The 87th Annual Academy Awards: My Oscar Predictions

The Oscars are back this Sunday! And I have still not done my predictions? Boy, I'm behind. As a note, I've seen very few if any of these nominees (so is the nature of the beast), but no matter! I've managed to guess correctly 13 out of 24 winners for two years straight without seeing hardly anything that was nominated so it's worked for me so far. So without further ado, here are my predictions for the 87th Annual Academy Awards!

BEST WRITING--ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler

Boyhood doesn't have a chance in this field. Too many have criticized it for its lack of focus and story. It really comes down between the sharp satire of Birdman and the critical acclaim of Nightcrawler. I'm gonna go with Nightcrawler simply because when that film received much acclaim, critics and audiences zeroed in on Gyllenhall and the script as the biggest components that made the movie great.

BEST WRITING--ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST 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

Like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a new breakthrough in the world of motion-capture technology. If Towers can win for Gollum, Apes will win for Caesar and Koba and all the other virtual apes.

BEST SOUND MIXING
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST SOUND EDITING
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak)
Parvaneh
The Phone Call

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Everything Is Awesome" from The Lego Movie (Shawn Patterson)
"Glory" from Selma (John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn)
"Grateful" from Beyond the Lights (Diane Warren)
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" from Glen Campbell...I'll Be Me (Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond)
"Lost Stars" from Begin Again (Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois)

It's a mostly good year for music this year. However, the black sheep in this Oscar race is "Grateful," which not only pales in comparison with the rest of the nominees, but in any other situation would be little more than white noise on the radio. It's unexceptional, unmemorable, and unfairly took a spot for a far better song like "Mercy Is" from Noah or, if it was eligible, "The Hanging Tree" from Mockingjay--Part 1. However, life goes on and we stick with what we have. "Everything Is Awesome," while being an earworm, is just not as good as the other three nominees. So now we're between a gospel song about civil rights, Glen Campbell's last song about being unafraid of death, and an moving Adam Levine song. My personal favorite is "Lost Stars," and if it wins, I'll be glad. Though if we're being realistic, "Glory" is gonna go home with the gold since it really is more powerful. (Watch it be "Lost Stars.")

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Alexandre Desplat
The Imitation Game, Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar, Hans Zimmer
Mr. Turner, Gary Hershon
The Theory of Everything, Johann Johannsson

It's a tight race between Theory and Interstellar, as both are very characteristic for their respective films while also being strong on their own. Theory is beautiful and sweeping, fitting for the love affair between Stephen and Jane Hawking, but I think Interstellar is going to edge it out because the music was so much a part of the film, with Nolan strategically using it at certain points. From what I hear, the music was a character in Interstellar. And then of course, there's the celestial organ in the score, so, yeah, Interstellar for the win!

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

I'm not chic at makeup or hairstyling, but my lord is it close this year with each film completely transforming its actors with this art. Grand Budapest made Tilda Swinton unrecognizable, Guardians of the Galaxy flawlessly designed its actors into their characters, and Foxcatcher made Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo unrecognizable. I'm still struggling to bridge Carell with his appearance as du Pont. Hotel's purpose for M/H seems to be for comedy, Galaxy's for immersion, and Foxcatcher's for separating preconceived notions of the actors to allow us to see these characters as characters rather than actors. For that reason, I'm gonna predict Foxcatcher, but man, is it an honor to be nominated this year. Kudos to all these guys.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
Wild Tales (Argentina)

BEST FILM EDITING
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya

For the second year in a row, I've seen none of these films. Based off what I know and see, the Japanese Kaguya seems to be a culturally important film, as well as moving, beautiful, and universally appealing. Big Hero 6 isn't being hyped nearly enough for a Disney film in Oscar season, and The Boxtrolls looked unappealing all around. Song of the Sea isn't well-known as well as it should be at this point, and I just have a feeling Kaguya, with all it has going for it, will edge out over Dragon.

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

From what I've read and heard, it was the year of performances. Steve Carell was unrecognizable in every way, Bradley Cooper was great as Chris Kyle, Benedict Cumberbatch toned down his Sherlockism to portray Alan Turing the Genius as a relatable, reserved individual, Michael Keaton was Birdman, and Eddie Redmayne transformed himself to be Stephen Hawking. As much of the great praise I've heard for Keaton and Cumberbatch, and even though I thought he was one of the weakest parts of Les Miserables, Eddie Redmayne is the one I think the Academy is going to award for entirely being Stephen Hawking and realistically portraying his descent into ALS.

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

As if there was a question, Richard Linklater will win solely because of the ambition of Boyhood. Managing to succeed in the task of filming over the course of 12 years and then make that something cohesive puts him ahead of any of the other directors, even Inarritu who made a more stylistic film in Birdman.

BEST PICTURE
American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Unliike past years, there is really no clear cut winner. Even after my formula that's worked the past two years, I'm still unsure. Regardless, I think Whiplash will come out on top. American Sniper was too unexpected to even be considered as a contender, though Cooper's nomination as well as those of Last Days of Vietnam and Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 could point to a military takeover in terms of wins. The Theory of Everything, despite boasting strong performances, was considered too trite and not setting itself apart from other biopics. The Imitation Game, while critically lauded across the board, isn't what too many critics are going to for their number 1 pick. While The Grand Budapest Hotel may be the dark horse of the evening, the big four are undeniably Selma, Boyhood, Birdman, and Whiplash. Selma wasn't recognized nearly enough in the other categories to be the winner, and Boyhood was derided by too many for its lack of structure despite its ambition. Boyhood's ambition will be recognized in its directing win, so it doesn't need Best Picture, making it a bloody battle between Birdman and Whiplash. While Birdman was stylistically more impressive than Whiplash, Whiplash has been most consistent in terms of audience and critical response. Argo and 12 Years a Slave were the same way. And they won Best Picture. Whiplash, whether you're dragging or rushing, the prize is yours.

Well, that was exhausting to make. I'm still disappointed that Life Itself wasn't nominated for Best Documentary--biggest snub this year, in my opinion--but life goes on...like life itself. Snubs aside, it should be a most enjoyable evening with Neil Patrick Harris as host, which means musical numbers at the start. Of course, people will complain about who wins and loses, and John Travolta will mispronounce names, but no matter! This is my Super Bowl and I will watch this ceremony to the bitter end; I just hope I get more than 13 of these right. Who do you think's gonna win? Whatever you think about me or the movies, comment below!

MOVIE REVIEW: Life Itself

Roger Ebert was considered one of the greats, and is considered by many to be the greatest film critic to ever live and an example to aspire to (I'll include myself in that group!). His reviews were often entertaining and always showed a thorough understanding and a love of film as entertainment and as art. Roger Ebert is the man I look towards as I write these reviews and whatnot. Through him countless people and film fans were introduced to some of the greatest films of all time and then some. His writings were exceptional, his civil rights advocacy in the film community and abroad was admirable, and now his life is memorialized in Steve James's documentary, Life Itself, inspired by Ebert's memoir of the same name.

Rated R for brief sexual images/nudity and language

The film explores different times of Ebert's life: his early upbringing, his work with sexploitation director Russ Meyer, his marriage to Chaz, his time with Gene Siskel, and ultimately his final days. During exposition (which is often), we hear the voice of Roger reading excerpts from his memoir. In reality, it's a voice artist who is doing an Ebert impression, but it sounds so like him that it's like hearing Roger's lost voice giving his audience some last words. The documentary is moving in many regards. For those who had followed him since he and Siskel began "At the Movies" or "Sneak Previews," or those who only recently began reading his reviews of past movies, seeing him live his final months won't be a cheery experience. At the same time, many parts made me laugh.

But the film's greatest strength and beauty is its pathos. Above all things, Life Itself is a story of love and redemption: the story of how two alcoholics could break the addiction and find love so close, the story of how a man loved the movies, the story of two colleagues as close as brothers, the story of how two film critics brought filmmaker Martin Scorsese to keep going through hard times because he got loving, constructive criticism for that which he loved. It's a beautiful film no matter what you thought of Roger because there's so much more to it. Roger Ebert is painted as an imperfect man, a man who has gone through terrible times, one who has dealt in vanity--many of the interviewees bring forward Roger's faults--but a good man nonetheless. But that's just life itself, and through Roger's story we can see this.

It's informative but not overbearing. It's personal but not exclusive. It's favorable, but not untrue. It deals with life and death, but it's not depressing. The film shows us that life is more than what we like and dislike (say, movies), but every facet of our existence: love, family, friends, death, disease, and the little things, too. The archive footage between Siskel and Ebert bantering is delightfully hilarious as they ever were, Martin Scorsese's stories of Roger are surprising and shows the impact one man can make, and Chaz talking about her relationship with Roger reveals a side of Roger many people didn't know.

Director Steve James directed Roger's favorite film of the last decade, Hoop Dreams, and Roger was one of the most vocal people decrying that film's snub at the Oscars. Unfortunately, the trend continues as this film was one of the most evident snubs at this year's Academy Awards. It's an outrage that this film wasn't nominated, but alas the film still is fantastic. CNN has been showing it (that's how I saw it) and the DVD/Blu-Ray was recently released so if you get a chance, please see this movie. It may just be the best of the year. As for scoring, there's nothing more fitting that I can give it than:

Two Thumbs Up!

Roger Ebert: RIP 1942-2013