Oscars 2015 – Actor

This is the only actor category with a bit of a decision to be made. Redmayne’s spot on performance and manipulation of himself to become Stephen Hawking is impressive and moving in Theory of Everything. Birdman‘s Michael Keaton has one of the best performances of his life. With his (sometimes questionable) body of work and longer time in the business, there’s a good chance he’ll upstage Redmayne for this top prize.

Cumberbatch, Cooper, and Carell all put in very impressive performances as well, but with Redmayne and Keaton battling it out, it’ll take a long shot to get them a win. Unfortunately, Jake Gyllenhaal lost out with Nightcrawler and wasn’t able to snag a nomination for his seedy and terrifying role.

1. Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) – first nomination
2. Michael Keaton (Birdman) – first nomination
3. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) – first nomination
4. Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) – fourth nomination, two this year
5. Steve Carell (Foxcatcher) – first nomination

Oscars 2014 — Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto seems like the clear winner in this category for his performance as Rayon, a transgender AIDs patient, in Dallas Buyers Club. His portrayal was spectacular, the standout performance of DBC. He’s been picking up the award at most shows so far, but recently Barkhad Abdi won for his debut role in Captain Phillips but neither Leto nor Hill were nominated.

Indiewire looks at Michael Fassbender’s jarring portrayal of Master Epps in 12 Years a Slave as the should win and I can’t say I disagree. A hard role for anybody to portray, Fassbender gave a nuanced performance as this horrible slaveowner with more than just one note.

1. Jared Leto — “Dallas Buyers Club”
2. Michael Fassbender — “12 Years a Slave”
3. Barkhad Abdi — “Captain Phillips”
4. Bradley Cooper — “American Hustle”
5. Jonah Hill — “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture

Best Picture is the most revered categories in the Oscars. In recent years the Academy has decided to change the number of nominees from five to ten but this year, interestingly, they only selected nine movies to be nominated. Interesting because I expected Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom to be nominated but it wasn’t. I haven’t watched Amour so it’s at the bottom of the list with the trailer.

1. Argo is based on the recently declassified mission to get six hostages out of Iran in the 70s. This movie, directed by Ben Affleck, is a great ‘rah rah America’ movie without being over the top. There were tense, nail-biting moments along the way which is great because we do all know how it ends. The use of TV footage from the 70s is a great touch to making it seem much more accurate and real. I don’t know what to say about this movie because it was just all so great and I want it to win the Oscar over Lincoln. Please? I can’t describe how upset I am that Ben Affleck isn’t nominated for the Best Director award.
2. Les Misérables is the musical nominated in this year’s Oscars. This was a wonderful version of Les Miserables, and I’m happy to say it was one of my favourite movies of the year. Everyones acting and singing was incredible, but I just don’t think it seems like something that will win the Best Picture Oscar. Maybe it just seemed too fun? I don’t know. Either way, it was absolutely incredible and emotional and I want to watch it again already.
3. Silver Linings Playbook has a strong cast and emotional story. Pat comes out of a mental institution trying to reconcile with his wife but instead he meets a mysterious girl, Tiffany, who has problems of her own. Bradley Cooper never falters as Pat as he gets pulled in multiple directions. Jennifer Lawrence was stunning (as always) in her role as Tiffany and the entire supporting cast seemed so real in their performances. A moving story inside a comical backdrop, this film was a lot of fun to watch. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj5_FhLaaQQ
4. Life of Piis adapted from Yann Martel’s novel of the same name about an Indian boy who explores spirituality from an early age. The special effects were beautiful with the tiger looking positively realistic. Full disclosure: I haven’t read the book, but from what I hear the writers did a good job translating the story to the screen. I never found myself confused or needing explanation, so I’d say they did a good job. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZEZ35Fhvuc
5. Lincoln has the most nominations in the Oscars this year, coming in at 12. If you know American history at all, this movie was predictable but that wasn’t the point of it. The journey to get the Thirteenth Amendment passed is what matters, and it was an interesting political drama. Spreading this movie over two and a half hours was a bit much. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWpMt2-Z-fc
6. Django Unchained is a classic Tarantino film. Violent, bloody, with lots of swearing and a great script. Christoph Waltz finds himself in a good guy role in a Tarantino film? What? As always, Tarantino puts together a wonderful cast with Jamie Fox, Kerry Washington, Leo Dicaprio, Samuel L Jackson, and Christoph Waltz. The soundtrack mixes in remarkably well. The story of a slave turned bounty hunter looking for his wife that has been bought by one of the worst plantation owners. Although tackling difficult subjects, this movie has restarted dialogue about slavery and related topics which seems to be exactly what Tarantino always goes for in his films. With all Tarantino films, this was really enjoyable if you don’t mind blood and violence. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8CZKbDzP1E
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild is a unique interpretation of Hurricane Katrina and its effects in southern Louisiana. Quvenzhané Wallis gives a powerful performance for someone of only nine years old. This was a very interesting, artsy narrative piece but I’m not sure I can wrap my head around all the little intricacies. The score for this movies is one of my favourites for all of the 2012. Hell, for even longer than that probably! I don’t know if it was my favourite of the nominees, but it definitely deserves to be on the list! Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF7i2n5NXLo
8. Zero Dark Thirty is about the decade long manhunt on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Ladin. This movie was OK, nothing that I would rave about like so many are doing, but also not bad. A character piece about Maya, the woman who tracked bin Ladin down, but we don’t see much development. A CIA bureaucratic film with torture and Navy SEALs. There’s no surprises in this film because we all know the story of bin Ladin’s death in May 2011. This film could have done so much more, delving into controversy or asking moral questions, but instead they played it safe. I expected more from Bigelow, because I enjoyed The Hurt Locker so much. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAtWcvCxPhc
9. Amour is a French foreign language film.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor

One of the most revered categories, we have some amazing actors in the nominees this year. Neither Bradley Cooper nor Hugh Jackman have ever been nominated before, while Daniel Day-Lewis has won twice (nominated five times) and Denzel Washington has won this and Supporting once each.

Although I have Jackman listed as number one and Day Lewis as second, I’m not sure who I think will actually win the award. Daniel Day Lewis is playing President Lincoln which brings a much larger rah rah America! vibe and is one of those characters that is sure to get lots of votes just because of who he is playing. I have nothing against his performance (it was spectacular) but I didn’t love the movie. Les Miserables was one of my favourite movies of the year and Hugh Jackman delivered a moving, powerful performance. Day-Lewis has won before which sometimes works against nominees, but as it is Jackman’s first nomination he might not be as likely to win.

1. Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) puts on the most magnificent performance of the year as Jean Valjean in this musical. One of the biggest talking points was the fact that the singing is all live, allowing for more mistakes and less perfection but it also allows for amazing performances that are gripping and emotional. Jackman has an incredible voice that portrays the hardships Valjean goes through and the emotion that comes through in his voice from the live performances makes it all the better. He was a perfect choice for the role and he did it wonderful justice. This is Jackman’s first Oscar nomination.
2. Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln) is Abraham Lincoln in Spielberg’s drama. He definitely does a great job in the role, and is one of the front runners for the award, but I wasn’t blown away like I expected I would be. Playing a presidential role such as Lincoln provides good opportunity for winning, so I’d probably bet that he will win even though it wasn’t my favourite. Day-Lewis has been nominated for Best Actor five times, and has won the Oscar twice.
3. Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) put in a wonderful performance of an animalistic, alcoholic, Freddie Quell who gets swept up by Master Lancaster Dodd. Although a dull movie, his performance captivates through it’s boldness and his complete mastery of the visual character that makes it seem natural. This is Phoenix’s third Oscar nomination, and second in this category.
4. Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) is a bipolar man trying to get his life back. He performed well but he wasn’t as transformative as some other nominees and it is his first nomination so he has lots of time to prove his skills. This is Cooper’s first Oscar nomination.
5. Denzel Washington (Flight) . This is Washington’s sixth Oscar nomination and fourth for Best Actor. He has won twice before, once for Supporting Actor and once for this category

Silver Linings Playbook is No Ordinary Rom-Com

Labeling this movie solely as a romantic comedy is very wrong. There is so much story and emotion involved. Although this would be a wonderful way for all romantic comedies to be handled, it isn’t and coming into this film expecting that puts you at a great disadvantage.

Packed full of Oscar-worthy performances, this movie kept me wanting more. Bradley Cooper is Pat, a man back from a mental hospital after having a bipolar episode catching his wife with another man. Although there is a restraining order, he’ll do whatever he can to get her back while also trying to get control of his life back. This was one of Cooper’s first major dramatic roles and he did a great job mixing humour with serious moments. Being a pet project of director David O Russell’s, whose brother has bipolar disorder, you can tell it meant a lot to Cooper to do the role justice. Jennifer Lawrence gives her normal shining performance as Tiffany, a sharp-tongued, manic-depressive widow. Lawrence won the Golden Globe and SAG for her performance. Her character Tiffany has been going through hard times, and the farther we went through the movie the more I liked the character and the more I appreciated Lawrence’s performance. She kept showing more reasons to like her.

I really enjoyed this film. The trailer makes the movie seem much more comical than I found it to be. Not because there aren’t comical moments but because the movie was much more emotionally deep than the trailer portrays. You got lots of comedy throughout, and the funniest out of context ones are in the trailers making it seem like you’ll be laughing all the way through. There is emotion, you feel bad for the characters, you get attached to them, and that’s what made this such an enjoyable film for me. Characters that we were supposed to initially dislike or be wary of we grew to care about just as much as we cared for Pat from the start, and boy did I miss Chris Tucker goofing around in a movie! Where’s he been hiding?

Silver Linings Playbook is nominated for eight Oscars this year, including Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actor, and Actress. I’d suggest checking it out.

My Rating: 8.5/10