Awards Insights

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  • Late July Oscar Predictions 2024

    Late July Oscar Predictions 2024

    After over a year of anticipation, I have finally seen both Barbie and Oppenheimer. But before getting into those films and their awards prospects, let’s talk about some of the shakeups that have happened in the festival world in the last few weeks. Over at the New York Film Festival, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla was announced as the festival’s centerpiece while Todd Haynes’ May December was announced earlier to be NYFF’s opening film. In four of the last five iterations of the festival, the Centerpiece film was nominated for Best Picture, with last year’s Best Documentary nominee All the Beauty and the Bloodshed being the exception. Will Priscilla continue this trend? Only time will tell but I personally doubt a film dealing with Elvis Presley gets nominated for Best Picture two years in a row. At Venice, Luca Guadagnino’s Zendaya-starrer Challengers was originally supposed to open the festival but the film is no longer premiering at Venice and its release date has been moved to next year due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Venice’s new opening and closing films are not American productions, the opening feature being Edoardo de Angelis’ Comandante and the closing being J.A. Bayona’s Society of the Snow. As the major Hollywood studios are showing no signs of acquiescing to the demands of SAG and the WGA, the fall festivals will likely look very different this time around. Expect more shake-ups.

    On to the Oscar chances of Barbie and Oppenheimer! Let’s start with Gerwig’s film. Barbie is poised to be a massive hit and with its combination of critical acclaim, social commentary, and beloved stars both in front and behind the camera, it very much has a chance of making it into Best Picture. The problem is that Warner Bros. has two major contenders this year other than Barbie, Dune: Part Two and The Color Purple. I doubt the studio will be able to get all three of its films in, but I won’t make a judgement on which one of the three will be left out until they’ve been seen. Other than a Picture nomination, Barbie is pretty much locked for nominations in Makeup and Hair, Costume Design, and Production Design. I think it’s pretty likely that Gerwig and Baumbach nab nods for Original Screenplay as well. In terms of acting nods, while I think a nomination for Margot Robbie in the titular role is possible, I wouldn’t bet on it.

    Oppenheimer is going to be a top 5 Best Picture contender along with Killers of the Flower Moon. They are so far the closest to sure things when it comes to Picture nominations this year. Expect nominations for the film in Best Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, possibly Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Production Design, Cinematography, Sound, Visual Effects, and Original Score. Emily Blunt could be a contender in Supporting Actress depending on how strong the category is but her role fits very much inside the “long-suffering wife” trope and while she does have at least one fantastic scene, it will most likely not be enough to earn her a nomination.

    BEST PICTURE

    Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+)

    Oppenheimer (Universal)

    The Color Purple (Warner Bros.)

    Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)

    Past Lives (A24)

    The Zone of Interest (A24)

    Maestro (Netflix)

    Poor Things (Searchlight)

    Saltburn (Amazon)

    Anatomy of a Fall (Neon)

    Could Jump In:  Barbie (Warner Bros.), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony), Rustin (Netflix), The Boy and the Heron (GKids), Napoleon (Apple TV+), Priscilla (A24), Lee (Sky), The Bikeriders (20th Century), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Netflix), Ferrari (STX), Shirley (Netflix), Next Goal Wins (Searchlight), The Killer (Netflix), Monster (Toho), Asteroid City (Focus), May December (Sky Cinema), A Thousand and One (Focus), The Holdovers (Focus), The Piano Lesson (Netflix), Wonka (Warner Bros.)

    BEST DIRECTOR

    Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Blitz Bazawule – The Color Purple

    Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest

    Celine Song – Past Lives

    Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer

    Could Jump In: Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things Emerald Fennell – Saltburn, Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two, Hayao Miyazaki – The Boy and the Heron, Ridley Scott – Napoleon, Jeff Nichols – The Bikeriders, Ellen Kuras – Lee, Michael Mann – Ferrari, David Fincher – The Killer, Greta Gerwig – Barbie, Ari Aster – Beau is Afraid, Wes Anderson – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Todd Haynes – May December, George C. Wolfe – Rustin, Nuri Bilge Ceylan – About Dry Grasses

    BEST ACTOR

    Colman Domingo – Rustin

    Bradley Cooper – Maestro

    Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Michael Fassbender – The Killer

    Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer

    Could Jump In: Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers, Adam Driver – Ferrari, Barry Keoghan – Saltburn, Austin Butler – The Bikeriders, Benedict Cumberbatch – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Anthony Hopkins – One Life, Joaquin Phoenix – Beau is Afraid, Andre Holland – The Actor, Christian Friedel – The Zone of Interest, Matt Damon – Air, Song Kang-Ho – Cobweb, Andrew Scott – Strangers, Timothee Chalamet – Wonka

    BEST ACTRESS

    Annette Bening – Nyad

    Kate Winslet – Lee

    Natalie Portman – May December

    Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall

    Greta Lee – Past Lives

    Could Jump In: Regina King – Shirley, Carey Mulligan – Maestro, Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple, Emma Stone – Poor Things, Margot Robbie – Barbie, Zendaya – Challengers, Vanessa Kirby – Napoleon, Teyana Taylor – A Thousand and One, Alicia Vikander – Firebrand, Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun, Jessica Chastain – Memory, Sandra Huller – The Zone of Interest

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

    Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer

    Colman Domingo – The Color Purple

    John Magaro – Past Lives

    Jesse Plemons – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Could Jump In: Tom Hardy – The Bikeriders, Willem Dafoe – Poor Things, Samuel L. Jackson – The Piano Lesson, Glynn Turman or Jeffrey Wright – Rustin, Louis Gossett Jr. – The Color Purple, Richard E. Grant – Saltburn, Lakeith Stanfield – The Book of Clarence, Andy Samberg – Lee, Paul Mescal – Strangers, Josh O’Connor or Mike Faist – Challengers, Peter Sarsgaard – Memory, Jude Law – Firebrand, Mahershala Ali – Leave the World Behind, Glenn Howerton – BlackBerry (I can hope)

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

    Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Taraji P. Henson – The Color Purple

    Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple,

    Rosamund Pike – Saltburn

    Julianne Moore – May December

    Could Jump In: Jodie Foster – Nyad, Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer, Tilda Swinton – The Killer, Jodie Comer – The Bikeriders, Penelope Cruz – Ferrari, Audra McDonald – Rustin,  Claire Foy – Strangers, Margaret Qualley – Poor Things, Carey Mulligan – Saltburn, Helena Bonham Carter – One Life

    BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

    Past Lives

    Saltburn

    Drive-Away Dolls

    May December

    Barbie

    Could Jump In: Maestro, Rustin, Asteroid City, The Holdovers, Beau is Afraid, Monster

    BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    Poor Things

    The Bikeriders

    The Boy and the Heron

    The Zone of Interest

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Oppenheimer, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Strangers, Lee, Dune: Part Two

    BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

    The Boy and the Heron

    Elemental

    Wish

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

    Could Jump In: Migration, Suzume

    BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

    Poor Things

    Barbie

    Dune: Part Two

    Saltburn

    Oppenheimer

    Could Jump In: Napoleon, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Color Purple, The Zone of Interest, Wonka,

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

    Dune: Part Two

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    Saltburn

    Poor Things

    Oppenheimer

    Could Jump In: Napoleon, The Color Purple, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Maestro, The Killer, The Zone of Interest

    BEST COSTUME DESIGN

    Dune: Part Two

    Poor Things

    Saltburn

    The Color Purple

    Barbie

    Could Jump In: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Napoleon, Wonka, Blitz, Lee

    BEST FILM EDITING

    Dune: Part Two

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    Oppenheimer

    The Killer

    Ferrari

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Napoleon, Blitz, Maestro, Poor Things

    BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

    Maestro

    Barbie

    Dune: Part Two

    Poor Things

    Wonka

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Ferrari, Napoleon, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Bikeriders

    BEST SOUND

    Dune: Part Two

    Oppenheimer

    Ferrari

    The Color Purple

    Maestro

    Could Jump In: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Wonka, The Marvels. Barbie

    BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

    Dune: Part Two

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

    Oppenheimer

    Wonka

    Could Jump In: Barbie, The Little Mermaid, The Marvels, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Blue Beetle

    BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

    Oppenheimer

    Dune: Part Two

    The Boy and the Heron

    The Killer

    Asteroid City

    Could Jump In: Elemental, The Zone of Interest, Barbie, Challengers, Lee, Killers of the Flower Moon

  • ‘Oppenheimer’ Review: Nolan Brings His Grandiose, Propulsive Touch to the Political Drama

    ‘Oppenheimer’ Review: Nolan Brings His Grandiose, Propulsive Touch to the Political Drama

    The bomb goes off. Total silence immediately takes control. A blinding light fills the desert, Oppenheimer and the rest of his team watch in awe as the flaming mushroom cloud slowly consumes the sky. It’s an image of destructive beauty. Director Christopher Nolan cuts between scientists’ faces, and at first, we see only awe, maybe with a tinge of fear. But then we cut to Edward Teller, watching the explosion with his dark safety glasses on, as his lips turn into a slight smile. This shot of the bespectacled Teller reveling in the cataclysmic power that he was an instrumental part of creating is etched in my mind. Due in large part because it reminded me of Peter Sellers’ titular character in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The glasses are definitely part of it, but the two characters also share this mad excitement at the might of nuclear power. In the Kubrick film, Dr. Strangelove is the American president’s scientific advisor, a former Nazi who betrays a certain excitement for the usage of nuclear weapons and particularly a doomsday nuclear device. Edward Teller himself is known as the “father of the hydrogen bomb” and received much support from the American government after the war for his plans to strengthen the American nuclear arsenal. He also was a major advocate of Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, known colloquially as the Star Wars program, a proposed missile defense system that experimented with using lasers, satellites, and particle beam weapons to protect the United States. The similarities between Teller and Strangelove were quite noticeable but I still assumed that Nolan’s inclusion of that smiling shot was probably a coincidence. But then I discovered that Teller was an influence on the character of Strangelove in the 1964 film and now Teller’s wicked smile cannot leave my brain.

    He looks so much like Dr. Strangelove. ‘Oppenheimer’ (Universal)

     

    Oppenheimer is an incredibly well-made film. The technical aspects are phenomenal as is par for the course with pretty much every Nolan film. The practical visual effects from the team lead by Andrew Jackson, Scott R. Fisher, and Giacomo Mineo will most likely be Oscar-nominated. The spectacular cinematography and production design from Hoyte van Hoytema and Ruth de Jong, respectively will also very likely receive some Oscar love. But the technical aspect that astounded me the most about the film was Ludwig Goransson’s score. Like with Tenet, Goransson worked with Nolan as the composer on Oppenheimer as Nolan’s regular collaborator Hans Zimmer was busy working on Dune: Part Two (Zimmer wasn’t able to score Tenet due to being committed to Dune: Part One). Goransson’s ‘Tenet’ score was quite possibly the best thing about that film. It’s merger of electronic and classical instrumentation was alternatingly epic with an industrial sound and lush with its ambient soundscapes. Goransson’s work on Oppenheimer drops the industrial sound of his Tenet material but retains the epic feel, once again merging classical and ambient electronic instrumentation. Fluttering string arpeggios morph into pulsating synthesizers on the standout track “Can You Hear The Music” that plays near the start of the film. Like with Nolan’s best films (excluding Memento), the soundscapes that accompany them become integrally intertwined with the film’s content and do so much to drive the emotions of his work.

    Cillian Murphy is incredible here. The film lives and dies on his performance and his portrayal of a deeply tortured, anxious man who is forced to present an image of control. He’s phenomenal and is absolutely deserving of all the attention he will likely receive in the coming months. When it comes to the supporting characters, Robert Downey Jr. is the undeniable standout as bureaucrat Lewis Strauss. He has some of the best scenes in the film, some shot in stunning black and white to indicate that it’s his perspective dictating what’s seen on screen (as opposed to the scenes in color which indicate that Oppenheimer’s perspective is being illustrated). A quick aside, the black and white moments in this film look gorgeous, the film becoming the first feature film to use black-and-white analog photography. Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Florence Pugh round out the main supporting cast. Unfortunately, Nolan’s problem with under developing female characters persists and while Blunt and Pugh both elevate the material they are given, their roles fall largely into common biopic tropes. Blunt is quite good as the long-suffering wife imploring her husband to fight back against the people attempting to ruin his reputation, and while she feels more “real” than Pugh’s character does, she is still woefully underwritten. Stars like Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, and Gary Oldman pop up for moments in this film, Affleck’s role as a menacing Commie-hating army officer being the most memorable of the four. 

    ‘Oppenheimer’ (Universal)

    Breakneck from the get-go, this undoubtedly is a Nolan movie, with the director’s characteristically propulsive brand of cinema grabbing you by the neck and refusing to let go until the credits run. Like with most Nolan films, the pacing and grandiose nature of the visuals and sonics distract you from paying too close attention to the dialogue. But luckily, unlike Interstellar, no lines are distractingly heavy-handed enough to take you out of the film’s immersion. This is the most political film Nolan has ever made and it’s surprisingly nuanced, something I was unsure the director could do when it came to politics. The film offers many of the prevalent perspectives on the war and the use of the atom bomb, keeping its position on the ramifications of Oppenheimer’s actions ambiguous until the knockout ending. This is one of the most grandiose-feeling films released in quite some time. It feels absolutely massive, the score, the sound, the effects, the pacing, all coming together to create a truly immersive experience. And while it’s so massive, the film is really a character study about one man. The man who became the American Prometheus. Someone so powerful, so deeply destructive with the force he worked so hard to unleash. In portraying Oppenheimer’s guilt, Nolan plays with style to force you inside the man’s tumultuous mind. Scenes like Oppenheimer’s post-Hiroshima speech end up being some of the film’s most chilling as a result of these stylizations. 

    Truly colossal in a litany of ways, Oppenheimer is Nolan’s best film since Inception and will undoubtedly end up being one of the year’s best blockbusters. Exhilarating and smarter than expected Oppenheimer both succeeds and suffers off of Nolan’s ambition, but the good definitely outweighs the bad. With Oppenheimer, Nolan can confidently silence those who doubted he could return to making box office hits after Tenet underperformed both critically and commercially. Nolan is clearly back, and I expect to see Oppenheimer rack up nominations and maybe a couple of wins come Oscar season.

    Score: 4/5

  • ‘Barbie’ Review: One of the Year’s Funniest Films Doubles as a Commentary on Feminism and Female Solidarity

    ‘Barbie’ Review: One of the Year’s Funniest Films Doubles as a Commentary on Feminism and Female Solidarity

    How did Mattel allow this? The same company that sued Aqua for the group’s iconic 90s hit “Barbie Girl” for “trademark infringement, unfair competition, and trademark dilution”, allowed their beloved IP to be validly criticized and make hilarious quips about “beaching each other off” and their lack of genitals. Clearly, they’re a lot more lenient now, especially since that very Aqua song found its way into the film as the main sample for Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s track “Barbie World”. But what’s even more surprising is how Mattel is portrayed in the film. From the trailers, we already had a look at Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel, a company headed by a board room of men in matching, well-tailored suits. While the film doesn’t portray them as the undeniably evil corporation they could have, they are not positive characters. When Barbie enters the real world, the corporation reacts by trying to put her “back in her box”. And yes, that is a loaded phrase and if you already haven’t guessed it, this film has a lot more on its mind than many viewers might have imagined. 

    The scathing reviews from men like Ben Shapiro and Ted Cruz might’ve clued you in, but Barbie is a film about feminism, female solidarity, and existential questions. And the film still managed to have me giggling in the theater throughout. While director Greta Gerwig’s control of the tone isn’t perfect, it doesn’t leave too much to be desired. Serious poignancy and one-liners often come back-to-back but it hardly ever feels muddied. This is quite an ambitious film. There is a large swathe of thematic and narrative ground covered and while certain things (the mother/daughter subplot, some monologues) might come off as either underwritten or heavy-handed, the film is still affecting and does not lose sight of its emotional core. And that core is Margot Robbie in the titular role. She delivers a knockout performance, simultaneously managing to be absolutely hilarious while also imbuing the character with more depth and nuance than I could’ve ever hoped for in a movie about Barbie. She’s the beating heart of this film and adds to her repertoire of being one of the most talented stars working in Hollywood today. Ryan Gosling is also phenomenal, any questions about whether he was a good choice to play Ken should be completely dispelled. Gosling steals nearly every scene he’s in and everything from his line delivery, to his sulky expressions, to his vocal performance on the track “I’m Just Ken” (a soundtrack highlight on an album featuring great songs from PinkPantheress, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, and Dua Lipa) is just so so good. This is one of the funniest blockbuster comedies of the decade so far. Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach (the writer-director of Marriage Story and The Squid and the Whale) deliver a script that is sometimes broad, sometimes incredibly specific (The Godfather and Stephen Malkmus jokes were too accurate, Gerwig clearly has had to deal with her fair share of film and music bros), and rollickingly hilarious throughout. But the humor doesn’t stop this film from touching on subject matter like female solidarity and feminism in a compelling and affecting way. While I expected these topics to be included, what surprised me most about the film’s more serious themes was how much it focused on existential questions about death and what it means to be human. Robbie portrays this beautifully, what was once proverbially plastic slowly becomes skin and bones, her journey into humanity is deeply captivating. 

    ‘Barbie’ (Warner Bros.)

    I would be deeply remiss if I didn’t mention the film’s phenomenal costume and production design. The candy-colored dreamland of Barbieland is breathtaking, both 6-time Oscar nominated production designer Sarah Greenwood and 2-time Oscar winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran should see Oscar nominations coming their way this year. Sets like the home of “Weird Barbie” and the journey from the Barbie world to the human world are so wonderfully imaginative and brilliantly realized. On the subject of the Oscars, I wouldn’t be surprised if Warner Bros. makes Barbie one of their biggest pushes. A critically acclaimed summer blockbuster with explicit social commentary, Barbie has what it needs to be nominated for the Academy’s biggest prize if Warner Bros. plays their cards right. They also have Dune: Part Two (Nov. 3) and The Color Purple musical adaptation (Dec. 25) on their slate this year so we will see how they end up balancing those three films in the heart of Oscar season.

    I began this article with incredulity about how Mattel let this movie happen, but interestingly the company was in fact a close collaborator in every step of the production process (there’s a fascinating New Yorker piece about this that I recommend). And while I do give Mattel credit for allowing criticisms of Barbie and her “message” to be illustrated as valid throughout the film, the corporation’s influence is definitely felt. There are times where I was left wishing for more from the film, for it to go even further and with more complexity. The film was also a lot more straight than I was expecting, Barbieland is very heterosexual and it’s never explicitly addressed, this being another aspect that was likely a product of close corporate involvement. Obviously, a lot of this is a product of my expectations and is possibly unfair as a criticism of the film but these aspects of the film were clearly felt.

    Barbie is so many things, absolutely hilarious, ridiculously entertaining, and undeniably flawed, but it unquestionably confirms Gerwig’s place as one of the most versatile and exciting young filmmakers in Hollywood today.

    Score: 3.5/5

  • Late June Oscar Predictions 2024

    Late June Oscar Predictions 2024

    Not much has changed since last month’s predictions. The two biggest developments of the summer so far are the massive amounts of acclaim that have been lauded on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Celine Song’s Past Lives. Both will likely remain two of the year’s most beloved come December and while the former is unlikely to eke out anything beyond a Best Animated Feature win, A24’s Past Lives very well could be a Best Picture nominee. Having watched Past Lives, it is definitely accessible and affecting enough to remain in enough Academy members’ hearts come voting time. Outside of Best Picture, expect strong campaigns for Celine Song in Director and Original Screenplay, Greta Lee in Actress, John Magaro in Supporting Actor, and possibly Shabier Kirchner (who also did wonderful work on Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock) in Cinematography and Grizzly Bear in Original Score.

    My most-anticipated films of next month are Oppenheimer and Barbie, both of which have potential to be Picture contenders. Thankfully, we only have to wait three more weeks to see how they are received. If Oppenheimer is even a moderate hit, I think its nomination is secure. It is a biopic from an auteur director with an all-star cast and if it brings audiences, it will be a Picture nominee even if it has a Metascore around 60. Barbie needs to be both a hit and critical success to be a Picture nominee. Yes, it has the power of Gerwig, Robbie, Gosling, and Baumbach behind it but if a comedy wants to receive a Picture nomination, it must be seen as “serious” in some way. Even though 2021’s Don’t Look Up was a comedy it also functioned as a satire on climate change complacency and, as a result, had people around Hollywood championing its “importance”. That’s something Barbie needs and knowing Gerwig, Barbie’s satire (if it ends up going that route) will be a lot more potent than McKay’s thin and toothless attempt at “sociopolitical commentary”.

    BEST PICTURE

    Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+)

    Oppenheimer (Universal)

    The Color Purple (Warner Bros.)

    Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)

    Past Lives (A24)

    The Zone of Interest (A24)

    Maestro (Netflix)

    Saltburn (Amazon)

    Poor Things (Searchlight)

    How Do You Live? (Studio Ghibli)

    Could Jump In: Anatomy of a Fall (Neon), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony), Rustin (Netflix), Napoleon (Apple TV+), Lee (Sky), The Bikeriders (20th Century), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Netflix), Ferrari (STX), Shirley (Netflix), Next Goal Wins (Searchlight), The Killer (Netflix), Monster (Toho), Asteroid City (Focus), May December (Sky Cinema), A Thousand and One (Focus), The Holdovers (Focus), The Piano Lesson (Netflix), Barbie (Warner Bros.), Wonka (Warner Bros.)

    BEST DIRECTOR

    Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Blitz Bazawule – The Color Purple

    Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest

    Celine Song – Past Lives

    Hayao Miyazaki – How Do You Live?

    Could Jump In: Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things, Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer, Emerald Fennell – Saltburn, Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two, Ridley Scott – Napoleon, Jeff Nichols – The Bikeriders, Ellen Kuras – Lee, Michael Mann – Ferrari, David Fincher – The Killer, Greta Gerwig – Barbie, Ari Aster – Beau is Afraid, Wes Anderson – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Todd Haynes – May December, George C. Wolfe – Rustin, Nuri Bilge Ceylan – About Dry Grasses

    BEST ACTOR

    Colman Domingo – Rustin

    Bradley Cooper – Maestro

    Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Michael Fassbender – The Killer

    Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer

    Could Jump In: Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers, Adam Driver – Ferrari, Barry Keoghan – Saltburn, Austin Butler – The Bikeriders, Benedict Cumberbatch – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Anthony Hopkins – One Life, Joaquin Phoenix – Beau is Afraid, Andre Holland – The Actor, Christian Friedel – The Zone of Interest, Matt Damon – Air, Song Kang-Ho – Cobweb, Andrew Scott – Strangers, Timothee Chalamet – Wonka

    BEST ACTRESS

    Annette Bening – Nyad

    Kate Winslet – Lee

    Natalie Portman – May December

    Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall

    Greta Lee – Past Lives

    Could Jump In: Regina King – Shirley, Carey Mulligan – Maestro, Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple, Emma Stone – Poor Things, Margot Robbie – Barbie, Zendaya – Challengers, Vanessa Kirby – Napoleon, Teyana Taylor – A Thousand and One, Alicia Vikander – Firebrand, Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun, Jessica Chastain – Memory, Sandra Huller – The Zone of Interest

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

    Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Tom Hardy – The Bikeriders

    Colman Domingo – The Color Purple

    John Magaro – Past Lives

    Jesse Plemons – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Could Jump In: Willem Dafoe – Poor Things, Samuel L. Jackson – The Piano Lesson, Glynn Turman or Jeffrey Wright – Rustin, Louis Gossett Jr. – The Color Purple, Richard E. Grant – Saltburn, Lakeith Stanfield – The Book of Clarence, Andy Samberg – Lee, Paul Mescal – Strangers, Josh O’Connor or Mike Faist – Challengers, Peter Sarsgaard – Memory, Jude Law – Firebrand, Mahershala Ali – Leave the World Behind, Glenn Howerton – BlackBerry (I can hope)

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

    Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Taraji P. Henson – The Color Purple

    Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple,

    Rosamund Pike – Saltburn

    Julianne Moore – May December

    Could Jump In: Jodie Foster – Nyad, Tilda Swinton – The Killer, Jodie Comer – The Bikeriders, Penelope Cruz – Ferrari, Audra McDonald – Rustin,  Claire Foy – Strangers, Margaret Qualley – Poor Things, Carey Mulligan – Saltburn, Helena Bonham Carter – One Life

    BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

    Past Lives

    Saltburn

    Drive-Away Dolls

    Rustin

    May December

    Could Jump In: Maestro, Asteroid City, The Holdovers, Beau is Afraid, Monster

    BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    Poor Things

    The Bikeriders

    How Do You Live?

    The Zone of Interest

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Oppenheimer, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Strangers, Lee, Dune: Part Two

    BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

    How Do You Live?

    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

    Elemental

    Wish

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

    Could Jump In: Migration, Suzume

    BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

    Poor Things

    Dune: Part Two

    Saltburn

    Oppenheimer

    Napoleon

    Could Jump In: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Color Purple, The Zone of Interest, Wonka,

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

    Dune: Part Two

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    Saltburn

    Poor Things

    Napoleon

    Could Jump In: Oppenheimer, The Color Purple, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Maestro, The Killer, The Zone of Interest

    BEST COSTUME DESIGN

    Dune: Part Two

    Poor Things

    Saltburn

    The Color Purple

    Barbie

    Could Jump In: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Napoleon, Wonka, Blitz, Lee

    BEST FILM EDITING

    Dune: Part Two

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    The Killer

    Ferrari

    Oppenheimer

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Napoleon, Blitz, Maestro, Poor Things

    BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

    Maestro

    Barbie

    Dune: Part Two

    Poor Things

    Wonka

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Ferrari, Napoleon, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Bikeriders

    BEST SOUND

    Dune: Part Two

    Oppenheimer

    Ferrari

    The Color Purple

    Maestro

    Could Jump In: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Wonka, The Marvels. Barbie

    BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

    Dune: Part Two

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

    Oppenheimer

    Wonka

    Could Jump In: Barbie, The Little Mermaid, The Marvels, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Blue Beetle

    BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

    Dune: Part Two

    How Do You Live?

    Oppenheimer

    The Killer

    Asteroid City

    Could Jump In: Elemental, The Zone of Interest, Barbie, Challengers, Lee, Killers of the Flower Moon

  • Cannes Film Festival 2023 Predictions

    Cannes Film Festival 2023 Predictions

    This year’s Cannes Film Festival has been for my money one of the most exciting in years. Films from legends like Wim Wenders, Aki Kaurismaki, Jonathan Glazer, Catherine Breillat, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Hirokazu Koreeda, Todd Haynes, Marco Bellocchio, Ken Loach, Wes Anderson and Wang Bing all played in competition at this year’s festival. As usual, some of these films underwhelmed, some met expectations, and some far exceeded them. This year’s best include Justine Triet’s mystery thriller Anatomy of a Fall, Jonathan Glazer’s Holocaust drama The Zone of Interest, and Alice Rohrwacher’s archaeologist adventure La Chimera. The Pot-au-Feu, May December, About Dry Grasses, Monster, and Fallen Leaves have also all received raves and should be kept in mind when predicting who will appear on stage during tomorrow’s Cannes awards ceremony.

    When it comes to the Palme D’Or, the biggest award of the festival, three contenders seem most poised to triumph: Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest, and La Chimera. I think more than usual, this jury (composed of actors and filmmakers such as Ruben Ostlund, Brie Larson, Damian Szifron, Paul Dano, and Julia Ducournau among others) will choose something with more of a modern appeal. Something punchy and conventionally entertaining yet also with some sociopolitical preoccupations. The film that satisfies both those criteria to the greatest extent is Ken Loach’s The Old Oak, but that film has also been widely-criticized by critics for being too broad and possibly tone-deaf in its commentary.

    Anatomy of a Fall seems best suited to this jury as it’s a highly-entertaining thriller directed by a woman that interrogates the institution of marriage. It’s central performance from Sandra Huller has been touted as one of the best performances we’ve seen at Cannes in recent years and it’s an accessible film that we could very possibly see perform well in the Best International Feature category at the Oscars. Though if Triet’s film does win the Palme, this means that Huller cannot win Actress for the film since a picture that wins the Palme cannot win in any other category. Still, I would be mistaken not to mention that Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest has received some of the best reviews of any Cannes film in the last few years. It currently holds a staggering 98 Metascore on 17 reviews and it may just be too undeniable not to award the Palme to. This year’s dark horse is Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera. Fresh off her Oscar nomination for the Disney Plus short Le pupille, Rohrwacher has delivered with a stunningly-filmed eccentric archaeological adventure starring a fantastic Josh O’Connor. It is not the type of film that usually wins at Cannes but this quirky film with comic elements might be just perfect for jury members like Ostlund, Szifron, and Dano, all of whom have been involved in their own respective off-center comedies.

    We shall see what this jury goes with so without further ado these are my predictions:

    PALME D’OR

    Pick: Anatomy of a Fall

    Could Be: The Zone of Interest, La Chimera, or About Dry Grasses

    DIRECTOR

    Pick: The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer

    Could Be: About Dry Grasses – Nuri Bilge Ceylan, La Chimera – Alice Rohrwacher, or Youth (Spring) – Wang Bing

    ACTRESS

    Pick: Natalie Portman and/or Julianne Moore – May December

    Could Be: Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall and/or The Zone of Interest, Alma Poysti – Fallen Leaves, or Mia Wasikowska – Club Zero

    ACTOR

    Pick: Koji Yakusho – Perfect Days

    Could Be: Josh O’Connor – La Chimera or Deniz Celiloglu – About Dry Grasses

    SCREENPLAY

    Pick: Fallen Leaves

    Could Be: May December or Anatomy of a Fall

    JURY PRIZE

    Pick: The Old Oak

    Could Be: La Chimera, The Pot-au-Feu, Monster, or Anatomy of a Fall

    GRAND PRIX

    Pick: La Chimera

    Could Be: About Dry Grasses, Anatomy of a Fall, Monster, or Fallen Leaves

  • Late May Oscar Predictions 2024

    Late May Oscar Predictions 2024

    The Cannes Film Festival is currently underway and the biggest story has been the raves for Martin Scorsese’s newest “Killers of the Flower Moon”. It’s already been called by many one of the maestro’s best and even though it can’t win anything at Cannes (it’s playing out-of-competition), it’s now pretty much guaranteed to be a top five Best Picture contender in this coming year. Scorsese, actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert DeNiro, composer Robbie Robertson, and the cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto have all been singled out by multiple reviews and will receive attention throughout the season. But ‘Killers’ was not the film that received the best notices of the festival so far, that would be ‘Under the Skin’ and ‘Sexy Beast’ director Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest”. As of this piece’s writing, Glazer’s newest holds a phenomenal 98 on review aggregator Metacritic on 11 reviews. While that score is unlikely to hold as more reviews flood in, it’s an incredibly promising sign for the film. While directed by the British Glazer, the film is in German and follows the family of a Nazi commander stationed at Auschwitz. It very likely will become distributor A24’s main push instead of Celine Song’s similarly-acclaimed “Past Lives”.

    After Cannes, the next major film festival on the calendar is Venice, which historically has many more Best Picture contenders on its slate. While the films playing at Venice have not been announced as of yet, we have received a small taste of what will be premiering on the Lido. According to a Variety article, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” and Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers” are essentially locks to play at Venice, while Michael Mann’s “Ferrari”, Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn”, and Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” are all different degrees of likely to appear on the slate.

    Outside of the festivals, the trailer for Warner Bros. newest iteration of ‘The Color Purple” has been released and it looks great. Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” and “The Color Purple” will be Warner Bros.’ two biggest pushes this year, and with an awards-friendly Christmas release date the studio clearly anticipates big things for the Blitz Bazawule picture.

    BEST PICTURE

    Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+)

    Oppenheimer (Universal)

    The Color Purple (Warner Bros.)

    Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)

    The Zone of Interest (A24)

    Saltburn (Amazon)

    Poor Things (Searchlight)

    Maestro (Netflix)

    How Do You Live? (Studio Ghibli)

    Rustin (Netflix)

    Could Jump In: Past Lives (A24), Napoleon (Apple TV+), Lee (Sky), The Bikeriders (20th Century), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Netflix), Ferrari (STX), Shirley (Netflix), Next Goal Wins (Searchlight), The Killer (Netflix), Monster (Toho), Asteroid City (Focus), May December (Sky Cinema), A Thousand and One (Focus), The Holdovers (Focus), The Piano Lesson (Netflix), Barbie (Warner Bros.), Wonka (Warner Bros.), Strangers (Searchlight), , One Life (See-Saw)

    Longer Shots: Nyad (Netflix), Leave the World Behind (Netflix), The Actor (Netflix), Challengers (MGM), The Zone of Interest (A24), The Iron Claw (A24), About Dry Grasses (Atmo), Beau is Afraid (A24), Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie (Vision), Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret (Lionsgate), Spider-Man: Across the Universe (Sony), Firebrand (MBK), Magazine Dreams (Searchlight), The Bastard (Magnolia), Io Capitano (01), Memory (MUBI), The Perfumed Hill, The New Boy (CAA/UTA), The Book of Clarence (Legendary), La Chimera (NEON)

    BEST DIRECTOR

    Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Blitz Bazawule – The Color Purple

    Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest

    Emerald Fennell – Saltburn

    Hayao Miyazaki – How Do You Live?

    Could Jump In: Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things, Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer, Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two, Celine Song – Past Lives, Ridley Scott – Napoleon, Jeff Nichols – The Bikeriders, Ellen Kuras – Lee, Michael Mann – Ferrari, David Fincher – The Killer, Greta Gerwig – Barbie, Ari Aster – Beau is Afraid, Wes Anderson – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Todd Haynes – May December, George C. Wolfe – Rustin, Nuri Bilge Ceylan – About Dry Grasses

    BEST ACTOR

    Colman Domingo – Rustin

    Bradley Cooper – Maestro

    Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Michael Fassbender – The Killer

    Adam Driver – Ferrari

    Could Jump In: Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers, Barry Keoghan – Saltburn, Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer, Austin Butler – The Bikeriders, Benedict Cumberbatch – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Anthony Hopkins – One Life, Joaquin Phoenix – Beau is Afraid, Andre Holland – The Actor, Christian Friedel – The Zone of Interest, Song Kang-Ho – Cobweb, Andrew Scott – Strangers, Timothee Chalamet – Wonka

    BEST ACTRESS

    Kate Winslet – Lee

    Annette Bening – Nyad

    Natalie Portman – May December

    Sandra Huller – The Zone of Interest

    Carey Mulligan – Maestro

    Could Jump In: Regina King – Shirley, Greta Lee – Past Lives Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple, Emma Stone – Poor Things, Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun, Zendaya – Challengers, Margot Robbie – Barbie, Vanessa Kirby – Napoleon, Teyana Taylor – A Thousand and One, Alicia Vikander – Firebrand, Jessica Chastain – Memory, Sakura Ando – Monster

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

    Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Tom Hardy – The Bikeriders

    Colman Domingo – The Color Purple

    Jesse Plemons – Killers of the Flower Moon

    John Magaro – Past Lives

    Could Jump In: Willem Dafoe – Poor Things, Samuel L. Jackson – The Piano Lesson, Glynn Turman or Jeffrey Wright – Rustin, Louis Gossett Jr. – The Color Purple, Richard E. Grant – Saltburn, Lakeith Stanfield – The Book of Clarence, Andy Samberg – Lee, Paul Mescal – Strangers, Josh O’Connor or Mike Faist – Challengers, Peter Sarsgaard – Memory, Jude Law – Firebrand, Mahershala Ali – Leave the World Behind

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

    Taraji P. Henson – The Color Purple

    Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple,

    Rosamund Pike – Saltburn

    Julianne Moore – May December

    Could Jump In: Jodie Foster – Nyad, Tilda Swinton – The Killer, Jodie Comer – The Bikeriders Penelope Cruz – Ferrari, Audra McDonald – Rustin,  Claire Foy – Strangers, Margaret Qualley – Poor Things, Carey Mulligan – Saltburn, Helena Bonham Carter – One Life

    BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

    Saltburn

    Drive-Away Dolls

    Rustin

    May December

    Past Lives

    Could Jump In: Maestro, Asteroid City, The Holdovers, Beau is Afraid, Monster

    BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    Poor Things

    The Bikeriders

    How Do You Live?

    The Zone of Interest

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Oppenheimer, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Strangers, Lee, Dune: Part Two

    BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

    How Do You Live?

    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

    Elemental

    Wish

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

    Could Jump In: Migration, Suzume

    BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

    Poor Things

    Dune: Part Two

    Saltburn

    Oppenheimer

    Napoleon

    Could Jump In: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Color Purple, The Zone of Interest, Wonka,

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

    Dune: Part Two

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    Saltburn

    Poor Things

    Napoleon

    Could Jump In: Oppenheimer, The Color Purple, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Maestro, The Killer, The Zone of Interest

    BEST COSTUME DESIGN

    Dune: Part Two

    Poor Things

    Saltburn

    The Color Purple

    Barbie

    Could Jump In: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Napoleon, Wonka, Blitz, Lee

    BEST FILM EDITING

    Dune: Part Two

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    The Killer

    Ferrari

    Oppenheimer

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Napoleon, Blitz, Maestro, Poor Things

    BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

    Maestro

    Barbie

    Dune: Part Two

    Poor Things

    Wonka

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Ferrari, Napoleon, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Bikeriders

    BEST SOUND

    Dune: Part Two

    Oppenheimer

    Ferrari

    The Color Purple

    Maestro

    Could Jump In: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Wonka, The Marvels. Barbie

    BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

    Dune: Part Two

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

    Oppenheimer

    Wonka

    Could Jump In: Barbie, The Little Mermaid, The Marvels, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Blue Beetle

    BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

    Dune: Part Two

    How Do You Live?

    Oppenheimer

    The Killer

    Asteroid City

    Could Jump In: Elemental, The Zone of Interest, Barbie, Challengers, Lee, Killers of the Flower Moon

  • Year-In-Advance Oscar Predictions 2024

    Year-In-Advance Oscar Predictions 2024

    With the end of one Oscar season comes the start of another…or maybe I’m just insane. Either way, the 2024 Oscars won’t truly start picking up steam until festival season in fall, but it’s always fun to predict what films will make it through and find success at the finish line. 

    Acclaimed filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Emerald Fennell, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ridley Scott, Hayao Miyazaki, Steve McQueen, Greta Gerwig, Jeff Nichols, Wes Anderson, Michael Mann, David Fincher, Todd Haynes, Ari Aster, Andrew Haigh, and Alexander Payne all likely have films coming out this year. Buzzy newcomers like Celine Song and Blitz Bazawule also have movies that very possibly will receive an immense amount of attention. 

    It’s an exciting season filled with talent old and new, so without further ado, here are my year-in-advance predictions!

    BEST PICTURE

    Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+)

    Oppenheimer (Universal)

    The Color Purple (Warner Bros.)

    Past Lives (A24)

    Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.)

    Saltburn (Amazon)

    Poor Things (Searchlight)

    Napoleon (Apple TV+)

    How Do You Live? (Studio Ghibli)

    Blitz (Apple TV+)

    Rustin (Netflix) (if Blitz doesn’t release this year)

    Could Jump In: Lee (Sky), The Bikeriders (20th Century), The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Netflix), Ferrari (STX), Maestro (Netflix), Shirley (Netflix), Next Goal Wins (Searchlight), The Killer (Netflix), Monster (Toho), Asteroid City (Focus), May December (Sky Cinema), Beau is Afraid (A24), Barbie (Warner Bros.), A Thousand and One (Focus), Wonka (Warner Bros.), Strangers (Searchlight), The Holdovers (Focus), The Piano Lesson (Netflix), One Life (See-Saw)

    Longer Shots: Nyad (Netflix), Leave the World Behind (Netflix), The Actor (Netflix), Challengers (MGM), The Zone of Interest (A24), The Iron Claw (A24), About Dry Grasses (Atmo), Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie (Vision), Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret (Lionsgate), Spider-Man: Across the Universe (Sony), Firebrand (MBK), Magazine Dreams (Searchlight), The Bastard (Magnolia), Io Capitano (01), Memory (MUBI), The Perfumed Hill, The New Boy (CAA/UTA), The Book of Clarence (Legendary), La Chimera (NEON)

    BEST DIRECTOR

    Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Steve McQueen – Blitz

    Blitz Bazawule – The Color Purple

    Celine Song – Past Lives

    Hayao Miyazaki – How Do You Live?

    Could Jump In: Emerald Fennell – Saltburn, Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things, Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer, Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two, Blitz Bazawule – The Color Purple, Ridley Scott – Napoleon, Jeff Nichols – The Bikeriders, Ellen Kuras – Lee, Michael Mann – Ferrari, David Fincher – The Killer, Greta Gerwig – Barbie, Ari Aster – Beau is Afraid, Wes Anderson – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Todd Haynes – May December, George C. Wolfe – Rustin, Nuri Bilge Ceylan – About Dry Grasses 

    BEST ACTOR

    Colman Domingo – Rustin

    Bradley Cooper – Maestro

    Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Michael Fassbender – The Killer

    Adam Driver – Ferrari

    Could Jump In: Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers, Barry Keoghan – Saltburn, Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer, Austin Butler – The Bikeriders, Benedict Cumberbatch – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Anthony Hopkins – One Life, Joaquin Phoenix – Beau is Afraid, Andre Holland – The Actor, Song Kang-Ho – Cobweb, Andrew Scott – Strangers, Timothee Chalamet – Wonka

    BEST ACTRESS

    Kate Winslet – Lee

    Natalie Portman – May December

    Greta Lee – Past Lives

    Saoirse Ronan – Blitz

    Carey Mulligan – Maestro

    Could Jump In: Regina King – Shirley, Annette Bening – Nyad, Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple, Emma Stone – Poor Things, Zendaya – Challengers, Margot Robbie – Barbie, Vanessa Kirby – Napoleon, Teyana Taylor – A Thousand and One, Alicia Vikander – Firebrand, Jessica Chastain – Memory, Sakura Ando – Monster

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

    Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Tom Hardy – The Bikeriders

    John Magaro – Past Lives

    Colman Domingo – The Color Purple

    Jesse Plemons – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Could Jump In: Richard E. Grant – Saltburn, Willem Dafoe – Poor Things, Glynn Turman or Jeffrey Wright – Rustin, Stephen Graham – Blitz, Louis Gossett Jr. – The Color Purple, Lakeith Stanfield – The Book of Clarence, Andy Samberg – Lee, Paul Mescal – Strangers, Josh O’Connor or Mike Faist – Challengers, Peter Sarsgaard – Memory, Jude Law – Firebrand, Mahershala Ali – Leave the World Behind

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

    Taraji P. Henson – The Color Purple

    Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

    Rosamund Pike – Saltburn

    Jodie Comer – The Bikeriders

    Julianne Moore – May December

    Could Jump In: Jodie Foster – Nyad, Tilda Swinton – The Killer, Penelope Cruz – Ferrari Audra McDonald – Rustin, Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple, Claire Foy – Strangers, Margaret Qualley – Poor Things, Carey Mulligan – Saltburn, Helena Bonham Carter – One Life

    BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

    Past Lives

    Blitz

    Saltburn

    Rustin

    May December

    Could Jump In: Maestro, Asteroid City, The Holdovers, Beau is Afraid, Monster

    BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    Poor Things

    The Bikeriders

    Oppenheimer

    How Do You Live?

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Strangers, Lee, Dune: Part Two

    BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

    How Do You Live?

    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

    Elemental

    Wish

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

    Could Jump In: Migration, Suzume

    BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

    Poor Things

    Dune: Part Two

    Saltburn

    Oppenheimer

    Napoleon

    Could Jump In: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Color Purple, Blitz, Wonka,

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

    Dune: Part Two

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    Saltburn

    Poor Things

    Napoleon

    Could Jump In: Oppenheimer, The Color Purple, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Maestro, The Killer

    BEST COSTUME DESIGN

    Dune: Part Two

    Poor Things

    Saltburn

    The Color Purple

    Barbie

    Could Jump In: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Napoleon, Wonka, Blitz, Lee

    BEST FILM EDITING

    Dune: Part Two

    Killers of the Flower Moon

    The Killer

    Ferrari

    Oppenheimer

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Napoleon, Blitz, Maestro, Poor Things

    BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

    Maestro

    Barbie

    Dune: Part Two

    Poor Things

    Wonka

    Could Jump In: The Color Purple, Ferrari, Napoleon, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Bikeriders

    BEST SOUND

    Dune: Part Two

    Oppenheimer

    Ferrari

    The Color Purple

    Blitz

    Could Jump In: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Maestro, Wonka, The Marvels. Barbie

    BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

    Dune: Part Two

    Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

    Oppenheimer

    Wonka

    Could Jump In: Barbie, The Little Mermaid, The Marvels, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Blue Beetle

    BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

    Dune: Part Two

    How Do You Live?

    Oppenheimer

    The Killer

    Asteroid City

    Could Jump In: Elemental, Barbie, Challengers, Lee, Killers of the Flower Moon

  • 2023 Final Oscar Predictions

    2023 Final Oscar Predictions

    After almost a year of predicting, the day is finally here. After my first predictions in late May, the landscape of this year has changed so much and we’ve been charting those transformations every step of the way. The 95th Academy Awards will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the third time and broadcasted on ABC on Sunday, March 12 at 7 p.m. CST. This was a year of fantastic blockbusters (Top Gun: Maverick and The Batman), indie word-of-mouth hits (Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Banshees of Inisherin) and passion projects from Hollywood legends (Tar and The Fabelmans). It’s one of the few years where I can say most of the best films were recognized, but there were still some notable snubs in each category as usual. Unlike last year, where most of the major categories were very easy to predict, most of this year’s categories will be very close races.

    Here are my FINAL predictions:

    ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (A24)

    BEST PICTURE: 

    Winner: Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Could Steal: No one

     

    ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (A24)

    BEST DIRECTOR:

    WInner: The Daniels – Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Could Steal: No one

     

    ‘Elvis’ (Warner Bros.)

    BEST ACTOR: 

    Winner: Austin Butler – Elvis

    Could Steal: Brendan Fraser – The Whale

     

    ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (A24)

    BEST ACTRESS: 

    Winner: Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Could Steal: Cate Blanchett – Tar

     

    ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (A24)

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: 

    Winner: Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Could Steal: No one

     

    ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ (Searchlight)

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: 

    Winner: Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin

    Could Steal: Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever or Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All at Once

     

    ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (A24)

    BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: 

    Winner: Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Could Steal: The Banshees of Inisherin

     

    ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (Netflix)

    BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: 

    Winner: All Quiet on the Western Front

    Could Steal: Women Talking

     

    ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ (Netflix)

    BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: 

    Winner: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

    Could Steal: No one

     

    ‘Babylon’ (Paramount)

    BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: 

    Winner: Babylon

    Could Steal: Elvis

     

    ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (Netflix)

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

    Winner: All Quiet on the Western Front

    Could Steal: Elvis

     

    ‘Elvis’ (Warner Bros.)

    BEST COSTUME DESIGN: 

    Winner: Elvis

    Could Steal: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

     

    ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (A24)

    BEST FILM EDITING: 

    Winner: Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Could Steal: Top Gun: Maverick

     

    ‘Elvis’ (Warner Bros.)

    BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: 

    Winner: Elvis

    Could Steal: The Whale

     

    ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (Paramount)

    BEST SOUND: 

    Winner: Top Gun: Maverick

    Could Steal: All Quiet on the Western Front

     

    BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: 

    Winner: Avatar: The Way of Water

    Could Steal: No one

     

    ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (Netflix)

    BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: 

    Winner: All Quiet on the Western Front

    Could Steal: Babylon or The Fabelmans or Everything Everywhere All at Once

     

    ‘RRR’ (Netflix)

    BEST ORIGINAL SONG: 

    Winner: RRR

    Could Steal: Top Gun: Maverick or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

     

    ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (Netflix)

    BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE: 

    Winner: All Quiet on the Western Front

    Could Steal: No one

     

    ‘Navalny’ (CNN)

    BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: 

    Winner: Navalny

    Could Steal: Fire of Love or All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

     

    ‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’ (Apple+)

    BEST ANIMATED SHORT: 

    Winner: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse

    Could Steal: My Year of Dicks or Ice Merchants

     

    ‘An Irish Goodbye’ (BFI)

    BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT: 

    Winner: An Irish Goodbye

    Could Steal: Le Pupille or The Red Suitcase

     

    ‘Stranger at the Gate’ (The New Yorker)

    BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: 

    Winner: Stranger at the Gate

    Could Steal: The Elephant Whisperers or How Do You Measure a Year?

  • Final 2023 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture and Best Director

    Final 2023 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture and Best Director

    BEST PICTURE

    I love it when the biggest award of the night is the easiest to predict. This year has been the story of Everything Everywhere All at Once’s dominance. From its premiere at South by Southwest on March 11 last year, the Daniels-directed film has been building steam, racking up award after award in the process. It’s a film that has restored many in Hollywood’s faith that word-of-mouth successes can still exist when the film industry is moving so rapidly away from theaters. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is a fantastic film that has touched such a large swathe of people and it is undeniably deserving of Best Picture this year.

    Nominees:

    Everything Everywhere All at Once – PGA, SAG, DGA, CCA, WGA

    The Banshees of Inisherin – GG (Comedy/Musical)

    All Quiet on the Western Front – BAFTA

    The Fabelmans – GG (Drama)

    Tar

    Elvis

    Top Gun: Maverick

    Women Talking – WGA

    Triangle of Sadness

    Avatar: The Way of Water

    Pick: Everything Everywhere All at Once

    BEST DIRECTOR

    While the tagline “Steven Spielberg makes a film about his burgeoning childhood interest in filmmaking” sounds like prime bait for a category like Best Director, the Daniels have already won the Directors Guild Award, one of the best barometers of who will win Best Director. Park Chan-Wook or Charlotte Wells would have also been deserving picks, yet were snubbed here. Wells’ exclusion is especially notable because it meant that no female-identifying filmmaker was nominated for Best Director.

    Nominees:

    Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once – CCA, DGA

    Steven Spielberg – The Fabelmans – GG

    Todd Field – Tar

    Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin

    Ruben Ostlund – Triangle of Sadness

    Pick: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once

  • Final 2023 Oscar Predictions: Acting Categories

    Final 2023 Oscar Predictions: Acting Categories

    BEST ACTOR

    Paul Mescal’s vulnerable, emotionally complex work in Aftersun was one of the best performances of last year’s films. That said, Austin Butler and Brendan Fraser are the two biggest contenders here, having each already received two major awards. While Fraser could win, the adoration that he has accrued in the United States isn’t as prevalent outside of the country, and the Academy has expanded more globally in the last few years. As a result, Austin Butler is the most probable contender for the award, especially since his performance fits the trend of past young biopic winners such as Eddie Redmayne and Rami Malek. Also, the last eight of the winners in this category won at BAFTA first and 7 of the eight won a Golden Globe as well. They are the two most predictive precursors of the four and Austin Butler has both.

    Nominees:

    Austin Butler – Elvis – GG, BAFTA

    Brendan Fraser – The Whale – CCA, SAG

    Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin

    Paul Mescal – Aftersun

    Bill Nighy – Living

    Pick: Austin Butler – Elvis

    BEST ACTRESS

    This may be the most competitive race of the night. Both Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett’s performances have received massive amounts of critical acclaim, popular recognition and industry support. Yeoh is in one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons of the year, but it’s one that will triumph in other categories as well, so voters may instead side with Blanchett here as it’s their best opportunity to recognize “Tar.” But I personally don’t see that happening and think that this was the year of Michelle Yeoh and as the face of the biggest film of the year, she will be winning her first Oscar. Could this be like the 2021 Best Actor race where Chadwick Boseman came in as the one with the most popular support yet the Academy went with BAFTA winner an industry legend Anthony Hopkins? I would say it could be but one essential difference is that Everything Everywhere All at Once is the clear Best Picture winner while Chadwick Boseman’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom wasn’t even nominated for Picture.

    Nominees:

    Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once – GG, SAG

    Cate Blanchett – Tar – GG, CCA, BAFTA

    Andrea Riseborough – To Leslie

    Ana de Armas – Blonde

    Michelle Williams – The Fabelmans

    Pick: Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

    Other than “Everything Everywhere All at Once” winning Best Picture, Ke Huy Quan winning Best Supporting Actor for his heartfelt and powerful work in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is the most locked of the major categories. This year’s nominations slate in this category is great all-around, nominating phenomenal work like Brian Tyree Henry’s subtle, moving and emotionally honest turn in “Causeway”.

    Nominees: 

    Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once – GG, CCA, SAG

    Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin

    Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin – BAFTA

    Brian Tyree Henry – Causeway

    Judd Hirsch – The Fabelmans

    Pick: Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

    This may be my own bias, but it is very hard for me to see the Academy give a Marvel movie performance an Oscar, even if it is the legendary Angela Bassett, someone who deserves to have an Oscar, giving that performance. Jamie Lee Curtis’ performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once seems too slight to win an Oscar and while her Hsu could take it, her lack of precursor wins makes that very unlikely. That leaves Kerry Condon who won at BAFTA. I thought that maybe she won because “Banshees” would appeal to the British awards body more than it would to AMPAS but she was the critics’ leader for a reason and is many’s favorite part of what is one of the most beloved films of the year. Also with the predicted snub in Original Screenplay, individual members could choose Supporting Actress as the place where they want to award “Banshees”.

    Nominees:

    Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin – BAFTA

    Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – GG, CCA

    Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All at Once – SAG

    Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Hong Chau – The Whale

    Pick: Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin