Sunday, March 4, 2018

My Predictions for the 90th Academy Awards!


It's Oscars time again.  The 90th Academy Awards are tonight on ABC and with them comes a lot of baggage, most of it political and some of it to do with last year's Best Picture envelope mishap.  Will Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway read out the right Best Picture winner this time?  Hopefully.  That would be bad to have a  Best Picture fiasco occur two years in a row, though you have to wonder why the producers thought it would be a good idea to have the same duo present the award again.  Overall though, I am not all that excited for this year's Oscars.  The overtly political nature that will inevitably be a part of this show will make it a bit of a drag for those simply looking for entertainment, then there's the fact that the awards themselves will not yield too many surprises.  As for Jimmy Kimmel, he'll probably be funny, he had some good zingers last year so I'm expecting a few more this year (hopefully he'll include more Matt Damon hijinks).  All in all, I am not expecting a whole lot from this year's Oscars, so I am in a good position to be pleasantly surprised if everything goes off better than I expect.

Anyways, I am not predicting any huge shake ups in all of the major categories in regards to other award shows. While The Shape of Water won the Producer's Guild Award for Best Picture and it has the most nominations, actors make up the majority of the Academy and they really, really loved Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.  Then you factor in the female empowerment narrative of Three Billboards, the fact that it won the Best Picture equivelant at the SAG Awards, the Golden Globes, and the BAFTAs, and I will be very shocked if it doesn't win.  What does that mean for your  viewer at home?  More than likely no movie that a large number of the people watching saw will win an award and that's part of the pretentiousness of the Oscars.  Gone are the days that a Titanic or The Lord of the Rings would actually have a  shot at winning anything.  With Dunkirk being the most financially successful movie nominated for Best Picture, there is a scenario where it could walk away without a single award (a scenario that I don't think will happen, but could).  As for the acting categories, if you've watched any of the other award shows these past few months, you know who's gonna win.  The only real question mark in the major categories is Original Screenplay.  Jordan Peele could win for Get Out, but the safer money is on Three Billboards to win there as well.

Without any more preamble, here's my full list of predictions for tonight:

Best Picture - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Director - Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Best Actor - Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Best Actress - Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Supporting Actor - Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Supporting Actress - Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Best Original Screenplay - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Adapted Screenplay - Call Me by Your Name
Best Animated Feature - Coco
Best Foreign Language Film - A Fantastic Woman
Best Documentary Feature - Icarus
Best Cinematography - Blade Runner 2049
Best Film Editing - Baby Driver
Best Costume Design - Phantom Thread
Best Production Design - The Shape of Water
Best Makeup and Hairstyling - Darkest Hour
Best Visual Effects - Blade Runner 2049
Best Original Score - The Shape of Water
Best Original Song - "This Is Me" from The Greatest Showman
Best Sound Mixing - Dunkirk
Best Sound Editing - Dunkirk
Best Short Film (Live Action) - DeKalb Elementary
Best Short Film (Animated) - Dear Basketball
Best Short Film (Documentary) - Heroin(e)

So I'm predicting that Three Billboards will win the most with 5 awards, followed by The Shape of Water with 3, and Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk, and Darkest Hour each winning 2 apiece.  The rest of the movies listed above will only win one Oscar.  Hopefully I've improved on my lackluster tally from last year when I went 16 out of 24.  Eek.  Maybe I'll have done better this year.  We'll know in a few hours.

Christian's Oscars

Since the Oscars are tonight and very few movies are nominated from 2017 that I would have nominated, I figured I'd take it upon myself to create my own Oscars.  Overall, 2017 was a so-so year of film for me.  There were a lot of good movies, but not many great movies and only about three or four I'll probably still be watching ten years from now.  With that said, in a stale year of film there is still always good craftsmanship on display, and 2017 was no different.  As always, I'm not paid to review movies, so I didn't get to see every single movie released, but I did see all of the major fanboy releases from 2017 as well as a few smaller films, making this perhaps the most eclectic year end list you'll read.  So without further ado, on with the show...

****


Best Song - "Evermore" from Beauty and the Beast
I always wondered why the Beast never had a solo in the original movie and thankfully that was rectified with the live action remake of Beauty and the Beast.  Maybe it's because I have a hard time singing along to a lot of musicals these days, but I relished in a song written for a baritone.
Runners-Up:
2.) "Remember Me" from Coco
3.) "Guardians Inferno" from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
4.) "Bellbottoms" from Baby Driver
5.) "Immigrant Song" from Thor: Ragnarok


Best Score - Star Wars: The Last Jedi
This was one of the easier choices I had to make on this list.  I'm a John Williams fanboy and he continued to knock it out the park with another classic Star Wars score.  Enough said.
Runners-Up:
2.) Coco
3.) Wonder Woman
4.) War for the Planet of the Apes
5.) The Shape of Water


Best Make-Up and Hair - Bright
Bright is one of those movies that I feel didn't fully get its due, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to future installments, of course for the purposes here, what really shined in Bright was the make-up and hair work.  From the intricate orc make-up to the elves, the make-up and hair work was top notch and helped sell the story.
Runners-Up:
2.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi
3.) The Shape of Water
4.) Dunkirk
5.) Logan


Best Costumes - Wonder Woman
The costumes in Wonder Woman were a large part of making the movie so immersive.  From the outfits of the Amazons to the World War I-era garb of the world of man, the costumes in Wonder Woman were both historically accurate and beautiful to look at.
Runners-Up:
2.) Beauty and the Beast
3.) Kingsman: The Golden Circle
4.) Murder on the Orient Express
5.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi


Best Sound - Dunkirk
This category was really the tale of two movies: The Last Jedi and Dunkirk.  I give Dunkirk the slight edge because of how integral the sound is to the movie.  There is very minimal dialogue in Dunkirk, but there are tons of bullets whizzing past and explosions that create the aural reality of war.
Runners-Up:
2.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi
3.) War for the Planet of the Apes
4.) Blade Runner 2049
5.) Baby Driver



Best Special Effects - War for the Planet of the Apes
While Dunkirk's use of models and old-school techniques almost got it the top spot, War for the Planet of the Apes' special effects were just too good to not recognize.  It almost seems like WETA Digital keeps on trying to one up themselves, but they did it again with War for the Planet of the Apes.  The CGI/motion capture apes continue to look more and more life-like with each movie.
Runners-Up:
2.) Dunkirk
3.) The Shape of Water
4.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi
5.) Blade Runner 2049


Best Production Design - Coco
I often feel that the crafts work for animated films don't get their time in the sun, but very often their production design can be as amazing as anything in live action.  The environments of Coco are simply breathtaking, with the Land of the Dead being especially imaginative and engrossing.
Runners-Up:
2.) Wonder Woman
3.) Murder on the Orient Express
4.) The Shape of Water
5.) Beauty and the Beast


Best Editing - Dunkirk
Few movies are better edited than Dunkirk.  As if cut to the ticking clock of Hans Zimmer's musical score, longtime Nolan collaborator, Lee Smith, might have won himself his first ever Oscar with this movie.  Time will tell, but I definitely feel he's worthy.
Runners-Up:
2.) Baby Driver
3.) Logan
4.) Kingsman: The Golden Circle
5.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi


Best Cinematography - The Shape of Water
Few movies look as beautiful as The Shape of Water does.  Seeing this movie on the big screen simply for the visuals alone is worth it.
Runners-Up:
2.) Dunkirk
3.) Blade Runner 2049
4.) Baby Driver
5.) Logan


Best Supporting Actress - Shira Haas, The Zookeeper's Wife
This might seem like the most out-of-left-field choice on this whole list, but I found Shira Haas's performance in The Zookeeper's Wife the most effective performance in that whole movie.  A 22-year-old actress from Israel, Haas portrayed a teenage girl who was raped by two Nazi officers in a Jewish ghetto before she was hidden by a Polish zookeeper and his wife.  The way Haas portrays her character's PTSD and the subsequent story of her recovery is what made this such a moving performance for me, and it's why it's stuck with me all this time later.
Runners-Up:
2.) Holly Hunter, The Big Sick
3.) Dafne Keen, Logan
4.) Lucy Davis, Wonder Woman
5.) Carey Mulligan, Mudbound


Best Supporting Actor - Mark Hamill, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
There were really two performances vying for the top spot -- Patrick Stewart in Logan and Mark Hamill in The Last Jedi.  Both actors returned to iconic roles and added new dimensions to them, with Stewart playing an aging mutant with dementia to perfection, while Hamill portrayed a hero who'd given up and was in need of reminding what it meant to fight once more.  Ultimately I went with Mark Hamill, merely because this is the best showcase for his acting talents he's ever had and probably ever will have.  Fans of animation and Hamill's voice acting performances know he's more than just the Luke Skywalker from the original Star Wars trilogy, but his return as Luke in The Last Jedi is a career best for him as an actor and now everyone knows how good he is too.
Runners-Up:
2.) Patrick Stewart, Logan
3.) Ray Romano, The Big Sick
4.) Luke Evans, Beauty and the Beast
5.) Joel Edgerton, Bright


Best Actress - Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman
Let's be honest, Gal Gadot stole 2017.  She was just awesome as Wonder Woman, embodying the DC Comics' character that comic book fans had come to know and love for so many decades now.  Even her turn in Justice League was remarkable.  Gadot just has the compassionate warmth and the fierceness of spirit that fans have come to expect from the character and it's why she was the Best Actress of 2017.
Runners-Up:
2.) Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
3.) Gemma Arterton, Their Finest
4.) Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
5.) Anya Taylor-Joy, Split


Best Actor - Hugh Jackman, Logan
While a large part of me wanted to go with James McAvoy in Split for how deftly he handled the different personalities of his character and the in-scene transitions between them, I have to go with good ol' Hugh here.  Hugh Jackman's final turn as Wolverine in Logan was his best in the role, and that's saying something.  I think no moment works better than when Wolverine is dying while his daughter, X-23, holds his hand.  Hugh Jackman doesn't overact the moment, one could even say he undersells it, but that's why it was the perfect farewell for such an emotionally complex character.
Runners-Up:
2.) James McAvoy, Split
3.) Andy Serkis, War for the Planet of the Apes
4.) David Oyelowo, A United Kingdom
5.) Tom Holland, Spider-Man: Homecoming


Best Ensemble - The Big Sick
From Kumail Nanjiani's likable turn as himself, to Ray Romano's career best role as the father of Kumail's comatose girlfriend, all the way to Holly Hunter, Zoe Kazan, and so many other talented actors that round out the ensemble of this movie, The Big Sick was the best showcase for actors in 2017, allowing them to explore both gut-busting comedy and heart-wrenching drama.
Runners-Up:
2.) Going In Style
3.) The Shape of Water
4.) Mudbound
5.) Wonder Woman


Best Movie Moment - Crossing No Man's Land in Wonder Woman
This really came down between two moments for me -- SPOILER ALERT -- when Kylo Ren kills Supreme Leader Snoke and teams up with Rey to fight Snoke's guard in The Last Jedi, and when Wonder Woman crosses No Man's Land in Wonder Woman.  Both were spine-tinglingly awesome fanboy moments, but I have to give the edge to Wonder Woman.  It is the iconic moment from that movie that will always be remembered and is truly the moment that Wonder Woman becomes a superhero in the eyes of the audience, which is why it's so impactful.
Runners-Up:
2.) Rey & Kylo Ren Team Up in Star Wars: The Last Jedi
3.) Miguel Sings "Remember Me" to Coco in Coco
4.) The Death of Logan in Logan
5.) Kumail Bombs His Audition in The Big Sick


The Most Underrated Movie of the Year - Justice League
This is a new category I'm trying out this year, mainly because I see movies all the time that either no one has ever heard of them, or they were box office or critical flops but were actually good movies.  Either which way, that is what qualifies a movie for the Most Underrated Movie of the Year category and the movie I feel got the least fair shake was Justice League.  While Justice League is not The Avengers' killer that Warner Bros. was hoping it would be, it's still a fun movie that is highly entertaining and full of great fan service moments.  Sure, Justice League won't be a movie that comic books fans will probably still be watching even two years from now, but that's belittling everything the movie does right.  It finally nails the character of Superman, it continues to highlight the awesomeness of Wonder Woman, and it introduces audiences to Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, with Flash and Aquaman both stealing the show.  Do yourself a service and at least see Justice League for those reasons alone.
Runners-Up:
2.) Their Finest
3.) Bright
4.) The Zookeeper's Wife
5.) A United Kingdom


Best Screenplay - The Big Sick
2017 was a unique year in that there actually were a fair few original screenplays produced, with both The Shape of Water and Split being true highlights, but there was no highlight brighter in the world of original screenplays than Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon's autobiographical script for The Big Sick.  While the movie falls into the normal trap of using the f-bomb way more than necessary, it's a heartfelt script that loosely tells the true life story of Kumail and Emily's courtship and Emily's mysterious illness that lands her in a coma, and it's both a drama and a comedy.  It's that balance between drama and comedy that makes The Big Sick so engaging.
Runners-Up:
2.) Split
3.) Logan
4.) Coco
5.) The Shape of Water


Best Director - Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
This was the most difficult category to pick for me.  Guillermo del Toro was very nearly my choice, while Patty Jenkins, Matt Reeves, and M. Night Shyamalan all made strong cases as well, but Christopher Nolan is the director I ultimately felt wowed the most in 2017.  Nolan's Dunkirk really feels like a lost World War 2 epic from the Golden Age of cinema, only if Hitchcock and John Ford combined their efforts and co-directed a tense, but stirring war epic.
Runners-Up:
2.) Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
3.) Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman
4.) Lee Unkrich, Coco
5.) M. Night Shyamalan, Split


Best Picture - Coco
The best movie of the year was a little tricky to settle on.  It really pains me to not give it to Star Wars: The Last Jedi due to my immense love of all things Star Wars, but there were a few better movies than the latest Star Wars installment and the best of those movies was Coco.  Pixar has made another masterpiece with Coco, telling a story about a young boy in Mexico named Miguel who wants nothing more than to be a musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz, the only problem is his family forbids music.  On the evening of the Day of the Dead, Miguel somehow finds himself transported to the Land of the Dead where he embarks on an adventure that highlights the importance of family and the passing down of stories.  Like all Pixar movies, there are some heavier themes at play here than in your average kids movie, but Coco more than delivers with the laughs with Miguel's dog sidekick, Dante, garnering the vast majority.  All in all, I loved every last minute of Coco and found it a very engaging movie that was thoughtful, funny, and an imaginative blast from start to finish.
Runners-Up:
2.) Logan
3.) Star Wars: The Last Jedi
4) The Big Sick
5.) Wonder Woman
6.) War for the Planet of the Apes
7.) Spider-Man: Homecoming
8.) Split
9.) Going In Style
10.) The LEGO Batman Movie