Rated R for Reviewed

Oscars Countdown 2015 t-1 Days: Boyhood

Posted on February 22, 2015 by 17dhuang

And the Oscar goes to…Boyhood! The movie that is predicted to take home the Best Picture Oscar, rightfully so, does have some stiff competition but will most likely take home the big prize. A film that chronicles 12 years of Mason Jr.’s (Ellar Coltrane) life, shows the events that occur in life and how brief and special they can be. The amount of effort that went into this film is tremendous as it follows Coltrane as he grows up from a young boy to an adult. Coltrane does a great job as a growing boy (kind of makes sense since he was playing himself), Patricia Arquette does fantastic as his mother and will probably win an Oscar for her work, and Ethan Hawke who does great like most of the other movies he is in. Richard Linklater who came up with the premise for this film and directed it should win for his directing.
The film has gone back and forth with Birdman on who will win the Best Picture award. Both films have won multiple awards and have the potential to go home with the trophy. This is one of the closest races in recent memory and will be the topic of conversation for years to come.
Reasons it wins:
Richard Linklater, who is the favorite to win director, will carry the film to the Oscar.
It simply gets the award that many people think it deserves.
It overcomes the hurdle that Birdman has placed for it (which again could occur).
Reasons it loses:
Birdman lives up to the hype that it is getting from all the other award shows and overcomes the earlirt struggles that it had.
Linklater doesn’t win the directing Oscar and this leads to a Birdman victory.
Possible Outcome:
Most likely, it does take home the Best Picture Oscar but even experts don’t even know who is going to win. If it doesn’t win that it still will win the Best Supporting Actress with Arquette, Director and maybe Best Film Editing. The worst possible night that Boyhood could have would be losing everything but Best Supporting Actress.

Oscars Countdown 2015 t-2 Days: Selma

Posted on February 20, 2015 by patrickcommers

And the award for biggest snub goes to…Selma! The film that was expected to come home with multiple Oscars might be lucky to receive one win. It is in the top three films discussed to win Best Picture (with Birdman and Boyhood), but has only been nominated for one other category: Best Original Song. The movie focuses on only a fragment of Martin Luther King’s (David Oyelowo) work towards civil rights for African Americans during the 1960’s. At this point in history, The Civil Rights Act had been signed, but many people were still unable to vote in the South. It shows the struggles that King had as he staged the next part of the movement: a march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery in order to convince Congress to pass a bill that will grant them the ability to vote. Oyelowo does a splendid job and should have been nominated for Best Actor for his work, no question (please get Steve Carell out of there, NOW). He delivered a powerful performance and should be celebrated for years, even without a nomination. Tom Wilkinson, who plays Lyndon B. Johnson, also does well and shows the behind the scenes work that occurred between King and Johnson. The director, Ava DuVernay, does a fantastic job at capturing the time that King spent in Selma, and deserves a nomination as well.

Reasons it wins:

The Academy recognizes that this is a great film and that it should go back in time and nominate Oyelowo and DuVernay for Oscars.
They win Best Original Song and pull the upset of the century and take home an award that they deserve (not that many of the other films don’t deserve it, but people have not recognized this film for what it is).

Reasons it loses:

It wasn’t nominated for enough awards. If it got more nominations it might have been in the running.
No actor nominations

Likely Outcome:

Most likely wins Best Original Song but will lose Best Picture.

Oscars Countdown 2015 t-3 Days: The Imitation Game

Posted on February 20, 2015 by patrickcommers

Cumberbatch fans rejoice; fans of Sherlock or one of the other multiple films that Benedict Cumberbatch has starred in the last year were able to witness his best performance yet. The Imitation Game focuses on the extensive work that mathematician Alan Turing, played wonderfully by Cumberbatch, did during World War II trying to break a Nazi code. While doing this Turing attempts to hide his homosexuality from the rest of his team of code breakers (at that time in Britain it was illegal for people to be gay). While the movie does a very good job at telling the story, it doesn’t take as many risks as some of the other Best Picture nominees (i.e. Boyhood, Birdman, or The Grand Budapest Hotel). It is a worthy pick for a Best Picture nomination, but doesn’t have a wow factor behind it. The acting is still superb. Along with Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley plays off the characters very well. The supporting cast as a whole is bland otherwise, but Knightley shows glimmers of perfection.

Reasons it wins:

Nominated for the second most Oscars with eight categories.
If Birdman, Boyhood, and The Grand Budapest Hotel all split votes, The Imitation Game comes out on top.
Cumberbatch is still in contention to win best actor.
It was one of the favorites (with Boyhood) at the time of the nomination; it could find one last bit of steam and put it over the edge.
It is the front runner to win Adapted Screenplay.
Its director, Morten Tyldum, is nominated for an Oscar, which usually determines who the front runners for Best Picture are.

Reasons it loses:

Best Director nominee, Morten Tyldum, has gotten zero buzz for his nomination.
Benedict Cumberbatch is in too big of a category of great performances to even be considered.
Keira Knightley is in the same situation as Cumberbatch.
It lost out to The Theory of Everything for Best British film at the BAFTAs.

Possible outcome: Let’s humor The Imitation Game…they probably get one Oscar win

Best Case Scenario: It wins Best Adapted Screenplay and Score.

Worst (and most likely) Case Scenario: It goes home with zero Oscars (which could very easily occur).

Oscars Countdown t-4 days: American Sniper

Posted on February 18, 2015 by patrickcommers

The blockbuster takes control of the Oscars. The late arrival, American Sniper could be the secret surprise that has potential to take home some serious hardware, or could be a major letdown. Bradley Cooper, who has now been nominated for an Oscar three years in a row, might have given the performance that will put him over the edge. Cooper plays Chris Kyle, the most lethal US sniper in history, and tells his story wonderfully. It explores the difficult stress that war puts on a person and the life that one lives on and off the battlefield. Like most war movies, it has received criticism for the gore that it portrays (in my opinion it is very comparable to Saving Private Ryan, at points it has a considerable amount of horrifying sequences that you might have to turn away from). Nonetheless, the Oscar nomination is well deserved. Clint Eastwood does well directing as always and Cooper dazzles the screen. The supporting cast is a little lackluster. Arguably, this story is mainly about Kyle, but no significant performance by the rest of the cast is the main reason that this movie is on the outside looking in at the more deserving films.

Reasons it could win:

It came out the latest, could be fresh in the minds of the voters.
Its box office is more than all the seven other movies combined.
Bradley Cooper is in the three man race to win the best actor Oscar (Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne being the other two)

Reasons it could lose:

It hasn’t had a lot of time to campaign for the Oscar after it came out so late.
Clint Eastwood was not nominated for best director
It was nominated for zero golden globes
Bradley Cooper has seen very little award attention (it was a surprise that he did get nominated, at least right away)

Possible Outcome:

Either the late release could be beneficial to the film or could be the cause for its defeat.

Best case scenario:

It comes home with Sound Mixing and Editing with maybe (and this is a big maybe) the Best Adapted Screenplay or the Best Actor. Worst case scenario: comes home with only one for either Sound Mixing or Editing.

Oscars Countdown t-5 Days: The Theory of Everything

Posted on February 17, 2015 by patrickcommers

The British are coming, the British are coming! With two brilliant films which include The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game, the British have potential. The love story between Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde Hawking as Stephen battles ALS is told brilliantly by Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. Redmayne and Jones are able to replicate the Hawkings’ love well and also the troubles that they faced as Stephen Hawking’s disease worsened. Redmayne also performs at a top notch level when he is able to capture the horrible side effects of ALS, even Stephen Hawking said, “at times, I thought he was me.” Both strong performances by the leading actors, they might be able to lead the way for the film.

Recognized as the best British Film at the BAFTAs, it could be a very silent surprise to take home a couple Oscars. It was nominated for 10 BAFTAs and is now nominated for five Oscars.

Reasons it could win:

The only film of the 8 nominated to have a best actor and best actress nominee.
It won the BAFTA for best British film

Reasons it could lose:

Eddie lost out to Michael Keaton for best actor at the golden globes
Felicity Jones has gone winless at all major award shows

The Theory of Everything would have to win both acting awards, even though it has one of the front runners for best actor, for it to even be in talks for best picture.

Best case scenario:

It takes home the Oscar for Original Score (which pulled off a slight upset at the Golden Globes, and is the best forecast for the eventual Score winner) and the Best Actor Oscar. Worst case scenario: It doesn’t win either of those Oscars and might go home with maybe one Oscar in a smaller category.

Oscars Countdown 2015 t-6 Days: Birdman

Posted on February 17, 2015 by patrickcommers

A washed up actor that once played a big budget superhero tries to takes his talents to Broadway stage. Michael Keaton performs fantastically in the role of Riggan/Birdman with amazing supporting performances by Edward Norton, Emma Stone, and Zach Galifianakis (surprisingly good).

Thought to be the most beautifully shot movie of the year, the film is expected to pick up an Oscar for Cinematography. The movie was shot as to make it look like it was one continuous shot, but director Alejandro González Iñárritu did consider making the whole movie one whole shot. This film is truly a marvel and will be considered not only Michael Keaton’s shining moment but will show the possibilities that come with filming a movie. The movie is also tied with the most nominations, with The Grand Budapest Hotel, this film has the potential to be a big winner or on the losing end of upsets.

Reasons it could win:

It won the Producers Guild, Directors Guild, and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) which are very good predictors at who will win the Oscar
Has picked up steam after a poor showing at the Golden Globes; their campaign to an Oscar has gotten a lot stronger with the awards, stated above, under their belts.
One of the front runners in Cinematography, Directing, and Screenplay. If they are able to take home all three of these they are sure to win the Oscar.
Michael Keaton could carry them to victory. With a three person race for best actor (Bradley Cooper and Eddie Redmayne are the other two) if the voters included in the Academy give Keaton the statue most likely they will be giving it to Birdman.

Reasons it could lose:

It lost out to The Grand Budapest Hotel at the Golden Globes in an otherwise scarce category.
Michael Keaton has an Oscar worthy performance but will most likely lose out.
They lost the BAFTA to Boyhood, their biggest competitor
Not receiving any help from any of the other nominated actors. Emma Stone and Edward Norton have not won any major awards for their performances.

Possible outcome:

There is a very good chance that Birdman comes from behind Boyhood and takes out the film that was once thought to be a sure thing. If Birdman wins, the directing and screenplay Oscar comes with it. If they don’t win they still take home cinematography and maybe screenplay.

Oscars Countdown t-7 Days: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Posted on February 16, 2015 by patrickcommers

Wes Anderson fans have been behind this film for months. Released surprisingly early for a Best Picture Nominee—March last year—,The Grand Budapest Hotel was one that was thought that could be left off the list. But, now with a Golden Globe for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy, the movie has picked up more steam.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a story about a concierge, Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), at one of the best hotels in Europe. It is told beautifully with extravagant, witty dialogue dialogue and superb acting performances from an A-Team of actors (the short list includes Edward Norton, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, and F. Murray Abraham). Gustave H. and his lobby boy, Zero, go to extreme lengths to protect a priceless painting that was bequested to Gustave in one of the frequent visitors of the hotel’s will. Not only did it captivate the fans of Anderson, but newcomers to his style of film were wowed by the quality of the film. The Grand Budapest Hotel is tied with Birdman for the most nominations this year with nine nominations, including Best Director and Original Screenplay.

Reasons it could win:

It won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy or Musical, beating out Birdman who was expected to take home the prize.
New found steam after winning the Golden Globe.
If Oscar voters split on Birdman and Boyhood, this one could steal the victory.
It has the most nominations, including Best Director. Usually, if a film is considered for best picture, the director is nominated as well.

Reasons it wouldn’t win:

Birdman and Boyhood are too good to beat.
Ralph Fiennes didn’t get a Best Actor nomination.
It was expected to win the SAG award, which awards the whole cast for their performance, but it didn’t.
It came out at the wrong time of the year.

Possible outcome:

It would not be surprising if the film took home the most Oscars, but doubtful it will take home the night’s biggest one.

Fair Use image courtesy of Sony Picture Classics

Oscars Countdown t-8 Days: Whiplash

Posted on February 14, 2015 by patrickcommers

Whiplash is the best film of the year. Whiplash chronicles the trials that a young drummer, Andrew (Miles Teller), must overcome to be the best. Oh, it also has one of the worst movie villains of the year in Fletcher (J. K. Simmons) who constantly yells and insults the drummer any chance he gets and of course this man has to be the conductor of the band that he so desperately wants to be a part of. The movie shows the measures that people will go to to be the best at what they do. Even though the film really only consists of two characters, the chemistry that they share on the screen is amazing, even when Fletcher is slapping Andrew across the face when he doesn’t know the tempo of the music.

The director, Damien Chazelle, first made a short film of the same name because he did not have the money to finance the film at the start. What was at first an 18 minute film, thankfully got enough investors on board to finance the full length version. With five nominations this year, Whiplash is tied for fourth in my books with four other films.

Reasons it could win:

It won the Sundance film festival, both entered in as a short film and as a feature length film
J. K. Simmons is the favorite for Best Supporting Actor
Favorite to bring home Best Adapted Screen Play
Reasons it wouldn’t win:
Damien Chazelle was not nominated for best director
It wasn’t nominated for a Golden Globe in Musical or Comedy (even if it was consider more of a drama, the amount of music it included should have placed it in that category)
No one has seen it, has only garnered 10 million during its release.

Possible Outcome:

Best case scenario, they take home three Oscars for Sound, Supporting Actor, and Adapted Screenplay. Worst case scenario, they take home only one for Supporting Actor.