Best Picture:
The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, and Spotlight
Winner: The Big Short, The Revenant, Spotlight (pictured above)
The Dark Horse: Mad Max: Fury Road
Guys. Come sit down for a bit. I have no idea what's going to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Producer's Guild chose The Big Short. The Director's Guild chose The Revenant. The Screen Actor's Guild chose Spotlight. So the race is up in the air. My heart wants Spotlight, my brain says The Big Short, but my gut has money on The Revenant (with wins at BAFTA and Golden Globes and box office glory). I have to say this is an incredible list of Best Picture nominees, even though I hated The Revenant
Major snub: Creed and Carol could have been the 9th and 10th nominees.
Cate Blanchett (Carol), Brie Larson (Room), Jennifer Lawrence (Joy), Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), and Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
Winner: Larson
The Dark Horse: Ronan
Brie Larson has won most of the pre-Oscar awards so I'm confident to say she has the award in the bag. For a while, it seemed like she was going head to head with Saoirse Ronan, but I think this race is over. I like the other nominees, but they are of the "happy to be here" variety.
Major snub: Charlize Theron for Mad Max: Fury Road.
Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Matt Damon (The Martian), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), and Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
Winner: DiCaps
The Dark Horse: Fassbender, Damon
As we all know, sleeping in animal carcass and eating bison is GREAT ACTING so DiCaps is the clear winner here. I love the guy, but he should have won for Wolf of Wall Street and this is clearly a make-up award, blended with a "powerful media narrative" award. DiCaprio has won pretty much every award for this performance so this is hardly a contest but a coronation.
Major snub: Michael B. Jordan for Creed would have been a fine nomination. Also, Samuel L. Jackson for The Hateful Eight.
Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Rooney Mara (Carol), Rachel McAdams (Spotlight), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) and Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Winner: Vikander
The Dark Horse: Winslet
For a long time, I thought the award was Mara's to lose. But somewhere during the Oscar season, the buzz for Carol dropped significantly--and the lack of Best Picture/Director Oscar noms hurt it considerably. And many thought that Mara should be in the Best Actress category. Both Winslet and Vikander have been duking it out, sharing awards. Vikander has two feathers in her cap: her SAG win and that 2015 was a major year for her. She's great in The Danish Girl, but I believe most will be voting for her work in the far superior Ex Machina. Kate Winslet is an Oscar favorite, and I wouldn't be surprised if she took home her 2nd Oscar.
Major snub: Tessa Thompson for Creed, and Mya Taylor for Tangerine--two talented actresses of color. Also, Elizabeth Banks in Love & Mercy
Christian Bale (The Big Short), Tom Hardy (The Revenant), Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight), Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), and Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
Winner: Stallone
The Dark Horse: Rylance
It's upsetting that the only nomination the black-oriented Creed received was for its lone white contender, but it's hard to deny the overwhelming love that Stallone has. Creed was a return to form for both the actor and the franchise, and Stallone's work is incredible. Mark Rylance was also much appreciated for Bridge of Spies and outside of Stallone, he'd be the winner.
Major snub: Idris Elba was seemingly nominated for every other award--including the SAG, which he won--but his Beasts of No Nation is a Netflix original movie. That probably hurt his Oscar chances.
Lenny Abrahamson (Room), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), Adam McKay (The Big Short), and George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Winner: Gonzalez Inarritu
The Dark Horse: Miller
That AGI won his 2nd consecutive Director's Guild Award, the only director to do so, solidifies his victory on Oscar night. I'm not a fan of the movie, and I think it's a little show off-y. But it has a lot of support. I'd rather see Miller take the prize for his breathtaking action choreography, or for the directors of the more subdued but sophisticated work in Room or Spotlight to win the award.
Major snub: Quentin Tarantino for The Hateful Eight, Ryan Coogler for Creed, Todd Haynes for Carol.
Anomalisa, Boy & the World, Inside Out, Shaun the Sheep Movie, and When Marnie Was There
Winner: Inside Out
The Dark Horse: Anomalisa
Inside Out was a critical and commercial smash this past June, and represented a "comeback" for the "slump-affected" Pixar. The film received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, which ensures its victory in this category. Anomalisa, an R rated adult stop motion drama, might pull a win simply because its an anomaly in the usually kid-friendly category. I do want to point out how the Oscars usually try to find different, foreign animated movies to fill out this category. And that's a good thing!
Major snub: I don't know about major, but I think some people wanted to see The Peanuts Movie nominated.
Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia), Mustang (France), Son of Saul (Hungary), Theeb (Jordan), and A War (Denmark)
Winner: Son of Saul
The Dark Horse: Mustang
Unfortunately I haven't seen any of these. Most have predicted the Hungarian film to win and I can't see a reason to doubt that prediction.
Major snub: Labyrinth of Lies (Germany)
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Big Short (pictured above)
Best Original Screenplay: Spotlight
Best Cinematography: The Revenant
Best Documentary: Amy
Best Film Editing, Makeup & Hairstyling, Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Costume Design: Carol or Cinderella
Best Visual Effects: Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Score: The Hateful Eight
Best Original Song: 'Til It Happens to You, from The Hunting Ground
Best Animated Short: World of Tomorrow
Best Documentary Short: Body Team 12
Best Live Action Short: Ave Maria
Thanks for reading! I hope I'm right!
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