Oscars 2015

So – Oscar time has come. The nominations are out and opinions are running wild amongst film nerds everywhere. There’s worthy recognition on the list; as well as some snubs. Here, I will place my predictions on the categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Remember, I haven’t seen an awful lot of these movies for I am twelve and short on cash to spend on the cinema so my predictions will be based on what films the Academy tend to vote for, reviews, Golden Globes and BAFTAs etc.

Best Picture:

Nominations:

American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Predictions:

Immediately after seeing this I thought, “well, what about Nightcrawler, Interstellar, Foxcatcher, Inherent Vice, Gone Girl...”, but then – they’re not really Oscar baiters, are they? I am surprised that Mr Turner has had hardly any recognition. When I saw it I thought “Oscar” and Timothy Spall won Best Actor at Cannes for it but hey ho, the Oscars work in mysterious ways!

I could go on forever about this – who will win; who won’t. But to keep it short, Boyhood is what’s going to win. It did at the Golden Globes and the sheer spectacle of it will get it recognition.

I personally would put Guardians of the Galaxy and 22 Jump Street on there but whatever...

Best Director:

Nominations:

Alejandro González Iñárritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

Predictions:

There are obviously a lot of directors that you could go on about getting snubbed for the award but I’m just going to go through the people who actually did get nominated:

Millar and Tyldum getting nominated doesn’t surprise me. They are obvious choices; but you can’t pretend they didn’t do a good job on their films. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s continuous shots in Birdman deserve recognition and it’s nice to see this nomination. Finally Wes Anderson gets recognition from the Academy for Best Director – it’s been a long time coming! But – again – Linklater will win as he kept the standards high in his film for 12 whole years.

Best Actor:

Nominations:

Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

Predictions:

Jake Gyllenhaal’s snub for Nightcrawler, as well as Timothy Spall’s for Mr Turner have not gone unnoticed in my book. I am surprised that David Oyelowo has not been nominated for Selma because that seems to be one of the kinds of movies that attracts the Academy. Bradley Cooper is now the 10^th actor to get 3 consecutive Oscar nominations – for Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and now American Sniper. The last person to achieve this was Russell Crowe in 2000, 2001 and 2002. From what I’ve heard, Steve Carell and Michael Keaton have performed fantastically in their movies. Carell making a fantastic transition from hilarious comedic actor (“I Love Lamp!”); to serious drama actor. And the legend that is Michael Keaton is back in the lead role and making people everywhere swoon at his performances. However, the two in the running really are Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch. These performances are the kinds that will really catch the Academy’s attention (terrible disease suffering physicist, genius gay war hero) so it’s really between these two. As a fan of Cumberbatch, I would love him to win but after stealing it at the Golden Globes – it’s going to go to Redmayne.

Best Actress:

Nominations:

Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon – Wild   

Predictions:

It’s great to see the brilliant Marion Cotillard getting recognition and I am thrilled to see her nominated for Two Days, One Night. Also, Felicity Jones being nominated for The Theory of Everything is great as it is a film about Stephen AND Jane Hawking so her nomination is deserved. Rosamund Pike’s nomination is an interesting one. Gone Girl didn’t shout out Oscar bait and her performance certainly isn’t the kind I thought the academy would go for – but her recognition is definitely deserved. Reese Witherspoon has a good chance in winning. The film she’s nominated for – Wild – is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée who worked on Dallas Buyers Club which got Matthew McConaughey his Oscar last year. However, it’s the year of Julianne Moore. With Maps to the Stars and Still Alice added to her filmography this year - winning at Cannes for the former and the Golden Globes for the latter – she’s bound to bring home the trophy.

Best Supporting Actor:

Nominations:

Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
JK Simmons – Whiplash

Predictions:

It’s nice to see the legend that it is Robert Duvall getting a nomination for RDJ’s The Judge at the tender age of 84. Mark Ruffalo deservedly gets a look in for Foxcatcher, and Ethan Hawke puts in a great performance as Mason Sr. in Boyhood. I would love to see Edward Norton – who is long overdue the award – take home the trophy but I feel that JK Simmons’ performance as a sociopathic music teacher is going to take home the Oscar. After winning the Golden Globe – it seems likely.

Best Supporting Actress:

Nominations:

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

Predictions:

Meryl Streep gets her 19^th nomination for an Oscar for Into the Woods – possibly the most obvious nomination of all this year. Laura Dern gets a look in for Wild. Maybe Jean-Marc Vallée is hoping to get the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor win he achieved last year but this time with the opposite sex. Keira Knightly unsurprisingly gets her second nomination for an Oscar as Joan Clarke in The Imitation Game. Emma Stone was excellent in Birdman – as was everyone else – and I think she will come second. But in first place I think will be Patricia Arquette for Boyhood. She won at the Golden Globes, she can win again.

Who do you think will win? Who do you think got snubbed? Leave your answers in the comments section or preferably tweet me @futurecritic1 on Twitter. Bye!

Oh , and, erm... WHY THE HELL DIDN’T THE LEGO MOVIE GET NOMINATED FOR BEST ANIMATION?! IT’S SO STUPID! TWO SNUBS FOR PHIL LORD AND CHRIS MILLAR THIS YEAR. I’M GOING TO GO AND PUNCH A WALL!