Here's my sister Camila's guest post telling you how she plans to win our Oscar pool (let's see!) and how you could win yours!
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My family and I – self-proclaimed movie experts – have
competed in Oscar pools for the last several years and I’m once again
determined to win this year. In preparation for the 87th Academy
Awards tonight, I offer my picks for who deserves to win and who is most likely
to win.
Best Picture
While all movies in this category are extremely worthy, the
field has been narrowed down to a tight race between Boyhood and Birdman. Richard
Linklater’s twelve-years-in-the-making Boyhood
chronicles the life of a boy from a broken home, whose mother struggles to make
the most of tough situations. While
critics and viewers alike have praised the film, I don’t share the sentiment. I
applaud the concept of the movie but I just feel it missed the mark in its
execution.
Birdman, on the
other hand, did everything right – from directing, to acting, to writing. I may
be slightly biased, having done a 9th grade film project on director
Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu. He delivered a truly ambitious movie, with
seamless takes, exceptional performances, original writing, and fantastic
score. The film should revel in its glory and take home the best picture title.
On a side note, I believe The Grand Budapest Hotel was exceedingly better than Boyhood and should have been a top
contender in this category along with Birdman.
Should win: Birdman
Will win: Birdman
Best Director
Ideally, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Wes Anderson would
be favorites to win best director. As aforementioned, I think Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel were the best movies of the year and
should be recognized in major categories. However, Inarritu ‘s most pressing
challenger is Richard Linklater for his cinematic achievement with Boyhood. However, Inarritu’s creative
genius compels me to place him as this year’s top director.
Should win:
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
or Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Will win: Alejandro
Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
Best Actor in a Leading Role
With the plethora of stellar performances from male actors
this year, this category is perhaps the most difficult to predict. Let me start
by saying that while Bradley Cooper delivered a solid performance in his
portrayal of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, David Oyelowo (Selma), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler),
and Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest
Hotel) were far more deserving of that spot.
However, the real front-runners in this category are Michael
Keaton and Eddie Redmayne, both outstanding performances. There are several
advantages for both actors. Keaton, on the one hand, interprets an almost
biographical figure in Riggan Thompson. The Academy has been particularly
generous in the past few years to actors who portray real-life individuals –
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Daniel
Day Lewis (Lincoln), Matthew
McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club). Eddie Redmayne’s stunning physical
transformation and embodiment of Stephen Hawking is also something the Academy
has been known to award. Both actors won a Golden Globe in leading roles, but
Redmayne is fresh off both BAFTA and SAG wins. With his current momentum, I
feel like Redmayne will be the likely on the stage receiving the statuette.
Should win:
Honestly, both Keaton (Birdman) and
Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) deserve
the win and I would be happy to see either of them accept the honor.
Will win: Slight
edge to Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of
Everything).
Best Actress in a Leading Role
A quick look at this year’s nominees: Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) was the highlight of an
otherwise mediocre film. Reese Witherspoon (Wild) delivers a beautifully
emotional portrayal of a woman on a journey to find herself again. Felicity
Jones (The Theory of Everything) was
adorably delightful and charming as Jane Hawking. Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night) is spectacular in
pretty much everything she does, and this year is no exception. Although I wasn’t blown away by all the
nominees in this category, Julianne Moore stands out for her work in Still Alice as a college professor
suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s. She is also overdue for an Academy
Award and is up against two former winners (Cotillard and Witherspoon) and two
newcomers (Pike and Jones), so her chances of winning are not only likely but
practically certain.
Should win:
Julianne Moore (Still Alice) or
Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)
Will win:
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Much like the Best Actress category, this one is essentially
guaranteed. Robert Duvall (The Judge),
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), and Ethan
Hawke (Boyhood) are all admirable
actors but pose no real threat to J.K. Simmons (Whiplash). Edward Norton (Birdman),
however, is the only one capable of surprising us with a win. Norton gives a
fantastic performance in a supporting role, differing from Simmons, who is the
lead of Whiplash. I dare say Simmons
performance was my favorite among all this season. In any case, Simmons has won
all major awards leading up to the Oscars and it is highly unlikely there will
be an upset.
Should win: In a
perfect world, both Norton (Birdman)
and Simmons (Whiplash) could win.
Will win: J.K.
Simmons (Whiplash)
Best Actress in a Supporting
Role
Let me start by saying that I feel Laura Dern (Wild) shouldn’t have been nominated. Her
role as Reese Witherspoon’s mother is very forgettable. I think I could make a
stronger case for Selma’s Carmen
Ejogo or even Nightcrawler’s Rene
Russo. I also find myself wondering why was Meryl Streep nominated for a film
like Into the Woods. Because she’s
Meryl Streep and the Academy finds any excuse to invite her to the ceremony.
Not that I’m complaining. Keira Knightley rightly deserves a nomination for her
role in The Imitation Game.
But, who provided the most surprising and electrifying
performance in a supporting role? That would be Emma Stone (Birdman).
But unfortunately, Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) faces no real challenge and will likely win the Oscar. While
I don’t particularly dislike Arquette’s performance, I don’t share the critic’s
adoration for it.
Should win: Emma
Stone (Birdman)
Will win:
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Best Original Screenplay
The Grand Budapest
Hotel, nominated for 9 Oscars, will probably receive recognition in this
category. Birdman is also deserving
of this award and won the Golden Globe for best Original Screenplay. The Grand Budapest Hotel, on the other
hand, won the BAFTA and the WGA.
Should win: Close
call, but I would give it to Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Will win: Wes
Anderson and Hugo Guinness (The Grand
Budapest Hotel)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Whiplash doesn’t
belong in this category – it belongs in the Original Screenplay. However, due
to Academy rules it was placed here. I have great respect for Damien Chazelle,
for he is the writer and the director at a mere 30 years of age. I will place The Imitation Game above Whiplash in this category only because
it won the WGA.
Should win:
Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)
Will win: Graham
Moore (The Imitation Game)
Best Foreign Movie
Should win: Wild Tales (Argentina)
Will win: Ida (Poland)
Best Animated Movie
Will win: How To Train Your Dragon 2
Runner-up: Big Hero 6
Best Documentary
Will win: Citizenfour
Runner-up: Virunga
Best Cinematography
Should win: Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)
or Robert Yeoman (The Grand Budapest
Hotel)
Will win: Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)
Best Costume Design
Should win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Will win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Film Editing
Should win: Whiplash
Will win: Boyhood
Best Original Score
Should win: Hans
Zimmer (Interstellar)
Will win: Johann
Johannsson (The Theory of Everything)
Best Original Song
Should win: Glory
(Selma)
Will win: Glory (Selma)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Should win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Will win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Production Design
Should win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Will win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Visual Effects
Should win: Interstellar
Will win: Interstellar
Best Sound Editing
Should win: Interstellar
Will win: American Sniper
Best Sound Mixing
Should win: Whiplash
Will win: American Sniper
Best Animated Short
Will win: The Dam Keeper
Best Documentary Short
Will win: Joanna
Best Live-Action Short
Will win: Parvaneh
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