The Password is Swordfish

Greetings, world! It has been a very long time since I posted– since last year’s Oscars, as a matter a fact. For those of you who don’t know me, I stopped maintaining this blog when I moved to Los Angeles, because writing all day long for work and simultaneously keeping this blog up-to-date would be impossible (if you check the dates on some of the older reviews, it was becoming quite difficult for me even before I began writing full-time).

However, as I’m an apt consumer of the joy and pain of awards season, I figured I would continue to dispense my predictions for the Academy Awards, both for the nominations and then later for the awards themselves. (Maybe I’ll also do what I did last year and post my ideal-world Oscar nominations tomorrow.)

If you’re interested in my very brief thoughts on the 110+ movies I saw in 2015, I strongly encourage you to follow my film-going diary, or at bare minimum to follow my Twitter, where I frequently post my insta-thoughts about films and/or anything else under the sun.

Without further ado, my picks for tomorrow’s Oscar nominations (with a dark horse that could sneak in for each category). Last year, I got 72.6% of my picks right (the sound categories always kill me). Here’s hoping I top that mark this time!

BEST PICTURE:

• The Big Short
• Bridge of Spies
• Brooklyn
• Carol
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• The Revenant
• Room
• Spotlight
• DARK HORSE: Straight Outta Compton

BEST DIRECTOR:

• Todd Haynes, Carol
• Alejandro Inarritu, The Revenant
• Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
• Adam McKay, The Big Short
• Ridley Scott, The Martian
• DARK HORSE: George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST ACTOR:

• Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
• Matt Damon, The Martian
• Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
• Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
• Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
• DARK HORSE: Johnny Depp, Black Mass

BEST ACTRESS:

• Cate Blanchett, Carol
• Brie Larson, Room
• Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
• Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
• Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
• DARK HORSE: Lily Tomlin, Grandma

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

• Christian Bale, The Big Short
• Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
• Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
• Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
• Sylvester Stallone, Creed
• DARK HORSE: Michael Shannon, 99 Homes

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

• Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
• Rooney Mara, Carol
• Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
• Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
• Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
• DARK HORSE: Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

• The Big Short
• Brooklyn
• Carol
• Room
• Steve Jobs
• DARK HORSE: The Martian

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

• Bridge of Spies
• Ex Machina
• The Hateful Eight
• Inside Out
• Spotlight
• DARK HORSE: Straight Outta Compton

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

• Anomalisa
• The Good Dinosaur
• Inside Out
• The Peanuts Movie
• Shaun the Sheep Movie
• DARK HORSE: The Prophet

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

• Amy
• Cartel Land
• The Hunting Ground
• Listen to Me Marlon
• The Look of Silence
• DARK HORSE: The Best of Enemies

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE:

• The Brand New Testament
• Labyrinth of Lies
• Mustang
• Son of Saul
• Theeb
• DARK HORSE: A War

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

• Carol
• The Hateful Eight
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Revenant
• Sicario
• DARK HORSE: Bridge of Spies

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

• Brooklyn
• Carol
• Cinderella
• Crimson Peak
• The Danish Girl
• DARK HORSE: Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST EDITING:

• The Big Short
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• The Revenant
• Spotlight
• DARK HORSE: Bridge of Spies

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR:

• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Mr. Holmes
• The Revenant
• DARK HORSE: Black Mass

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

• Bridge of Spies
• Carol
• Crimson Peak
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• DARK HORSE: The Danish Girl

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

• Bridge of Spies
• Carol
• The Hateful Eight
• Inside Out
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• DARK HORSE: The Danish Girl

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:

• “Love Me Like You Do,” Fifty Shades of Gray
• “See You Again,” Furious 7
• “Simple Song 3,” Youth
• “Til It Happens To You,” The Hunting Ground
• “Writing’s On The Wall,” Spectre
• DARK HORSE: “Earned It,” Fifty Shades of Gray

BEST SOUND EDITING:

• Mad Max: Fury: Road
• The Martian
• The Revenant
• Sicario
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• DARK HORSE: The Hateful Eight

BEST SOUND MIXING:

• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• The Revenant
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Straight Outta Compton
• DARK HORSE: The Hateful Eight

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

• Jurassic World
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Martian
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• The Walk
• DARK HORSE: The Revenant

~ by russellhainline on January 13, 2016.

Posted in Film Reviews