Predictions, news, and discussion of the 2016 Academy Awards.
The Best Director Oscar is already in the bag. The group of five all have their directorial merits (though some of the nominations were surprising to me). The five movies represented are all worth seeing. But only one person is truly the standout to earn the golden statue.
That person is Continue reading 2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Director
Best Original Screenplay is the easier of the two screenplay categories to call. Best Adapted Screenplay is a mixed bag of strong screenplays with no clear frontrunner. Best Original Screenplay, on the other hand, is more clear cut.
All of the screenplays here are strong, don’t get me wrong. However, Continue reading 2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Original Screenplay
The Best Animated Film category at the Academy Awards almost always comes down to two movies if it isn’t already a clear-cut decision going into the night. In the case of 2016, there is a definitive shoe-in candidate.
That candidate is Continue reading 2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Animated FIlm
The Best Documentary category has developed into one of the more elusive categories at the Oscars. The Academy has a recent history of honoring the more lighthearted pieces of nonfiction film. Three of the past five years’ winners have been films that avoid politics or heavy issues.
This year, all five nominees deal with heavy issues to various degrees. And two of the three emerging frontrunners appear to be the most heavy of the lot. The Look of Silence and Cartel Land are hailed critically, and appear to be powerful enough films to elicit Academy recognition.
At least, that is the hope.
The Look of Silence is Joshua Oppenheimer’s follow up to 2012’s The Act of Killing. The sequel may not Continue reading 2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Documentary
This is it. The big kahuna burger. The film from 2015 that will (theoretically) be remembered for ages. The Best Picture of the year.
This is a hard year to predict the most coveted award of the night. Eight films were selected and each one has its merits. There are standout favorites, but Continue reading 2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Picture
In film, a score is the mood. It is the suspense in a horror or thriller. It is the lightness of a feel-good period piece. It is the driving pulse of a drama.
The category of Best Original Score is always hard to narrow down. Similar names pop up through the years, but that doesn’t mean these usual suspects have an upper hand on any given award season. Following trends in other award shows is usually the best way to see who is going to win the Academy Award.
This year, there is a clear favorite, and his chances have been raised by Continue reading 2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Original Score
This is one of my personal favorite categories. Cinematography is the infrastructure of the art of cinema. When a film is beautiful you just know. There’s just something about it that strikes you. That’s probably cinematography awing you with miraculous shots.
2015 was no slouch when it came to cinematography. Lush films dominated the year. Every film in this category is beautiful. But, of course, there can be only one.
That one is Continue reading 2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Cinematography
The foreign language feature category–as it often ends up being–is a two-horse race in 2016. Son of Saul is a clear favorite, its chances heightened from its Golden Globe win. But Mustang, the second most recognizable foreign film of the bunch, is a heavily praised Turkish language film from France that could steal the gold.
Continue reading 2016 Academy Award Predictions – Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy released their list of Oscar nominees this morning, and, as per usual, it is cause for many a reactionary blog post. This post is not unlike the rest.
Here are my reactions to some of the nominations (and notable absences from them).
The Oscar shortlisted short film Stutterer begins with a tight extreme close up of a man’s mouth as he attempts to speak on the phone about an issue with a bill. The man’s speech impediment is insufferable, but his thoughts are lush and elegant.
The man, Greenwood (Matthew Needham), works–understandably–best with the written word. He has a flourishing Continue reading Stutterer (2015) Short Film Review
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