2015 Oscar Predictions

A lot of these predictions were actually really difficult to make. Boyhood vs Birdman? Keaton vs Redmayne? Inarritu or Linklater? Can Whiplash win everything except Best Picture? Will American Sniper win things it doesn't deserve? Big questions, a lot of them I'm still not 100% sure I made the correct choice, but we'll see in a few days time. (Note: I didn't bother with the shorts because I have no clue, really)

I've laid out my Will Win and Should Win (along with a few "could win"). It was a lot of tough picks and my heart just simply wishes the Grand Budapest Hotel and Whiplash could win everything. Take a look below and feel free to share your own predictions!

BEST PICTURE

American Sniper

Birdman

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

Will Win: Birdman

Could Win: Boyhood

Should Win: Whiplash

I originally had Boyhood winning here. I even posted it in my official predictions. But I've decided on a last minute change to put Birdman as the Best Picture winner. I had my doubts about Birdman prevailing but with wins at PGA, SAG, DGA and now at the Indie Spirits (where Boyhood was expected to win, but did not) I've had a last minute change of mind. I may be kicking myself in 24 hours but I'm now more certain that Birdman will win rather than Boyhood. Kind of a shame really as I personally prefered Boyhood, but I feel Birdman is quite an original film to win. Although, I'm still not even like 80% sure this is going to happen, but I'm going to stick with it.

BEST DIRECTOR

Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman)

Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)

Will Win: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Could Win: Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman)

Should Win: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

I feel like whichever way Best Picture ends up swinging, that Linklater is the most deserving director here. The 12 year "gimmick" is handled so well under his direction. This was Linklater's brain child and it shows. Long and hard work deserves an Oscar. I think this may be the third year in a row for a Picture/Director split, but I do see why.  

BEST ACTOR

Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)

Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

Will Win: Michael Keaon (Birdman)

Could Win: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

Should Win: Michael Keaton or Eddie Redmayne

I know Eddie Redmayne is the favourite to win, but to me, he just seems too young and new and Michael Keaton should be taking this one. He's maybe playing a version of himself and it's a career high for him after a long career. I can't really see it going unrewarded in the end. 

BEST ACTRESS

Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)

Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

Will Win: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Could Win: I don't think anyone it touching Julianne Moore

Should Win: Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Seriously, no one is touching Julianne Moore. Like, I don't even have any idea who people would consider 2nd place. And the Academy clearly didn't care for Gone Girl, with Rosamund Pike being the sole nomination. As awesome as it would be to happen, it won't. Julianne is walking away with this, easy. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Robert Duvall (The Judge)

Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)

Edward Norton (Birdman)

Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)

J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Will Win: JK Simmons (Whiplash)

Could Win: I think Edward Norton has the closest shot, but it's not happening. 

Should Win: JK Simmons (Whiplash)

Seriously, JK Simmons can't and shouldn't be beat in this category. He is acting category that pretty much everyone agrees that the most deserving person is actually winning everything. It's that one category that pretty much everyone agrees is the right choice. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Laura Dern (Wild)

Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)

Emma Stone (Birdman)

Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

Will Win: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Could Win: No one else seems to be a real competitor. 

Should Win: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) or Emma Stone (Birdman)

Again, Patricia Arquette has been walking with everything and I also don't know who is a really runner-up to her. 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Jason Dean Hall (American Sniper)

Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)

Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice)

Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything)

Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

Will Win: Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)

Could Win: Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

Should Win: Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

The Imitation Game won the WGA last weekend but it hasn't gone up against Damien Chazelle's Whiplash yet (this is the only time it's competing as Adapted instead of Original). So I like to think that Whiplash has a legitimate chance. But I don't think Harvey's big film will walk away empty handed this year. 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo (Birdman)

Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman (Foxcatcher)

Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)

Will Win: Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Could Win: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo (Birdman)

Should Win: Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Of all the awards Wes Anderson has pretty much always been deserving of, Original Screenplay is certainly one of them. One of the most creative guys and definitely my favourite filmmaker, I'm excited that this is most likely going to win. Although, tough competition comes from Birdman and I feel like if things swing in Birdman's favour here, we're probably looking at a Best Picture and possibly Director win as well. 

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Big Hero 6

The BoxTrolls

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Song of the Sea

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Will Win: How To Train Your Dragon 2

Could Win: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Should Win: How To Train Your Dragon 2

I know How to Train Your Dragon 2 is the big frontrunner but I wonder if it will actually win in the end. The Oscars often go with some unconventional picks here and I could see The Tale of the Princess Kaguya being it, but I'm going to stick with HTTYD2 because it's awesome and deserves to win (especially since the first one didn't)

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

CitizenFour

Finding Vivian Maier

Last Days in Vietnam

The Salt of the Earth

Virunga

Will Win: CitizenFour

FILM EDITING

Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach (American Sniper)

Sandra Adair (Boyhood)

Barney Pilling (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

William Goldenberg (The Imitation Game)

Tom Cross (Whiplash)

Will Win: Tom Cross (Whiplash)

Could Win: Sandra Adair (Boyhood)

Should Win: Tom Cross (Whiplash)

I feel like this is one of my riskier picks of the night since Boyhood is mostly seen as the frontrunner (And rightly so, it is a lot of footage to go through and everything feels really seamless). But the first time I ever noticed editing (in a good way) was Whiplash. So much of the energy and tension that Whiplash has is from the editing. The quick and on-time cuts are spectacular (and that ending, my goodness!). Fingers crossed here!

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)

Robert D. Yeoman (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal (Ida)

Dick Pope (Mr. Turner)

Roger Deakins (Unbroken)

Will Win: Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)

Could Win: Robert D. Yeoman (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Should Win: Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)

Honestly, I think Lubezki is walking away easy again, second year in a row. The one-take effect of Birdman is one of the most interesting things about the film and Lubezki did it flawlessly. 

ORIGINAL SCORE

Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game)

Hans Zimmer (Interstellar)

Johann Johannsson (The Theory of Everything)

Gary Yershon (Mr. Turner)

Will Win: Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Could Win: Johann Johannsson (The Theory of Everything)

Should Win: Pretty much any of these would be fantastic choices.

Honestly, I'd be so happy with any of these winning. The Grand Budapest Hotel is one of my favourite scores of the year and one of my all-time favourites of Desplat's. It's unconventional and fits the film like a glove. But everyone here is a pretty worthy nominee (note: I haven't listed to Mr Turner's score at all, so that I don't actually know if it was worthy). Hans Zimmer has only won for The Lion King and I'd love to see him win a 2nd Oscar but I think the Academy's obvious liking for GBH will get Desplat his first and overdue win. 

ORIGINAL SONG

"Lost Stars" from Begin Again

"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" from Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me

"Everything is Awesome" from The Lego Movie

"Glory" from Selma

"Grateful" from Beyond the Lights

Will Win: "Glory" from Selma

Could Win: "Everything is Awesome" from The Lego Movie

Should Win: I really don't care :P 

As much as I'd love to see Everything is Awesome winning here, I think Selma has this one in the bag.

SOUND MIXING

American Sniper

Birdman

Interstellar

Unbroken

Whiplash

Will Win: Whiplash

Could Win: American Sniper

Should Win: Whiplash

I honestly don't know much about Sound Mixing, but Whiplash is my favourite and the more it wins, the better. Again, I'm pretty unsure about this, but I know this has gone to musical films in the past, so that's what I'll go with.

SOUND EDITING

American Sniper

Birdman

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Interstellar

Unbroken

Will Win: American Sniper

Could Win: Birdman

Should Win: ??

Again, I don't know much about Sound Editing, but I feel like American Sniper will take this one as well.

 VISUAL EFFECTS

Captain America: The winter Soldier

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Guardians of the Galaxy

Interstellar

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Will Win: Interstellar

Could Win: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Should Win: Interstellar

I'm kind of split whether this will go to Interstellar of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Either one is a worthy winner but I though Interstellar was really good and personally preferred the effects in it so would be happy to see it win.

COSTUME DESIGN

Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Mark Bridges (Inherent Vice)

Colleen Atwood (Into the Woods)

Anna B. Sheppard (Maleficent)

Jacqueline Durran (Mr. Turner)

Will Win: Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Could Win: Colleen Atwood (Into the Woods)?

Should Win: Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

The biggest competition for GBH is Into the Woods and Maleficent. But I think GBH should walk away with this. 

PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Interstellar

Into the Woods

Mr. Turner

Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Could Win: Into the Woods

Should Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

This looks like an easy win for GBH. Another thing Wes Anderson is great at is Production Design and it's crazy that none of his films have won this 

MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

Foxcatcher

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Guardians of the Galaxy

Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Could Win: Foxcatcher

Should Win: Either of the Will/Could would be fine by me

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Tangerines

Ida

Leviathan

Timbuktu

Wild Tales

Will Win: Ida

American Sniper

American Sniper, 2014
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Nominated for 6 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor

American Sniper tells the story of Chris Kyle, the most lethal in US Military History. Chris, born and raised in Texas and joins the SEALs, going on 4 tours of Iraq. But it's not easy. He's married and he's having kids and struggling between all the kills that he is making and how to balance having a normal life with the family he has left behind.

Just as a preface, I finished reading the book this film is based on roughly 4 hours before I sat down in the theatre to watch this. Things were extremely fresh in my mind from Chris Kyle's own account and thus it did make it difficult to separate. Most of the events in the film are completely fictionalized (if Kyle's autobiography is to be believed), so I found it difficult to just watch the movie, instead of "fact checking" and just being really nitpicky and internally complaining about why things got changed (either for the better or the worse)

Anyway, American Sniper is a film I feel like I have seen several times before and most of those films have done it better than Sniper. Honestly, there just isn't anything done overly well or particularly special about this movie. The film seems to stay at the bare minimum surface level and resorts characters to cliched lines and essentially no character development- if we even get to know them at all. The only people we really get to know are Chris, himself and his girlfriend/wife Taya. We see them meeting and dating and getting married. But even then, this is done on such a surface level that we don't really get to know them at all. We are kept at an arms length from their relationship. Even Chris, we only roughly get to know. We know he was told to be the "sheep dog" the one to defend the weaker and to finish fights. He's a cowboy but is a patriotic American who is mad when people do anything to attack America and so joins the army. He's a good shot and apparently never takes a bad shot. Everything is justified. But he starts to struggle when he returns home. He isn't always mentally there, and something, a noise or someone cutting him off while driving brings him back to Iraq. But these things are show in very obvious ways. There's not very much subtlety or nuance.

However, Bradley Cooper does work with the material he has and gives an extremely fine performance. It's very different from anything he's done before and he, again, brings his A-game and really makes you believe he's a cowboy from Texas who loves his country passionately. He's reigned in and controlled, very different from the neurotic characters he's played for the last few years. Cooper's nomination for Best Actor is deserved. As well, the film is beautifully shot and captured.

My biggest problem was it's portrayal of the Iraqi people. It seems 99% of the Iraqi people we encounter are all "savages" as the film and real-life Chris Kyle likes to call them. They're all bad guys and have it out for the US Army. Even when you think you have finally encountered good characters, you haven't. And most of the Iraqi people don't have lines or names. While the film isn't screaming that Iraq is evil and so are it's people, but the (most likely) unconscious way that everyone they encounter in Iraq has guns and grenades and is "evil" is something that I have a big problem with. I know I personally have not been to Iraq, but to make a generalization like this is something I find problematic. It gives the wrong impression. I won't get into this topic more because I'm not educated enough and have strong opinions that I don't want to get in to, but this was a large problem for me. Again, it's not something the film maybe tried intentionally to do, but it did it and that's the message it sends out.

American Sniper is just a film that we have all seen before. It states the obvious and is riddled with cliches. Granted, Bradley Cooper gives one of his best performances to do and undoubtedly it's well shot and technically well made. But the direction and the screenwriting feels exceptionally lazy. I can't help but feel Steven Spielberg (who was initially attached) may have given us a better film. Or better yet, had Kathryn Bigelow been directing this, I think this film would've been fantastic. The source material and content has potential, but I feel like Clint Eastwood just didn't give it even close to his all. It almost feels like he and the screenwriter were just sleepwalking through, putting out a "decent" movie without needing to try to hard because, hey, who is going to slam a movie about an American "hero"? I know Clint Eastwood's intention was that he was making an anti-war film, but this only came across every so often, and it wasn't a very clear message.

5.5/10

guardians of the galaxy + breaking bad + the before trilogy

My life has been taken up by just watching movies and Breaking Bad. Mainly Breaking Bad.

We've finally been racing through it and now we're finally done Season 4. Does anyone else feel like it almost could've ended there? I mean, it left a few things loose, but it could've easily wrapped up there and I think I would've been happy. I mean, I haven't been spoiled at all for Season 5 so I don't have any idea what is to come, but I'm curious to even see what Season 5 will be about. The ending of Season 4 just wrapped like, so much up. Also, does anyone else feel like Jesse cares more about Brock than like anyone else? I swear he's only dating Andrea so he can hang out with Brock. Not that I'm complaining cause their relationship is so cute.

Also, I finally got around to watching Guardians of the Galaxy last night. Yeah, I'm super behind but I didn't really feel like seeing it in theatres and just waited until I got it at the library. Am I the only one who was disappointed with that movie? I mean, Chris Pratt was great and Rocket and Groot were clearly the best part and the movie really should've just been about them just capturing people for

money but yeah, I feel like it just had no idea. The movie itself just seemed to not really be sure what it wanted to do or where it wanted to go. Just me? Apparently, cause everyone I know loves this movie. I mean, like I did find it funny and was glad to see a Marvel movie not take itself seriously at all (more Marvel movies should do this) and the music was pretty fun and I loved Peter Quill dancing with his walkman in the intro but it started to get overused and just a little too kitschy for the sake of being kitschy. Whatever, I just seem to never really enjoy Marvel movies, so I wasn't surprised I didn't care for it. It makes me glad that my husband and I, when trying to decide what movie to go see one afternoon, decided against seeing Guardians because the trailer was lame and going to see Boyhood. A+ decision making.

Speaking of Richard Linklater, I finally watching his Before trilogy. These are the most beautiful and lovely and amazing movies ever and Before Sunrise is pretty much my new favourite movie. Like, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are so great. All 3 movies were just wonderful. I mean, except for

Before Midnight because it was kind of depressing and hard to watch since it was so much sadder and angrier than the first two, but Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy were still amazing and I loved it. Seriously, more people should see these movies. Clearly Linklater makes the kind of movies I love because watching people just have conversations and experiencing life is apparently the kind of movies I just really love a lot.

But seriously, this is honestly my life right now. I'm contemplating whether my husband I should start watching the Newsroom. We just got Season 1 from the library. We'll see...

Foxcatcher

Foxcatcher, 2014
Directed by Bennett Miller
Nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor

Foxcatcher is the strange true story of Olympic wrestling brothers, Mark and Dave Schultz, and eccentric millionaire, john du Pont, who recruits them to Faxcatcher Farms, a wrestling training camp. Mark and Dave are both gold-medal winners at the 1984 Olympics. But Mark has fallen on hard times after the Olympics. He is broke and jobless, training for Worlds. But when Mark gets an out-of-the-blue call saying that john du Pont (of the du Pont family) would like to meet him and offer him a coaching position, Mark jumps on board. A chance to finally outshine his golden older brother and live a better life, Mark and John du Pont strike up an interesting relationship.

Foxcatcher is a film I've been excited about for a long, long time. Moneyball is one of my favourite movies, and I also immensely enjoyed Capote. Also, I kind of love Steve Carell and have been waiting to see him take on a great role for a long time.

However, Foxcatcher is a film that just didn't seem to connect with me. Don't get me wrong, it's an extremely well made film, but there's just something I can't put my finger on about why I walked out of the theatre and just kind of shrugged. The acting was excellent, the story was twisted and weird, it's beautifully shot and well directed. Part of me thinks it's maybe because I just simply didn't understand Mark Schultz or John du Pont.

Channing Tatum as Mark was quite good. Tatum finally has an opportunity where he is pushed by the actors and the director working on this film. He gives a pretty good performance but just the amount of presence he had on screen was quite incredible, itself. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but Tatum's character is really quite silent and sullen, yet we are always drawn to him and just sense him in the shot. He dominates. With his slack jaw (which I hate but it works well here) and this strange slouchy yet controlled posture, Mark is someone not to be reckoned with. And not a lot of people do. Lonely, except for his brother Dave. Except he's not exactly warm with Dave either. An older brother who seems to constantly be in the limelight and have his life together, Mark seeks to break free of the association. However, when he meets du Pont and decides to move to Foxcatcher Farms, we get this eerie sense of "what is he thinking?" Mark seems to have very little detail about du Pont or what the job is at Foxcatcher or anything. It seems to make little sense as to why Mark would take this job out of the blue. And it sets up this feeling that resonates throughout the rest of the film. This sense of "something isn't quite right...".

Steve Carell as John du Pont is incredible. So unlike anyone Carell has played before and often completely unrecognizable. There are a few times in the movie where I'm just looking at him and I just don't see Carell at all. The make up in incredible and Carell has really nailed the glazed and unregistering look. du Pont, like Mark, is also lonely. Surrounded by wealth, mansions and a snooty mother (who loves horses and disproves of wrestling), it also doesn't really seem to make a lot of sense, on the surface, why du Pont would start at training camp for the Team USA wrestlers. He knows very little about wrestling. And it only seems to be Dave who asks the question "what doe he get out of all of this?" du Pont is someone who is vicariously living through others, and this is the ultimate way to do it. John du Pont is an extremely unsettling person, to the audience. Like Tatum, Carell has such a presence on screen, but for an extremely different reason. Carell has the unsettling and almost creepy (but not quite) presence, balanced expertly. We don't initially have any reason to suspect du Pont is a bad person, but we find him unsettling (for reasons we can't intially explain) all the same. Carell seems to easily balance du Pont and gave him nuance that could easily have been left behind. Nuance is key to a character like du Pont and Carell nails it with perfection. However, and this is no complaint or dig against Carell's performance, but there were just a handful of times where it felt like these lines could've easily been something Michael Scott would've said. The line of "horses are stupid!" had me cracking up a little bit. This was simply because I know the Office so well and knew it was Carell rather than Carell not being compeltely absorbed. In fact, Carell seemed to be completely absorbed and completely not himself. While I don't think he necessarily deserves to win the Oscar for Lead Actor this year, but he could've given JK Simmons a run for his money had he decided to campaign in that category.

Dave Schultz is the sole voice of reason. But also a cause for a lot of drama (though not explicitly said so by many of the characters). I'm sure being overshadowed by a sibling is a difficult thing and this is what brings a lot of the tension between various characters. Mark Ruffalo gave a subtle performance as Dave. He really embraced the late 80's and he reminded me so much of old family photos I've seen from that time period. Ruffalo made it all look so easy and subtle. There was nothing overly flashy about his role or his character. But that's what makes the performance so good, that it doesn't really seem like a performance at all, but just a person being.

Honestly, this is a tough one for me. Everything I seem to want to say about this film, everything that comes close to negative, I feel was essential and used purposely and pointedly in the film. Yes, it's slow and methodical. It isn't trying to force everything down your throat, it just laying the story out as is. You get to see everyone's point of view, and you get to make up your own mind about each of the characters. Foxcatcher is underwhelming, but I felt like that's the point. It's bleak, and that's the point. It moves slowly, and does not play out like you'd expect it to, but that's also the point. This movie tells a story, but it's not here to entertain us. It's a retelling of a tragic and twisted story that involved an eccentric millionaire and Olympic wrestling brothers. Just everything negative I want to say about this film, that was the exact point it was trying to hit and it hit it so well. And I feel like all of these points are valid. The more I seem to think and write about this, the more I feel myself being pulled in to try and understand what happened. The film doesn't really try to validate the events or explain motives or it's characters. And the more I think about it, the more powerful that is.

I'm not really sure I can give Foxcatcher a rating. It's a film that is a different and more bleak telling of the story than I initially expected. All the cast and crew are on top form and have made a beautiful and horrifying film. While I initially walked out the theatre shrugging, it has also had me constantly questioning what exactly it is about this film that I simultaneously didn't care for but also highly respect and keep thinking about.

Whiplash

Whiplash, 2014
Directed by Damien Chazelle
Nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor

What can I really say about Whiplash that hasn't already been said? Whiplash is about Andrew Neiman, a freshman at Shaffer, the best musical school in the country. A drummer, he's obsessed with becoming one of the greats and spends all the time he has practicing drumming. Terrence Fletcher is a teacher at Shaffer who helms the schools most prestigious jazz ensemble. Fletcher comes across Andrew in a practice room one evening and Andrew finds himself recruited into Fletcher's band. His initial elation is quickly turned to terror and obsession. Fletcher has a notorious temper, is incredibly picky, and can (and will) reduce any student to tears if they are not playing to perfection. This pushes Andrew farther than he has been pushed before, determined to become great and to impress his teacher. But we start to wonder, at what cost does Andrew pursue greatness?

You've probably heard this all over the place. Whiplash is a fantastic movie. Seriously, I love this movie. Just everything about it is so energetic and electric and passionate. Who knew a movie about jazz drumming could keep you on the edge of your seat?

Miles Teller as Andrew is wonderful. The fact that he hasn't gotten more attention (or just any attention) kind of baffles me. Teller did much (if not all) the drumming himself and the way he was able to act while drumming like he was, is incredible. He's mentioned in interviews that he didn't realize there were so many close ups of him for the film and that this explains why he's making the faces he does. But this is one of the things I loved about his performance. He was just so completely absorbed by the role, by the physical toll that this kind of drumming is taking on him. It felt so real and it felt so raw.

JK Simmons as Fletcher. Again, what else is there to be said? Fletcher is a complex yet monstrous character. He's an absolute monster, a complete psychopath, and his opinion means the world to Andrew. Simmons just absolutely nailed it. What could've easily just been the part of a yelling teacher, Simmons was able to give some weird, twisted complexity that I never really come to understand. Fletcher is someone that is never quite understood. You're never quite sure where exactly he will go next, or what will make him tick. But you do always know something will piss him off and you tiptoe around him. Simmons is fantastic and his upcoming Best Supporting Actor win is definitely deserved.

This is a movie about two people and the effect they have on each other. Andrew has never been pushed harder by anyone in his life. A lot of people argue it's too far. But Fletcher will tell you it's never too far and it will either produce results that were always there, or you'll walk away because you never actually had the passion or drive for it in the first place. And it's a film that leaves me asking the question of whether or not this statement is true. Is there ever a limit to how far and hard we are pushed? And even if it does produce incredible results, is it ever worth it? Is there ever room for compassion? Fletcher is the anti-thesis of the phase of "everyone's a winner" thing that the school systems, and just society itself, seems to hang on to. You need to be pushed in order to become better, and if no one ever pushes you, we're depriving the world of greatness. There is much to discuss on this point and the film leaves you with an uncomfortable and open ending on where exactly the line is (if there is one at all). But the overarching question of "at what cost?" seems to be the theme of the film.

Usually, I don't really notice editing. I noticed it in Selma when the cuts were strange, and I noticed it in Gravity and Birdman when there were lots of long shots. But the editing for Whiplash is incredible. The cuts are quick and harsh, just like the music featured. It's a constant back and forth, stop and start. It almost seems to mirror the film's title itself, constantly flinging you back and forth, with this sort of Whiplash effect. I'm not even sure how to describe the editing, but the cuts were fantastic and it made the film feel so alive and electric. I can't be happier that this is up for Best Editing at the Oscars. I would absolutely love it if it won.

Anyway, Whiplash is just a perfect, solid movie. It's a movie about passion and obsession, about pushing yourself farther than you've ever been pushed, and a movie about two people who seemingly need each other, in a very strange and twisted way. Just everything about this film is so well made, is so fitting with the story it wants to tell. It doesn't drag on too long, and it thrives on the fact that it is simply telling a single story, with minimal side stories involved. Actually, the lack of side stories (and all of them had specific purposes to the main story) is what made me like this film so much. It's a concentrated character study on two men, nothing to detract from that, no fluffy filling. Whiplash knows exactly the story it wants to tell, exactly what it wants to say and do, and does exactly that.

9.5/10

January Blindspot: Girl, Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted is a movie I decided to watch for this Blindspot series, not because it's a critically-acclaimed film or because it's really popular (it's neither), but more because I just really wanted to see why Angelina Jolie has an acting Oscar. This is fair, right? I mean, I'm a big fan of her husband, Brad Pitt, and don't really understand why he hasn't won an (acting) Oscar yet. So I was just really curious as to what kind of performance Angelina Jolie gave. I admit, before this, I hadn't really seen her in very many movies. I've seen Mr and Mrs Smith, and I've seen Maleficent. Also, the first half hour of both Salt and the Tourist. So I was going in with not a lot of knowledge of her acting and abilities.

The story of Girl, Interrupted is a true one. It's about a young woman named Susanna Kaysen who gets admitted to Claymoore, a private mental hospital, for a variety of reasons. Claymoore is filled with lots of loud and crazy people, but none are more captivating (and persuasive) than Lisa, a diagnosed sociopath.

Angelina Jolie plays Lisa, the sociopath. Lisa is constantly in and out of Claymoore. She's wild and energetic, persuasive and manipulative and is suddenly taking Susanna "under her wing". Honestly, Jolie completely rocked the part of Lisa. It was just such a no holds barred, giving it everything performance. But Angelina didn't just go crazy and play it the easy way. It wasn't just a one note performance or a performance lacking nuance, like it very easily could've. Lisa could've easily been almost a caricature. But Angelina gave Lisa such depth and complexity. There are just so many different things going on with her. Honestly, Angelina Jolie deserved that Oscar. She really did.

Maybe it's because Angelina, these days, just seems so classy and regal and put-together is what made this performance so striking. Lisa is just the complete opposite of how I picture Angelina. It's so striking and absorbing.

Unforuntately, I can't really make the same praise for the rest of the movie. Honestly, every time Angelina left the screen, things got dull. It was much less exciting and much less passionate. The story was a bit blah and you didn't really care for anyone else besides Lisa.

Although, it was fun to see actors that I recognized for things they had done recently (namely Jared Leto and Elisabeth Moss). But overall, the film itself was only just passable and mediocre. It's Angelina Jolie who brings all life and electricity to the movie, and the Oscar it earned her is 100% deserved.

Selma

Selma, 2014
Directed by Ava DuVernay
Nominated for 2 Oscars (Best Picture, Best Original Song)

Seeing Selma the day that Oscar nominations came out, with people's complaining about snubs extremely fresh in my mind was maybe not the best idea. It meant that I was focused on how good the acting was, the directing, the screenplay, etc, and wondering whether I'll walk out outraged at all the snubs or just shrugging my shoulders and shaking my head at the claims of racism when really the film just didn't deserve nominations.

I think I met somewhere in the middle. Selma is a good film with a moving story. It has moments of greatness and moments that move you. But the whole is not the sum of it's parts.

The film launches us into the life of Martin Luther King Jr. He's already extremely well known and has made a lot of progress. He's winning the Nobel Peace Prize and meets with the President (and is isn't his first time, clearly). The film makes no attempts to try to explain what has happened before this point. It simply launches you into what's happening right now. And what's happening right now is that King has met with President Johnson. Johnson has signed an act to end segregation and blacks legally have the right to vote. However, they still aren't allowed by their local voting offices to even register to vote. However, Johnson says this is not what he can focus on right now and this issue will have to wait. Displeased, King decides to move his cause to Selma, Alabama and to lead a march to gain equal voting rights.

This chapter in King's life seems a complex one. The entire cause they are fighting and the use of non-violence is very complex. And the film doesn't hold back from showing all the webs that are weaved and all the little things that need to happen before things can change. However, the film almost tried to show too much. It went back and forth from showing King as a man and as a figure. We get more casual scenes of King with his wife and their marital issues, but these scenes seem to be disconnected from the rest of the film, from the scenes involving the march and his meetings. In those moments, King is more of a figure, though one who has tough decisions to make. But the scenes (save one) with Oprah felt forced and unnecessary.

As well, the main thing I took away from this film was that it tried very hard to be important, impactful and emotional. There are so many scenes that have this unecessary use of slow motion that I know was supposed to make us feel emotional about what was happening. But I felt the moments leading up to that, or just after, were always more effective. The moments of utter chaos during the marches were more effective than the tearful speeches or the slow motion of the cops beating or shooting someone and them falling to the ground. Just seeing literally the utter brutality and chaos of what happened, untouched, is the most moving. But DuVernay just tried too hard, a few too many times. Her work was really great when it wasn't focused on just one thing, but the picture as a whole. Had DuVernay stepped back and left it more natural, I think I would've actually been moved more.

That's not to say the film wasn't effective, though. It had some extremely well done scenes, most of these being King's speeches at the church, particularly during a funeral and at the end of the film. David Oyelowo excelled during the various speeches he gave. They were delivered with such passion and vigor that I could feel myself just really getting angry all over again about how terribly the White South treated the black community. There were several scenes that were actually extremely moving, and were minimally touched and forced. The phone message scene, the night march, the marches on the bridge, etc. There were snippets of greatness and of overall potential to be overall great. As well, some of the supporting characters (who I can't name because a lot of people weren't introduced, so therefore started to blend together as they all held similar roles in the film). Carmen Ejogo was really great as King's wife. She was married to such a controversial figure, and while I felt the film either should've just touched on this a lot more or a lot less, Ejogo was such a force.


But the Selma snubs... were they really snubs? My big problem with the movie is that I enjoyed it and was moved by it, but was it really better than some other films that were nominated? As mentioned, I felt DuVernay just tried too hard and often got in the way of actual emotion, instead of manufactured ones. Her "snub" I don't consider a snub. While I don't think Tyldum was a particularly great choice for director, I'd still put people like David Fincher over both of them. As well, David Oyelowo was fantastic, but I still preferred Ralph Fiennes, as well as Cumberbatch, Redmayne and Keaton (I have not seen Cooper or Carell's performances... yet). Again, it did so many things really well, but I'm not sure they did it better than the films that were nominated or even some of the films that were also snubbed.

Overall, Selma is a good movie. It's one I left feeling mixed about because of the lack of nominations still heavy in my mind and watching the movie extremely critically and waiting to be blown away so that I could join the outrage. Selma is a good film. And probably one that can be shown in history classes alongside 12 Years A Slave. It made me extremely frustrated by all the racism that happened back then, something I can't even begin to understand. Racism is something I truly do not understand why people would think these certain ways and deny people basic rights. We are all the same, we are all equal. I don't understand why this is so difficult for people to understand. And the film did that effectively. This film tells an important story, a chapter in King's life. There was extraordinary potential to be overall great, but there were a few moments too many of overstepping and manufactured moments of emotion But it's a film that more had moments of greatness than actual overall greatness.

7/10

2015 Oscar Nominations

So the Oscar nominations finally came out today! As always, it feels like some sort of a whirlwind and there's always at least one or two things that make you go "whaaaaaaa?" So below are the nominations with how well I did on predictions, and a few thoughts. 

BEST PICTURE

American Sniper

Birdman

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

This is hard to score because I predicted all 8 of these, but had predicted 9 being nominated. So overall, I did pretty well. Some of the weird inclusions/exclusions don't seem as weird if only looking at this list, but if looking with the context of all the nominations, it's a little strange. Selma only received one other nomination for Best Original Song. It feels a little pointless to have it included here... I had wondered if there might be some sort of Selma snub, and while it still managed to get in here, I'm not overly surprised it missed everywhere else. Also, Foxcatcher being left off here is one of the more bizarre things of this morning. While I didn't have it predicted, it did manage a Best Director nod, as well as Original Screenplay and 2 acting nods. Must've been a tight race for that last slot. I imagine Foxcatcher only just missed. Also, Gone Girl was left off here (which I had predicted would get in) but as it was left out so many other categories (aka only 1 nomination) it isn't overly surprised, but still disappointing. 

BEST DIRECTOR

Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman)

Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)

4/5

Wes Anderson!!! Guys, Wes Anderson is a Best Director nominee!!! I mean, I figured it would happen but I'm so happy! His movies are some of my favourites and I'm so happy to see him included and finally get recognition. Also, Bennett Miller was a big surprise for me. He wasn't on a lot of peoples radars for getting in here. Especially since Foxcatcher didn't end up with a BP nomination. Snub for Ava DuVernay is not overly surprising, but still a little sad. I like seeing women nominated here. 

BEST ACTOR

Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)

Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

3/5

The big thing here for me is Steve Carell! I'm just so darned happy he got included here. I can't speak for the "snubs" of David Oyelowo and Jake Gyllenhaal since I've seen neither Selma nor Nightcrawler but I know a lot of people are not happy. Also, Bradley Cooper's inclusion is only somewhat surprising, to me. I figured it wouldn't get just sound nominations and Picture. Again, I haven't seen American Sniper so I have no idea if this is a worthy inclusion, but I will be seeing it soon.  

BEST ACTRESS

Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)

Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

4/5

I'm really kicking myself for originally having Marion Cotillard here but then changing it. But I was right, I just really couldn't see Jennifer Aniston getting nominated here. Otherwise, no big surprises here. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Robert Duvall (The Judge)

Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)

Edward Norton (Birdman)

Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)

J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

5/5

Literally no surprises here. Just still happy to see Ethan Hawke nominated. He was the one who really stuck with me. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Laura Dern (Wild)

Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)

Emma Stone (Birdman)

Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

4/5 

Only surprise here is Laura Dern getting in over Jessica Chastain. 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Jason Dean Hall (American Sniper)

Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)

Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice)

Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything)

Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

3/5

I really should've put American Sniper here. I'm not overly surprised to see it included since it got in for Picture. The surprise, for me, here is Inherent Vice. 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo (Birdman)

Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman (Foxcatcher)

Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)

4/5

I had Selma in here, which was a mistake. I also, for whatever reason, didn't see both Foxcatcher and Nightcrawler getting here, but they did. 

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Big Hero 6

The BoxTrolls

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Song of the Sea

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

3/5

Of all the snubs, the biggest one comes from here. Where is the Lego Movie????? I seriously do not understand. AT ALL. 

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

CitizenFour

Finding Vivian Maier

Last Days in Vietnam

The Salt of the Earth

Virunga

2/5

I haven't seen any of these. I just know I had originally put Virunga on here but swapped it off in the end. 

FILM EDITING

Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach (American Sniper)

Sandra Adair (Boyhood)

Barney Pilling (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

William Goldenberg (The Imitation Game)

Tom Cross (Whiplash)

3/5

Again, another place I should've seen American Sniper coming. I also swapped off Whiplash at the last moment for Gone Girl. Mistake, it seems. 

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)

Robert D. Yeoman (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Ryszard Lenczewski and Lukasz Zal (Ida)

Dick Pope (Mr. Turner)

Roger Deakins (Unbroken)

4/5 

I only missed out on Ida here, originally having Interstellar here over it. 

ORIGINAL SCORE

Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game)

Hans Zimmer (Interstellar)

Johann Johannsson (The Theory of Everything)

Gary Yershon (Mr. Turner)

4/5

Happy to see double nominations for Desplat. Can he please win for The Grand Budapest Hotel? I love love love that score. Disappointed at lack of Gone Girl here. Another fab score this year. 

ORIGINAL SONG

"Lost Stars" from Begin Again

"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" from Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me

"Everything is Awesome" from The Lego Movie

"Glory" from Selma

"Grateful" from Beyond the Lights

3/5

The fact that Lego Movie got in here and then didn't in Animated Feature is what really had me going whaaaaa? Disappointed Boyhood didn't make it in here, but overall I don't care about this field. 

SOUND MIXING

American Sniper

Birdman

Interstellar

Unbroken

Whiplash

3/5

SOUND EDITING

American Sniper

Birdman

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Interstellar

Unbroken

3/5

 VISUAL EFFECTS

Captain America: The winter Soldier

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Guardians of the Galaxy

Interstellar

X-Men: Days of Future Past

3/5

I'm kind of surprised at the amount of Superhero movies in here. However, this feels like a fairly solid line up. 

COSTUME DESIGN

Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Mark Bridges (Inherent Vice)

Colleen Atwood (Into the Woods)

Anna B. Sheppard (Maleficent)

Jacqueline Durran (Mr. Turner)

3/5

PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Interstellar

Into the Woods

Mr. Turner

4/5

MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

Foxcatcher

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Guardians of the Galaxy

 2/3

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Tangerines

Ida

Leviathan

Timbuktu

Wild Tales

4/5

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Crisis Veterans Hotline: Press 1

Joanna

Our Curse

The Reaper (La Parka)

White Earth

ANIMATED SHORT FILM

The Bigger Picture

The Dam Keper

Feast

Me and My Moulton

A Single Life

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

Aya

Boogaloo and Graham

Butterfly Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak)

Parvaneh

The Phone Call

So overall, out of the 106 predictions to get right (8 Picture nominees) I got 75 of them right (with a -1 for predicting 1 too many BP nominees). In comparison to last year, I predicted 97 nominations and got 76 of those correct. So I did better last year, but doing less good is always kind of interesting though. It means not everything was too predictable, which is always fun. Overall, the fact that The Grand Budapest Hotel tied for top nominations makes me really happy. As well, the inclusion of Steve Carell as Best Actor also makes me happy. Everything else is interesting and I have a few nominees to see (where the heck am I going to see Whiplash before the Oscars??) I'm hoping the winners are as predictable as they seem to be currently, I'm really hoping for some game changes in the next few weeks. As much as I love Boyhood, how fun would it be if The Grand Budapest Hotel won? We'll see in roughly a month!