If I Picked the Oscars - Best Actor

The other day I posted the first round of my personal Oscar picks, from who I would personally nominate and also who would win in the Best Actress category (that post can be found here).

This time around, Best Actor. These would be my five nominees if I were put in charge of the Oscars, and the last one listed is my pick to win the award.

Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Bringing the uniquely brilliant material of Wes Anderson to life seems like it cannot possibly be easy, yet Ralph Fiennes made it look that way in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Displaying perfect comedic delivery and timing, it was an absolute joy to watch Fiennes work throughout this entire film. Despite its intentional absurdity, this movie managed to invoke a certain nostalgic feeling in viewers that clearly resonated, given its critical, box office and award season success. Ralph Fiennes is a major reason why.

Channing Tatum - Foxcatcher

Yeah, that's right. Channing Tatum is a Best Actor nominee in my book. For whatever reason this bright talent remains an actor that people love to hate, as everywhere I look I see negative reactions whenever his name is mentioned as a possibility for a film. I not only don't roll my eyes when I see his name, I root for him to get the part because the richer the material Tatum gets to work with, the better and better he will get. This was proven in Foxcatcher, a film that demanded strong performances from the entire ensemble and they all delivered, yet despite the actual Oscar nominations for both Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo, I felt Tatum's portrayal of Mark Schultz was the strongest piece of this excellent movie. Intense, unnerving, unsettling and just plain awkward, I completely bought in to his character and admired every second he was on the screen.

David Oyelowo - Selma

I would imagine being offered the chance to play Martin Luther King Jr. in a major motion picture would be both a massive honor and an incredibly stressful endeavor. Sure, if it works you will be beloved for bringing the passionate and extraordinary Dr. King to the big screen, but if it doesn't work? That would be a rough moment for any career, being known as the guy who failed at portraying such an important man, the face and the force behind the Civil Rights Movement. David Oyelowo accepted this challenge and he delivered, my goodness he delivered. His work in the film Selma is gripping, emotional, beautiful stuff, and honestly, I still can't believe Bradley Cooper received a nomination over him at the Oscars. Cooper was good, but Oyelowo went to another level.

Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

The transformation Eddie Redmayne pulled off to play Stephen Hawking was incredible. It's easy for me to look through a performance like this and see the guy pretending to be the real famous person with an illness, rather than get lost in the role and lose sight of the difference between reality and a fictionalized version. When I was watching The Theory of Everything, I was beyond lost in the heartbreaking nuanced turn by Redmayne. I was in awe of just how real it felt. Hell, even the real Stephen Hawking said he thought he was watching himself after witnessing it. Now that's a hell of a compliment.

and the Oscar goes to...

Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler

Ahhhhh Lou Bloom. While Julianne Moore's performance in Still Alice was the best work I saw in 2014, Lou Bloom is my favorite character of the year, and Jake Gyllenhaal's portrayal of him lands the top spot om this list. Nightcrawler is such an ominous and entertaining delight, and Gyllenhaal absolutely nails the lead role, showing an unsettling amount of range. I found myself quickly going from a genuine laugh out loud to feeling a sinister chill reverberate through my body, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time watching Jake put on a brilliant, inspired show.

Two actors I desperately wanted to include on this list were Michael Keaton was his amazing performance in Birdman and Haluk Bilginer for his subtly beautiful work in Winter Sleep, but alas such is the nature of narrowing down such an amazing crop of performances to only 5. A great year and unfortunately, I couldn't pick them all.

Golden Globes Film Predictions

On Thursday, December 11th, the nominations for the 2015 Golden Globe awards will be announced. While not nearly as exciting or seemingly important as the Oscars, it is still interesting to see how these nominations shake out and it may reveal some hints as to which way the Academy might lean as well. While the Academy is made up of over 6000 members where as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (the group behind the Golden Globe nominations and award winners) have only 91, they still manage to have their voices heard and be a precursor to the big show.

Here are my predictions for what we will hear on Thursday morning on the film side of the ballot, nominees only. I will worry about picking the winners incorrectly when the actual ceremony draws nearer.

BEST PICTURE - DRAMA

Boyhood
Unbroken
Selma
The Imitation Game
Gone Girl

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Foxcatcher, Whiplash or American Sniper
*Personal wish that won't come true: Interstellar
*Surprise wildcard: A Most Violent Year


BEST PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Birdman
Into the Woods
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Pride

*Most likely if I'm wrong: St. Vincent, Begin Again or Top Five
*Personal wish that won't come true: Guardians of the Galaxy or The Lego Movie
*Surprise wildcard: Chef


BEST ACTOR - DRAMA

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Steve Carrell, Foxcatcher
David Oyelowo, Selma
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner or Oscar Isaac, A Most Violent Year
*Personal wish that won't come true: Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
*Surprise wildcard: Ben Affleck, Gone Girl

BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA

Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Hilary Swank, The Homesman or Jennifer Aniston, Cake
*Personal wish that won't come true: Shailene Woodley, The Fault in Our Stars
*Surprise wildcard: Scarlett Johannson, Under the Skin

BEST ACTOR - MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Michael Keaton, Birdman
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Bill Murray, St. Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
James Corden, Into the Woods

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Chris Rock, Top Five or Mark Ruffalo, Begin Again
*Personal wish that won't come true: Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy
*Surprise wildcard: John Lithgow, Love is Strange

BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Angelina Jolie, Maleficent
Keira Knightley, Begin Again
Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Kristen Wiig, The Skeleton Twins or Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars
*Personal wish that won't come true: Jenny Slate, Obvious Child
*Surprise wildcard: Quvenzhane Wallis, Annie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Edward Norton, Birdman
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Tom Wilkinson, Selma

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice or Alfred Molina, Love is Strange
*Personal wish that won't come true: Tyler Perry, Gone Girl
*Surprise wildcard: Johnny Depp, Into the Woods

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Emma Stone, Birdman
Laura Dern, Wild
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Carmen Ejogo, Selma or Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
*Personal wish that won't come true: Carrie Coon, Gone Girl
*Surprise wildcard: Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

BEST DIRECTOR

Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Angelina Jolie, Unbroken
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Ava DuVernay, Selma

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game or Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
*Personal wish that won't come true: Christopher Nolan, Interstellar
*Surprise wildcard: Damien Chazelle, Whiplash

BEST SCREENPLAY

Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Damien Chazelle, Whiplash or the Coen Brothers, Unbroken
*Personal wish that won't come true: Phil Lord and Chris Miller, The LEGO Movie
*Surprise wildcard: Phil Lord and Chris Miller, The LEGO Movie (it might come true despite above)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

The LEGO Movie
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Big Hero 6
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
The Boxtrolls

*Most likely if I'm wrong: The Book of Life
*Personal wish that won't come true: Nothing
*Surprise wildcard: The Penguins of Madagascar

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Mommy (Canada)
Fource Majeure (Sweden)
Two Days, One Night (Belgium)
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Winter Sleep (Turkey)
*Personal wish that won't come true: None
*Surprise wildcard: Wild Tales (Argentina)

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Under the Skin
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
Birdman
Interstellar

*Most likely if I'm wrong: Theory of Everything or Selma
*Personal wish that won't come true: None
*Surprise wildcard: Noah

I might be missing a category here but I believe I covered most of it. I know I didn't address Best Original Song, but to be honest that is because I really don't know what songs are even being considered. Although I believe Coldplay has a song in Unbroken, so that will probably win.

I will revisit these on Thursday and see how terrible I did. I look forward to it!

Nightcrawler Review

Nicolas Winding Refn wasn't even on my radar prior to my witnessing the recent neon soaked urban masterpiece Drive, a film that navigated the streets of Los Angeles in a way that can only be described as cool. He had previous films under his belt, but in my world it was his debut into my cinematic soul and I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face no matter what was taking place on the screen. Deranged deaths and the gloomy haze of a polluted city at night, it all tasted delicious and I wanted more, but who could duplicate such a vibe? Others have extracted a similarly strange sex appeal from content that should never make a level headed human being aroused, filmmakers like Michael Mann and David Fincher off the top of my head, but would I ever discover something new that would impact me the way Drive did?

I'm not 100 percent sure I can put you on that pedestal just yet, Dan Gilroy, but I know at the very least you came really, shockingly close.

Nightcrawler tells the story of a man named Lou Bloom, played so well by Jake Gyllenhaal that I can't even decipher what the proper adjectives would be to make anyone reading this understand, so I will circle back to that with a clearer mind soon. Bloom is looking for a job, and after some initial failings in that regard he stumbles upon a car wreck early one morning and he witnesses a cameraman named Joe Loder (Bill Paxson) capturing the tragedy on camera. As the sun rises a few hours later, that same footage recorded by Loder ran on a local morning news, and Bloom considers that the financial possibilities found with this unconventional career opportunity may be exactly the type of thing he was looking for.

Eerie, hypnotic, unsettling, striking, unnerving, haunting, hilarious, and much like Drive, so god damn cool, Nightcrawler is a wonderful balance of all of this and more. Photographed by Robert Elswit, who has some notable experience working with similar cityscape imagery as the regular cinematographer of the genius auteur Paul Thomas Anderson, I could bathe in the gorgeous aesthetic on display throughout this film. The directorial debut of Dan Gilroy, and by god keep em' coming sir. If this is the vision you are capable of the very first time you step behind the camera, I cannot wait to see what comes next.

None of this works without Gyllenhaal though. I am not typically a performance guy, not because I don't admire the work of actors at the top of their craft but rather because I am simply more drawn to those working behind the screens (see above where I gush about names like Refn, Robert Elswit, PT Anderson and Dan Gilroy), but I cannot ignore the importance of the lead performance here. With the physical transformation of a significant weight loss by Gyllenhaal came a total investment in the character, and thus the work done here has the potential to be iconic. I couldn't take my eyes off of him throughout, as even the slightest mannerism or most minor facial expression seemed to add depth to the character. Probably the finest work by an actor thus far in 2014, and that includes Eddie Redmayne who essentially was Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Gyllenhaal absolutely owns Nightcrawler, and I honestly can't tell you what I would do if I saw the man approach me tomorrow. A part of me feels I would want to shake his hand, tell him that I am a big fan and spew praise of what he accomplished here, but another part of me would think Lou Bloom was heading my way with his motivational pitch, ready to offer me a career opportunity. Just the idea of that will keep me up at night.

A vibrant, exciting film about obsession and a wonderful, clever satire about the true goal of the media when they are delivering us the news. One of the best films of 2014, my goodness I can't wait to take this wild ride again.

4.5/5

The Theory of Everything Review

Stephen Hawking truly is a remarkable man. His achievements, especially while fighting his battle with ALS since he was diagnosed at the age of 21, are beyond extraordinary. He has literally changed the way the world thinks and has provided humanity with a better understanding of existence. Just trying to comprehend his Wikipedia page gives me a headache because it is so vastly consumed with career accolades and discoveries and important personal life information.

Thus, you can imagine my disappointment when his biopic The Theory of Everything turned out to be rather unremarkable.

It isn't a bad film by any means. In fact, it is quite good, but it also constantly felt safe and familiar, like I had seen it all before. Reminding me very much of the tone and beats of the former Best Picture winner A Beautiful Mind, in a year when I have been challenged by the ambition and scope of films like Interstellar and Boyhood, nothing about the story or the filmmaking during The Theory of Everything felt audacious and unique enough to really leave a lasting impression.

I actually found myself a tad annoyed during the film by the usage of lighting, as I found techniques that are often times used more subtly during films to be ridiculously on the nose, specifically during the more well lit, positive moments. I noticed the opposite during various scenes, like when the bad news of Stephen's illness is delivered to his girlfriend, and the frame was overwhelmed by the drabness of a lifeless blue, a cold setting for a moment deserving of it, but I didn't find this to be jarring or bothersome. However, during joyous moments, like the first time Hawking holds his baby or a later sequence when he sees the woman he loves, sunlight pours in through the windows and makes the subjects in the frame glow almost angelically. Instead of merely demonstrating warmth through color and sunlight, director James Marsh forced me to practically squint in order to follow the scene. I appreciate using mise-en-scène to set the mood, but this went above and beyond and felt forced rather than natural.

On a performance level though, that is a whole other story with The Theory of Everything and worthy of any award recognition that is sure to come. Felicity Jones is excellent as the first wife of Hawking, Jane Wilde, and she perfectly compliments the show stealing, sublime performance by Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking. Without yet seeing this film, I picked Redmayne to walk away with the Oscar for this role based on early word of mouth alone, and now that I have experienced the performance I will not be changing that pick. At his worst, Redmaybe was excellent, and at his best he WAS Stephen Hawking. I was blown away by the transformation and the authenticity that he brought to the screen, it truly is something special that everyone must see to appreciate.

The Theory of Everything finds itself running with the top dogs towards award season, and the best analogy I can make as to why I feel it doesn't belong in the Best Picture hunt involves figure skating at the Olympics. Some films out there are going on that ice and attempting the most challenging, innovative routines, understanding that to slip a little or not land a move perfectly is acceptable when the overall product is extraordinary. The Theory of Everything is the skater who goes out and plays it safe and simple in order to land everything perfectly, technically a fine show but no one will remember it for years to come.

Except, of course, for those performances. Eddie Redmayne? Give him the damn trophy now.


3.5/5