Oscars 2017: The Results

A little later than planned, here's the breakdown of just how accurate my well informed analyses/random guesses into the whole 2017 Oscar circus were. As a whole, I mostly agreed with the Academy's winning choices, but there were a number of wins - politically driven, I'm sure, which I don't even really mind (I just hate being in the wrong) - I disagree with vehemently. Oh well, it makes the whole annual affair that much more interesting...

Best Film:
First Choice: Correct. I didn't watch the ceremony live, so I didn't hear about the big winner screw-up until well after, but I never really doubted Moonlight winning. That movie deals with heavy themes like identity, ethnicity and sexuality, while La La Land is mostly plain fun. And the Academy's track record of rewarding plain fun is far from stellar.

Best Actor:
First Choice: Correct. Even though I wasn't wholly impressed by Casey's performance myself, I can say the same thing for the other nominees. All of them delivered strong performances, but none that will prove truly memorable. In this case, the buzz proved correct, and I just merrily went along with the buzz, I'll admit.
  
Best Actress:
First Choice: Incorrect. This choice I feel is undeserved. Stone did a fine job, but so did her male counterpart Gosling, also nominated (but for Best Actor, obviously). Point is, La La Land was a two-person job in terms of acting. In my mind, the pair carried the movie, not just the girl or the boy. Stone winning I feel is degrading to Gosling, who was equally up to his job, but is left in the cold. On the other hand, my choice, Natalie Portman, had to carry an entire movie by herself, demanding emotional intensity in every scene. She delivered just that, which makes Stone's win all the harder for me to bear. At least Portman already has one of those gold statues in her possession.
Second choice: Incorrect.

Best Supporting Actor: 
First Choice: Correct. No surprise here. Though I sense some political motivation for both this and the next category may also have been involved, to prove #OscarsSoWhite wrong. I don't mind, I fully agree with both choices.

Best Supporting Actress:
First Choice: Incorrect. In this case it's clear why one should watch a movie before judging its performances. I didn't have that option, because Fences was released locally rather late in the awards season, well before I posted my predictions. If I had seen it earlier, Viola Davis would have been on top of my list. Quite a strong show!
Second choice: Incorrect.

Best Director:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Like I said, whoever wins Best Film won't win Best Director. I put all my money on Moonlight, but by my own reasoning, this one was gonna go to La La Land. Which it did.

Best Screenplay:
First Choice: Correct. In hindsight, I think the year's strongest script was Hell or High Water's. But I didn't think it would win.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
First Choice: Correct. As it should be.

Best Animated Film:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Incorrect. Now this one makes me mad. Zootopia was a great film, no doubt. But it wasn't in any way innovative, nor was its animation so superb as in my own two choices. I really feel Zootopia's underlying political message was what won the Academy over, rather than the actual animation which this category is supposed to honour. I remain convinced this was the year's biggest snub on the part of the Oscars, and I'll always defend both The Red Turtle and Kubo and the Two Strings over Zootopia.

Best Foreign Film:
First Choice: Incorrect. Also a politically motivated win, a clear anti-Trump statement. Director Ashgar Farhadi won, but wasn't allowed into the country to pick up his Oscar, making the USA look bad (and rightfully so). However, Toni Erdmann is definitely the better movie, and I've noticed most fellow critics tend to agree.
Second choice: Correct.

Best Cinematography:
First Choice: Correct. Here's where La La Land starts to take most of the technical acclaim.

Best Editing: 
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Incorrect. Okay, so not this one. But I was never very impressed with Hacksaw Ridge in whatever way.

Best Production Design:
First Choice: Correct.

Best Costume Design:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Poor Jackie really got screwed over well.

Best Hair and Make-up:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Like I said, Suicide Squad deserved to win and surprisingly enough, it did. I don't mind being wrong on this one.

Best Score:
First Choice: Correct. No-brainer.

Best Song:
First Choice: Correct. I preferred the other song for which La La Land got nominated though.

Best Sound Mixing:
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Incorrect. Wow, this one came as an unwelcome surprise. Where's the time the sounds of Star Wars were the safest bet in the galaxy?

Best Sound Editing: 
First Choice: Incorrect.
Second choice: Correct. Hmm, La La Land didn't actually win so many technical awards after all. I'm glad Arrival reaped some reward.

Best Visual Effects:
First Choice: Correct. Very obvious choice.

Best Documentary: 
First Choice: Correct. Also no surprise.

Correct: 11
Second choice: 5
Incorrect: 5

Big reveal here is my number of Corrects and Correct Second Choices has remained the same compared to last year. So I remain consistent. But there's also no improvement. Story of my life I suppose.

Oscars 2017: The Predictions

 'Tis the season to hand out all kinds of awards to people who're in the movie business. There's this particular lavish award ceremony hosted by a certain Academy I have this annual routine of predicting wins for. Though the world around us is rapidly changing (and none for the better it appears), I see no reason to change this routine any time soon and thus, what follows below is my usual round of Oscar predictions. I've seen many of these movies (not all of them have been released here yet) and know a fair amount about the rest, so let's see whether I can nail who wins what better than last year. Even with the odd random guess, I'm bound to get a few of 'em right. It's true!

Best Film:
First Choice: Moonlight. A daring view of a troubled young man's existence told in three chapters and acted out by three wholly different but equally brilliant actors. Not to mention issues of race, gender, 'nature versus nurture' and destiny. An inexperienced director weaving all of this together seamlessly. This film works on so many angles it would suit the Academy well to reward it for many of them. However, all those angles conspire to deny the film the award as well, since there's the risk of a few of them not sitting well with more conservative Academy members. If not Best Film, than Best Director for sure.
Second choice: La La Land. Because it's just what the world needs in this particular period of history.

Best Actor:
First Choice: Casey Affleck. Ben got his due, Casey had to stick with nominations. Until now I bet. The other lead actors all did a good job, but Casey's just sticks out.
Second choice: Denzel Washington. I'm rooting for Viggo Mortensen, but Washington is a safer bet. There's this enfant terrible quality to Viggo that just makes him an unlikely winner.

Best Actress:
First Choice: Natalie Portman. That was one hell of a transformation, downright to the silly voice. if you can get away with carrying a motion picture on such intense emotional levels with that voice and  pink outfit, an Oscar is well deserved.
Second choice: Ruth Negga. Huppert's picture is too controversial, Streep is too conservative and Stone's acting just wasn't special enough, so Negga remains. Admittedly, I have yet to see Loving.

Best Supporting Actor: 
First Choice: Mahershala Ali. Playing a drug dealer you can only love despite everything is quite a feat.
Second choice: Jeff Bridges. I've never seen such a loathsome likable character, apart, from Ali's above.

Best Supporting Actress:
First Choice: Naomie Harris. I've never felt such a revulsion for such a lovely and talented actress.
Second choice: None of the others really stand out of this crowd of four. Randomly, I'd say Octavia Spencer.

Best Director:
First Choice: Barry Jenkins. For the same reasons as Best Film.
Second choice: Damien Chazelle. But these two could easily be vice versa, as is the case for Best Film. I doubt either of them will win both.

Best Screenplay:
First Choice: Manchester by the Sea.
Second choice: La La Land. I'm rooting for this film, even though I think it's not the script that carries this film, despite the bittersweet ending. 

Best Adapted Screenplay:
First Choice: Moonlight. Finally a category where this film and La La Land are not in each other's way. Sure win.
Second choice: Arrival.

Best Animated Film:
First Choice: The Red Turtle. Simple but beautiful and hugely emotional animation, no speaking parts throughout. Something else entirely. The rest is good, but not as unique. I nearly cried, you know.
Second choice: Kubo and the Two Strings. Some of the finest stop motion animation ever.

Best Foreign Film:
First Choice: Toni Erdmann. Can't see this one lose.
Second choice: The Salesman. If it wins, I consider it more of a political statement.

Best Cinematography:
First Choice: La La Land. Not only is the musical back in business, so are the sweeping shots that are a part of its DNA since the Golden Days of Hollywood.
Second choice: Arrival.

Best Editing: 
First Choice: Moonlight.
Second choice: Arrival.

Best Production Design:
First Choice: La La Land.
Second choice: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Best Costume Design:
First Choice: Jackie. The extreme faithfulness to the iconic dresses, suits and hats matters at least as much as Portman's portrayal to this period piece. And they look equally gorgeous in black and white.
Second choice: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Best Hair and Make-up:
First Choice: Star Trek Beyond. Not because I agree, but because it's the safer bet.
Second choice: Suicide Squad. Because it deserves it. So the movie wasn't great, but the make-up sure deserves credit. Just look at Killer Croc, waah...

Best Score:
First Choice: La La Land. It's the songs that you remember, but the music that accompanies them that makes them great.
Second choice: Jackie.

Best Song:
First Choice: La La Land. Nominated twice, so an unlikely loser.
Second choice: Moana. Disney songs, eh?

Best Sound Mixing:
First Choice: Rogue One. Never bet against the sounds of the Star Wars universe.
Second choice: La La Land.

Best Sound Editing: 
First Choice: La La Land.
Second choice: Arrival.

Best Visual Effects:
First Choice: The Jungle Book. Because it makes the actual jungle a replaceable thing to many people and that's a scary thought. But it goes to show the innovation here.
Second choice: Doctor Strange. VFX rarely got this trippy.

Best Documentary: 
First Choice: O.J.: Made in America. Introducing a new genre: the epic documentary.
Second choice: Life, Animated.


That's it for this year. There are certain wins for La La Land, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight, it's unavoidable. It's just the exact categories that are harder to determine. Or maybe I am just completely wrong and the Oscars will go to movies I never even considered worthy of the nominations (Lion, Hacksaw Ridge). I've got a feeling the Academy won't have that many surprises in store for us this year though. February 26 will prove me right or wrong.