike Shiner
Mark Ruffalo –
Foxcatcher as Dave Schultz
J. K. Simmons –
Whiplash as Terence Fletcher
Who will win - J. K. Simmons –
Whiplash
Who should win - J. K. Simmons –
Whiplash
Simmons has won both the Golden Globe and the SAG Award for
“Whiplash”, so it seems a safe bet that he'll take the prize. And
he'll deserve it too – he was outstanding. Probably the safest bet of all the categories.
Best
Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette –
Boyhood as Olivia Evans
Laura Dern – Wild as
Barbara "Bobbi" Grey
Keira Knightley –
The Imitation Game as Joan Clarke
Emma Stone – Birdman
as Sam Thomson
Meryl Streep – Into
the Woods as The Witch
Who will win - Patricia Arquette –
Boyhood
Who should win - Emma Stone – Birdman
Emma Stone absolutely
should win. End of story. Patricia Arquette absolutely will win.
End of story. It will be a crime.
Best
Original Screenplay
Birdman – Alejandro
González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr.
and Armando Bo
Boyhood – Richard
Linklater
Foxcatcher – E. Max
Frye and Dan Futterman
The Grand Budapest
Hotel – Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler – Dan
Gilroy
Who will win - Boyhood – Richard
Linklater
Who should win - Birdman – Alejandro
González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr.
and Armando Bo
Again, I have to predict
that “Boyhood” will win. Call “The Grand Budapest Hotel” the
dark horse, and I would love to see “Birdman” win this. Of the
big ones this is the one I have the most doubt about...... but the
“Boyhood” love-in will probably prevail. Very nice to see "Nightcrawler" recognized here.
Best
Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper –
Jason Hall from American Sniper by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim
DeFelice
The Imitation Game –
Graham Moore from Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges
Inherent Vice – Paul
Thomas Anderson from Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
The Theory of
Everything – Anthony McCarten from Travelling to Infinity: My Life
with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking
Whiplash – Damien
Chazelle from his short film of the same name
Who will win - American Sniper –
Jason Hall from American Sniper by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim
DeFelice
Who should win - American Sniper –
Jason Hall from American Sniper by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim
DeFelice
I think this one
really is a a crapshoot; the only one I would say out of hand has no
chance is “Inherent Vice”. So I will pick “American Sniper”,
as adapting that book to a screenplay was a major achievement.
Best
Animated Feature Film
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your
Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the
Princess Kaguya
What will win: How to Train Your
Dragon 2
What should win: Big Hero 6
In a pretty weak category, "Dragon" has to be considered the favorite. But I just can't get behind a sequel winning a Best Picture award. I wouldn't even have voted for "The Godfather Part 2" for 1974......
Best
Documentary
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
What will win: Citizenfour
What should win: Citizenfour
...but don't count any of them out. The Academy likes to have surprise winners in this category more than any other.
No comments:
Post a Comment