"The 88th Annual Academy Awards" - My Predictions

 

Another year has passed, as we join Hollywood's finest for the 88th Annual Academy Awards. With a good mix of nominations this year, I am sure that everything will be all white, I mean alright.
As always there will be the nominee who I think will Win, and the one I would like to see Win, as sometimes they are not always the same.

Best Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen.

Alas I have only seen two of the nominees in this Category so I have to plump for a Win for "Spotlight". It would be nice to see "Bridge of Spies" also triumph.

Best Sreenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. 

It pains me to say but I think that Charles Randolph and Adam McKay will triumph for "The Big Short". I would love to see Nick Hornby win for "Brooklyn" or Emma Donoghue for "Room". In fact any of the nominees other than "The Big Short"

Best Actor In A Supporting Role.

If there is to be any upset, then for me this could be the category to do it. There are a host of reasons why any of the five nominees could bag The Oscar. But when it comes down to it, for me it has to be Sylvester Stallone who I hope gets it, and I think he will. Though he better keep an eye out for Tom Hardy in "The Revenant", as I think he could be his biggest competition on the night, but Stallone does give an excellent performance, and also his career as a whole will stand him in good favour. 

Best Actress In A Supporting Role

Likewise there could be a surprise with Best Actress in a Supporting Role, but I believe and want to see Alicia Vikander win for her brilliant work on "The Danish Girl". But again, any of the other nominees could be successful

Best Actor In A Leading Role

Surely this has to be one Academy Awards that is pretty much set in stone. Mr. DiCaprio has been acting in movies for some 25 years, in a variety of roles. I still believe that he should have won for his first nomination for his remarkable work on "What's Eating Gilbert Grape".
But having moved on from "Titanic", he has become of the most respected Actors in the industry, and like so many others, I think he iis long overdue to get the Oscar he so richly deserves.






Best Actress In A Leading Role

And despite a lot of hoo haa about will it be another win for Cate Blanchett, for me it has to be Brie Larson. She is quite amazing in "Room", and I feel she will get a well deserved Academy Award






Best Director

Despite having won last year for "Birdman", it looks likely that a Mexican will for the third year in a row take home the Oscar for Directing, with Alfonso Cuaron winning said Award in 2014 for "Gravity",

You may think that it is rare for a Director to take home back to back Oscars but it has happened on two previous occasions, with Joseph Mankiewicz winning in 1949 & 1950, and with John Ford winning in 1940 & 1941.

It will be a huge triumph for his film making skills and the brilliance that is "The Revenant"


Best Picture

Now, this could be the real upset of the night. So, if you are going to rock the boat, then why not save it for Best Picture.
It happened last year with many championing "Boyhood" but thankfully common sense prevailed and "Birdman" took home the top prize.

I am hoping for some similar upset this year. It seems that there are many saying that "The Revenant" will rightly sweep the board. However..........

The Producers Guild of America award the Best Picture Award each year, and for the last nine years whom ever they have voted as Top Picture, the said movie has also gone on to win the same award at The Oscars. This includes last year when they gave "Birdman" Best Picture. So seeing as the PGA gave Best Picture to "The Big Short", does this not bode well for "The Revenant"????

For me there is no competition, I have already gone on record to say that I don't even think that "The Big Short" should be even in contention for Best Picture, along with "The Martian" and most especially "Mad Max: Fury Road". You often see lists years down the line, of films that should not have won Best Picture, and rest assured should "The Big Short" triumph tonight, then it certainly be added to any such list.
"The Revenant" has all the qualities of a great and worthy Best Picture winner. And I am going to put my money, literally on "The Revanant" winning the final Award of the night.

So there you have it, hopefully three main prizes going to "The Revenant", and best of luck to host Chris Rock, who I am sure will have tongues wagging in the media tomorrow morning.

PS - Best of luck to Brit Sam Smith who will hopefully triumph for 'Writings On The Wall' for Best Song from "Spectre"

2015 - "This Year In Film"

Hard to believe folks, but another year has gone by. It does not seem five minutes since I was doing the Annual Review for 2014, and near here I am doing the same for 2015.

So, what kind of year has it been?

Well, what never ceases to amaze me is that I have two Cinemas virtually on the doorstep, I have an Unlimited Cineworld Card, which saves me an absolute fortune, and yet I go to the Cinema now less than I did say ten years ago. Could standards really have dropped? It does make you think....

Anyways, back to the job at hand. It has to be said it has been another poor year on the whole, with just the odd movie here and there to get excited about.
Biopics were the big in-thing at the start of the year with great films like "The Theory of Everything", "Unbroken", "Foxcatcher" and "American Sniper".
2015 proved to be the year of the return, seeing Ethan Hunt back in a new "Mission Impossible", 007 returned with "Spectre",  he said he would be back, and sure enough Arnold Schwarzenegger came back as the Terminator, though not with any where near as much greatness as the first two films in the series, Dinosaurs roamed once more in "Jurassic World",  and we also saw some friends return from a galaxy far, far away....

Here is a selection of films which I have classed under the banner of - "Worst Film of The Year"

I know that this will be a controversial choice, given one of my included films, but there you go.

The 'Yes I can Really Act Award' goes to.....         

Channing Tatum for his great performance
at the start of the year in "Foxcatcher"

 As we welcomed back a lot of old friends, the award for "Film Best Welcomed with Open Arms' goes to...

The 'Most Promising Talent Award' goes to...

Miles Teller for his amazing performance in 

"Whiplash"

For Best Performance by an Actor, the Award is

Shared by.............................

Eddie Redmayne for his beautiful performance as
Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything"    

And for J. K. Simmons for his amazing work

as the music tutor from hell, in "Whiplash"                                                  

And in yet another dire year for great roles for

actresses, the 'Best Performance by an Actress'

goes to..............

Kate Winslet for "The Dressmaker"

 Last but not least, we come to Best Picture, and that is an easy choice, and one which we go back to the beginning of the year, the award for 'Best Picture' goes to..................