Although it's early, I was fortunate enough to have seen a majority of the films leading the Oscar nominations this year so I wanted to highlight the ones that I would choose from each category with a little summary on why I think this. I've sadly not seen all of them. I missed out on Boyhood and Foxcatcher but I shall do my best. My frontrunners are highlighted in bold and I discuss what I want to win and which films I think could take the award home. Here we go...
The Nominees for BEST PICTURE:
"American Sniper" (Clint Eastwood)
"Boyhood" (Richard Linklater)
"Birdman" (Alejandro González Iñárritu)
"The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Wes Anderson)
"The Imitation Game" (Morten Tyldum)
"Selma" (Ava DuVernay)
"The Theory of Everything" (James Marsh)
"Whiplash" (Damien Chazelle)
My thoughts: I feel like American Sniper could be a real favourite this year. It feels like something that the Academy usually likes but as a film I wasn't too sure about it. I'd be much happier seeing either Selma, Boyhood or Birdman win. Although I want Selma to win it has been snubbed quite a bit. Either the snub-fest will continue and it won't win or maybe the Academy will, seeing the backlash they've had for not nominating David Oyelowo and other participants of the film, they may hand over the award to avoid criticism. I want the film to win I just don't think it will. Considering the other films I think Boyhood is clearly deserving of a win purely because of the pure time and effort they sank into making this film. It was a real commitment and a labour of love. I really enjoyed Birdman and I'd like to see Hollywood putting out more like this: films that serve style AND substance rather than cheap, regurgitated razzle dazzle. I really enjoyed The Grand Budapest Hotel but I feel like Selma has more heart and a whole heap of current cultural relevance. Although I enjoyed The Imitation Game it missed the mark for me as I feel it rushed through certain parts and was missing that emotive appeal. I had hoped to see Wild in this category. Or, you know, maybe a story with a female protagonist at all... That said I kinda would love to see Selma win. I don't think that it has been released in the UK so I've not seen it but the trailer is promising and the buzz around it seems to suggest that this is a film people have highly appreciated.
Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Micheal Keaton for Birdman
Steve Carell for Foxcatcher
Eddie Redmayne for Theory of Everything
Bradley Cooper for American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game
Birdman is one of my favourite films of 2015 but I think that the real contenders here are Eddie Redmayne and Steve Carell. Redmayne has had so much positive praise for this performance so I think his odds are good. The Academy sure do love Bradley Cooper. I just don't feel that Cooper's performance rivals that of either Carell or Redmayne. I think that Eddie Redmayne will take it because, from what I've seen of the film, the boy did his research and gave a compelling and realistic performance. Benedict Cumberbatch was good but, apart from his accent, I don't feel his portrayal of Alan Turing was too far from his usual demeanour.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Julianne Moore for Still Alice
Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl
Felicity Jones for Theory of Everything
Reese Witherspoon for Wild
Marion Cotillard for Two Days One Night
I sadly have not seen Still Alice or Two Days One Night. I love Julianne Moore and Marion Cotillard so I'm sure they gave wonderful performances. Have you seen La Vie En Rose? Marion is wonderful. Julianne Moore's performance is said to be outstanding. Based on what I've seen I'd place my bet on Reese Witherspoon (with Felicity Jones coming in at a close second) because she really made me feel something with her performance and I think she explored a lot of things she hadn't before.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
I've actually only seen one of the films in this category so I'm going to take a risk and guess that it would be J.K Simmons for Whiplash.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Meryl Streep for Into The Woods
Keira Knightley for Imitation Game
Laura Dern for Wild
Patricia Arquette for Boyhood
Emma Stone for Birdman
I have seen all of these but Boyhood. I loved Meryl Streep in Into The Woods. I love Meryl Streep in anything and the woman has been nominated so many times. I'd really love to see her get another win. Laura Dern warmed my heart in Wild but I'm not sure if it would earn her a win. It's possible. It's a win I'd be happy with. Emma Stone was cool as a cucumber, just as expected. I'm thinking that Patricia Arquette could take this one.
Best Original Screenplay
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Although I think that Birdman could take this one, as it certainly deserves to, I think Nightcrawler could also have a shot at it. Nightcrawler was such a wonderful film. It landed in my top five films of 2014. It's so powerful and nerve-shredding and I wanted to see it get more love from the Academy. So Nightcrawler or Birdman for me...
Best Adapted Screenplay
Inherent Vice
Imitation Game
Whiplash
American Sniper
Theory of Everything
I've not seen Whiplash or Inherent Vice so I'm thinking the Academy would love Imitation Game and Theory of Everything. I've gone for the one with more heart...
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