Academy Awards 2017 Results

So here we are again dear reader, here as we approach the end of all things. As is my idiom I have made a faint gesture to catch as many of the nominees as possible, but haven’t mustered the effort to craft full reviews for all of the films. This is mostly due to a paralysing inertia concerning some of the films qualities, or lack thereof, and a slowly diminishing Scorsese sized mountain to climb plus a Leone lensed  masterpiece that I managed to see at the BFI this weekend. On to the nominees Lion was quite effective and powerful, mostly it emotionally gripped me, but it is quite manipulative and hamstrung with some terribly underwritten characters. Jackie was quite the oddity, I’ve read some conflicting reports but I quite liked it, it is one part history lesson and a glimpse of the ‘Camelot’ White House which can’t help resonate differently in 2017, while Portman’s poised performance was quite different from the style that actresses seem to craft these days. On the negative side Hacksaw Ridge was predictably horrendous, one part Hallmark movie of the week, aching for some perfect 20th century pastoral America which never existed before diving deep into war pornography, replete with all the clichés you could possibly imagine, further poisoned with some hilariously overwrought religious iconography. I missed Loving despite being a big fan of Jeff Nichols as it vanished from screens after a week. Alas, I couldn’t face Fences as it looks too much like filmed theatre to me, but I did manage some of the documentaries and the likes of Deepwater Horizon from the technical nominees, not a great film but certainty worthy of that sonic and CGI nod. So as always the rules were to bold the films I’ve seen, italic the films I think should have won, left underlined my predictions, and greened the actual winners. Yes, as I have the opportunity I am staying up this year to consume proceedings, so apologies in advance for ill formed opinions, speeeling erors,  and associated misconduct…..

Here is La La Land as directed by Lynch. Was this as political as some other awards shows have been recently? I’m halfway through now  and this is as tepid a response to recent events as expected, not that the Academy has ever been renown for rocking the boat, and the host is as tepid as a puddle of a  puddle. The in memorial sequence was particularly brutal with Carrie Fisher and the John  Hurt inclusions really hitting home, welcome to 2017 and I’m sure more to depressingly come. Finally it’s been a mixed event, as always we know this is only a travesty maintained by the tedious procession of pomp and ceremony, mostly irreverent – but you can always applaud the winner guaranteed 40% up lift on their box office positions. So it goes….and I might have achieved my best prediction quota ever;

Best Picture

DID I GET IT RIGHT? No

It’s nearly 6Am here and London and I don’t even care who has won any more, what a clusterfuck of a fiasco of a joke, although at least the better film won out ….

Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Director

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

 Heh. Ridiculous of course. Yeah you’ve started something, and could do something but when I look at your achievements in comparison, well no. Thank god it wasn’t Mel though, and the fact that Gibson was even in this race is a travesty…..

Arrival – Denis Villeneuve
Hacksaw Ridge – Mel Gibson
La La Land – Damien Chazelle
Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan
Moonlight – Barry Jenkins

Best Actor

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Yup, worthy of the celebration so good for him – a good tip and celebration of Manchester’s numerous achievements;

Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington – Fences

Best Actress

DID I GET IT RIGHT? No

No, wrong. She was up for this but this simply wasn’t a performance of the breath and depth that deserves such kudos, especially when compared to her peers, especially Elle and those definitions which are unsurpassed.  I’ll look forward to see what else she can achieve, she was better in one scene of Birdman than the entiret of her peers but this….no….

Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Ruth Negga – Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Emma Stone – La La Land
Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actor

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

Pretty flat and gag free opening, although the repeated mantra of no-one seeing the films that have been nominated seems…odd. Good for Ali, he was a central crux of that film, in true supporting action fashion, and a good start for Moonlight, maybe …..

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges –  Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel – Lion
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Rylance nails his speech and projects his expected manner, he’s come a long way from that long resistance of being involved in any ‘Hollywood’ film over the past few decades. But back to the matter of hand, I haven’t seen the Viola film so cannot comment, but this celebration seems like another incremental step of progress and I look forward to seeing the film. And another win for me.

Viola Davis – Fences
Naomi Harris – Moonlight
Nicole Kidman – Lion
Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

Best Adapted Screenplay

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

Superb, can’t fault this one as the winner is worthy;

Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

Best Original Screenplay

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Yes, and a hope that similar material will optioned to come….

Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women

Best Animated Feature Film

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Not exactly my specialised area so I’m happy with an educated guess. Awards are coming thick and fast now so it is gets tricky……

Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
Zootopia
The Red Turtle

Best Cinematography

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

No, having seen Moonlight that was the real winner, the real marriage of space, culture and character, all in service of the final film. Still, I got lucky…

Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

Best Documentary Feature

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Ah, cool, to bring out a real hero, Catherine Johnson who was instrumental in NASA history. And my first hit……for BBC denizens its on iplayer I think so give it a watch as it moves beyond the obvious…..

Fire at Sea
I am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J. Made in America
13th Hour

Best Documentary Short Subject

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Ah cool, and a it’s been brooding some momentum recently so I hope this helps…

Extremis
4.1 Miles
Joe’s Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets

Best Original Score

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Should they even bother opening the envelope? Its 4:16 at this point and OK, oh, here’s Scarlett;

Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

Best Original Song

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

As above, and now we are rocking before the arrival of the sad in memodioium sequence;

“Audition” – La La Land
“Can’t Stop the Feeling” – Trolls
“City of Stars” – La La Land
“The Empty Chair” – Jim: The James Foley Story
“How Far I’ll Go” – Moana

Best Foreign Language Film

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

Well, this is shock. Evidently we must track this Salesman picture down. Still, the winners managed a solid speech. A succinct speech . Oh no, not fucking Sting….Jesus….

Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann

Best Animated Short Film

DID I GET IT RIGHT?  NO

Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider & Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

Best Live Action Short Film

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

Yeah, great, whatever. There is a genuine lack of thunder at this point. Jesus I didn’t expect much but c’mon….

Ennemis Interieurs
La Femme et le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode

Best Costume Design

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

And we are three for three, as in a immediate trilogy of failure –  . Colleen Attwood is great though, she has worked with some of the best (look her up, off the top of my head and without resorting to other sites she did has worked on some genuine classics) so I can’t complain too much;

Allied
Fantastic Beasts
Jackie
La La Land

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

Suicide Squad, a dreadful film, can  capture this nod? Well, the art of making movies is not a effort without different dimensions, and the various elements arnt without succeeding independent of their peers. This is stil worst nominee, although the nominees weren’t exactly outstanding…

A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad

Best Sound Editing

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

This  seems like a very stilted production, the Oscar show that is. But this is a superb result, so I’ll take it…hoping for the next one to complete the duo…..

Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully

Best Sound Mixing

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Got it right…action and combat films usually do well in this category,  and so here we are. Terrible film though;

Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land/
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
14 hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi/ Oh yeah. Hmmmm

Best Film Editing

/

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

Dreadful, dreadful decision, losing the will to live at this point. No offence to the winner but what exactly did you manage to bring to the art form? Nothing than assembling a very, very poor film…;

Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Moonlight
La La Land

Best Production Design

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Yeah, sure, great. whatever,  I’m a little drunk and catching up Another map to the  old-school Hollywood vibe, so predictably great …

Arrival
Fantastic Beasts
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land/
Passengers//

Best Visual Effects

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

The Jungle Book was amazing I have to say, they really pushed the whole animal reproduction to another level. And nice to see a non SF film win for a change……

Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story