Pre-Nominations: Oscar Predictions

Can you believe the Oscar Nominees are tomorrow? More, can you believe that the Critics' Choice Awards are the same night? Does anyone else think that ceremony's gonna rub salt in more than a few wounds? Shouldn't there be two days between Oscar Noms and everything else, just to give us time to heal?

No matter. My alarm is already set to go off at 5:20am Pacific Time so I can watch, for the first time, all 24 categories announced LIVE on YouTube (right here, in fact: https://www.youtube.com/embed/U1G_C6ygtRA). But before I do that ... can I correctly guess how it's going to go? Let's find out!

(And for a look at how things would go in a perfect world, check out my personal ballot for the Ninth Annual Hollmann Awards!).

The predix...after the jump...

The Hollmann Awards Nominees!

Ballots for this year's Academy Awards are due, with the nominees to be named this coming Wednesday. Excitement city! Even more exciting: before you hear what those bums think, you get to see the nominees for the 2014 Hollmann Awards!

I happen to think it's been a great year for film -- check out my Top 25 -- yet this was also one of the easiest times I've ever had making a ballot. Both actress categories were no-brainers; ditto for Best Picture. Actor and Director were more challenging -- and that led to some surprises!

As usual, I deliver the nominees to you in the order in which I locked them in -- except for Best Picture, which I've saved for the end. So, shall we get on with it?

After the jump, I mean...

2014 in Longlists

Longtime readers are familiar with my love of the Longlist. It's a simple concept -- every category gets 15 (or fewer) titles being considered, as a lead up to the release of official nominees. A way of narrowing-down, but letting the fans/readers in on how the mind is working.

Years back, BAFTA used to release them -- the last I remember is 2011, when we got to see who all from My Week with Marilyn made the cut -- but they've since abandoned the process (a shame, since I would have loved to have seen who Rene Russo bested to get her Best Supporting Actress nomination). But I like to keep it going. Mostly to hold off any real decision-making.

So here are the finalists in the 18 categories for the Hollmann Awards.

BEST PICTURE

Beyond the Lights

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Homesman

Ida

A Most Violent Year

Pride

Selma

A Walk Among the Tombstones

We Are the Best!

BEST DIRECTOR

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel 

J.C. Chandor, A Most Violent Year

Damien Chazelle, Whiplash

Ava DuVernay, Selma 

David Fincher, Gone Girl

Scott Frank, A Walk Among the Tombstones 

Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler 

Alain Guiraudie, Stranger by the Lake 

Tommy Lee Jones, The Homesman 

Mike Leigh, Mr. Turner 

Richard Linklater, Boyhood 

Pawel Pawlikowski, Ida 

Gina Prince-Bythewood, Beyond the Lights 

Justin Simien, Dear White People 

Matthew Warchus, Pride

Actress, Song, and...well, the rest, obviously. After the jump.

Top 25 of 2014!

2014 has gone! So what better time to look back on it?

Last year, I labored long and hard over my Top 24, culled from the 91 movies I saw. This year, I did one better: a total of 92. So why not? Let's tick it back up to a full 25. It just feels right.

As usual, everything is ranked from 25 to eleven; my Top Ten is alphabetized, since I like doing my Hollmann Award Nominations all traditional-like. And if you want a complete list of the other 67 films that didn't make it -- check the bottom.

And now that's all done...the Top 25 of 2014!

25. Fury

dir/scr: David Ayer
cin: Roman Vasyanov
A stirring depiction of the horrors of war, exposing not just the brutality done to men in combat -- though that, certainly, is gruesomely on display -- but what is done psychologically. Having the tone and style of the film slowly shift to match the lead's own arc from unwilling participant to "kill 'em all" grunt was effectively executed.

That's just the beginning -- activist, artists, actors, and a whole lot of gays, after the jump!

A Crystal Ball for the Golden Globes

My goodness, the Golden Globes are announcing their nominees tomorrow, too?! Awards Season will be the death of me...in due time.

There's no telling which way the Globes will go -- mostly because I'm never sure what genre certain movies are pushed for -- these are the same people who felt Iron Man should compete in Drama instead of Comedy, after all. They're all crazy.

Nevertheless -- let's try it. Let's try predicting the Globes.

THE DRAMA CATEGORIES

Picture
Boyhood
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Selma
Unbroken
 (the actors, comedy/musical, and more after the jump)

The Actors Speak: SAG Award Nominees

And the Screen Actors Guild Awards film nominees for the year 2014 are:

For Best Stunt Ensemble:
FURY
GET ON UP (say what now? a sign of popularity?)
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES
UNBROKEN
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

For Best Supporting Actor:
ROBERT DUVALL, THE JUDGE
ETHAN HAWKE, BOYHOOD
EDWARD NORTON, BIRDMAN
MARK RUFFALO, FOXCATCHER
J.K. SIMMONS, WHIPLASH

For Best Supporting Actress:
PATRICIA ARQUETTE, BOYHOOD
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, THE IMITATION GAME
EMMA STONE, BIRDMAN
MERYL STREEP, INTO THE WOODS
NAOMI WATTS, ST. VINCENT (whoa whaaaaat)

For Best Actor:
STEVE CARELL, FOXCATCHER
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, THE IMITATION GAME
JAKE GYLLENHAAL, NIGHTCRAWLER (yes, amazing!)
MICHAEL KEATON, BIRDMAN
EDDIE REDMAYNE, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

For Best Actress:
JENNIFER ANISTON, CAKE (well!)
FELICITY JONES, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
JULIANNE MOORE, STILL ALICE
ROSAMUND PIKE, GONE GIRL
REESE WITHERSPOON, WILD

For Best Ensemble:
BIRDMAN
BOYHOOD
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (yay!)
THE IMITATION GAME
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (nnngggh)

***KEEP EVERYTHING BELOW THIS MESSAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH POST - DELETE MESSAGE BEFORE POSTING**
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I Predict....2014 SAG Awards Edition

In just a little over twelve hours, the Screen Actor Guild will announce their nominees for the 2014 film season. So what's going to make? Let this spirit show you visions of what might be....

For Best Ensemble, I predict....
BIRDMAN (because it's a large ensemble of all-stars physically sharing screen time together)
BOYHOOD (because what actor would resist an ensemble crafting characters over 12 years?)
THE IMITATION GAME (because the British are irresistible)
INTO THE WOODS (because boy do they love musicals -- see also Nine)
SELMA (because it's a large ensemble in a Historically Important film)

For Best Actor, I predict....
CHADWICK BOSEMAN, GET ON UP (twist!)
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, THE IMITATION GAME (frontrunner!)
MICHAEL KEATON, BIRDMAN (also a frontrunner!)
DAVID OYELOWO, SELMA (purported dark-horse who's a frontrunner!)
EDDIE REDMAYNE, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (everyone's a frontrunner!)

For Best Actress, I predict....
FELICITY JONES, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
JULIANNE MOORE, STILL ALICE (frontrunner!)
ROSAMUND PIKE, GONE GIRL
HILARY SWANK, THE HOMESMAN (well, Conviction and so forth...)
REESE WITHERSPOON, WILD

For Best Supporting Actor, I predict....
ROBERT DUVALL, THE JUDGE (well, Get Low and so forth...)
ETHAN HAWKE, BOYHOOD
EDWARD NORTON, BIRDMAN
MARK RUFFALO, FOXCATCHER
J.K. SIMMONS, WHIPLASH (frontrunner!)

For Best Supporting Actress, I predict....
PATRICIA ARQUETTE, BOYHOOD (frontrunner!)
JESSICA CHASTAIN, A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
LAURA DERN, WILD
ANNA KENDRICK, INTO THE WOODS
MERYL STREEP, INTO THE WOODS

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