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| Courtesy: The Oscars |
It’s that time of the year again! (Ah! It
feels great to come out of my self-imposed hibernation after almost two years, by beginning the post
with a cliché). I am very jaded, and this post will probably make you cringe. So
I apologize and thank you in advance for putting up with this post.
The Oscars are around the corner, so
now might be the perfect time to reflect upon some of the best movies and some
of the best performances in the past year. When the nominations were announced
on 15th of January, the members of the Academy received criticism
because of the lack of diversity in the nominations – not a single Black
actor/actress was nominated in the main acting categories. This is the third
instance in the past 20 years where no Black actor has been nominated in the
four main acting categories – 1995 and 2011 were the other two instances when
all the nominees were White actors. Nevertheless, throughout the awards season,
many favorites have emerged but there are bound to be a few surprises when the
awards are announced on Sunday.
The
87th Academy Awards will take place on Feb 22, 2015 at the Dolby
Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Neil Patrick Harris aka Barney wait-for-it Stinson
will be hosting the awards for the first time, this year. Last year’s show,
hosted by the super-hilarious Ellen DeGeneres, is famous for that iconic Oscar
Selfie. NPH being equally talented and funny, we can surely expect some
memorable moments when he hosts the awards this year.
Except
one; I have watched all the movies nominated for Best Picture, this year. After
watching each nominated movie, I review them in a series of tweets that nobody
bothers to read. So, I decided it was a great idea to coalesce all those
mundane tweets, and post them here - where no soul has stepped foot in almost
two years. Genius, I say!
I initially intended to embed the tweets to this post, but that proved to be
logistically infeasible. Hence I have posted only the screenshots. Please click
on the name of each movie to read the complete review.
So,
along with my tweet reviews, here are my predictions for the Oscars 2015:
Movie: Boyhood
Nominated
For: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting
Actress, and Best Original Screenplay.
My
Prediction: 3 Wins - Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress
Although
I loved Boyhood, it is not my favorite movie of the year. But it is the
best-reviewed movie of the year, appears No. 1 on more critics’ annual
“Best-of” lists in 2014 than any other movie, and in all probability, will go
on to win Best Picture. Director Richard Linklater is tipped to win Best Director
and he most probably will. The race for the Best Supporting Actress is between
Patricia Arquette and Meryl Streep for Into the Woods – Patricia is tipped to
win this race. In the Supporting Actor category, Ethan Hawke will probably lose
out again, this time to the outstanding J.K. Simmons for Whiplash.
Movie: The Theory of Everything
Nominated For: Best
Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original
Score.
My Prediction: 1 Win - Best
Actor
The
race for the Best Actor award is between Eddie Redmayne and Michael Keaton for
Birdman. Redmayne has pretty much swept all the awards in that category, this
season. So unless there is an upset, I expect him to take home the coveted Best
Actor award for The Theory of Everything, this Sunday.
Movie: Still Alice
Nominated
For: Best Actress
My
Prediction: 1 Win – Best Actress
Julianne
Moore has received widespread critical acclaim for her outstanding portrayal of
a patient with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She has pretty much swept all
the awards this season, and she’s going to win big at the Oscars too.
Movie: Whiplash
Nominated
For: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay
My
Prediction: 1 Win – Best Supporting Actor
Whiplash,
in my opinion, is the best movie of the year. It deserves to win Best Picture,
but it won’t. On the other hand, J.K. Simmons will go on to win Best Supporting
Actor.
Movie: Selma
Nominated For: Best Picture
and Best Original Song
My
Prediction: 1 Win – Best Original Song
Selma
was unfairly snubbed for Best Direction, and in the two main Acting categories.
It is however a favorite to fetch an Oscar for both John Legend and Common for
their song, “Glory.”
Movie: Birdman
Nominated
For: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best
Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound
Editing, Best Sound Mixing.
My
Prediction: Will win the technical awards but may lose out on the main ones.
Technically,
this movie is brilliant. I especially expect it to win for Best Cinematography.
But the main race is for the Best Director and Actor awards. Alejandro González
Iñárritu’s direction is excellent; he deserves to win Best Director, but will
probably lose this race to Richard Linklater. But I wouldn’t be surprised if
Iñárritu wins it though. There’s probably a much closer race for Best Actor
between Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne. And here too, Redmayne will probably
pip Keaton. Edward Norton was fantastic in this movie, even overshadowing
Keaton for the most part, but he too will lose out on the Best Supporting Actor
trophy to J.K. Simmons.
Movie: The Imitation Game
Nominated
For: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and
other technical awards.
My Prediction: No Wins.
Benedict Cumberbatch acted
his heart out in this insipid movie, but he is not tipped to win Best Actor.
The movie might still win one or two awards in the technical category, but I am
not expecting much.
Movie: American Sniper
Nominated
For: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and other technical
awards.
My
Prediction: No Wins.
Considering
the track records of the legendary director Clint Eastwood and the movie’s lead
actor Bradley Cooper, American Sniper was always going to be nominated big.
Also, it may go on to become the highest grosser at the domestic box office for
the year 2014. But I don’t see Sniper winning any major awards.
Movie: Gone Girl
Nominated For: Best Actress
My Prediction: No Wins.
Rosamund
Pike was absolutely brilliant in Gone Girl, deserves her nomination. The movie
should have also been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, as it had won several
awards in that category in various award functions, but it failed to get an
Oscar nod.
Note:
This obviously is not the most comprehensive post about the topic as I am yet
to watch a couple of other nominated movies, and so my opinions are based solely
on the movies I have watched so far.
Come
Sunday, there will be the usual glitz and glamour associated with the Oscars with
the who’s who of the entertainment industry assembled at the Dolby Theatre in
Hollywood. There will be some amazing performances, many memorable moments, some
heartbreaks, but mostly joy for the big winners of the night.
So,
see you at the Oscars!
Hey! Really nicely put together piece. I read your tweets. I like the way you have brought everything in one place. You are good at movie reviews! To critique a film well in so few words - quite a skill that!
ReplyDeleteoh and I also smiled at some of those self depreciating lines. Humorous! 😊
Thanks for all the kind words, Ma'am. :)
DeleteThose self-deprecating lines are mostly true though. Nice to know they made you smile.
And after two years, you are the first to comment again. Some things don't change, I guess. :)
First of all, welcome back. Nice to see some action here. (y)
ReplyDeleteYou're a brave kid to do a post like this. I've seen almost no movies this time and probably won't be able to watch the Oscars, as well. Last year, I retweeted that celebrity groupie. :)
What? Meryl Streep -- not this year?
Aksh-- lovely writing as always. And Grrreat Job on the reviews.
Have fun at the Oscars!! ;)
Thank you so much Dee for egging me on to blog again. :)
DeleteI follow the ritual of watching (almost) every Oscar-nominated movie before the actual awards, this is the first time I decided to blog about it. I only caught some part of the awards this morning, I'll be watching it on prime time tonight. But it seems like Patricia has in fact beaten Meryl. And almost all my predictions have come true, so far.
And I really appreciate your kind words about the post, as always. :)
Now that is a gritty compilation where you have resuscitated life in your tweets. I must admit, it is an industrious commentary. I'd not be so sure about the 'Gone Girl' though, not that I have seen the movie —you've got to give a few points to hypocrisy. Other than that, you have raked up some dirty laundry here referring to the preference of whites over blacks.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for those wonderful words, Mr. Pandey. :)
DeleteMy tweet reviews are mostly spontaneous reactions right after I have watched a movie, but I do get what you mean about 'Gone Girl' though. The race issue is so relevant and important even today, so I was very surprised when a movie like 'Selma' wasn't nominated in the main acting categories.
Great analysis. Unfortunately I have not seen any of these.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Sir. Some of them are really good, I especially recommend Whiplash. :)
DeletePure Genius indeed! I'm not much of a new movie type, tending to let them mature over the years before I get around to conquering my, uh, laziness, yes, that's what it is, I do believe.
ReplyDeleteGood one! Thanks for reading my review of the show.
Thanks a lot Ajesh, would love to read more from you. :)
DeleteWelcome back dear. The compilation is very good. Hope to read more posts written by you :)
ReplyDeleteAwww! Thanks a lot, dear Ranjana. I will strive to write more often. :)
DeleteWelcome back and I must say U R BACK with a BANggggg
ReplyDeleteThanks a bunch, Ananya. Appreciate it. :)
DeleteHello friend, I am so happy to know about these Oscar 2015 predictions. Yeah Oscar award show was really an amazing event and incredibly organized at one of the biggest Hollywood venues. Keep sharing more information on Oscar awards!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Deleteso new post yet ? 2016 !
ReplyDeleteI am writing everyday, but only for myself. Will blog again (someday)! :D
Delete