Last Minute Obligatory Oscar Picks

It's the time again. The biggest event of the entertainment year, Oscar Night. Yes, a time when the Academy awards the best acting of the past year, while possibly giving out make-out awards to older stars who are "due". Yeah, yeah, I know that's how the industry is works and I know it's what Django Unchained and The Wolf of Wall Street did themselves to be eligible despite having Christmas releases. Still, it bothers me a little. They're simply pandering to the memory of the Academy, who probably has a median age of Methuselah. Granted that pandering didn't work for Selma, but what can you say. It happens. In any case, this is a rather boring year. Not many of the movies were great. They were good, but I wasn't clamoring to run to the theater to see a lot of them. My movie year pretty much consisted of all comic book movies. I just don't go to the theater to see the Oscar bait. It doesn't help that some of said "Oscar bait" is released at festivals and the like just early enough that it can be eligible while not seeing wide release until January (looking at you American Sniper).

In any case, that's enough my incessant rambling. It's time for Oscar picks from a completely uneducated person! I'll cover the majors and possibly a few others. Here we go...

Best Picture

• American Sniper
• Birdman
• Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• Selma
• The Theory of Everything
• Whiplash

Many people don't see any of the nominees for Best Picture. Most of them are festival fare and for the ones that do see wide release aren't widely viewed. That's changed this year. American Sniper has become a phenomenon, and for good reason. It's a good movie about someone many would call a real life American hero, Chris Kyle. However, while his story is touching and Bradley Cooper's performance is affecting, it's not the best of the lot. Whiplash is my favorite of the bunch. But while J.K. Simmons' performance was powerful, it is literally carrying the movie. The race has come down to Birdman and Boyhood. They've run the table during the January awards season. Birdman for its surreal look at the industry. Boyhood for its amazing production technique. I'll say Birdman takes it because sometimes the Academy likes when someone breaks the fourth wall.

Best Director

• Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)
• Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
• Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)
• Richard Linkletter (Boyhood)
• Alejandro G. Inarritu (Birdman)

The amount of planning and work that went into the making of Boyhood is astounding. Say what you will about its pacing, this is truly a work of out. I think that fact alone will be enough to award Richard Linkletter with the award. Wes Anderson delivers a fun movie, vivid in color with The Grand Budapest Hotel, but this is a tough competition here this year. He'll have to wait until another year.

Best Actor

• Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
• Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
• Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
• Michael Keaton (Birdman)
• Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

I'm going to go off script and predict Michael Keaton for the win here. The favorite among everyone else is Eddie Redmayne for his touching portrayal of Stephen Hawking. However, Michael just delivers the performance of a tired actor as only an actor could. Eddie Redmayne will probably walk away with the win here, and I'm perfectly okay with that. I'm just here to maybe call the upset.

Best Actress

• Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)
• Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
• Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
• Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
• Resse Witherspoon (Wild)

I think the race is hotly contested between Marion Cotillard and Julianne Moore. Based on what I've seen of the two, they're both very emotional and touching. I'll go with Julianne Moore based on the generalizations of spitted out and what very little I've seen of this race.

Best Supporting Actor

• Robert Duvall (The Judge)
• Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
• Edward Norton (Birdman)
• Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
• J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

I feel so sorry for everyone else in this category. They picked such a bad time to be nominated. Robert Duvall is of course the lovable stalwart, who could win on reputation alone. Edward Norton has been wowing people since he came on the scene. He deserves an Oscar by now. Same goes for Ethan Hawke. And it's nice to see Mark Ruffalo get on the board. But they were all blown away in the dust this year by J.K. Simmons. His role as a maniacal perfectionist bandleader is just a tour de force. He holds the movie up. He makes it compelling. He must win this award.

Best Supporting Actress

• Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
• Laura Dern (Wild)
• Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
• Emma Stone (Birdman)
• Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

Oh hi, obligatory Meryl Streep nomination. This woman is the modern-day Katherine Hepburn...just without as many wins. Ms. Arquette's commitment to this project over the length of the film is commendable. I think commendable enough to award her with the honor.

That does it for the majors. I'll cover a few of the other categories just briefly below after the jump.


Best Animated Feature
It is an absolute travesty that The Lego Movie wasn't even nominated in the category. Nothing else should win the award in my opinion. However, since something must win, my pick would go to Big Hero 6. Disney took an absolute no-name comic among the public and turned it into a phenomenon. The character of Baymax is one of the greatest things to have ever existed. And that's saying something since he's just a white round robot.

Best Original Song
Since Selma was absolutely blackballed from being nominated for almost anything this year. It seems only fitting that the Academy would stop just a few feet from being absolutely racist and award this Oscar to "Glory". It's actually a very good song sung by John Legend with Common rapping. Very fitting for a movie that didn't receive the glory it deserved.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Whiplash was forcefully thrown in this category thanks to the Academy's interpretation of their rules regarding its eligibility. I think it has a shot to win, but of the many true stories up for nomination this year, the sympathy vote has to go to American Sniper.

Best Original Screenplay
A lot of very good screenplays in this bunch. Based on again, the planning and thoughtfulness that went into Boyhood, I like it here. Honestly, though, I wouldn't be surprised if Birdman or Foxcatcher takes the award. They're very good stories.

That'll do it for me. I'm sure I'll get this 95% right. With the awards season of January and all the "industry talk", many people know of their fates far before Oscar night. The Academy has pretty much made themselves very readable. Still it draws in the people.

Hopefully, NPH can do a great job tonight. Honestly, no one should be surprised if he does. The man comes in with such pedigree. Hosting the Tony's multiple times and hosting the Emmy's, as well as getting his shot at a variety show, he is built for this. Good luck, it's going to be hard to top Ellen DeGeneres. She took the show by the horns and made it a night to remember.

Everybody enjoy. J out. :)