|||
I’m lucky to have some wonderful friends and when it comes to talking about films and Hollywood and how the industry and pop culture intersect I know Kendra (@halifaxfilmgal on Twitter). She is the ultimate film fan and while her primary means of online interaction is via Twitter, the 140 character limitation means that you don’t get to have more extended snarky discussions of films. So before the Academy Awards this year you’ll get to read through some of her picks and mine and we’ll see how accurate they are. But it’s all meant in fun and hopefully it will provide you with a bit of entertainment too.
The Academy Awards are a strange thing and in a perfect world they would not be around. The whole thing is a bit strange, but the great part and what I love about it is how it enables a conversation about films to begin. But usually the conversation revolves around the people that we see on the screen and the actors are a very important part of the whole process. But most of it isn’t concerned with actors, but with stars, so it’s not really about films most of the time. It’s part of the marketing campaign for films where subtlety and craft are not always recognized. The bigger things seem to stand out with major physical transformations of actors being highlighted more than a performance with a solid emotional core. The same seems to occur with direction and many of the technical categories. While the names of the categories include “Best”, it’s a very subjective thing, so it’s really “What Most of the People Voting Agree Upon”. That is why predicting what will win can be a bit of a challenge, and probably one of the reasons people enjoy watching the show.
The Independent Spirit Awards nominations are overall more to my taste in terms of films, but they’re not as popular as the Academy Awards. But that niche is much more suited to my sensibilities. It’s also where a lot of the categories are filled with films that make sense to me for being recognized. But the Oscars have a longer history and are wildly popular and a lot more people have an opinion about them, which is why so many people share their opinions about what the Academy chooses.
Over time people usually don’t remember a lot of the winners. Maybe the nominees, but not so much the winners. Just looking through who won last year made me realize how I forgot about some films and didn’t remember ones that won. When you look back 5 or 10 years some of the films are completely forgotten, while others that were nominated seem to be much better. It’s fascinating how some films seem dated rather quickly, but other films seem a bit too early.
Ten years ago the big winner was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King which won in many categories including Best Picture, Directing, and Editing. It’s a running joke about the length of the ending of the final film in the trilogy, and I wouldn’t hold it up as an example of a film that wisely cut things in the right way. For Actor it was Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, Ben Kingsley in House of Sand and Fog, Jude Law in Cold Mountain, Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, and Sean Penn in Mystic River. Over time I would say that Bill Murray should have won, but it was Sean Penn who took home the award. Goodfellas lost out to Dances With Wolves for Best Picture, Director, Editing, and Adapted Screenplay in 1991. People like Dances With Wolves and it’s easy to understand why something that is more challenging to watch like Goodfellas wouldn’t be chosen. But with the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear that Goodfellas is one of the top films out of Hollywood and by Scorsese. Here are the picks we have for the major categories for the 86th Oscars:
Will Win: Gravity
Should Win:12 Years a Slave
A year in which it’s legitimately difficult to choose a clear winner from three films doesn’t happen very often. Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle are all acceptable winners in a weaker year but I think the Academy will side with the majesty of Gravity over the heavier subject of the devastation of slavery.
Will Win: 12 Years a Slave
Should Win: 12 Years a Slave
I may be overly optimistic, but there is a real opportunity for the Academy to make a statement with Best Picture this year as a partial corrective to the somewhat embarrassing history of cinema with pro-slavery films forming a major part of it. If past patterns hold, something absent of politics like Gravity should win, or a flashy, but mediocre film like American Hustle could be the compromise. Over time I think that Her may be seen as the most significant achievement of the year though.
Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón
Should Win: Steve McQueen
Cuarón has the momentum and the DGA, this usually translates into the Director Oscar. However, nothing would make me happier to see McQueen win. A small part of me still wishes Scorsese could have this Oscar because Wolf of Wall Street is actually a better film than The Departed.
Will Win: Alfonso Cuarón
Should Win: Steve McQueen
The consensus is that Cuarón will win and while Gravity is an amazing technical achievement, the film itself left me cold. Steve McQueen took a challenging topic and infused it with humanity and created memorable scenes and performances of power and permanence. Scorsese and Payne are also two directors operating at the height of their powers with films that expand their oeuvre in interesting ways.
Will Win: Matthew McConaughey
Should Win: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leonardo DiCaprio
One word - McConaissance
If I was the Academy, I’d have a three way tie and give them each the Oscar. Ejiofor broke my heart. Leo was his manic best in the most fun performance of the year. McConaughey has the momentum, the 40lb weightloss and the prevailing winds in Hollywood really like to hand an Oscar to an actor that successfully reinvented himself. Call it the “Travolta Factor.”
Will Win: Matthew McConaughey
Should Win: Chiwetel Ejiofor
The key to winning an Oscar for acting isn’t subtlety, so physical transformations and more extravagant performances tend to be rewarded. Matthew McConaughey was solid in Dallas Buyers Club, but he was also solid in Magic Mike and many other films so he deserves an award. But Chiwetel Ejiofor has been turning in great lead and supporting performances in indies and dramas for over a decade with little recognition. With 12 Years a Slave he’s starting to get the recognition he deserves, but I’m afraid he won’t be taking home a little golden statue.
Will Win: Cate Blanchett
Should Win: Amy Adams
It’s all about Cate this year, no matter that Amy Adams was the heart of American Hustle and of Blue Jasmine’s lowly three nominations, this one would be the most deserved. The only question that remains is whether or not Woody Allen’s name will actually be mentioned out loud.
Will and Should Win: Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett is utterly compelling in Blue Jasmine and formed a fierce core to a film that could have been much less than it was without her.
Will Win: Jared Leto
Should Win: Michael Fassbender
Fassbender’s vitriol personified slave owner might stay with you forever but Leto’s feisty Rayon is everything one could require of a supporting actor. He made McConaughey better just by being there.
Will Win: Jared Leto
Should Win: Michael Fassbender
Fassbender forms the core of Steve McQueen’s two previous features and like Hunger, he appears later in the story, but is vital to the way it all unfolds and opposite Ejiofor it makes for some compelling and unforgettable scenes. Jared Leto was solid with a physical transformation thrown in as well, so that provides an edge for him.
Will Win: Lupita Nyong’o
Should Win: Julia Roberts
If I were an Academy member, I would have voted for Roberts for an absolutely fierce turn in August: Osage County even when all the attention was on Meryl Streep but in this category Oscar voters love the new and beautiful giving tragic, heartbreaking performances.
Will Win: Lupita Nyong’o
Should Win: Sally Hawkins
The Academy seems to like rewarding great work from younger actors in the supporting categories and Lupita Nyong’o is amazing and will deserve her award. But a fantastic and often overlooked component in the success of Blue Jasmine is Sally Hawkins’ performance opposite Cate Blanchett. She’s the anchor that provides the counterpoint and springboard for the heights that Blanchett reaches.
Will Win: Her, Spike Jonze
Should Win: Her
Jonze created a riveting fairy tale of a future we’re not that far away from where technology is invisible and you can fall in love with software. How could we not want to honour a screenplay for that? Her has the best chance here since it’s missing from Director and Actor and has too much competition in Production Design.
Will and Should Win: Her
Her is a deceptively clever film by Spike Jonze that is kind of set in the future, but is very much in the present, summing up the zeitgeist of the time in a way to tell a simple story about moving on. As I’ve said before I think that as time goes by the recognition of Her will grow. While it should be recognized in more categories, the Screenplay category is often where more innovative work is recognized.
Will Win: 12 Years a Slave
Should Win: 12 Years a Slave
It’s hard to choose between Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave here but since I still think Gravity is the likely Best Picture winner, Adapted Screenplay might be an official apology statue given to 12 Years a Slave since Captain Phillips, while admired seems to have a better chance in Film Editing.
Will Win: Philomena
Should Win: 12 Years a Slave
In another year Philomena would probably receive more recognition, but it’s a fascinating story that makes you feel good, and if 12 Years a Slave receives a lot of other awards, this is a category that could provide a nod to a more traditional film that deals with issues in a human way.
Will Win: Captain Phillips
Should Win: Captain Phillips
There’s great work to be admired in all nominees in editing this year but keeping the story tight and tense in Captain Phillips gives it the edge.
Will Win: Captain Phillips
Should Win: 12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips constructs a tight, tense story that keeps you on the edge of your seat and that’s why it will probably win. But with 12 Years a Slave the structure and varying rhythms manage to make the journey bearable and powerful in an often subtle way.
Will Win: American Hustle
Should Win: Her or American Hustle
I hope the old white guys don’t pick Great Gatsby. I can live with American Hustle but would prefer the more subtle but brilliant Her.
Will Win: The Great Gatsby
Should Win: Her
The old white guys are going to pick The Great Gatsby or maybe American Hustle. Subtle production design that contributes in an essential way to the story in the way that it does in Her becomes invisible when Academy members cast their ballots.
Will Win: Great Beauty, Italy
Should Win: The Hunt, Denmark
As always a lot of great foreign films didn’t make it to the final five, but I can live with either win here with slight preference given to the quietly devastating Hunt. Go Mads!
Will Win: The Great Beauty, Italy
Should Win: The Hunt, Denmark
I’ve only seen The Hunt, but it was one of the best films of the year with a performance from Mads Mikkelsen that really should have been also recognized with a Best Actor nomination.
Will Win: Gravity or Philomena
Should Win: Her
Her is the only nominated score that impressed me out of these five. I’m guessing it won’t win.
Will Win: The Book Thief
Should Win: Her
I’m guessing here since the scores didn’t stay with me that much except for 12 Years a Slave and Her, but I’m not one of the people voting, so I’m thinking that there may be some recognition for John Williams again.
Will Win: Let it Go, Frozen
Should Win: Let it Go
Happy from Despicable Me 2 comes close in the cute factor but no song was better than Let it Go from Frozen. Plus who doesn’t want to see Robert Lopez be only the 12th person in history to win an EGOT Grand Slam of show business (EmmyGrammyOscarTony).
Will Win: Let it Go
Should Win: The Moon Song
I’m going with the crowd here again in a category that is a remnant of the days were every film had a song or two in them to provide a break for folks when they watched the film. The Moon Song is actually the only song I’ve actually heard of the nominees and I like it, but it’s a perplexing category to me.
Will Win: The Act of Killing
Should Win: The Act of Killing
If the Academy is in “feel good” mode then we’ll see 20 Feet From Stardom here, leaving the more interesting and devastating Act of Killing out in the cold. Someday in a perfect world, AMPAS will fix the Documentary category and force members to actually watch all the nominees.
Will Win: 20 Feet From Stardom
Should Win: The Act of Killing
It was a good year for documentaries and for the first time I was able to watch all of them before the awards. While I hope that The Act of Killing is recognized for telling a powerful story in a unique way, 20 Feet From Stardom is easy and fun and I don’t think that the Academy enjoys too many challenges in one year.
Will Win: Gravity
Should Win: Gravity
I have yet to see Philippe Le Sourd’s work in Grandmaster, said to be the closest competition for Emmanuel Lubezki here but since Lubezki’s already won the ASC Award as well as a pile of others for his work on Gravity it’s hard to see how he could lose. …Besides, have you seen Gravity!?
Will Win: Gravity
Should Win: Inside Llewyn Davis
With last year’s winner being Life of Pi, I don’t hold out much hope for the skillful capturing of light and performances to evoke a mood as opposed to computer-enhanced motion capture, so until the category is divided between actual cinematography and computer-enhanced, it’s a cold technical achievement that will take home the award.
Will Win: Gravity
Should Win: Gravity
Gravity might as well have been nominated 5 times in the FX category, all others are irrelevant except for Pacific Rim which isn’t even here. …Besides, have you seen Gravity!?
Will Win: Gravity
Should Have Been Nominated: Pacific Rim
Without the effects there isn’t really anything there when you look at Gravity. The best combination of effects and visual storytelling to me was the unnominated, but oh-so-fun Pacific Rim.
Will Win: Frozen
Should Win: Frozen
In the absence of Pixar, it’s all about Frozen. I’ll eat a snowman if Frozen doesn’t win.
Will Win: Frozen
Should Win: Gravity
The smoothest, best animation of the year was in Gravity, but Frozen is the film that everyone loves for this, so that’s what I’ll go with too.
That’s all we’ve got and now all that is left is to watch the show, eat the snacks and share some snark on Twitter.
