 |
| Image Source: Entertainment Weekly |
Source: Universal
Best Picture: Get Out
Musings: I have not seen any of the nominees this year, but judging from the backlash two years ago over the lack of inclusiveness at the Oscars, I'd bet reasonable sums of money that Get Out will get the pick. If not, then Jordan Peele will definitely get Best Director. If it does, however, then Guillermo del Toro is almost a sure-thing for that category.
Was I right? Nope! The Best Picture award went to The Shape of Water. Who knew the Academy had a kink for fish porn?
Source: Focus Features
Lead Actor: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Musings: The nominated performance I've seen is Denzel Washington's Roman J. Israel of Roman J. Israel, Esq. As much as I liked the amount of dedication and attention to detail he gave to the role of the socially-awkward yet idealistic defense attorney (especially in the way he walks!), I don't think it's Oscar-worthy, because the character came out as very weak and uncompelling. I blame the poor pacing and lack of decent character development for this.
Since I haven't seen the other ones, and I don't know how well the Academy was pampered and paid off by each individual campaign (nor how much they would like to virtue signal), I'd have to go with conventional wisdom and pick the biopic role of Gary Oldman's Winston Churchill in the Darkest Hour.
Was I right? Yep! When in doubt, always trust your gut.
Source: Fox Searchlight
Lead Actress: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Musings: At this point, they might as well plaster Meryl Streep's face on the screen as a cost-cutting measure. But I'm not really feeling it this time around. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of these performances. However, of the brief moments I've glimpsed from trailers, I have a strong feeling that Frances McDormand might take it home. Why? Because it's about a mother getting justice for her dead daughter -- and she kicks all kinds of butt. This checks all the boxes for a Lead Actress win, and if Frances McDormand is even half the actress I believe she is, then she can pull this one off with flying colors.
Was I right? Yep! Knocked this one outta the park.
Source: TriStar
Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
Musings: The sheer fact that Ridley Scott and Christopher Plummer could reshoot all the Jean Paul Getty scenes in 9 days(!) is enough to earn him this award. Now, I'll come right out and admit I haven't seen this movie, but from what I hear, it's pretty good. So that alone is enough for me to hand him the statuette -- he deserves it on effort alone.
Was I right? Nope! Congratulations to Sam Rockwell.
Source: Fox Searchlight
Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water
Musings: I have no clue here. But an educated guess would say that Octavia Spencer might get one, because of all the buzz around this film and the potential for Oscar history.
Was I right? Nope! Congratulations to Allison Janney.
Source: Fox Searchlight
Director: The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro
Musings: It's either gonna be Guillermo del Toro or Jordan Peele, depending on whose movie gets Best Picture. I haven't seen either of their nominated work, so I can't speak of their artistic and directorial merit, so I'm basing this on politics alone. But to be fair, the competition's not that big this year. I wasn't particularly impressed by Nolan for all the fanfare Dunkirk got.
Was I right? Yep! But I wish I wasn't!
Source: Walt Disney
Animated Feature: Coco, Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
Musings: Fairly straightforward. The only one I've seen here is Boss Baby and if something as generic as that got nominated, then this year must've been pretty weak. A sure-win for Coco.
Was I right? Yep! A damn good movie, this one!
Source: Warner Bros.
Adapted Screenplay: The Disaster Artist, Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Musings: I'm beginning to question if I've seen any movies last year, because I haven't seen any of these, too. However, The Disaster Artist is an homage to a truly significant cult classic, so it'd leave a bad impression if they gave it a pass just because of the James Franco debacle. Let's see if the Academy can rise above their aversion to backlash. Probably not.
Was I right? Nope! The winner was Call Me By Your Name adapted by James Ivory. There's a James joke in here somewhere but I can't be bothered to figure it out.
Source: Christopher Polk/Getty Images North America
Original Screenplay: The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
Musings: The Shape of Water and Get Out will be duking it out for this category as well. I think the plagiarism allegations might affect del Toro and Taylor's chances, but I still think they'll nab this one, just because of all the buzz around the creative narrative structure.
Was I right? Nope! The winner was Get Out by Jordan Peele. Thank God for that. There's only so long you can jerk off to fish porn.
Source: Warner Bros.
Cinematography: Dunkirk, Hoyte van Hoytema
Musings: I think this is the only thing that Dunkirk truly had going for it, but from what I've seen and heard, it's pretty damn good. You can always count on Nolan to pick the right guy for the job, and this appears to be no exception.
Was I right? Nope! The winner was Roger A. Deakins for Blade Runner 2049.
Source: Sony
Film Editing: Baby Driver, Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
Musings: This is the part where you can't make even an educated guess as to which movie might win, but I've been hearing good things about Baby Driver's sound mixing and film editing, so let's see if it can get both. Probably not, but definitely Sound Mixing.
Was I right? Nope! The winner was Lee Smith for Dunkirk.
Source: Walt Disney
Sound Editing: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood
Musings: $100 says Kathleen Kennedy paid big bucks to save face after all the backlash from fans. Can't blame her, because this will really boost self-esteem over at Disney. Also sales. If she-- I mean Klyce and Wood don't get this one, then the visual effects team definitely will. I don't feel strongly about any of the nominees here, but the clear favorites seem to be Star Wars and Baby Driver. Speaking of which...
Was I right? Nope! The winners were Richard King and Alex Gibson for Dunkirk. Incidentally, this is the second time a Kennedy got murdered at an official event.
Source: Sony
Sound Mixing: Baby Driver, Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
Musings: The media's been banging so loud about Baby Driver's incredible sound mixing that I might soon develop tinnitus.
Was I right? Nope! The winners were Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, and Mark Weingarten for Dunkirk. Seems like this was the first movie where bombing was a good thing.
Source: Warner Bros.
Production Design: Dunkirk, Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
Musings: I think this is a fight between Dunkirk and the Darkest Hour, but I also believe that the larger scale period piece will be the victor, so I'll give this one to Dunkirk for its sheer grandeur. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Darkest Hour took it.
Was I right? Nope! The winners were Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau, and Jeffrey A. Melvin for The Shape of Water. Can't beat beating it to fish porn, I guess.
Source: Empire Online
Original Score: Dunkirk, Hans Zimmer
Musings: It's time to Zimmer up! Of course, there is John Williams, too, but I wasn't feeling him this time around.
Was I right? Nope! The winner was Alexandre Desplat for The Shape of Water. Incidentally, "de splat" is what the Academy does every time they relieve themselves to fish porn.
Source: 20th Century Fox
Original Song: This Is Me from The Greatest Showman, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Musings: I really liked Remember Me but I loved This is Me, not just because it's catchy but more-so because of the choreography within the film, which I find hard to separate from the song itself. I haven't seen the movie, yet I could understand everything that happened just from that one musical number alone, and not only that but I could feel for the characters as well. Incredible!
Was I right? Nope! The winners were Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez for Remember Me from Coco. A great choice!
Source: Focus Features
Costume Design: Darkest Hour, Jacqueline Durran
Musings: Sorry Disney, but no amount of Emma Watson in a fancy ballroom dress is gonna beat a Gary Oldman in a dapper British period suit. That's just a fact of life.
Was I right? Nope! The winner was Mark Bridges for Phantom Thread. Can't believe I got this one so wrong. I mean, the giveaway was in the name for goodness' sake!
Source: Walt Disney
Visual Effects: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan
Musings: Spoilers: That one scene where Vice Admiral Holdo ripped through the Star Destroyer using light speed is alone worthy of this award. Personally, I liked the movie in general, but even if you have misgivings about the way it handled certain characters and plot lines, you can't deny that it was visually very appealing. Though, I'd be remiss if I didn't admit that Blade Runner may as well win this one, and from what I hear, quite deservedly so.
Was I right? Nope! The winners were John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Richard R. Hoover for Blade Runner 2049. Good stuff!
Overall, I think the Oscars are pretty weak this time around. I like movies and I'm not particularly picky, but the fact that even I couldn't be bothered to see many of these has me thinking that last year wasn't all that great. But I gotta say that if Black Panther is anything to go by, 2018 is gonna be a pretty good year!
Comments
Post a Comment
Please be respectful. Thank you!