The Revenant, 20th Century Fox (2015).
This year's nominations have been difficult to predict. Between the "Oscars So White" controversy and the polarized array of genre driven films, The 88th Academy Awards will either be an interesting or an overwhelmingly boring ride. Below are my predictions for every category.
Best Picture- THE REVENANT
This revenge film is a safe pick for Best Picture as it possesses both critical acclaim and box office success.
Potential Upset: The Big Short - Winning several top notch awards including the PGA's Outstanding Producer accolade makes this film a threatening candidate for a dark horse triumph.
Who I Want to Win: Mad Max: Fury Road - Miller and company did an excellent job of bringing this fantastical cult hit to life.
Painful Snubs: It's still beyond me that Suffragette, Straight Outta Compton and Carol were absent from Best Picture consideration.
Best Director- Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu
Iñárritu (The Revenant) could most definitely take home his second Oscar after winning Best Director for Birdman last year.
Potential Upset: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road. The Academy secretly loves Miller and his perseverance as an artist.
Who I Want To Win: George Miller. Miller's unconventional genius and distinct style deserves recognition one day.
Painful Snubs: Ridley Scott (The Martian), Suffragette (Sarah Garvon), Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight), and Todd Haynes (Carol).
Best Actor- Leonardo DiCAprio
DiCaprio's gristly embodiment of Glass in the The Revenant will most likely earn Leo his very first Oscar!
Potential Upset: Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs). Fassbender delivers Steve Job's pulsating energy with a riveting performance that carried the film and it's various holes in story.
Who I Want to Win: Give Leo an Oscar already.
Painful Snubs: Michael B. Jordan (Creed), Johnny Depp (Black Mass), Will Smith (Concussion).
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR- SYLVESTER STALLONE
A clear favorite here! 39 years later Stallone plays the heroic film icon Rocky better than ever—showing his softer, vulnerable side as he fights new battles of survival.
Potential Upset: Tom Hardy (The Revenant). Hardy is a walking metaphor for manic savagery.
Who I Want to Win: Christian Bale (The Big Short). Bale's layered portrayal as Michael Burry captured not only an eccentric persona of a real life man but also personified the foreboding intensity of the market's looming crash.
Painful Snubs: Idris Elba (Beast of No Nation), Steve Carell (The Big Short).
Best Actress- Brie Larson
Room is an important film regarding the psychological repercussions of abuse at the highest level and Larson's performance brings this important issue into the spotlight. Her depiction of a deeply hurt victim, courageous survivor, and loving mother gave viewers permanent goosebumps.
Potential Upset: Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn). Ronan does an excellent job captivating a gamut of emotions including homesickness, romance, and freedom.
Who I Want to Win: Jennifer Lawrence, Joy. Lawrence is a natural talent and I don’t care if she’s America’s sweetheart. She delivered another incredible performance—capturing the passion and persistence of a real life person that should inspire all women to pursue their dreams.
Painful Snubs: Helen Mirren (Trumbo). Cate Blanchett (Carol). Yes, Blanchett was’t snubbed a nomination but she will be snubbed an Oscar and not because her performance isn't worthy. Blanchett will be automatically overlooked because she won two years ago for Blue Jasmine and the Academy failed to nominate Carol for Best Picture.
Best Supporting Actress-KATE WINSLET
Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) did an excellent job mastering a difficult accent and playing opposite and against Fassbender's erratic and often robotic facade.
Potential Upset: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl). I think we can all agree, Vikander did a beautiful job but she should have been nominated for Ex-Machina.
Who I Want to Win: Rooney Mara (Carol). This is Mara’s best performance to date and it deserves the Oscar. Her transformation of character was not only well crafted but the way she captured Therese’s subtle intrigue with looks and movements engrossed in subtext is not easy stuff.
Painful Snubs: Tessa Thompson (Creed), Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)
BEST ORGINAL SCREENPLAY - SPOtLIGHT, Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy
Spotlight will win because of it's well constructed dramatic arc and ability to showcase an ensemble cast with organization and poise.
Potential Upset: Straight Outta Compton, Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff. This was an incredibly creative story that carefully wove together elements of drama, history, and romance with balance and bite.
Who I Want to Win: Straight Outta Compton, Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff. #OscarsSoWhite.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY- The Big Short, Charles Randolph, Adam McKay
Randolph and McKay diffuse the density of Michael Lewis’ book with cinematic prowess.
Potential Upset: The Martian (Drew Goddard). Sometimes it can be a huge challenge to make an already entertaining book into a movie. It’s even harder to translate written prose describing the character’s inner thoughts into dialogue or a visual metaphor. Goddard gracefully accomplished this and more.
Who I Want to Win: Carol (Phyllis Nagy). Nagy’s beautiful adaption of Patricia’s Highsmith’s The Price of Salt propelled a literary gem into a visual word of film without compromising the story’s emotional arc. The dialogue and it’s poignant subtext is every screenwriter’s dream.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - The Revenant, Emmanuel Lubezki
Lubezki’s dynamic camera work and focus on the macro made The Revenant’s diegetic world possible and enhanced the story’s epic nature.
Potential Upset: John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road). While Mad Max relies heavy on special effects, the careful construction of Seale's cinematography should not go unrecognized. He creates a saturated post-apocalyptic tone in which he unifies with a distinct color palette that feels unique only to the world of Mad Max.
Who I Want to Win: Ed Lachman (Carol). Each of Lachman’s frames are carefully composed to not only reflect the “look and feel” of New York in the 1950’s but also to personify the emotive arc of a forbidden love story. The role of the camera and the “gaze” is also an integral element of the story and Lachman was able to communicate this metaphor without being too pretentious.
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE- The Hateful EighT, Ennio Morricone
It’s Morricone’s year. He’s 87, written over 400 scores, has been nominated 6 times, and deserves an honorary award for his prolific career. His score for The Hateful Eight achieves cinematic bliss—straying from boring tropes and thematic traps.
Potential Upset: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, John Williams. With 50 nominations under this belt, Williams has set the bar for action packed film scoring. Everything he touches is often gold.
Who I Want To Win: The Hateful Eight. Morricone should win this one but if he wasn’t 87 and near retiring, I would want Carter Burwell (Carol) to win. This is Burwell’s first nomination and his emphatic score for Carol is enchanting with lush layers of instrumentation. Burwell is also known for his work with the Coen Brothers.