Oscars 2016

Well, here’s my reaction to the Oscar nominees.  Unsurprisingly, I haven’t seen most of these movies.

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Spotlight

WHAT I’M ROOTING FOR

So far I’ve only seen Mad Max, The Martian, and The Revenant.  Bridge of Spies looks good, but hardly groundbreaking.  I’ve heard Room is excellent.  I found it quite refreshing that Fury Road was nominated.  I was expecting The Force Awakens to get an undeserved nomination as the token mainstream genre hit. 

WHAT I’M ROOTING AGAINST

The Revenant - just an ok movie with excellent cinematography.

THE SNUBS

Mockingjay Part 2, Inside Out

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Anomalisa, Boy and the World, Inside Out, Shaun the Sheep Movie, When Marnie Was There

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

Don’t know, I’ve only seen Inside Out out of all of these, and most of the others look good.

THE SNUBS

The Good Dinosaur (possibly)

BEST DIRECTOR

Adam McKay (The Big Short), George Miller (Mad Max Fury Road), Alejandro G. Inarritu (The Revenant)

Lenny Abrahamson (Room), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

George Miller, with Alejandro G. Inarritu as a distant second.  I haven’t seen the other movies.

WHOM I’M ROOTING AGAINST

This isn’t very professional, but I’m very skeptical that Adam McKay can make a great film.  I have an established dislike for most for his work.

THE SNUBS

Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight), Francis Lawrence (Mockingjay), Michael Dougherty (Krampus), Guillermo del Toro (Crimson Peak)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Bridge of Spies, Ex Machina, Inside Out, Spotlight, Straight Outta Compton

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

Inside Out, probably, though I haven’t seen most of the others.

WHOM I’M ROOTING AGAINST

Ex Machina - that asinine line about favorite colors should have singlehandedly disqualified it for this award.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Big Short, Brooklyn, Carol, The Martian, Room

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

The Martian, though I haven’t seen the rest of these.

THE SNUBS

Mockingjay, particularly for its improved ending.

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Matt Damon (The Martian), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

This is a good group.  Matt Damon was likable in The Martian.  DiCaprio and Fassbender are both due for a win.  Bryan Cranston is a good actor, but I’m happy Trumbo didn’t get nominated for any other award.  I think I’m rooting for DiCaprio so I don’t have to listen to people continue complaining about his Oscar snubs. 

WHOM I’M ROOTING AGAINST

Eddie Redmayne just because he’s already gotten his, but that’s not very objective.  

THE SNUBS

Johnny Depp (Black Mass), Samuel L. Jackson (The Hateful Eight).

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (Carol), Brie Larson (Room), Jennifer Lawrence (Joy), Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

I haven’t seen any of these, but I know Jennifer Lawrence was good in Mockingjay.

THE SNUBS
Daisy Ridley (The Force Awakens)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale (The Big Short), Tom Hardy (The Revenant), Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight), Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

Tom Hardy because he’s Tom Hardy

WHOM I’M ROOTING AGAINST

Mark Ruffalo because he’s Mark Ruffalo

THE SNUBS

Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight), John Goodman* (Trumbo), John Boyega (The Force Awakens) Donald Sutherland (Mockingjay), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina/The Force Awakens)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Rooney Mara (Carol), Rachel McAdams (Spotlight), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

I’ve only seen The Hateful Eight, but Jennifer Jason Leigh was excellent in it.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Thomas Newman (Bridge of Spies), Carter Burwell (Carol), Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight), Jόhannn Jόhannsson (Sicario), John Williams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

Ennio Morricone.  The Hateful Eight’s score was excellent, and this is a golden opportunity for the Academy to right a wrong by never giving Morricone an Oscar.  Sicario is a runner-up with a haunting score.  Bridge of Spies and Carol are also good, too.

WHOM I’M ROOTING AGAINST

John Williams for Force Awakens.  A very disappointing score.  Say what you will about the prequels, Williams really pulled it out for them.  Episode VII’s score was every bit as unoriginal as the movie itself.

THE SNUBS

Junkie XL (Mad Max: Fury Road), James Newton Howard (Mockingjay)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Earned It” (Fifty Shades of Grey), “Manta Ray” (Racing Extinction), “Simple Song #3” (Youth), “Til It Happens to You” (The Hunting Ground), “Writing’s On the Wall” (Spectre)

WHAT I’M ROOTING FOR

“Simple Song #3”

THE SNUBS

Also, MLP:EG: The Friendship Games surprisingly had a consistently good collection of songnumbers.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Carol, The Hateful Eight, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Sicario

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

The Hateful Eight, for its excellent 70mm filming, and The Revenant.  Possibly Fury Road

THE SNUBS

Crimson Peak

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Bridge of Spies, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Danish Girl, The Martian, The Revenant

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

Mad Max: Fury Road, hands down.

THE SNUBS

Crimson Peak, Cinderella, Krampus, Mockingjay

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Carol, Cinderella, The Danish Girl, Mad Max Fury Road, The Revenant

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

Mad Max: Fury Road, with Cinderella as an extremely distant second

WHOM I’M ROOTING AGAINST

All the others.  The Oscars should only consider memorable costume designs for this award.

THE SNUBS

Crimson Peak, Mockingjay, Krampus

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Mad Max: Fury Road, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, The Revenant

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

The Revenant.  I haven’t seen Hundred-Year-Old Man, but it actually looks like a fun movie anyways.

THE SNUBS

The Hateful Eight, Mockingjay

BEST SOUND MIXING

Mad Max: Fury Road,Bridge of Spies , Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Martian, The Revenant

THE SNUBS

I usually don’t care much about this award, but Hateful Eight’s sound effects were spectacularly executed, and I’m actually quite miffed it wasn’t nominated.  Crimson Peak also deserved a nod.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Ex Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

WHOM I’M ROOTING FOR

Mad Max: Fury Road – excellent stunts and refreshing use of great practical effects.  The runner-up would be Ex Machina for convincing use of CGI despite its relatively low budget.  Force Awakens looks like a good choice for awarding the best of both worlds.

WHOM I’M ROOTING AGAINST

The Revenant, for that fakey CGI bear.

MOST SNUBBED MOVIES (NOMINATIONS:SNUBS)

Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2   0:8

Crimson Peak    0:5

Krampus    0:3

Hateful Eight    3:5

*John Goodman has never even been nominated.  And people complain about Leonardo DiCaprio.