Best Picture-BIRDMAN (Although my favorite picture of the year might be CALVARY, which was not nominated. Also snubbed were NIGHTCRAWLER and BABADOOK-the most original movie of the year.
Best Actor-Michael Keaton. Although these were all great performances, I liked his the most of the nominees. Jake Gyllenhaal gave my favorite performance in NIGHTCRAWLER but was not nominated.
Best Actress -Marion Cotillard-Although Julianne Moore was very fine, I never forgot who she was as I did with Cotillard in TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT. Reese Witherspoon was also totally believable in WILD.
Best Supporting Actor-J.K. Simmons - Ruffalo a close runner-up but in a much less showy role.
Best Supporting Actress-Patricia Arquette-who played a fairly complex mother in BOYHOOD. Nobody else impressed me nearly as much.
Best Director-Alejandro Inarritu (BIRDMAN)
Best Adapted Screenplay-Damien Chazelle-WHIPLASH
Best Original Screenplay-Inarritu et al for BIRDMAN
Best Doc. FINDING VIVIAN MAIER
My Oscar picks go up on my blog tomorrow. I'm with you on BIRDMAN but I think the Academy will choose BOYHOOD.
ReplyDeleteFrom day to day, the predictions change.
ReplyDeleteI like your choices, Patti, though I haven't seen them all yet. I was way more impressed with Birdman than I'd expected to b3, and I thought the direction was amazing, a no-brainer for Best Director.
ReplyDeleteJeff M.
Even when I haven't seen all the nominated films (such as, oh, every year), The Oscars is always a fun evening at our house. We have our family contest for bragging rights and our dinner is catered by that fine dining establishment, Popeyes Fried Chicken (spicy, please). My picks:
ReplyDeleteDirector: Inarritu
Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette
Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons
Actress: Julianne Moore (this will definitely be a "reward for a body of work" Oscar)
Actor: Bradley Cooper (I know, I know... But I had to throw some suspense into the family Oscar pool)
Picture: Boyhood
Cooper was fine in the part. Just didn't much care for the film. It used to be fun watching it as a family. Watching it at 5 leaves something to be desired. Yes, Julianne is a sure thing.
ReplyDeleteWe thought American Sniper was well done but rather one note, repeating things over and over. I thought Cooper was more deserving in previous roles, as in American Hustle. I didn't think the movie was that good. It doesn't compare to either Birdman or Boyhood in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThen there is the other critical darling, The Grand Babylon HOtel. I thought that was totally overrated, a mediocre film that was my least favorite of the Best Picture nominees that I've seen.
Jeff M.
I am tempted to see it again, Jeff, to see if we missed its charm.
ReplyDeleteI am terrible at taking the opportunity to see films while they're 'hot off the press.' I'll be interested to see who wins though.
ReplyDeleteIt hasn't opened here yet, but I think CITIZENFOUR might win the BEST DOCUMENTARY. The reviews have been strong.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to remember a movie I liked from last year. Live, Die, Repeat. I liked that so I'd probably give it all the oscars
ReplyDeleteSince we saw none of them, any guesses I make would be from secondary sources. That said, Birdman for Best Picture, Theory of Everything for Best Actor. The rest, not a quess, except maybe the actress in ALICE could win Best Actress.
ReplyDeleteCharles-you got the title wrong. It's Edge of Tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteCitizenfour is on cable this week.
Thanks, Steve. I was wondering how I missed it and I didn't. Good movie.
ReplyDeleteHa, glad to see that I'm not the only one to prefer Birdman to Boyhood.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to see Richard win best director for Boyhood, his vision deserved much credit.
ReplyDeletePatti, you were right: it was BIRDMAN and not BOYHOOD.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of it is about peaking and BOYHOOD peaked too early.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I liked BOYHOOD a lot, it depended so much on the use of a time span. The plot turned out to be rather ordinary beyond that.
Patricia Arquette gave a very convincing performance of a single mother. You're right: BOYHOOD peaked too soon.
ReplyDelete