Oscar Winners 2015

Yes it’s Oscar time again, and I frivolously wonder what will be the new addition to this list. One thing’s for sure, I bet we wont get as memorable an acceptance speech as this. As usual I made some herculean efforts to see as much of the material as possible, with the exception of Mr. Tuner I think I’ve covered the majority of stuff, as I want to see that properly on the Blu-Ray to appropriately wallow in Dick Pope’s cinematography rather than watch the damn thing on my computer. I managed to track down Unbroken (run of the mill three star bio-pic), Still Alice, (strong but thoroughly predictable Alzheimer tear-jerker) The Judge, (tediously average moral transformation tedium) Selma, (moving and graceful historical picture, and yes it’s a deep disgrace that Oyelowo wasn’t nominated) Into The Woods (a musical ergo not my thing and Streep’s automatic nomination is absurd) and a cluster of the animated pictures – whew. So that’s almost all the high-profile and technical awards covered, shame I couldn’t find any of the animated live action or documentary shorts on-line but to be honest I didn’t try very hard this year. Here is a great article on the some of the most absurd upsets of the ceremony since its 1927 inception, from one of the best movie sites on the web – if American Sniper wins anything then I’m going postal. I’ve got a Hungarian and Argentinian TV feed running as insurance should one drop out, isn’t the future of telecommunications grand?

And as usual the Menagerie standard disclaimer, I don’t treat these awards as anything other than a fun exercise, an adjunct to serious cinephilia, just like the BAFTA’s where Under The Skin was nominated and lost in precisely one category. Exactly which film will still be debated, dissected, admired and crucially inspire upcoming filmmakers in visual culture a decade from now? The Imitation Game? The Theory Of Everything? I won’t insult you with the answer to that puzzle. Industry observer wise though the awards are important, as potential winners will find themselves elevated to a new strata of importance with greater funding dexterity, and that is essentially interesting – just consider the A list dreck that superb actress Helen Mirren has been mired in since her 2006 win, and that’s just one example of multitudes. No, I’m not having a go at her specifically, it’s just an observation considering her pre and post win material, for example should Linklater win director or film will he be on the industry list for an adjunct  Star Wars picture? Yes, and that’s food for thought. If he’s interested. Anyway, you know the drill by now, right? I’ll be darting around with a few scattered thoughts on each nominee section I’ve listed below, apologies in advance for potentially incoherent and bdaly spelld reportage but we are eight hours behind here in the UK so the ceremony doesn’t even start until 1:30am.  Those I’ve seen are in bold, those I predicted would win are in italics, and those that did win are in gold, naturally. FINAL TALLY – I have no idea and at this point I don’t care, but I’m fairly sure that Boyhood was fucked…..

Best Film

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

I’m wasted yet first instincts are this – for the past three years we’ve had three films celebrating cinema and performance – The Artist, Argo and now Birdman. Solid films in their own way, but as a nest this is insular and uncomfortable. Not good, not healthy;

American Sniper – Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole

Boyhood – Richard and Cathleen Sutherland

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson

The Imitation Game – Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman

Selma – Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner

The Theory of Everything – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten

Whiplash – Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster

Best Actor

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

Really? A great start, don’t get me wrong, a first act convincing physical performance but I can’t think that it didn’t quite continue for the rest of the film as this movie was more about other characters, especially when compared to the scope of the other nominees.

Steve Carell – Foxcatcher

Bradley Cooper – American Sniper

Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game

Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

Michael Keaton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Actress

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

I’m a fan of Moore so great, good for her as its a reasonable film but it still smacks of the old yet appropriate cliché – illness equals Oscar. , ;

Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night

Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore – Still Alice

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Best Director

DID I GET IT RIGHT? NO

Yeah, he did well with a great panoply of material directing a play, but this film was all in the actors and cinematographer.  If that equals best assembly of material then fine, but I still can’t feel that Linklater was cruelly robbed,,,?

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Boyhood – Richard Linklater

Foxcatcher – Bennett Miller

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson

The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum

Best Supporting Actor

DID I GET IT RIGHT? YES

Well that ceremony opening from NPH didn’t particularly grab me but here we are – yet we are off with a first win, with a succinct speech from J.Jonah Jameson – a good start;

Robert Duvall – The Judge

Ethan Hawke – Boyhood

Edward Norton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

February 23, 2015 | Categories: Current Affairs, Documentary, Film, TV | Tags: academy awards, American Sniper, Boyhood, Cinema, Film, Inherent Vice, Movies, Mr. Turner, Oscars, Selma, Whiplash | Leave a comment