Oscar Predictions

We've had a good run at seeing most of the contenders for best picture but I feel more invested in the live and animated shorts and foreign language categories. Some of this is because I've seen more of the nominees but also because the storytelling is on another level in these categories. Movie making does not seem to improve within the Hollywood system and the diversity in these categories counteracts the #OscarsSoWhite. Here are my picks for the 2016 #WhiteOscars. I'll update this post with the results.

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn (haven't seen it)

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant (haven't seen it)

Room -Winner

Spotlight

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ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo (haven't seen it)

Matt Damon, The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant (haven't seen it) - Winner

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs (haven't seen it)

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

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ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room - Winner

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy (haven't seen it)

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years (haven't seen it)

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn (haven't seen it)

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ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale, The Big Short

Tom Hardy, The Revenant (haven't seen it)

Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies -Winner

Sylvester Stallone, Creed (haven't seen it)

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ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight (haven't seen it)

Rooney Mara, Carol

Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl - Winner

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs (haven't seen it)

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ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Anomalisa (haven't seen it)

Boy and the World  (haven't seen it)

Inside Out - Winner

Shaun the Sheep Movie (haven't seen it)

When Marnie Was There (haven't seen it)

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CINEMATOGRAPHY

Carol

The Hateful Eight  (haven't seen it)

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant  (haven't seen it) - Winner

Sicario  (haven't seen it)
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COSTUME DESIGN

Carol

Cinderella  (haven't seen it)

The Danish Girl

Mad Max: Fury Road - Winner

The Revenant (haven't seen it)

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DIRECTING

The Big Short

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant  (haven't seen it)

Room - Winner

Spotlight

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DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

Amy - Not the Winner

Cartel Land  (haven't seen it)

The Look of Silence  (haven't seen it)

What Happened, Miss Simone? (haven't seen it)

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (haven't seen it) - Winner?

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DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)

Body Team 12  (haven't seen it)

Chau, beyond the Lines (haven't seen it)

Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah (haven't seen it)

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (haven't seen it) Winner? 
Last Day of Freedom (haven't seen it)

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FILM EDITING

The Big Short - Winner

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant  (haven't seen it)

Spotlight

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Embrace of the Serpent  (haven't seen it)

Mustang - Winner!

Son of Saul  (haven't seen it)

Theeb

A War (haven't seen it)

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MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Mad Max: Fury Road

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared - Winner

The Revenant (haven't seen it)

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MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Bridge of Spies  (haven't seen it)

Carol

The Hateful Eight (haven't seen it) Winner

Sicario (haven't seen it)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

“Earned It,” Fifty Shades of Grey

“Manta Ray,” Racing Extinction  (haven't seen it)

“Simple Song #3,” Youth (haven't seen it)

“Til It Happens To You,” The Hunting Ground (haven't seen it) Winner?

“Writing’s On The Wall,” Spectre (haven't seen it)

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PRODUCTION DESIGN

Bridge of Spies 

The Danish Girl - Winner

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant (haven't seen it)

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SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Bear Story

Prologue

Sanjay’s Super Team

We Can’t Live without Cosmos

World of Tomorrow - Winner!!!! I love this movie.

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SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

Ave Maria

Day One

Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut) Winner! I think about this movie almost everyday

Shok

Stutterer

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SOUND EDITING

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant (haven't seen it)

Sicario (haven't seen it)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Winner
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SOUND MIXING

Bridge of Spies  (haven't seen it)

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant (haven't seen it)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Winner

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VISUAL EFFECTS

Ex Machina  (haven't seen it)

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant (haven't seen it) Winner

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

The Big Short

Brooklyn  (haven't seen it)

Carol

The Martian

Room - Winner

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WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

Bridge of Spies 

Ex Machina (haven't seen it)

Inside Out - Winner, sure why not?

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton (haven't seen it)

2016 Oscar Nominated Shorts: Live Action

Movie: 2016 Oscar Nominated Shorts: Live Action
When: 7:15 PM, Friday, January 29
Who With: JL, KB, NB, KP, MF, JM
YTD Movie Count: 10!
Snacks: Taco Sano, pop and popcorn bowl 

Reaction: So this is where we’re hiding all the minorities! #WhiteOscars redeems itself with plenty of international representation in this category. I think every human emotion was also represented. Good lord, these filmmakers do a lot very quickly. The whole theater was completely invested with loud exhaling, exhausted laughter after some of the more intense films. Here’s the order we saw them and a quick reaction: 

Ave Maria, Palestine/France/Germany: One of the more lighthearted ones, although still dealing with Arab/Jewish divides and family dynamics.
Shok (Friend), Kosovo/United Kingdom: Heart breaker. A bike in the middle of the road triggers a memory of friendship during the War. Based on real events, we remember life is hard, but harder for some more than others.
Stutter, UK/Ireland: Oh, you need a little relief? Here’s a sweet story about a nice guy with a stutter, learning sign language as strategy to get through the day and pursuing an online relationship to help get through life. What will happen when they meet IRL? Just lovely.
Alles Wird Gut (Everything Will Be Okay), Germany/Austria: No it won’t. Not if you park your car like that. In my mind, it’s between Shok and this one for the Oscar win. This is my pick. The young actress, Julia Pointner, and her furrowed brow are everything. Remember that kid-feeling of not having a say and not being in control and stuff not being fair? Ugh, this movie.
Day One, USA: A translator’s first day of her first job alongside a US Army Unit. Apparently also based of real events, this feels artificially heightened and sanctimonious for my taste. After talking this one over with the group at Flipper’s I realized I was just manipulated to an extreme that was kind of unnecessary. The director having been in the military fills up this mo

vie and spills over into something maybe akin to what soldiers feel when they have to readjust to civilian life. I’m not used to these scenarios and they seem unbelievable. Plus, this translator is so beautiful I’m sure she is good at everything and can’t feel pain.

Be sure to leave time to digest these with your group afterward. Our experience was that wherever the conversation meandered, it always veered toward the depressing.

Recommendation: Let’s Go! | Let it come to you | Let it pass

Next Up: Maybe the Animated Shorts tonight or Planetary tomorrow. Stay tuned for my first month in review post!