I watched all the Oscar Movies so you don't have to.
February means only one thing to me. Oscar's.
From the age of 10 I have had a tradition of watching the Awards show live. For the build up to the date (28th Feb this year), I have made a massive effort to watch every film nominated and try guess who will take the prizes at the end of the day. Play the game with me.
Now, I know there has been a lot of bad press with regards to this years nominees. This post is not about that. This is about who I think will win & why I think you should watch which films. Cool? Cool, let's begin:
Best Film:
The nominees for Best Picture
I'm still on the fence here, but let's work this out together. I know who won't win so lets start with that..
8. The Martian - This was clearly a situation of 'oh it's Ridley Scott, of course he needs to be nominated'. Plot, you ask? Well some idiots lost Matt Damon in space again, this time on mars. A rescue mission begins. The film won at the Golden Globes but only because they shoved it in the Best Comedy category, they knew it wouldn't win and clearly needed to do something before their investors lost their minds. How they thought milking the Matt Damon-lost-in-space phenomenon was a good idea, I will never know. But I did read the book which was INCREDIBLE and there was a whole load of lost plotline opportunities. On the whole, it was a poor performance (hence the Best Actor snub) and way, way too long.
(TL;DR - classic case of don't watch the movie, read the book)
7. Mad Max: Fury Road - I'm not going to give a description here, you've seen it. And if you haven't, go watch it now. It's pretty much one long car chase, in the desert. There is also a flame throwing guitar and even taken out of context, that's super awesome. Great film as a stand alone piece but amongst the other films in this category I doubt it will make it.
6. Spotlight - A classic 'Oscar Movie' if I ever saw one. Basically, a section of the Boston Globe investigates the dark and evil world of child molesting & the Catholic Church. It's got a rich plot and steady pace. It was well acted and beautifully shot. I feel that it fell short towards the end. I wanted to see more of what happened after they released the piece. It kind of just ended, reminded me of a David Fincher film. Long winded in the beginning and rushed towards the end as if the filmmakers realised they only had 20mins left to tell the rest of the story. But beautifully crafted nevertheless.
5. Bridge of Spies - One word, my favourite word in the English dictionary: Espionage. I watched this movie on the plane to England and even on that tiny screen, I was captivated by Spielberg magic. It made me feel sad, stressed and nervous the whole time. It wasn't what I was expecting but I could tell this is the film Spielberg always wanted to make. It could possibly win Best Production Design as the sets were amazing but film of the year? No, sadly not.
4. The Big Short - A group of well informed bankers bet against the American economy before the housing crisis. I think... God this film was complicated. I must give it credit for the quirky explanation of the facts. Whenever I was starting to get lost in all the funds, trades & money talk, a character would whip out a game of Jenga and explain it to me, or Selena Gomes would walk me through a particularly confusing idea of betting using a game of 21 as a metaphor. Very cool. Lots of 4th wall breaking which I love. But it was basically The Wolf of Wallstreet on a tighter budget. It's a contender for Best Editing for sure but in my humble opinion, won't take the cake.
Here's where it gets tricky... I swear, any one of these three could take it for various reasons. So what I am going to do is take a flying guess. I have my heart set on one in particular.. any way, let's just see..
3. Brooklyn - An Irish woman moves to Brooklyn to find work, she falls in love but ends up moving back home where she meets another man. She must choose. The success of this film belongs to Saoirse Ronan. She was born to play this role. Now I'm not a love story type of person, but this one I really did enjoy all thanks to Saoirse. That's a win for her, for sure. Why this film will win: It is beautiful, emotional and honestly, Oscar winning. Why it won't: well, I think the Academy love The Revenant.. but we'll get to that...
2. Room - If you've hung out with me in the last week I have probably told you to watch this film 8 times already. I don't want to ruin the twist but it opens with a little boy's 5th birthday. Him and his mom are living in a room and it's evident Jack (the son) has never been outside. Why it will win: I'm hoping this is the little movie that could. I really am. It does so much with so little, just like the characters. The story is revealed to you slowly but when you think, 'okay but what now?' The filmmakers take you on a very difficult emotional journey. Why it won't: Well, I fear the big bad wolf that is The Revenant will overshadow this stunning piece of work. It really is a case of bigger budget = awards this year. I loved, loved loved this film. It made me value my short little life & appreciate the leaves, the trees and air, fresh air. Please just go watch it now and not be like my house mate, Keane, who for some reason won't. Maybe it's cause he came home at 3am the other night to find me sitting in the dark crying my eyes out. Yes, you will cry, yes... even you.
1. The Revenant - UGH okay, I admit it, I think this one will win. I don't want it to but by the hype and the Academy's obsession with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu I think this is your fare bet. If you have a pool going on with your friends or at the office, this is probably your safest choice. So Leo is left for dead after a bear attack and makes it his mission to find the man who abandoned him and take revenge. Look, it was amazing. The cinematography in parts was unbelievable and as a unyielding Tarantino fan I do not shy away from blood and violence but even I looked away during that bear attack. Here's the thing I don't get. The internet is going crazy, saying it's Leo's chance to win but really? Do you really think that? For me he spent the entire film horizontal or asleep. Christian Bale acted more in his first 30seconds of screen time in The Big Short than Leo did in this ENTIRE film. No guys, I am not a fan of old Di Caprio and even though this film might win (and very unfairly so) I don't think it's his turn just yet.
Obviously, these are my thoughts, don't take my word on it but I reckon I could be right. I could also be VERY wrong. Also, don't get me started on why Tarantino wasn't nominated in this catagory for The Hateful Eight. Unbelievable.
Here are my guesses for the other catagories:
- Actor in a leading role: Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
- Actress in a leading role: Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn (EDIT: On second thought, Brie Larson is gonna take this)
- Actor in a supporting role: Tom Hardy - The Revenant
- Actress in a supporting role: Alicia Vikanda - The Danish Girl (I want it to be Jennifer Jason Leigh)
- Animated Feature: Inside Out (obviously!)
- Cinematography: Roger Deakins - Sicario
- Costume Design: Hmm, probably Mad Max: Fury Road
- Directing: Lenny Abrahamson - Room (why you ask? Try getting a performance like that out of a kid, try)
- Documentary (Feature): Cartel Land (Although Amy was beautiful)
- Documentary short: haven't seen them all, won't be fair to judge
- Film Editing: Spotlight
- Foreign Language Film: Again, haven't seen them all
- Make Up and Hairstyling: Mad Max: Fury Road
- Music (Original Score): Ennio Morriocone - The Hateful Eight
- Music (Original Song): I really don't know. You pick one for me.
- Production Design: Bridge of Spies
- Short Film Catagories are being screened at The Waterfront this week so going on a mission to see them all soon
- Sound Editing: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Sound Mixing: Mad Max (the whole thing was rerecorded, I hope it wins!)
- Visual Effects: God I hope Ex Machina wins this, it would be so well deserved
- Writing (Adapted Screenplay): NOT The Martian! haha -- Room FTW
- Writing (Original Screenplay): Proberly Straight Outta Compton. Maybe Inside Out.
So there is my two cents. Would love to hear yours!