Oscar 2015: What Will Win, What Should Win

The 88th Annual Academy Awards are tonight! It's basically New Year's Eve for me and many others, a sentiment expressed many times by The Film Experience, but also texted to me by friends and said out loud by co-workers.

I've told you what I'd want to win in a perfect world -- let's talk about what I think will win in the actual one.

BEST PICTURE: The Revenant
My personal rankings for the nominees:
1. Spotlight (*****)
2. Brooklyn (*****)
3. The Revenant (****)
4. Mad Max: Fury Road (****)
5. Bridge of Spies (****)
6. The Martian (*** 1/2)
7. The Big Short (***)
8. Room (**)

Complete predictions, and rankings, after the jump...



BEST DIRECTOR: Alejandro Gonzalez Iñàrritu, The Revenant
My personal rankings:
1. Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
2. George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
3. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñàrritu, The Revenant
4. Adam McKay, The Big Short
5. Lenny Abrahamson, Room

BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
My personal rankings:
1. Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
2. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
3. Matt Damon, The Martian
4. Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
5. Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl (this is a straight-up terrible performance, shallow and unconvincing)

BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson, Room
My personal rankings:

1. Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years

2. Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

3. Cate Blanchett, Carol

4. Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

5. Brie Larson, Room

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
My personal rankings:
1. Tom Hardy, The Revenant
2. Sylvester Stallone, Creed
3. Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
4. Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
5. Christian Bale, The Big Short

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
My personal rankings:
1. Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
2. Rooney Mara, Carol (actually my favorite performance here, but it's not supporting, so I deduct a point)
3. Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
4. Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
5. Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Spotlight
My personal rankings:

1. Spotlight

2. Inside Out

3. Bridge of Spies

4. Straight Outta Compton

5. Ex Machina

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Big Short
My personal rankings:
1. Carol
2. Brooklyn
3. The Martian
4. The Big Short
5. Room

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
My personal rankings:
1. Carol
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
3. Sicario
4. The Hateful Eight
5. Bridge of Spies

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "'Til It Happens to You", The Hunting Ground
My personal rankings:
I have not seen either of the documentaries in this category, so I abstain from ranking.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Revenant
My personal rankings:

1. Carol

2. The Revenant

3. Mad Max: Fury Road

4. Sicario

5. The Hateful Eight

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road
My personal rankings:

BEST EDITING: Mad Max: Fury Road
My personal rankings:

1. Spotlight

2. Mad Max: Fury Road

3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

4. The Revenant

5. The Big Short

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road
My personal rankings:

1. Carol 

2. Mad Max: Fury Road

3. Cinderella

4. The Danish Girl

5. The Revenant

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING: Mad Max: Fury Road
My personal rankings:

I will abstain, as I did not even see The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. And I bet most of you haven't, either.

BEST SOUND MIXING: Mad Max: Fury Road
My personal rankings:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

2. The Revenant

3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

4. The Martian

5. Bridge of Spies

BEST SOUND EDITING: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
My personal rankings:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

2. The Revenant

3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

4. The Martian

5. Sicario

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
My personal rankings:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

3. Ex Machina

4. The Martian

5. The Revenant

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Inside Out

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Son of Saul

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Amy

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: "Chau, beyond the lines"

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: "World of Tomorrow"

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: "Ave Maria"

You May Also Enjoy:

ZergNet

Like us on Facebook