It has been a memorable year for films in 2015 as there were such variety in the plot and way of execution. Take the 8 nominated movies for an example; a stranded man out for revenge in the 1820's, an astronaut stuck in Mars, a boy who has been in a room since birth and have not seen the outside world for 8 years, an ugly truth that was exposed in Boston, a post-apocalyptic world where water is power, an unique love story, a tensed war negotiations and the economic crisis in America. When i walked out of the cinema in after watching 12 Years a Slave and Birdman in the years 2013 and 2014 respectively, I knew and predicted that these films will win the best picture award and it did. Surprisingly, none of the 8 nominated films this year gave me the same feeling. That being said, there many surprises regarding the films that were snubbed and also in the acting categories. Below are the breakdown of some of the films that were really good this year and those that were snubbed by the Academy.
The full nominations list can be viewed by the link below.
http://oscar.go.com/news/nominations/oscar-nominations-2016-the-complete-list-of-nominees
The Best from the nominated films:
Room
A tear-jerking film this is probably the most underrated movie of 2015. Imagine being born in a room and not seeing the world until you are 10 years old. The love of a mother to her son is portrayed brilliantly in this film. Half of this film is taken inside a room which shows the creativity this film possesses to keep the audience engaged. The acting and screenplay was top notch. A difficult film to watch though.
Spotlight
It will be really controversial if this film eventually wins the Best Picture Award. It's a true story that happened in Boston, where a group of reporters uncovered an ugly truth surrounding the Catholic Church. Only people with an open mindset can watch this film. It has a real sense of realism with the way this film was taken, like watching a live documentary. Making this film was a brave attempt by everyone involved and definitely a wake up call for the people to know what is happening around them.
The Revenant
A simple story of revenge that happened back in the 1820's was captured quite beautifully with amazing cinematography throughout the film. The fact that this film was taken in natural light just shows the level of difficulty in making this film. The people's favorite to win the best picture award this year.
Just like last year, I will only cover the more talked about categories and I will state on whom I feel will win and those I feel should win based on my personal preference. The surprise snubs and omission for each category will also be mentioned.
The 88th Academy Awards winners will be:
Best Visual Effects:
Will Win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Should Win: Ex-Machina
Best Costume Design:
Will Win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Should Win: The Danish Girl
Best Makeup and Hairstyle:
Will Win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Original Music Score:
Will Win: Ennio Morricone for The Hateful 8
Should Win: Ennio Morricone for The Hateful 8
The composer for The Good, Bad and the Ugly (1966) is still going strong at the age of 84 and deserves his first Oscar this time, surely.
Best Adapted Screenplay Best Original Screenplay
Will Win: Room Will Win: Spotlight
Should Win: The Big Short Should Win: Spotlight
Snubbed: Steve Jobs Snubbed: The Hateful 8
Best Cinematography:
Will Win: Emmanuel Lubezki for The Revenant
Should Win: Emmanuel Lubezki for The Revenant
This would mark 3 wins in a row for this Mexican cinematographer who won for Gravity and Birdman before this.
Best Supporting Actress:
Will Win: Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl
Should Win: Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl
In a movie where everyone was anticipating the performance of Eddie Redmayne, she stole the show and definitely deserves the Oscar.
Best Supporting Actor:
Will Win: Tom Hardy for the Revenant
Should Win: Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies
Snubbed: Samuel L.Jackson for Hateful 8
Tom Hardy really gave a good performance but Mark Rylance was just simply amazing in Bridge of Spies. He totally drowned into his character.
Best Actress:
Will Win: Brie Larson for Room
Should Win: Brie Larson for Room
Brie Larson gave her all in this performance as a mother doing her best for her child. It will be a really big upset if she doesn't win.
Best Actor:
Will Win: Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant
Should Win:
Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant
Snubbed: Will Smith for Concussion
Step forward Leo for his first ever Oscar win and a well deserved one. Enough said.
Best Director:
Will Win:
Alejandro G. Inarritu for The Revenant
Should Win: Lenny Abrahamson for Room
Snubbed: Ridley Scott for The Martian
Inarritu is the favorite again but this award should go for Lenny who did a fantastic job directing a touching film with just 2 people in a room.
Best Picture:
Will Win: The Revenant
Should Win: The Revenant
Looking at all the other awards leading up to this, The Revenant just probably deserves the win and I have no complains for that.
Snubbed films:
The Hateful 8
Absolutely surprised that this film was not at least nominated as it was a personal favorite film of 2015. 8 Western people trapped in a cabin one of them is not who they claim to be. What more could you ask for. Director Tarrantino did it again.
The Walk
This is a story based of the French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Joseph Gordon Lewitt gave a memorable performance. One not to be missed
Straight Outta Compton
The origins story of the pioneer rap group N.W.A which showed their struggles in reaching fame by coming from the hood. There is no success without pain.
Over to you Chris Rock