It comes down to the last day before the reveal of who will take home the Oscars for best in motion pictures. I actually didn’t wait this long to make my choices of who should win the coveted statues as my mind was made up months ago when the list was first published. I believe in entertainment in movies. You know, it’s about who will like a movie and walk out of the theater knowing they invested in a good feeling, whether it be a romantic moment, a belly laugh, a blast from the past, a look at the future, a wild ride or a historical event, from what is depicted on the screen. It’s the films that are worth seeing and each one of us has our favorites. The following are my picks from the films the Academy of Arts and Sciences saw fit to choose for their 2015 “BESTS” that moved me, made me happy, created excitement, told a story I could remember, brought a tear to my eye, took me on a journey and in general, entertained.
The following are what I feel are the best from the Oscar list (See below for what I think the Academy will pick)
BEST PICTURE: “Birdman” (should have been “Foxcatcher”)
BEST ACTOR: Steve Carell for “Foxcatcher”
BEST ACTRESS: Julianne Moore for “Still Alice”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: J.K. Simmons for “Whiplash”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Laura Dern for “Wild”
BEST DIRECTOR: Bennett Miller for “Foxcatcher”
CINEMATOGRAPHY: “Mr. Turner”
ANIMATED FEATURE: “The Boxtrolls”
COSTUME DESIGN: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: “Citizenfour”
DOCUMENTARY SHORT: I only saw the trailers (“White Earth”)
FILM EDITING: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: “Ida”
MAKE-UP & HAIR STYLING: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
MUSIC Original Score: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
MUSIC Original Song: “Glory” from the movie “Selma”
PRODUCTION DESIGN: “Interstellar”
SHORT FILM Animated: “Feast”
SHORT FILM Live Action: I only saw the trailers (“The Phone Call”)
SOUND EDITING: “American Sniper”
SOUND MIXING: “Whiplash”
VISUAL EFFECTS: “Guardians of the Galaxy”
WRITING Adapted Screenplay: “American Sniper”
WRITING Original Screenplay: “Nightcrawler”
What I think the voters will choose tomorrow night:
BEST PICTURE: “Birdman”
BEST ACTOR: Eddie Redmayne for “The Theory of Everything”
BEST ACTRESS: Julianne Moore for “Still Alice”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: J.K. Simmons for “Whiplash”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Patricia Arquette for “Boyhood”
BEST DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater for “Boyhood”
CINEMATOGRAPHY: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
ANIMATED FEATURE: “How to Train Your Dragon 2”
COSTUME DESIGN: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: “Citizenfour”
DOCUMENTARY SHORT: I only saw the trailers (“White Earth”)
FILM EDITING: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: “Ida”
MAKE-UP & HAIR STYLING: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
MUSIC Original Score: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
MUSIC Original Song: “Glory” from the movie “Selma”
PRODUCTION DESIGN: “Interstellar”
SHORT FILM Animated: “Feast”
SHORT FILM Live Action: I only saw the trailers (“The Phone Call”)
SOUND EDITING: “American Sniper”
SOUND MIXING: “Whiplash”
VISUAL EFFECTS: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
WRITING Adapted Screenplay: “The Imitation Game”
WRITING Original Screenplay: “Birdman”