It has now been over two months
since my last post, and I unfortunately am still viewless. That's right, I have
yet to see a theatrical release this year. Unlike past years, fortunately, this
is not for lack of material. I want to see the following films, most of them
because they're supposed to be good (the exception(s) are obvious):
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes
Anderson is one of my favorite directors/writers around. End of story. Wait,
Ralph Fiennes.
Noah - The controversy can die a
quick death as far as I'm concerned. In the midst of all the religious schlock
(and I'm a practicing Christian) released every year around the time (Easter),
a Biblical film made for entertainment, something that arguably hasn't been
done since the 1950s has just been released with CGI, bearded Russell Crowe,
Emma Watson, and a probably underused Ray Winstone (also not 217 minutes long)
, and I'll drown before I skip it.
The Lego Movie - I thought it was
going to be seen as child-only material, but it surprised (not just me, I don't
think), and I now I really want to see it.
Only Lovers Left Alive - Jim
Jarmusch, Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, AND JOHN HURT!!! What's there to deter
me?
Muppets Most Wanted - I'm sure it
won't be as good as the initial reboot, but it doesn't need to be to entertain
me (especially with Tina Fey in the cast).
300: Rise of an Empire - Eva Green
Enemy - Given Jake Gyllenhaal's
powerhouse performance in Prisoners, I'm incredibly excited to see if he can
continue putting out top-notch work.
Under the Skin – I like science
fiction and appreciate Scarlett Johansson’s acting abilities slighty (ONLY
SLIGHTLY) more than most, so when she’s praised more highly than ever before
I’m in. Also, I’m a fan of well-made sci-fi, and this looks to fit that bill.
Jodorowsky's Dune - The trailer
looked fascinating. I can also get angry it never was (nor will it ever be)
made.
To a lesser extent, I also want to
see:
Oculus - I don't like horror
because I think the scare methods are clichéd and dumb nowadays, but this one,
at least according to early reviews sounds different.
Draft Day - I'll admit it, I want
to see it, unless it gets poor reviews, of course.
The Railway Man - It's probably be
schmaltzy and pastiche, but I have to cover all of my bases. This is just the
sort of film the Oscars like going for. The issue is, of course, it came out
6-8 months too early.
Joe - Nicolas Cage's beard looks
horribly fake, at least in production stills, but Tye Sheridan gave the best
child performance I've ever seen in Mud last year, and I can't wait to see what
he does next. This is down here instead of above because I fear it will be too
similar, and therefore inferior, to Mud.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- I haven't seen an entire Marvel movie since Iron Man (I've only seen parts of
Iron Man 2), but the buzz this is receiving beyond just the usual good visual effects
stuff is enticing.
Now on to the main point of this
article, Oscar predictions, 10 months out. I’m not going to touch on the
non-major categories, except to say that I hope Roger Deakins finally wins for
Unbroken, regardless of how good his work actually ends up being in it.
The vast majority, if not all, of
my contenders are taken from the contenders listed by Clayton Davis at [link to
http://www.awardscircuit.com/oscar-predictions/
as Awards Circuit] (I just don’t have time to do it any other way), but where I
place the films will be different
Best Picture:
First 10:
1.
Big Eyes—Tim Burton
2. Birdman—Alejandro
González Iñárritu
3. Foxcatcher—Bennett
Miller
4. Fury—David Ayer
5.
Gone Girl—David Fincher
6.
Inherent Vice—Paul Thomas Anderson
7.
Interstellar—Christopher Nolan
8.
The Judge—David Dobkin
9.
Trash—Stephen Daldry
10.
Unbroken—Angelina Jolie
Next 10:
11.
Boyhood—Richard Linklater
12.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby—Ned
Benson
13.
Exodus—Ridley Scott
14.
The Giver—Phillip Noyce
15.
The Grand Budapest Hotel—Wes Anderson
16.
The Homesman—Tommy Lee Jones
17.
Into the Woods—Rob Marshall
18.
Jersey Boys—Clint Eastwood
19.
Kill the Messenger—Michael Cuesta
20.
Suite française—Saul Dibb
Best Director:
First 5:
1.
Paul Thomas Anderson—Inherent Vice
2.
Tim Burton—Big Eyes
3.
David Fincher—Gone Girl
4.
Bennett Miller—Foxcatcher
5.
Christopher Nolan—Interstellar
Next 5:
6.
David Ayer—Fury
7.
Stephen Daldry—Trash
8.
Alejandro González Iñárritu—Birdman
9.
Rob Marshall—Into the Woods
10.
Ridley Scott—Exodus
Another 10:
11.
Wes Anderson—The Grand Budapest
Hotel
12.
Ned Benson—The Disappearance of
Eleanor Rigby
13.
J.C. Chandor—A Most Violent Year
14.
David Cronenberg—Map to the Stars
15.
Michael Cuesta—Kill the Messenger
16.
Saul Dibb—Suite française
17.
David Dobkin—The Judge
18.
Angelina Jolie—Unbroken
19.
Richard Linklater—Boyhood
20.
Terrence Malick—Knight of Cups
Best Actor:
First 5:
1.
Michael Keaton—Birdman
2.
Joaquin Phoenix—Inherent Vice
3.
Brad Pitt-Fury
4.
Robert Downey, Jr.—The Judge
5.
Robin Williams—The Angriest Man in
Brooklyn
Next 5:
6.
Steve Carell—Foxcatcher
7.
Brendan Gleeson—Calvary
8.
Philip Seymour Hoffman—A Most
Wanted Man
9.
James McAvoy—The Disappearance of Eleanor
Rigby
10.
Timothy Spall—Mr. Turner
Another 10:
11.
Ben Affleck—Steve Carell
12.
Chadwick Boseman—Get on Up
13.
Benedict Cumberbatch—The Imitation
Game
14.
Ralph Fiennes—The Grand Budapest
Hotel
15.
Tom Hardy—The Drop
16.
Matthew McConaughey—Interstellar
17.
Viggo Mortensen—The Two Faces of
January
18.
Michael Shannon—99 Homes
19.
Timothy Spall—Mr. Turner
20.
Christoph Waltz—Big Eyes
Many places have Michael Fassbender
in Macbeth, but IMDB has that listed as a likely 2015 release, so I have not
listed it. If Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem ever gets a US release,
Christoph Waltz may get in the Another 10 section.
Best Actress:
First 5:
1.
Amy Adams—Big Eyes
2.
Jessica Chastain—The Disappearance
of Eleanor Rigby
3.
Jennifer Lawrence—Serena
4.
Scarlett Johansson—Under the Skin
5.
Jennifer Garner—Men, Women, &
Children
Next 5:
6.
Emily Blunt—Into the Woods
7.
Christina Hendricks—How to Catch a
Monster
8.
Julianne Moore—Map to the Stars
9.
Rosamund Pike—Gone Girl
10.
Hilary Swank—The Homesman
Another 10:
11.
Cate Blanchett—Carol
12.
Jessica Chastain—Miss Julie
13.
Marion Cotillard—The Immigrant
14.
Kirsten Dunst—The Two Faces of
January
15.
Nicole Kidman—The Railway Man
16.
Carey Mulligan—Far from the Madding
Crowd
17.
Natalie Portman—Jane Got a Gun
18.
Charlize Theron—Dark Places
19.
Mia Wasikowska—Madame Bovary
20.
Reese Witherspoon—Wild
Like Fassbender, I left out
Cotillard in Macbeth (who would’ve made it into my First 5) because of my
uncertainty about the release date.
Best Supporting Actor:
First 5:
1.
Steve Buscemi—The Cobbler
2.
Robert Duvall—The Judge
3.
Oscar Isaac—Mojave
4.
Ray Liotta—Kill the Messenger
5.
Edward Norton—Birdman
Next 5:
6.
Josh Brolin—Inherent Vice
7.
Albert Brooks—A Most Violent Year
8.
Johnny Depp—Into the Woods
9.
Chris O’Dowd—Calvary
10.
Mark Ruffalo—Foxcatcher
Another 10:
11.
James Gandolfini—The Drop
12.
Andrew Garfield—99 Homes
13.
John Goodman—The Gambler
14.
Chris Messina—Manglehorn
15.
Scoot McNairy—Black Sea
16.
Gary Oldman—Child 44
17.
Joaquin Phoenix—The Immigrant
18.
Mark Ruffalo—Can a Song Save Your
Life?
19.
James Spader—The Homesman
20.
Stanley Tucci—A Little Chaos
Best Supporting Actress:
First 5:
1.
Judy Greer—Men, Women, &
Children
2.
Anna Kendrick—Into the Woods
3.
Samantha Morton—Miss Julie
4.
Meryl Streep—Into the Woods
5.
Naomi Watts—Birdman
Next 5:
6.
Patricia Arquette—Boyhood
7.
Holly Hunter—Manglehorn
8.
Jena Malone—Inherent Vice
9.
Noomi Rapace—Child 44
10.
Kristin Scott Thomas—Suite française
Another 10:
11.
Viola Davis—Get on Up
12.
Rosemarie DeWitt-Kill the Messenger
13.
Vera Farmiga—The Judge
14.
Brie Larson—The Gambler
15.
Lesley Manville—Mr. Turner
16.
Elisabeth Moss—Listen Up Phillip
17.
Miranda Otto—The Homesman
18.
Lily Rabe—Pawn Sacrifice
19.
Kelly Reilly—Calvary
20.
Krysten Ritter—Big Eyes
Julianne Moore could just as easily
(probably more easily) be nominated here as in Lead.
Adapted Screenplay:
First 5:
1.
Gone Girl—Gillian Flynn
2.
Inherent Vice—Paul Thomas Anderson
3.
Trash—Richard Curtis
4.
Unbroken—Joel and Ethan Coen, William
Nicholson, and Richard LaGravenese
5.
Foxcatcher—E. Max Frye and Dan
Futterman
Next 5:
6.
The Grand Budapest Hotel—Wes Anderson
and Hugo Guiness
7.
The Homesman—Kieran Fitzgerald,
Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Oliver, and Miles Hood Swarthout
8.
Kill the Messenger—Peter Landesman
9.
Suite française—Matt Charman and
Saul Dibb
10.
Wild—Nick Hornby
Another 10:
11.
Child 44—Richard Pryce
12.
Dark Places—Gilles Paquet-Brenner
13.
The Drop—Dennis Lehane
14.
Exodus—Bill Collage, Adam Cooper,
and Steven Zaillian
15.
Far from the Madding Crowd—Thomas Hardy
and David Nicholls
16.
Into the Woods—James Lapine
17.
Men, Women, & Children—James Reitman
and Erin Cressida Wilson
18.
Miss Julie—Liv Ullmann
19.
Serena—Christopher Kyle
20.
The Two Faces of January—Hossein Amini
Original Screenplay:
First 5:
1.
Big Eyes—Scott Alexander and Larry
Karazewski
2. Birdman—Alejandro
González Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo
3.
Boyhood—Richard Linklater
4.
Fury—David Ayer
5.
Mr. Turner—Mike Leigh
Next 5:
6.
Interstellar—Christopher Nolan and
Jonathan Nolan
7.
The Judge—Bill Dubuque, Nick
Schenk, and David Seidler
8.
Magic in the Moonlight—Woody Allen
9.
Mojave—William Monahan
10.
A Most Violent Year—J.C. Chandor
Another 10:
11.
The Cobbler—Thomas McCarthy and
Paul Sado
12.
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby—Ned
Benson
13.
The Good Lie—Margaret Nagle
14.
How to Catch a Monster—Ryan Gosling
15.
The Immigrant—James Gray and Ric
Menello
16.
Jupiter Ascending—Andy Wachowski
and Lana Wachowski
17.
Maps to the Stars—Bruce Wagner
18.
Pawn Sacrifice—Steven Knight,
Stephen J. Rivele, and Christopher Wilkinson
19.
The Rover—Joel Edgerton and David
Michôd
20.
Whiplash—Damien Chazzelle
As you can see, despite wanting to
see the films I discussed at the beginning, I think they have zero chance of
getting on the list early one morning next February.
