So, being off work for a much longer amount of time than I thought I would be (intercostal nerve problems) I've been able to watch a lot more movies than I normally would. For that reason, I feel a little more confident in my picks for Academy gold this year. Hopefully I will be able to help those doing Oscar pools or other events tailored for Sunday night's show. So, with further ado, my picks:
BEST PICTURE
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell Or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester By The Sea
Moonlight
What Will Win: La La Land. Everybody is in love with this musical throwback to Hollywood's Golden Age, and, for the most part, they should be. I really enjoyed La La Land, after the first 30 minutes or so. The story really gains some traction after that point and I found myself getting invested in the outcome of the movie's two main characters. The final scenes are absolutely stunning, and fun, and sad, and everything...I just wish it could have been that way right from the start.
What I'd Pick: Moonlight. Speaking about being invested in the characters, I was totally rapt with ALL the characters in this film. Taking place through three stages of a young man's life, I'm sure it may be hard for some to take, but not for me. The story, the actors' performances and the ending has stuck in my mind for many weeks now. It was beautifully filmed, and the director wasn't scared to have long, silent pauses which were necessary and, at times, emotionally brutal. I saw eight of the nine nominees (stayed away from Fences), and I liked them all, but none more than Moonlight.
BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck - Manchester By The Sea
Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling - La La Land
Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington - Fences
Who Will Win: Denzel Washington. As I mentioned, I haven't seen Fences, but the Academy seems to love giving awards to movies that are very character driven. Denzel was the winner of the SAG Award earlier this year, and he hasn't won an award for acting since 2001 (Training Day). For one of the best actors of our time, that's too long.
Who I'd Pick: Ryan Gosling. And there's is a good chance he will win, but the Denzel factor may be a little too strong. Gosling, who I always thought was quite wooden until I saw The Nice Guys and then La La Land, really does a great job. Not only in the dancing and singing scenes (not to mention his great attention to detail learning to play the piano!) but for those moments in between.
BEST ACTRESS
Isabelle Huppert - Elle
Ruth Negga - Loving
Natalie Portman - Jackie
Emma Stone - La La Land
Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins
Who Will Win: Emma Stone. I have always liked Emma Stone, from her small role in Superbad, to her breakout role in Easy A, she has always been easy to like. She was nominated two years ago for Birdman but didn't win, but this is her turn. She has been praised by almost everyone who has seen La La Land, winning multiple awards, and I can't see why she wouldn't win an Oscar as well.
Who I'd Pick: Meryl Streep. I didn't see the other three performances in this category (sorry) but of the two I did see, Meryl is still the best. I didn't even want to see Florence Foster Jenkins, but her performance turned me right around (and I'd like to mention Hugh Grant was fantastic as well and should have been nominated). She was hysterically funny at times and made me well up at others. When people say Streep is the greatest actress ever, they may just be right.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
Jeff Bridges - Hell Or High Water
Lucas Hedges - Manchester By The Sea
Dev Patel - Lion
Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals
Who Will Win: Mahershala Ali. And he really should. His was one of many fabulous performances in Moonlight. He won the SAG Award and Golden Globe so winning the Academy Award doesn't seem like a stretch. The character of a gangster with a heart isn't new to movies, but Ali brings a strength and a softness to his character that sucks the viewer right into his world. It truly was an outstanding performance.
Who I'd Pick: Same. But, if I were to choose my favourite performance of the five men nominated, my vote would go to Michael Shannon. He was fantastic as the sickly investigator in what I feel was a very underrated film, Nocturnal Animals. His only other nomination came in 2009's Revolutionary Road. But he could have garnered awards for The Runaways as the creepy Kim Fowley, Take Shelter as a man who thinks a big storm is coming, or The Iceman as real life hit man Richard Kuklinski. For me, he is the best character actor in Hollywood!
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis - Fences
Naomie Harris - Moonlight
Nicole Kidman - Lion
Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams - Manchester By The Sea
Who Will Win: Viola Davis. For the same reason I think Denzel will win. Movies that come from plays are very character driven, not a lot of action, but lots of emotional stretching. Again, I have not seen the film, but there are many accolades coming in for her portrayal. She has been nominated for Oscars two other times (for The Help and Doubt), but I think in this instance, the third time will be a charm. Plus, she won both the SAG Award and the Golden Globe for this role.
Who I'd Pick: Octavia Spencer. This was difficult for me. I loved all the other performances in this category, but Spencer's role in Hidden Figures was quietly powerful. Her portrayal of the real life NASA employee Dorothy Vaughan who played along with the "rules" of women, especially black women, knowing their place in world that wasn't ready for people like her to succeed. But succeed she did, not with her words, but with her actions. And when she finally started earning the respect she so rightly deserved, her humility made the audience want to get up and applaud her. A really great performance.
BEST DIRECTOR
Denis Villeneuve - Arrival
Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle - La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester By The Sea
Barry Jenkins - Moonlight
Who Will Win: Damien Chazelle. He created a world that has been missing from movies for a very long time. He also came up with impossibly complicated shots that worked beautifully. I mentioned that I wasn't too impressed with La La Land for the first half hour or so, but the opening scene had to have been one of the most complicated set ups I've ever seen. Now, I know some camera tricks were used to edit the scene, but it didn't take away from the marvel of the production. He did a great job visualizing his words to the screen.
Who I'd Pick: Barry Jenkins. So, what do we know about Barry Jenkins? Not a lot! He made one other feature film before Moonlight called Medicine For Melancholy that was praised by many festivals around the world. For his second feature Jenkins masterfully told the story of Little/Chiron/Black, a man who grows up in the projects. Jenkins used silence and long pauses to perfection in Moonlight, making the viewer take time to feel the emotions not only inside the character, but inside themselves. It is a wonderfully, and carefully, directed film that everyone should see.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Taylor Sheridan - Hell Or High Water
Damien Chazelle - La La Land
Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthimis Filippou - The Lobster
Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester By The Sea
Mike Mills - 20th Century Women
Who Will Win: Damien Chanzelle for La La Land.
Who I'd Pick: Lanthimos & Filippou for The Lobster. I haven't seen The Lobster, but the creativity of just the outline of the film makes me think those who saw it won't soon forget it.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Eric Heisserer - Arrival
August Wilson - Fences
Allison Schroeder & Theodore Melfi - Hidden Figures
Luke Davies - Lion
Barry Jenkins & Tarell Alvin McCraney - Moonlight
Who Will Win: Eric Heisserer for Arrival. This might be a stretch, but a movie that meant absolutely nothing to me in the first hour, only to drop my jaw in the last hour deserves to win!
Who I'd Pick: Same. My second choice would be for Jenkins and McCraney for Moonlight.
For the rest of the award categories, I'll just pick my choice of who should win. Keep in mind, I didn't see a lot of the nominations for Animated Film or Foreign Film so I'm just gonna pick the best sounding ones!
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Kubo And The Two Strings
Moana
My Life As A Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
My Pick: Finding Dory! or, I guess, Moana.
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Land Of Mine (Denmark)
A Man Called Ove (Sweden)
The Salesman (Iran)
Tanna (Australia)
Toni Erdmann (Germany)
My Pick: A Man Called Ove from Sweden, because of their recent trouble with deadly Muslim attacks!
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Mica Levi - Jackie
Justin Hurwitz - La La Land
Dustin O'Halloran & Hauschka - Lion
Nicholas Britell - Moonlight
Thomas Newman - Passengers
My Pick: Justin Hurwitz for La La Land. If I'm wrong here, I'll be wrong everywhere else!
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" - La La Land
"Can't Stop The Feeling!" - Trolls
"City Of Stars" - La La Land
"The Empty Chair" - Jim: The James Foley Story
"How Far I'll Go" - Moana
My Pick: "City Of Stars" from La La Land, although I would love to see "Can't Stop The Feeling!" win because I love that song!
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bradford Young - Arrival
Linus Sandgren - La La Land
Greg Fraser - Lion
James Laxton - Moonlight
Rodrigo Prieto - Silence
My Pick: Linus Sandgren for La La Land. The ever-moving camera flows beautifully through the whole film, probably the greatest reason I liked it so much.
BEST FILM EDITING
Joe Walker - Arrival
John Gilbert - Hacksaw Ridge
Jake Roberts - Hell Or High Water
Tom Cross - La La Land
Nat Sanders & Joi McMillon - Moonlight
My Pick: Tom Cross for La La Land. The cinematography wouldn't be as great as it was without the smooth editing.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo And The Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
My Pick: The Jungle Book, only because of the buzz around it's special effects.
Ok, I think that's all I'll do. Let me know what you think in the comments. Agree, disagree, whatever. Either way, I think it's been a pretty good year for movies. Enjoy Sunday night!
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