Well, the day has arrived. After what feels like a longer-than-usual awards season, and an enormous amount of back-and-forth on these predictions, the time has come to lock them in. I haven't been this doubtful about the majority of my predictions in many years. There's been a few tricky categories over the past couple of seasons, but nothing like this year. Even at this late hour, I have absolutely no idea what will win Best Picture. I think my 'for and against' series of posts made my mind...
We've arrived at our final nominee under The Jam Report's spotlight, and it's potentially the real dark-horse of this year's race. Whiplash has received enormous critical acclaim since it debuted at Sundance last year. It has racked up five nominations, and could potentially win three or four of those awards on the night. With so much focus on films like Boyhood, Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel, could it be we're not paying attention to the little film that could cause a massive upset? Why it could win Best Picture: The nominations. Unlike Birdman and The Theory of Everything, Whiplash...
Ah, Selma. Almost completely snubbing this brilliant piece of cinema is one of the most shameful moments in recent Oscar history. The Academy seemingly came so far last year, and this year, they've regressed right back to their tired old ways. It seems the film had too many strikes that it couldn't overcome. A female director? A black female director? A predominantly black cast? A movie that casts shade on white people? No, no, no, no. Pathetic, isn't it? I don't like to cry things like racism easily, but...
Now before anyone starts calling me lazy for combining these two films into one post, let me explain. As I was writing the points for both The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything, I realised that they had almost identical reasons for why they will and won't win Best Picture. It seemed redundant to repeat myself in a separate post for each, so here we are with a combined result. Two critically acclaimed British films starring four critically acclaimed British actors. Can the Academy Awards possibly resist? Why it could win...
Wes Anderson has never been an Academy favourite. Critically beloved films like The Royal Tenanbaums, The Life Aquatic and Moonrise Kingdom were all but ignored at the Oscars, so it was starting to seem like he was one of those directors they'd just never fall for. That all changed this year with his quirky and utterly charming film The Grand Budapest Hotel. Despite being released almost 12 months ago (an Oscar rarity), it was still showered with nominations, but can it take out the top prize? Why it could...
Swooping in out of seemingly nowhere, we have Alejandro González Iñárritu's divisive Birdman; our new frontrunner, and the next film under The Jam Report's microscope. That bird was always waiting in the wings, just threatening to steal the race, and it appears to have made its move at just the right time. However, let's not count our Birdmen before they've hatched, and frontrunners can still be shot down at the very last second. Why it could win Best Picture: The last frontrunner takes it. No film likes to be the so-called...
The next Best Picture nominee under The Jam Report's microscope is Richard Linklater's masterpiece Boyhood. The film had been the presumed winner for most of the season, and it looked likely to sail to the podium without much competition at all...
The race is almost over. The end is in sight. With less than a week until the big ceremony, and for the second year in a row, we truly don't have a clear frontrunner for Best Picture. So, just like last year, I'm here to make a case for and against each nominated picture before ultimately revealing my final prediction for which one I think will walk away with it. First cab off the rank - Clint Eastwood's divisive and controversial American Sniper. Why it could win Best Picture: They love...
Worst. Nominations. Ever. Look, maybe I'm exaggerating with that statement, but in all the years I've been paying way too much attention to the Academy Awards, I cannot ever remember being this downright disappointed by the final nominations. You come to expect a few surprises, and of course a few painful snubs, but this year, it seems like the snubs are too damn hard to swallow, no matter how many times I remind myself it's just an awards show. At the end of the day, great films, and the...
It only feels like yesterday that awards season began, and yet here we are on the cusp of the Academy announcing their anointed ones for 2015. There's still a lot up in the air, and I wouldn't say I'm entirely confident with a lot of these categories, but alas, onwards and upwards with this year's predictions. Best Picture American Sniper Boyhood Birdman Foxcatcher Gone Girl The Grand Budapest Hotel The Imitation Game Selma The Theory of Everything Whiplash I'm well aware Selma has oddly been left out of the Producer's Guild Awards, and it's very rare for a film to...