Oscar!

It's that time again. Here are my final Oscar predictions.

The best picture / best director split will happen again for the third year running. With all the love Birdman got from the industry via the guilds awards I think it will win picture and Richard Linklater's 12 years odyssey will be seen as a unique and major accomplishment so he wins best director.

Best Picture
Winner: Birdman
Alternate: Boyhood

Best Directing
Winner: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Alternate: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman

Yes Redmayne won almost every precursor but it a feeling I have that they'd want to reward the veteran.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Michael Keaton, Birdman
Alternate: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

My vote goes to Cotillard for a performance that will stand test of time and be studied by actors seeking to understand how to become one with  character. Moore will win and is a worthy winner.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Alternate: Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night

Mark Ruffalo is head and shoulders above the rest here. He gives the classic supporting performance in that he deepens the leads' performances by bringing a grounded warmth that the movie doesn't work without. But Simmons it is. Whatever Teller ruled that movie but flashy wins. 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Alternate: Edward Norton, Birdman

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Alternate: Emma Stone, Birdman

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alternate: Birdman

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Winner: The Imitation Game
Alternate: Whiplash


Best Animated Feature
Winner: How to Train Your Dragon 2
Alternate: Big Hero 6

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: Ida
Alternate: Timbuktu

Best Documentary Feature
Winner: Citizenfour
Alternate: Virunga

Best Documentary Short
Winner: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Alternate: Joanna

Best Short Film (Animated)
Winner: The Dam Keeper
Alternate: A Single Life 

Best Short Film (Live Action)
Winner: The Phone Call
Alternate: Parvaneh


Best Music (Original Score)
Winner: The Theory of Everything
Alternate: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Music (Original Song)
Winner: "Glory", Selma
Alternate: "I'm Not Gonna Miss You", Glenn Campbell: I'll Be Me

Best Film Editing
Winner: Boyhood
Alternate: Whiplash

Best Cinematography
Winner: Birdman
Alternate: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Art Direction
Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alternate: The Imitation Game

Best Costume Design
Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alternate: Into the Woods

Best Makeup
Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alternate: Foxcatcher

Best Sound Mixing
Winner: Whiplash
Alternate: American Sniper

Best Sound Editing
Winner: American Sniper
Alternate: Birdman

Best Visual Effects
Winner: Interstellar 
Alternate: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

First Stab at Oscar Nominations

As the Telluride Film Festival kicks off in Colorado, here is my stab at first guess Oscar Nominations. Presented in likelyhood to be nominated.

Best Film

Boyhood
Birdman
The Imitation Game
Gone Girl
Foxcatcher
Interstellar
Selma
Unbroken
The Theory of Everything
Fury

Alternates - A Most Violent Year, Into the Woods, Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Actress

Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild
Jessica Chastain - The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
Amy Adams - Big Eyes
Meryl Streep - Into the Woods

Alternate - Julianne Moore - Maps to the Stars

Best Actor

Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Steve Carrel - Foxcatcher
Michael Keaton - Birdman
David Oyelowo - Selma
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Alternate  Channing Tatum - Foxcatcher

Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game
Emily Blunt - Into the Woods
Emma Stone  - Birdman

Alternate - Laura Dern - Wild       Carmen Ejogo - Selma

Best Supporting Actor

Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
Ed Norton - Birdman
Josh Brolin - Inherent Vice
Tom Wilkinson - Selma
J K Simmons - Whiplash

Alternate - Robert Duvall - The Judge

Boyhood (2014) - Review

Ellar Coltrane as Mason Jr.

What can I say about Boyhood (2014) after the whole world has proclaimed it a masterpiece. I was skeptical about it before I saw it. Called it condescendingly a "hipster" movie. Can't even define what that means. But I guess it's a movie for a certain kind of audience. I shouldn't have been dismissive and form opinions without watching the movie. But when something is universally lauded the contrarian in me comes alive.

Now after I've seen it I have to admit that I enjoyed it. Some moments were very moving. Do I like it? Yes. Do I consider it a good movie? Probably. A great one? Absolutely not.

Boyhood is the story of a divorced couple and their two young children (Ellar Coltrane as Mason Jr, and Lorelei Linklater as Samantha) as they grow into young adulthood while living with the mother (Patricia Arquette) and getting frequent visits from the father (Ethan Hawke). The bold audacious stroke is that it was shot over a period of 12 years so we get to the passage of time as these characters, and the actors playing them, grow older.

That's obviously a unique way of telling this story that immediately gives it heart and pathos beyond its simple light beats. It is very moving to watch the passage of time; to see people grow up and come into their own, to see hope and disappointment and the curves life throws. It is doubly moving when presented this way. However beyond this admittedly genius stroke there was not a lot to the story. It is clearly a Linklater movie in that it is generous to most of its characters, well observed with nothing overtly dramatic happening. However we get a tender movie, a 'slice of life" narrative.

And this should be enough for a good movie. But I wasn't convinced. I was moved, I enjoyed it and despite the almost 3 hour length was never bored. But I wanted more. A more profound look at life. A more nuanced attempt at interpreting this story. More visual flair. Something more. I wanted the movie to floor me, amaze me, shake me. But that is not Linklater's style. That is not this movie. And so I resigned myself and decided to enjoy what was on offer.

Arquette

And there's much to enjoy. Every scene is beautifully observed and flows naturally and seamlessly. Arquette is given a complex character and she dives in whole heartedly and delivers beautiful work in spades. While I think the movie is a bit hard on her character - giving her all the hardship and stupid decisions to deal with while Hawke's character roams freely being "cool" - it also gives her the dramatic arc and her performance is never less than engaging. Coltrane is fine within the parameters of the story but he's not a vivid presence on screen.

I highly recommend Boyhood. It is a unique movie experience and for that it should be applauded. I just wish there was more to it.

Have you seen Boyhood? What did you think? Tell all in the comments.