Oscar Predictions 2023

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2023

I have viewed every nominee with the exception of Close, How Do You Measure a Year, An Irish Goodbye, and The Red Suitcase.

Best Picture
1. The Fabelmans
2. The Banshees of Inisherin
3. Everything Everywhere All at Once
4. All Quiet on the Western Front
5. Elvis
6. Tár
7. Avatar: The Way of Water
8. Top Gun: Maverick
9. Triangle of Sadness
10. Women Talking
Snubbed: The Whale
Will Win: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Director
1. Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)
2. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
3. Martin McDonough (The Banshees of Inisherin)
4. Todd Field (Tár)
5. Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness)
Snubbed: James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water)
Will Win: Martin McDonough

Best Actor
1. Brendan Fraser (The Whale)
2. Austin Butler (Elvis)
3. Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)
4. Bill Nighy (Living)
5. Paul Mescal (Aftersun)
Snubbed: Felix Kammerer (All Quiet on the Western Front)
Will Win: Austin Butler

Best Actress
1. Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
2. Ana de Armas (Blonde)
3. Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie)
4. Cate Blanchett (Tár)
5. Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans)
Snubbed: Viola Davis (The Woman King)
Will Win: Michelle Yeoh

Best Supporting Actor
1. Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
2. Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans)
3. Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin)
4.  Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin)
5. Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway)
Snubbed: Paul Dano (The Fabelmans)
Will Win: Ke Huy Quan

Best Supporting Actress 
1. Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin)
2. Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
3. Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
4. Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
5. Hong Chau (The Whale)
Snubbed: Sadie Sink (The Whale)
Will Win: Angela Bassett

Best Original Screenplay
1. The Banshees of Inisherin
2. Everything Everywhere All at Once
3. Tár
4. The Fabelmans
5. Triangle of Sadness
Snubbed: Aftersun
Will Win: The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. All Quiet on the Western Front
2. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
3. Living
4. Women Talking
5. Top Gun: Maverick
Will Win: Women Talking

Best Animated Feature Film
1. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
2. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
3. The Sea Beast
4. Turning Red
5. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On 
Will Win: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

Best International Feature Film
1. All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
2. The Quiet Girl (Ireland)
3. Argentina 1985 (Argentina)
4. EO (Poland)
Will Win: All Quiet on the Western Front

Best Documentary Feature Film
1. Navalny
2. Fire of Love
3. A House Made of Splinters
4. All That Breathes
5. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Will Win: Navalny

Best Documentary Short Subject
1. Haulout
2. Stranger at the Gate
3. The Elephant Whisperers
4. The Martha Mitchell Effect
Will Win: Stranger at the Gate

Best Live Action Short Film
1. Ivalu
2. Night Ride
3. Le Pupille
Will Win: Le Pupille

Best Animated Short Film
1. Ice Merchants
2. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
3. An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It
4. My Year of Dicks
5. The Flying Sailor
Will Win: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

Best Cinematography
1. Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths (Darius Khondji)
2. Elvis (Mandy Walker)
3. All Quiet on the Western Front (James Friend)
4. Tár (Florian Hoffmeister)
5. Empire of Light (Roger Deakins)
Snubbed: Babylon
Will Win: All Quiet on the Western Front

Best Film Editing
1. Everything Everywhere All at Once
2. Elvis
3. Top Gun: Maverick
4. Tár
5. The Banshees of Inisherin
Snubbed: All Quiet on the Western Front
Will Win: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Original Score
1. Justin Hurwitz (Babylon)
2. Carter Burwell (The Banshees of Inisherin)
3. Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet on the Western Front)
4. Son Lux (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
5. John Williams (The Fabelmans)
Snubbed: Alexandre Desplat (Guillermo del Toro's Pinnochio)
Will Win: Justin Hurwitz

Best Original Song
1. Naatu Naatu (from RRR)
2. Lift Me Up (from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
3. Hold My Hand (from Top Gun: Maverick)
4. This Is A Life (from Everything Everywhere All at Once)
5. Applause (from Tell It Like a Woman)
Snubbed: Ciao Papa (from Guillermo del Toro's Pinnochio)
Will Win: Naatu Naatu

Best Sound
1. Elvis
2. All Quiet on the Western Front
3. Top Gun: Maverick
4. Avatar: The Way of Water
5. The Batman
Snubbed: Nope
Will Win: Top Gun: Maverick

Best Visual Effects
1. Avatar: The Way of Water
2. Top Gun: Maverick
3. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
4. All Quiet on the Western Front
5. The Batman
Snubbed: Nope
Will Win: Avatar: The Way of Water

Production Design
1. Avatar: The Way of Water
2. Elvis
3. Babylon
4. The Fabelmans
5. All Quiet on the Western Front
Snubbed: Empire of Light
Will Win: Elvis

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
1. The Whale
2. The Batman
3. Elvis
4. All Quiet on the Western Front
5. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Will Win: The Whale

Best Costume Design
1. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
2. Elvis
3. Babylon
4. Everything Everywhere All at Once
5. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Will Win: Elvis

Oscar Predictions 2022

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2022

Disclaimer: These are my personal rankings of the films in each category, not my prediction of who I believe The Academy will choose.  I have viewed every nominee with the exception of Ala Kachuu - Take and Run, The Dress, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, and Writing with Fire.

Best Picture
1. Belfast
2. CODA

3. West Side Story

4. The Power of the Dog

5. King Richard

6. Dune

7. Nightmare Alley

8. Licorice Pizza

9. Drive My Car

10. Don't Look Up

Best Director

1. Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)

2. Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

3. Steven Spielberg (West Side Story)

4. Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)

5. Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car)

Best Actor

1. Will Smith (King Richard)

2. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)

3. Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos)

4. Andrew Garfield (tick, tick...BOOM!)

5. Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth)

Best Actress

1. Jessica Chastain (Eyes of Tammy Faye)

2. Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos)

3. Kristen Steward (Spencer)

4. Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers)

5. Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Troy Kotsur (CODA)

2. Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)

3. Ciaran Hinds (Belfast)

4. J.K. Simmons (Being the Ricardos)

5. Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Ariana Debose (West Side Story)

2. Judi Dench (Belfast)

3. Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)

4. Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog)

5. Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Best Original Screenplay

1. Belfast

2. Licorice Pizza

3. King Richard

4. The Worst Person in the World

5. Don't Look Up

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. CODA

2. The Power of the Dog

3. The Lost Daughter

4. Drive My Car

5. Dune

Best Animated Feature Film

1. Encanto

2. Raya and the Last Dragon

3. Luca

4. Flee

5. The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Best International Feature Film

1. Drive My Car

2. The Worst Person in the World

3. Flee

4. The Hand of God

Best Documentary Feature

1. Attica

2. Ascension

3. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

4. Flee

Best Documentary Short Subject

1. Audible

2. Lead Me Home

3. The Queen of Basketball

4. When We Were Bullies

5. Three Songs for Benazir

Best Live Action Short Film

1. On My Mind

2. Please Hold

3. The Long Goodbye

Best Animated Short Film

1. Robin Robin

2. Bestia

3. Boxballet

4. The Windshield Wiper

5. Affairs of the Art

Best Original Score

1. Dune (Hans Zimmer)

2. The Power of the Dog (Jonny Greenwood)

3. Parallel Mothers (Alberto Iglesias)

4. Encanto (Germaine Franco)

5. Don't Look Up (Nicholas Britell)

Best Original Song

1. No Time to Die (from No Time to Die)

2. Dos Oruguitas (from Encanto)

3. Be Alive (from King Richard)

4. Down to Joy (from Belfast)

5. Somehow You Do (from Four Good Days)

Best Sound

1. West Side Story

2. No Time to Die

3. Dune

4. Belfast

5. The Power of the Dog

Best Production Design

1. West Side Story

2. The Tragedy of Macbeth

3. Nightmare Alley

4. The Power of the Dog

5. Dune

Best Cinematography

1. The Power of the Dog

2. West Side Story

3. Dune

4. Nightmare Alley

5. The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

1. The Eyes of Tammy Faye

2. House of Gucci

3. Coming 2 America

4. Cruella

5. Dune

Best Costume Design

1. Cruella

2. West Side Story

3. Nightmare Alley

4. Dune

5. Cyrano

Best Film Editing

1. King Richard

2. The Power of the Dog

3. Dune

4. tick, tick...BOOM!

5. Don't Look Up

Best Visual Effects

1. Dune

2. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

3. Spider-Man: No Way Home

4. Free Guy

5. No Time to Die

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2021

 OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2021

Disclaimer: These are my personal rankings of the films in each category, not my prediction of who I believe The Academy will choose.  I have viewed all 54 Oscar-nominated films this year.

Best Picture
1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Mank
3. Promising Young Woman
4. Sound of Metal
5. The Father
6. Nomadland ***will win***
7. Minari
8. Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Director
1. Chloe Zhao (Nomadland)
2. David Fincher (Mank)
3. Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman)
4. Lee Isaac Chung (Minari)
5. Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round)

Best Actor
1. Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)
2. Anthony Hopkins (The Father)
3. Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)
4. Gary Oldman (Mank)
5. Steven Yeun (Minari)

Best Actress
1. Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)
2. Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman)
3. Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)
4. Frances McDormand (Nomadland)
5. Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holliday)

Best Supporting Actor
1. Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)
2. Sacha Baren Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
3. Paul Raci (Sound of Metal)
4. Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami)
5. LaKeith Stanfield (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Best Supporting Actress
1. Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy)
2. Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)
3. Amanda Seyfried (Mank)
4. Youn Yun-jung (Minari) ***will win***
5. Olivia Colman (The Father)

Best Original Screenplay
1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Promising Young Woman
3. Sound of Metal
4. Judas and the Black Messiah
5. Minari ***will win***

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Nomadland
2. The Father
3. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
4. The White Tiger
5. One Night in Miami

Best Animated Feature Film
1. Onward
2. Wolfwalkers
3. Over the Moon
4. Soul ***will win***
5. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Best International Feature Film
1. Better Days
2. The Man Who Sold His Skin
3. Another Round ***will win***
4. Quo Vadis, Aida?
5. Collective

Best Documentary Feature
1. My Octopus Teacher
2. Time
3. The Mole Agent
4. Crip Camp
5. Collective

Best Documentary Short Subject
1. Colette
2. Do Not Split
3. Hunger Ward
4. A Concerto is a Conversation
5. A Love Song for Latasha

Best Live Action Short Film
1. Feeling Through
2. Two Distant Strangers ***will win***
3. White Eye
4. The Present
5. The Letter Room

Best Animated Short Film
1. If Anything Happens I Love You
2. Burrow
3. Opera
4. Yes-People
5. Genius Loci

Best Original Score
1. Mank (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
2. Soul (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) ***will win***
3. News of the World (James Newton Howard)
4. Minari (Emile Mosseri)
5. Da 5 Bloods (Terence Blanchard)

Best Original Song
1. Speak Now (from One Night in Miami)
2. Hear My Voice (from The Trial of the Chicago 7)
3. Husavik (from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga)
4. Io Si (from The Life Ahead)
5. Fight For You (from Judas and the Black Messiah)
*ROCKET TO THE MOON (FROM OVER THE MOON) DESERVES TO WIN THIS CATEGORY BUT WAS NOT NOMINATED

Best Sound
1. Sound of Metal
2. Greyhound
3. News of the World
4. Mank
5. Soul

Best Production Design
1. Mank
2. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
3. News of the World
4. Tenet
5. The Father

Best Cinematography
1. Nomadland
2. Mank
3. The Trial of the Chicago 7
4. Judas and the Black Messiah
5. News of the World

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
1. Pinocchio
2. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom ***will win***
3. Hillbilly Elegy
4. Emma
5. Mank

Best Costume Design
1. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Mank
3. Emma
4. Mulan
5. Pinocchio

Best Film Editing
1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Sound of Metal
3. The Father
4. Nomadland
5. Promising Young Woman

Best Visual Effects
1. Tenet
2. The One and Only Ivan
3. Love and Monsters
4. The Midnight Sky
5. Mulan

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2020

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2020

Disclaimer: These are the films that I personally believe should win in each category, not my prediction of who I believe The Academy will choose.  Also, I did not see a large number of the Oscar nominees this year.

Best Picture – 1st Pick: 1917, 2nd Pick: Joker
Best Director – 1st Pick: Sam Mendes, 2nd Pick: Quentin Tarantino (will win)
Best Actor – 1st Pick: Joaquin Phoenix, 2nd Pick: Leonardo DiCaprio
Best Actress – 1st Pick: Renee Zellweger
Best Supporting Actor – 1st Pick: Brad Pitt, 2nd Pick: Joe Pesci
Best Supporting Actress – 1st Pick: Laura Dern
Cinematography – 1st Pick: 1917, 2nd Pick: The Irishman
Film Editing – 1st Pick: The Irishman, 2nd Pick: Joker
Original Screenplay – 1st Pick: Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, 2nd Pick: 1917
Adapted Screenplay – 1st Pick: Joker, 2nd Pick: The Irishman
Production Design – 1st Pick: Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, 2nd Pick: 1917
Costume Design – 1st Pick: Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, 2nd Pick: The Irishman
Makeup and Hairstyling – 1st Pick: Joker, 2nd Pick: 1917
Best Animated Feature – 1st Pick: Klaus, 2nd Pick: Toy Story 4 (will win) BUT FROZEN 2 SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED AND WON

International Feature – 1st Pick: Parasite

Best Original Score – 1st Pick: John Williams (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), 2nd Pick: Thomas Newman (1917)
Best Original Song – 1st Pick: Into the Unknown (Frozen 2)
Visual Effects – 1st Pick: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, 2nd Pick: Avengers: Endgame (will win)
Sound Editing – 1st Pick: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, 2nd Pick: 1917 (will win)
Sound Mixing – 1st Pick: 1917, 2nd Pick: Joker

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2019

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2019

Disclaimer: These are the films that I personally believe should win in each category, not my prediction of who I believe The Academy will choose.  Also, I did not see Border, Cold War, Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Mary Queen of Scots, Mirai, Never Look Away, or Of Fathers and Sons

Best Picture – 1st Pick: Roma, 2nd Pick: A Star Is Born (but Green Book will win if Roma doesn't)
Best Director – 1st Pick: Alfonso Cuaron, 2nd Pick: Spike Lee
Best Actor – 1st Pick: Bradley Cooper, 2nd Pick: Rami Malek (will win)
Best Actress – 1st Pick: Glenn Close, 2nd Pick, Lady Gaga
Best Supporting Actor – 1st Pick: Mahershala Ali, 2nd Pick: Richard E. Grant
Best Supporting Actress – 1st Pick: Rachel Weisz, 2nd Pick: Emma Stone (but Regina King will win)
Cinematography – 1st Pick: Roma, 2nd Pick: A Star Is Born
Film Editing – 1st Pick: Bohemian Rhapsody, 2nd Pick: Green Book
Original Screenplay – 1st Pick: Green Book, 2nd Pick: Roma
Adapted Screenplay – 1st Pick: A Star Is Born, 2nd Pick: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (but BlacKkKlansman will win)
Production Design – 1st Pick: First Man, 2nd Pick: The Favourite (but Black Panther will win)
Costume Design – 1st Pick: Black Panther, 2nd Pick: The Favourite
Makeup and Hairstyling – 1st Pick: Vice, 2nd Pick: Mary Queen of Scots
Best Animated Feature – 1st Pick: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 2nd Pick: Incredibles 2
Best Animated Short – 1st Pick: Bao

Documentary Feature – 1st Pick: Free Solo, 2nd Pick: RBG

Foreign Language Film – 1st Pick: Roma, 2nd Pick: Cold War

Best Original Score – 1st Pick: Alexandre Desplat (Isle of Dogs), 2nd Pick: Marc Shaiman (Mary Poppins Returns)
Best Original Song – 1st Pick: Shallow (A Star Is Born), 2nd Pick: The Place Where Lost Things Go (Mary Poppins Returns)
Visual Effects – 1st Pick: Ready Player One, 2nd Pick: First Man (will win)
Sound Editing – 1st Pick: A Quiet Place, 2nd Pick: First Man
Sound Mixing – 1st Pick: A Star Is Born, 2nd Pick: First Man

Movie Reviews for 2019 Oscar Nominees

At Eternity's Gate

Avengers: Infinity War

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Christopher Robin

The Favourite

First Man

First Reformed

If Beale Street Could Talk

Isle of Dogs

A Quiet Place

Roma

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Vice

The Wife

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - 9 stars out of 10

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - 9 stars out of 10

"The Balled of Buster Scruggs” is an anthology Western with every bit of wit and dark humor that you expect from the Cohen Brothers.  Is it one of those rare movies that I finished and wanted to immediately start watching again.  Each vignette is completely memorable in its own way, which provides a diverse viewing experience that feels cohesive because of its unified tone and setting.  It has been trendy to rank the vignettes so I will do the same:

1. All Gold Canyon

2. The Gal Who Got Rattled

3. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

4. Meal Ticket

5. The Mortal Remains

6. Near Algodones

Honestly, a ranking probably isn’t fair because they are all so good.  As a whole, the collection of stories work well together but I would have much preferred to see the order adjusted so that the film ended with All Gold Canyon or The Gal Who Got Rattled.  After five poignant conclusions, the ending of the final vignet seems rather anticlimactic, though I can’t fault the Coen Brothers for choosing to end the film with one of their original stories instead of one of the two that was based on someone else’s work.  I love the incorporation of traditional songs into Carter Burwell score (particularly "Mother Machree").  The violence is a bit graphic but it fits with the Western setting.  I found this to be one of the more entertaining films of 2018 and I’m glad that it was acknowledged with Oscar nominations for Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design, and Original Song.  Hopefully this will encourage Netflix to continue producing content that is worthy of the Awards circuit.  “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” might seem a little highbrow for some but I feel that it is accessible to most audiences.  Each story lasts about 15 minutes and you’re on to the next one if it didn’t appeal to you.  Anyone with a subscription to Netflix is missing out if they don’t give this one a shot!

[Pictured: This film is highly entertaining even if you aren't a fan of Westerns]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - 10 stars out of 10

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - 10 stars out of 10

I approached “Spider-Man: In the Spider-Verse” with much skepticism.  It seemed too soon considering how busy Spidey has been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  And is there even room for an animated Spider-Man film in an oversaturated superhero market?  I wrote this film off until it won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and my curiosity was piqued.  There was no way that it could be better than “Incredibles 2” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” right?  But I am now a believer.  “Into the Spider-Verse” is unquestionably the best animated film of 2018 and I would argue that it is the greatest Spider-Man movie ever made.  The film is a 3-dimensional comic book, combining realistic computer animated characters with speech bubbles and split screens that resemble a comic book page.  The film utilizes quick cuts along the lines of “The Big Short,” though we can’t refer to this as “film editing” because it is animated.  It has a completely unique visual style that sets it apart from every other film.  Aside from the unforgettable visual presentation, the story is well-conceived and profound in its use of parallel universes.  The parallel universe concept allowed the writers to create an Avengers-like crew comprised of Spider-Mans (Spider-Men?) including Miles Morales, Peter Parker, a less refined Peter Parker, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, and my favorite: Peter Porker/Spider-Ham.  It is genius.  This could often be viewed as a gimmick but it fits perfectly in the context of Kingpin's evil plan.  I was especially amazed at the texture variation and physical depth between multiple characters in a single shot.  They were each rendered differently depending on which universe they were from.  The film has the perfect balance of comedy, drama, and action.  The only problem is that Sony probably cannot ever match this film.  It is doubtful that they could conceive a better story and mimicking the style of this one would be just as disappointing as trying do something inferior.  “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is a cutting edge animated film that may change the way that studios approach superhero films.  It is a great reminder that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

[Pictured: This has to be the first time that a film has created a superhero team out of several iterations of a single superhero and it is incredible]