The Oscars low-down- my predictions for the big winners

With just under 3 weeks until this year's Academy Awards, I thought I would give my thoughts on who is going to be crowned the winner in the biggest categories: Best Director, Best Screenplay (Adapted and Original), Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Leading Actress, Best Leading Actor and the big one; Best Motion Picture. Now this is purely my opinion and people may disagree, but these are just my picks for this year's Oscars.


Best Director: This year's Best Director race is as close as ever, with many people predicting a 3 horse race between Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman) and Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel). All of the directors nominated made excellent films, and it is certainly a tough call, but personally I would tend to lean towards Alejandro González Iñárritu for Birdman, as despite Richard Linklater's excellent achievement in making Boyhood, I personally believe that Birdman is probably the most well made film I have seen, and Iñárritu got so much out of his excellent ensemble of actors including Michael Keaton, Edward Norton and Emma Stone. I certainly believe he will emerge from this race victorious over Linklater.

Best Screenplay: Firstly beginning with Best Original Screenplay, again this is a close race between Linklater and González Iñárritu, with Boyhood and Birdman both leading in this category, despite competition from Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler) and Wes Anderson again. Another close race that I feel Birdman will come out on top, with González Iñárritu again picking up a prize. For Best Adapted Screenplay, there are two stand-outs, Whiplash (Damien Chazelle) and The Theory of Everything (Anthony McCarten). Both were good films, but generally I would have to go for The Theory of Everything, as the story of the great Stephen Hawking was very well adapted to the silver screen.
 
Best Supporting Actor: This is a race that was decided months ago, and is essentially J.K Simmons's (Whiplash) title to lose. His portrayal of the slightly psycho yet comedic music conductor Fletcher really was head and shoulders above every other actor in this category, and this has been reflected in the awards season, picking up handfuls of awards. There were other good nominations, such as Edward Norton (Birdman) and Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), but Simmons really is the star of this category, and it is 99% certain he will be crowned Best Supporting Actor in a few weeks time.

Best Supporting Actress: This category, featuring now 19-time nominee Meryl Streep (Into The Woods) is again strong, but generally across the awards season we have seen Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), pick up the majority of the awards. This is why personally she would be my pick to emerge as the winner, her captivating and very life-like performance of the Mother in Boyhood was excellent, and that's what set her apart from the rest of the field in this category.



Best Leading Actress: One of the strongest categories at this years Oscars, featuring already winners Marion Cotillard (Deux jours, une nuit) and Reese Witherspoon (Wild) and now 5-time nominee Julianne Moore (Still Alice), the Best Leading Actress category is very competitive. Two strong British newcomers, Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), are also very much in the mix, The race leading up to the Oscars has mainly been between Jones and Moore, but it is safe to say now the award looks to be heading to Julianne Moore for the first time, for her portrayal of a woman who has an early stage of Alzheimer's disease in Still Alice. She has picked up the Golden Globe and now the SAG award, and looks set I think to claim the Oscar too.


Best Leading Actor: This was by far the most competitive category this year. So competitive many have called for the category to be expanded, due to the emissions of Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) and David Oyelowo (Selma), but certainly all those nominated are in with a huge shout of winning. Every single actor, Steve Carrell (Foxcatcher), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) and Michael Keaton (Birdman) were outstanding. The awards season hasn't really picked out a clear winner either, with both Keaton and Redmayne, the front runners, picking up Golden Globes. However there was a twist in the turn as Redmayne picked up the SAG award, which came as a shock to many, including myself. Overall, despite this being one the hardest races to call in a long time, I would have to go with my gut feeling of Keaton, who really made an excellent comeback in Birdman, and despite Redmayne's excellent performance, I felt Keaton stood out and deserves to pick up the award.

Best Motion Picture: Again this category, full of so many excellent nominees, is dominated by Boyhood and Birdman. Despite many strong unexpected candidates, like Whiplash and The Grand Budapest Hotel, those two films really stood above the rest. There are obviously honourable mentions to The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Selma and American Sniper too, but they didn't quite match Birdman or Boyhood either. Overall, despite personally favouring Birdman for winning Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Leading Actor, I have to favour Boyhood to win Best Motion Picture. It was truly an amazing film, a huge project that came together so well to produce a great representation of real life, in tandem with a great ensemble of actors and a great story. There is strong competition from Birdman, but Boyhood is certainly my pick to come out with the big one, as it was the Best Motion Picture this year.


Of course these are just my picks, and the Oscars may turnout completely different as the competition this year is so strong, but it is certain whoever wins will be totally deserved.

The Imitation Game

For those who don't know the story of Alan Turing, I suggest you read up on him before watching this film, just to truly understand what this brilliant man accomplished. It was wonderful to finally see Turing's story get recognition in the form of a film, and what director Morten Tyldum has done is a truly fitting representation of what Turing achieved. Coupled with Benedict Cumberbatch's career best performance, and an excellent use of flashbacks and a manipulation of time, this film truly is deserved of the 8 Oscar nominations it has received. Certainly, despite strong competition, there is a definite chance that The Imitation Game is in with a very good chance of winning some awards.


Despite much of the Best Leading Actor Oscar hype surrounding Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) and Michael Keaton (Birdman), it comes as a surprise that Benedict Cumberbatch's name has hardly been mentioned. He hasn't received much awards success in recent weeks, which I personally find quite shocking. Obviously it is hard to compare Keaton and Cumberbatch, as their performances are naturally different, but when comparing Cumberbatch and Redmayne however, I truly believe that Cumberbatch comes out on top. All credit to Redmayne and a great performance as Stephen Hawking, but I found Cumberbatch's portrayal of the complex, brilliant but ultimately tragic performance as Alan Turing to be far more emotive but also, encapsulate such a story so amazing but tragic that he made the film truly a really beautiful ode to Turing's life. A certainly deserved Oscar nomination and one I would hope to see really in the mix for the win, despite being nominated in such a fiercely competitive category. Another deserved Oscar nomination, for Keira Knightly in the Best Supporting Actress category, who portrayed Turing's close friend Joan Clarke very well, the two actors/characters having excellent chemistry, which ultimately made their roles so much more believable, and led to create great emotion. Notably there were some strong cameos from Matthew Goode (Hugh Alexander), Rory Kinnear (Robert Nock). Mark Strong (Stewart Menzies) and Charles Dance (Commander Denniston). The acting for this film had to be perfect, which it was, and full credit to Benedict Cumberbatch who said about Turing's Royal Pardon: "The only person who should be pardoning anybody is him (Turing. Hopefully, the film will bring to the fore what an extraordinary human being he was and how appalling (his treatment by the government was). It's a really shameful, disgraceful part of our history."
Overall, despite this being a well made film, what's most important about this film is that they gave a perfect representation of Alan Turing, and really showed what a great man he was. What I found most important was that they showed the truly evil nature of the times he lived in, and that no matter if you are homosexual, heterosexual, transsexual, whatever, you can be a great person. The treatment of homosexuals in those days was awful, and I'm so glad that in today's world, people are so much more accepting, I for one fully support the LBGT movement, and I hope this film helps other people to begin to understand that sexuality should not be problem to anyone. This film is a great achievement for actor and director alike, and it is sad that Alan Turing wasn't able to see his work made into a wonderful film, he truly was as a great man. This is a great film I would recommend to essentially everyone, a wonderfully made story and fantastic acting, and I would give it a very high 9/10.

Nightcrawler

Having  now watched Nightcrawler on my own, I can certainly say that it is certainly one of this years biggest Oscar snubs. Having only picked up the one nomination for best original screenplay, there has been a big outcry this past week concerning Jake Gyllenhaal's performance as the ambitious, totally insane Lou Bloom. Unfortunately, despite many (including myself) seeing this as Gyllenhaal's career best performance, he narrowly missed out on the Best Actor Oscar nomination. Whether this is a correct decision is open to interpretation, as I even admitted that Bradley Cooper despite being a surprise nomination was certainly a deserved one, but it does seem to beg for a bigger category, as only 5 nominations is probably not enough. However, this film is not all about Gyllenhaal, for debut director Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler is a great achievement, and certainly he appears to be a name to watch out for in the future.

I mentioned that I thought this was Gyllenhaal's best acting performance, and it is a statement I stand by. Despite his excellence in Brokeback Mountain, the preparation he did for this role (much like his late friend Heath Ledger), losing 30 pounds to complete Lou's gaunt look, was excellent. As well as a physical preparation, Gyllenhaal would have had to undergo great psychological preparation in order to pull off Lou's psychopathic character, which he did perfectly. In the movie Prisoners, Gyllenhaal gave his character an obvious blink, but this was topped by Lou Bloom's sinister grin, which is very reminiscent of the grin used by Christian Bale in American Psycho, and Bloom is another one of those anti-hero characters that the viewer can't help but love. As well as Gyllenhaal, I was thoroughly impressed by Rick (Riz Ahmed, Four Lions). I felt that Ahmed but a lot of effort and perseverance into his role, playing Rick's simple yet brave character, who is sucked in by Lou's lies, and manipulated by him easily. He was a character that created a lot of emotion for the viewer. Rene Russo also put in a good performance as Nina, the news producer who falls victim to Lou's manipulation too, and also becomes his strange, sick, romantic fantasy. Despite the good support all the plaudits really do go to Gyllenhaal, certainly his best performance yet and I hope to see more like this from him in the future, as he really is as talented as many actors out there yet fails to receive the widespread recognition.

Nightcrawler certainly has an excellent story, and I'm glad Dan Gilroy has received a nomination for his screenplay. As well as that, the film has great sound, and the clever use of another camera in the film when Lou is filming crime scenes, the cinematography is impressive. I think what stood out about his film was the message it represents. Nightcrawler serves to prove that the American Dream isn't all it seems, as we see the lengths Lou has to go to make his mark on the world, the brutality of his job, and also the brutality of real-life journalism, and the distances people will go just to get a good story. This was an excellent film which I found to be very intelligent, with of course an outstanding acting performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, it's a film I would recommend to those who can appreciate great acting and who like a dark, violent story, and would give this film a rating of 9/10.

Boyhood

When I first read the description of Boyhood, I was confused but also intrigued as to how this film was going to be made. Richard Linklater clearly had a strong ambition to make what he described as a 'lifetime project', and he certainly achieved his ambition with Boyhood. What has come of this 12 year project is a great movie, both realistic yet a great Hollywood film too. To make such a complex film run so smoothly and appear effortless really is a great achievement, when you consider the lengths the director and actors went to to make this film a resounding success. Boyhood has deservedly been nominated for 6 Oscars, including the coveted Best Picture, which I feel it has a great chance of winning, having picked up a handful of awards already this season.

This must have been a hard film to act in, as all the main characters are so closely linked they would have had to develop a real bond, not just a fake one on screen. I really felt as if this cast had a great connection, particularly between Lorelei Linklater and Ellar Coltrane (who played sister and brother respectively). As well as the children, both the parents, Patricia Arquette (Mom) and Ethan Hawke (Dad), were excellent, and both were deservedly nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Actor at the Oscars for their respective roles. Whilst Hawke looks set to miss out to J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), it appears Arquette is in with a very good shot of winning, despite strong competition from Emma Stone (Birdman). Every role was so beautifully representative of real life; the way the characters were with each other, particularly the brother-sister relationship, which almost totally reflected my own relationship with my sister, despite the bickering, we always have each other's backs. On a side note, they included the obvious Uncle who thinks he's a comedian when he isn't, which I thought was an excellent subtle message from Linklater. The chemistry between the actors make this film such a greater achievement, never before have I felt like I was watching a real family, not just actors.
There is no denying the accuracy Boyhood; it stuck perfectly well with the year a specific scene was based in, perfectly soundtracking (I'm aware this isn't a word) each year individually, with a range from Coldplay's 'Yellow' all the way to Crank That (Soulja Boy). What stands out the most for me about this film is how honest and real it felt. Linklater really played on today's society, the parents are divorced, a common theme in today's world, and he showed the struggle of the mother and new relationships, as well as Mason's (Coltrane) clear dislike of new stepfathers, much like many children today do. Despite this being a sad thing to reflect upon, I felt that Linklater totally nailed this aspect of the film to make it feel real to the viewer. Overall, Boyhood was a really excellent tale that represents all the ups and downs to growing up as a boy in today's society, and a story that I feel many people will be able to relate to, including myself. I strongly recommend this film, if you are a viewer who enjoys a well-made, clever and realistic film, and I feel that Linklater's ambition really has paid off to produce one of the most intelligent films ever made, I film I thoroughly enjoyed and without a doubt would give a 10/10.
 

American Sniper

In all honesty, when I heard that Clint Eastwood was making a film about the tragic yet inspiring story of U.S. Navy Seal hero Chris Kyle, I was sceptical. All I expected from this was your typical action-packed, glorification of war nonsense; fortunately, I was mistaken, as this film is far more than that. Eastwood at the ripe old age of 84, still clearly knows what he's doing. This film's ambition certainly paid off, not just this weekend at the box office, but the for the quality of the film that has come from the ambition. Eastwood made sure that there was total realism to this film, especially as requested by the father of the late Chris Kyle, and Eastwood stuck to his promise, and the transformation made by Bradley Cooper certainly is remarkable.

When I saw that Bradley Cooper had received his 3rd Oscar nomination in a row, I was honestly surprised, secretly hoping it would go to Jake Gyllenhaal for his career-best performance in the gripping 'Nightcrawler', yet I have since changed my mind after watching Cooper's performance in American Sniper. This was in my opinion Cooper's best performance today, and you could tell there was real heart and dedication in the role. Not only the physical preparation he did for this role (which is very impressive also), but the psychological training and the research he put in to try and represent Chris Kyle as well as he deserves. From what I have read about Chris Kyle, it seems to me that Cooper really played him well, and as well as the film aspect, I think Cooper represented more than just Hollywood in his performance; I think the way he portrayed Kyle when he was back home with PTSD was perfect. Cooper made the film far more than a film, he made it a lesson, to those who think war is a game, PTSD is a real problem in troops and everyone should not take them for granted. I really am pleased that Cooper played this part so well, and deservedly for me received his Oscar nomination, As well as Cooper, I felt Sienna Miller for her part was great, her emotion really made her seem like a real wife and mother concerned for her husband and kids, and it is pleasing that Eastwood managed to capture the complicated relationship Kyle and his wife perfectly.

 Eastwood unfortunately was not nominated for best director at the Oscars, which is a shame as I felt he really made this movie well and gave a great and respectful account of Chris Kyle. His great mixing of flashbacks certainly at the start to build a climax up was excellent and one of the greatest parts about the film. As well as the directing, I felt the scenes where Kyle was actually shooting the enemy was very well shot, especially when mixed with the sound focusing in and out along with his breath; this was certainly a well made film. Overall I think this is the way that war should be presented in films, not as cool explosions and actions, but real life tragedy and showing that war has terrible consequences, and it is certainly a great legacy to give to the people about Chris Kyle. I felt this was worth every one of it's Oscar nominations, including the coveted Best Picture, and a great representation of not just the physical but the psychological effects of war, a great film that I would recommend to all and I would rate it a solid 9/10.

Whiplash

For many, Whiplash was this years surprise package in the awards seasons, picking up several awards, mainly for J.K. Simmons excellent supporting performance as brutal yet passionate music instructor Fletcher, yet I felt there were many more dimensions to this excellent film. This film, a great reflection as what many would describe as today's cutthroat world of music. The film is not a fantasy, but a great representation of the brutal reality that success comes from hard work, as Andrew (Miles Teller), finds out from the harsh lessons taught to him by Fletcher (Simmons).


Despite many of the plaudits (and almost certainly an Oscar) going to J.K. Simmons for his brilliant portrayal of Fletcher, I feel that much like Channing Tatum in 'Foxcatcher', Miles Teller's captivating performance as the ambitious, hard-working Andrew, whose dream is to play the drums in the core band at the Lincoln Center (the world's most prestigious arts institution) is very much underrated. Teller's character is extremely complex, and explores a wide emotional range. The way his character develops throughout the film is inspiring, coming from an ambitious yet vulnerable victim to Fletcher's tormenting at the start, to a triumphant champion at the end having stood up to the bully that is Fletcher and his journey represents a true story that if you work hard enough and are dedicated, even put your mental and physical health on the line much like Andrew did, you will be successful. However of course the star really is J.K. Simmons, his portrayal of Fletcher really is one of the best of any of the films nominated for awards this year. If Teller's emotional range wasn't already enough, Simmons really poured almost every emotion into his performance which made Fletcher the standout character in the film, and has pretty much guaranteed Simmons an Academy Award. Despite Fletcher's sheer vindictiveness and brutality, the look on his face when he is playing the piano in the jazz bar and when he conducts his band go past the vicious outer shell, and allow the viewer to understand his character with full transparency. The abusive yet comedic element to Fletcher totally rounds his character perfectly, and Damian Chazelle's choice of J.K. Simmons makes perfect sense as he really did make this film utterly fantastic.


It wasn't just the acting for me that made this film great, the excellently filmed scenes where Andrew is playing the drums and Fletcher is conducting the band make for great cinema, with the camera flow truly excellent. As well as this, a music film can't be complete without a good soundtrack, and the jazz played throughout the film really made me want to get into jazz myself, so a very intelligent and provocative soundtrack. Overall, I felt that Whiplash was a truly powerful and excellent film, with outstanding acting, great camera work and on the whole for me it was a real 'fuck you' to the cheesy films about music, and a film I really recommend anyone to watch, a total 10/10.

Foxcatcher

Having read the story of Foxcatcher and the infamous John du Pont before watching the film, I was interested to see how Bennett Miller would retell this story of triumph and tragedy. My first thought was that despite the background context being important to immerse the viewer initially into the film, that Foxcatcher did take some time to really get going but once it did, I was drawn in by the complexity of the several relationships between the different characters in the film. Whilst it obviously being based on a true story, it is always interesting to see how a director adapts a story to portray as a film, and generally I think Miller nailed it. It appears to have been a very difficult story to adapt for film, with especially Steve Carrell and Mark Ruffalo (both deservedly Oscar nominated for their roles), having to really research their characters who are both deceased and put their own spin on two out of three integral characters in the film.

This film, despite it being a very good story, is really all about the actors for me. There is no denying that playing the role of the child-like, schizophrenic John du Pont is career changing performance for Steve Carrell. His ability to adapt from comedy actor to a real serious contender for this years Academy Award for best male actor for such an excellent performance is incredible. What really stood out for me was how I really felt Carrell was a psychopath, du Pont's twisted sick fantasy trying to fulfill his own childhood dream and to impress his mother who depraved him as a child. The standout scene was when the wrestlers chant his name and the sinister grin that appears on his face, he feels that fulfillment of his fantasy. To me he appeared like a cult leader, with his followers worshiping him like a god, and that for me is what made this film so good, as I was so captivated by Carrell's every syllable and movement, I didn't take my eyes of the screen or him for that matter. I felt Miller despite making Carrell the star also brought out the best in Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo. Tatum certainly gave the best performance of his career, and showed his clear dramatic range by portraying such an emotionally damaged character so perfectly, and despite many of the plaudits going to Ruffalo and Carrell, I feel Tatum was sadly unrecognized for a top drawer performance. Ruffalo was the final piece of the puzzle for me; he brought together all three characters perfectly, portraying the complex relationship between David (Tatum), Mark (Ruffalo) and du Pont (Carrell). Without him, the film would have perhaps not been as impressive, as despite Carrell's star-turn, a poorly acted David would have destroyed the excellent structure that the film has. Overall Bennett Miller nailed his casting for the three main characters who all brought out the best in each other, unfortunately for both Ruffalo and Carrell, it doesn't appear as if they will be taking home their Oscar gongs, but certainly a performance like this from Carrell can accelerate his dramatic career and I believe there will much more where that come from for him.


On the whole, I feel that this was definitely a good film, not totally amazing, which is why I wasn't surprised it failed to receive a nomination for the Best Picture Oscar. However, Bennett Miller directed this film excellently, and one aspect I found particularly strong bar the acting was the music, it all sounded very child-like, which perfectly represents not just du Pont's twisted life but also the complicated emotional relationship between Mark (Tatum) and du Pont.  I have already mentioned the acting which in my opinion was brilliant and really did make this film much more worthwhile to watch, and certainly made it hard to look away from the screen at times. I would definitely recommend this film to those who want to see a truly dark but brilliantly told story, and would give this film a solid rating of 8/10.

Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Today as the nominations for this years Academy Awards were announced, much of the buzz surrounded Birdman, the dramatic comedy which focuses on washed-up actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) and his bid to hit the big time again through writing, directing and starring in his own adaptation of a Raymond Carver play. As the film begins, the viewer is instantly thrown into confusion as to why Riggan is levitating, perhaps alluding to real superhuman powers that he may possess, maybe under the mask of the washed-up Birdman hero, there's a real superhero.


After this somewhat confusing opening scene, we see the first glimpse of Riggan's play, in which he becomes infuriated with one of the actors he has employed to work on his play, who is then mysteriously hit on the head and has to pull out the film. After this event, the film becomes to introduce it's fantastic ensemble of actors and actresses, including Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone and the always excellent Edward Norton. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu really nailed the casting for this film, as every actor seems to complement the other, the volatile chemistry between Riggan and Mike (Norton) make for great viewing, leading to several hilarious encounters between them as the film goes on. Despite the little we see of Galifianakis, his simple transition from total goof-ball comedy actor to a serious yet comedic character is very professional and gives a glimpse of his dramatic range. Emma Stone played Riggan's ex-drug-addict daughter, and the complicated relationship between her and her father really helps to enforce the significance of her growing romantic involvement with Norton's character Mike, whose character takes a change for the better as the film grows, from arrogant/ignorant actor to a mature performer who helps Sam (Stone) and Riggan grow with him as the film continues. So it came as no surprise to me that Keaton, Norton and Stone all received Oscar nods for their performances, but despite Keaton having strong competition from Eddie Redmayne for the best leading actor nod, my vote would go his way. Unfortunately it looks as if Norton will be beaten by the excellent J.K Simmons for Whiplash, but that is a fair result.
The one other aspect that makes this film so unique is the way it was shot. Birdman is possibly the best shot film I have ever watched; the way that the film appears as one long take, rather than clear scenes with obvious cuts. The cinematography is perfection, and the way the film appearing to be one long take gives greater focus on the actors, with the background often blurred out as the camera follows the character's movements, especially around the backstage of the theatre. It is great camera work that ultimately, despite stiff competition, should win the Oscar for best cinematography, and it would be a great surprise if it didn't win.

Overall, Birdman is a beautifully made film, the camera work, and without the doubt the constant sound of drumming that almost feels like it is following Riggan around is wonderfully mixed into the film. The acting is fantastic, with Keaton really coming into his own playing a role that he described as "more dissimilar to myself than any character I have played", he captured Riggan's damaged psyche perfectly, and his confrontations with Sam and his Jekyll and Hyde like alter-ego Birdman almost make Keaton himself seem insane. Norton, Stone and Galifianakis all give tremendous supporting performances for one of the best ensembles of the year, close to matching Wes Anderson's 'Grand Budapest Hotel', which of course Norton also starred in. Birdman is a fantastic film and totally deserves it's 9 Academy Award nominations, and it will be interesting to see how many Oscars it actually wins, as it faces stiff competition, but I would rate this film a total 10/10, and would recommend to any to watch this film when they get the chance.