That said, here are my picks for the upcoming Academy Award
nominated movies. Hopefully, I'll be able to check out more in the weeks leading up to the Feb. 18 date.
Also, if you're on Twitter, why not give my
One Sentence Movie Reviews some love?
BEST PICTURE
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Eimer Note: I
loved Room, Big Short, Mad Max and The Martian. I want the Revenant to win. Haven’t seen the rest … yet.
But something just tells me that Spotlight is going to win.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Eimer Note: This is the year of the Leo. He should have won
one for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape a looooong time ago. Never too late though,
right?
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Eimer Note: I thought Brie Larson’s performance was
fantastic. I really felt that she was the character. I dare any mom to watch
this movie and not cry.
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Eimer Note: I loved Tom Hardy in Mad Max and Revenant. But, I'm going with Sly. It seems like everyone wants him to win this one. So, sure, I'll hop on the Italian Stallion bandwagon.
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Eimer Note: My gut is going
with Jason Leigh in this. No really reason, just a feeling. Plus, I haven't seen any of the other performances.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun the Sheep Movie
When Marnie Was There
Eimer Note: I’m surprised Pete and Pixar team didn’t get nominated
for Best Picture.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Sicario
Eimer Note: Haven't seen Carol, but the rest of these movies were beautiful. Revenant was just outstandingly beautiful. Revenant cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki has won the past two years for Gravity and Birdman. He's on a roll!
COSTUME DESIGN
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road The Revenant
Eimer Note: After watching this film in the theater, my wife and I were talking and we had a
feeling that the costume design crew had an orgasm when they found out they
were going to be working on this movie.
DIRECTING
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Eimer Note: Only John Ford (40 & 41) and Joseph Mankiewicz (49 & 50) have won back-to-back Directing
Oscars in the history of the Academy Awards. I'm pretty sure Inarritu is going to be the third.
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Eimer Note: I think it’s a toss-up between Amy, Cartel Land and The Look of
Silence. I chose Cartel Land just because it won an award from the Director’s
Guild. Haven’t seen it, but looking forward to checking it out.
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
Body Team 12
Chau, beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah A
Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom
Eimer Note: I haven’t seen any of these shorts, but I think I’ll go
with Last Day of Freedom.
FILM EDITING
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Eimer Note: With so many different high-octane scenes, and so much damn action, you have to give the award to Max Max, right? Right?
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Embrace of the Serpent Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb
A War
Eimer Note: Haven’t seen it, but I’m hearing some pretty fantastic
things from first-time director Laszlo Nemes.
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Mad Max: Fury Road
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared
The Revenant
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Eimer Note: Did you know Ennio Morricone's unused score for the John Carpenter's The Thing ended up being the chosen score for The Hateful Eight? Yep! Isn't ironic that Kurt Russell was also in both films?
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Earned It,” Fifty Shades of Grey
“Manta Ray,” Racing Extinction
“Simple Song #3,” Youth
“Til It Happens To You,” The Hunting Ground
“Writing’s On The Wall,” Spectre
Eimer Note: I'm convinced that all ‘Bond’ songs win this category. I'm wrong. But, I'm still going to pick it to win this year.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay
(Alles Wird Gut) Shok
Stutterer
Eimer Note: Again, taking a stab with Ave Maria ... because I love the
song?
SOUND EDITING
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Eimer Note: Man, this is a tough category. Maybe the Academy will
spread the wealth an give it Star Wars, although Sicario, Mad Max, Revenent and
Martian deserve some respect as well. Screw it, going with Star Wars.
SOUND MIXING
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
VISUAL EFFECTS
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Eimer Note: Will Ex-Machina get some love? That Revenant bear was
pretty damn impressive, though. Eh, let’s do Star Wars … just because.
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room
Eimer Note: The Big Short was smart, witty and so fucking awesome with
the dialogue. Going with Charles Randolph and Adam McKay on this one.
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Eimer Note: Ex Machina was my favorite movie from last year, but I’m going with Spotlight on this. And, from what I hear, the dialogues was so well written.
That's it! See you on Monday or Tuesday after the Oscars for a post mortem.
