Oscars 2016- My final predictions

Hey, Oscar fever will finally be over soon. It's this Sunday so it's now time to predict those final winners of the awards. Will I get them all right? Almost certainly not. Will I guess Best Documentary correctly? Of course I will. The rest, it's hard to say. Okay, let's predict!


Best Documentary- Amy (Correct)

Amy is one of the best films of the year, easily the best documentary. I appreciate that this sounds closed minded having seen none of the other nominees but it has to win. I honestly have no idea what could be better than this, plus it's already won a Bafta, which helps it's chances. Amy all the way.


Best Animated Film- Inside Out (Correct)

I really expected to see The Good Dinosaur and The Peanuts Movie get nominated here but that didn't matter too much because I preferred Inside Out to both already. Where my real conundrum came was with Anomalisa. Both are films that I rate as perfect 10s and both utilise animation in unique and exciting ways. Eventually, I feel like Inside Out will take it because it's far more accessible and doesn't have Charlie Kaufman's strange thumbprints all over each scene. I prefer Inside Out but it does pain me to see Anomalisa's one nomination being a loss.


Best Cinematography- The Revenant (Correct)

Here was a tough race this year. We have had some absolutely beautiful films over the past 12 months and some didn't even get nominated. Where is Ex Machina, where is Macbeth, where is Inside Out? Regardless, the films here were good. Mad Max: Fury Road was visually breathtaking but I don't think it did enough. Sicario had its one nomination here and deservedly so. In any other year, it would be a shoe in as it's visuals are probably the highlight of an already great film. Unfortunately, Sicario came out the same year as The Revenant and that could well be one of the most beautiful films of the last decade. Through it's quiet moments, the film remained a delight to look at and this is one award it has in the bag.


Best Original Screenplay- Inside Out (close between Ex Machina) (Incorrect- Spotlight)

As far as I'm concerned, this was always a two horse race. It looked like Ex Machina would take it for it's exciting tackling of AI and everything surrounding it. The screenplay also managed to make a tired concept in sci-fi seem fresh and new and actually gave me, a fan of sci-fi, something new to think about. Inside Out also came out though and that film was fresh and exciting like nothing else. The whole script was full of "that's genius" moments and will be many future parent's go-to for explaining the complex and confusing world in our heads. For making us laugh and making us think, I'd give it to Inside Out.


Best Director- Alejandro G. Inarritu for The Revenant (Correct)

It does feel like a cop out to give the award to Alejandro G. Inarritu for a second year in a row but he deserves it. I would have considered Ridley Scott for The Martian or Dennis Villeneuve for Sicario but criminally, neither was nominated. George Miller absolutely deserves recognition for masterminding the chaos of Fury Road and turning a two hour car chase into an exciting story with superb visuals and a coherent narrative. But yeah, it's The Revenant. Innaritu went above and beyond while filming this and the fact that he got a film at all from his work was incredibly, let alone the fact that it's one of the best films at this year's Oscars.

Best Supporting Actress- Kate Winslet for Steve Jobs (Incorrect- Alicia Vikander but for The Danish Girl, not Ex Machina which she should have got it for)

A case of "I didn't have a better option", I have chosen Kate Winslet for supporting actress because I've not seen any of the other films on the list. I thought Alicia Vikander was fantastic in Ex Machina but that isn't what she's nominated for and she would deserve leading actress for that film. I dunno, Kate Winslet was pretty damn good in Steve Jobs and she won the Golden Globe. It seems likely and the Academy seem to like her. Safe bet basically.


Best Supporting Actor- Sylvester Stallone for Creed (Incorrect- Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies)

I haven't really seen many of the films in this category. I hear Mark Rylance was good in Bridge of talent and Christian Bale and Mark Ruffalo are both reliably good. I did actually see Tom Hardy in The Revenant and he was another great part of that already great film but there was one man who did a better job: Sylvester Stallone in Creed. I've never seen a single other Rocky film but I now need to see them all. Stallone gave an incredibly emotional performance and in my mind, is no longer just the actor whose every line sounds slurred. He's now an Oscar worthy actor with real talent.

Best Actress- Brie Larson for Room (Correct)

Room is the only film I've seen on this list so it's hard for me to judge. Cate Blanchett in Carol is meant to be good, Jennifer Lawrence is always pretty decent and people seem to like Brooklyn a lot. Charlotte Rampling is the right age and race for the voters so they may choose her but Brie Larson gave an amazing performance in Room. While I wasn't as crazy about the film as everyone else, she deserves every modacombe of praise that's been heaped upon her. It's an emotional film and without someone to effectively convey those emotions, it's nothing. The film's success relies on her and on that basis, she should get the award.

Best Actor- Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant (Correct)

Guys, it's going to be this year. Let 2016 be known as the year that Leonardo DiCaprio finally gets his Oscar. He's got pretty good competition but that won't stop him. Bryan Cranston is meant to be the sole shining light of Trumbo but he'll have other years. Eddie Redmayne was transgender but we all know how the Academy feel about diversity. If he wins (and I mean no offence to Redmayne or the trans community here) it'll be a token win to show that the Academy can be progressive. Matt Damon had to carry pretty much all of The Martian and was likable as hell. It's just not really an Oscar performance, it was too easy for him. Michael Fassbender is the closest other bet as a terrific Steve Jobs and I wouldn't be angry if he got it. Unfortunately for everyone else, DiCaprio is going to out-grunt all of them and finally take that trophy. I mean, he's got to. Right?


Best Picture- The Revenant (Incorrect- Spotlight)

What a race it's been this year. I haven't seen every film on the list because no one has but I'll quickly run them down. The Big Short: people are liking it and it's been winning a surprising amount of awards so it's got an outside chance. Brooklyn: no idea. It has Irish people in it, I know that. Bridge of Spies: it's Spielberg and it's Hanks, people love them. Could win because #america but probably shouldn't. Mad Max Fury Road: I loved it and it's great but it's too out there for the Academy. It's the best film here but too weird. The Martian: Matt Damon is likable but it feels too simple for Best Picture. Room: I like it but not this much. Everyone else loves it so it could do it. Spotlight: talented cast, controversial topic and slickly directed, it could well win because it fits the formula. The Revenant: the clear favourite. A film doesn't get nominated 12 times if people don't like it. For my money, it's probably also the most technically impressive film here and it's a damn entertaining one. It's been going on a hype train hard and it's finally approaching the final station.

So how wrong do you think I am? Probably a fair bit but hey, I tried. And come back on Thursday for the even more exciting Razzie predictions. The Razzies: for those who are bored with good films.