Team Guides has spent the last few weeks squabbling and bickering over who is going to win – or not win – an Oscar at the 2015 Academy Awards. After much brouhaha and eye-gouging we think we have it sewn up. That being said, we would also like to go on record and say that we are fully prepared to be completely and utterly humiliated by getting literally everything wrong.
There’s no time for pessimism, though. Our confidence is soaring as high as a birdman, even if our theory of everything ends up going into the woods with whiplash…
(Even if we are wrong, you can’t knock our word-play skills).
BEST PICTURE
Winner Birdman
Dark Horse Boyhood
Other nominees American Sniper | The Imitation Game |Selma | The Theory of Everything | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Whiplash
Birdman may have taken the box office by storm, but this film deserves the top award for more reasons than just money. Michael Keaton plays a washed up-actor, haunted by the inner monologue of his former superhero character, Birdman, who tries to justify his place in the world. A great cast and script are just two of the many reasons why it deserves top honour.
It may not be the obvious choice, but the dark horse here is Boyhood. Filmed intermittently over 12 years (in real life), we see a young lad called Mason Evans Jr (Ellar Coltrane) literally grow up on our screen.
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner Michael Keaton in Birdman
Dark Horse Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything
Other Nominees Steve Carrell in Foxcatcher | Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game | Bradley Cooper in American Sniper
It’s been a while since we last saw Michael Keaton on the big screen. The former Batman star (how apt) has never before won an Oscar, but that could all change this year. His performance as Riggan Thomson was epic in so many ways.
Playing the lead role in a biopic is one thing, but playing the part of a real person who is still with us is something else. Eddie Redmayne’s performance as the legendary theoretical physicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, could cause a surprise.
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner Julianne Moore in Still Alice
Dark Horse Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl
Other Nominees Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything | Reese Witherspoon in Wild | Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night
Julianne Moore’s performance as Alzheimer’s sufferer Alice Howland was as brilliant as it was touching. Watching her remiss over the course of the film is not for the limp-of-wrist and is something that not many of her peers would have been able to pull off with quite the same majesty.
Rosamund Pike’s performance as Amy Elliott-Dunne in the psychological thriller Gone Girl has an outside chance. The way she portrayed Little Miss Innocent on minute and was caught murdering someone the next was an artistic delight… in a manner of speaking.
BEST ACTOR IN SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner J.K Simmons in Whiplash
Dark Horse Edward Norton in Birdman
Other Nominees Robert Duvall in The Judge | Ethan Hawke in Boyhood | Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons plays the character of Terence Fletcher in Whiplash; a rather grumpy jazz instructor who relishes belittling and demeaning his students; classy bloke. It’s a frighteningly real performance, and one that even had the audience feeling six inches tall.
Edward Norton’s character of Mike Shiner, the volatile method actor in Birdman, was fantastic. Although a little racy, he’s sure to be an outside contender.
BEST ACTRESS IN SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
Dark Horse Meryl Streep in Into The Woods
Other Nominees Emma Stone in Birdman | Laura Dern in Wild | Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game
Patricia Arquette’s role as divorcee Olivia Evans is a touching one, and one that really showcased her skill as an actress. As the film was shot over 12 years she did a top-drawer job in developing the character naturally with age. It was a classic performance.
Meryl Streep’s misunderstood Wicked Witch was comedic and touching at the same time. From what as an all-star cast, her performance was head and shoulders above the rest and she could bag her prize, although she might have to go into the woods to find it...
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner Richard Linklater Boyhood
Dark Horse Alejandro González Iñárritu with Birdman
Other Nominees Bennett Miller with Foxcatcher | Wes Anderson The Grand Budapest Hotel | Morten Tydlum The Imitation Game
Richard Linklater was a bold man to undertake a film that would take 12 years to film. How he managed to keep the film flowing and avoid the feeling of transience was astounding. His ability to manage a cast over that time-span is also something deserving of an Oscar.
Birdman is the full package, for sure, and we think it could swoop from the shadows and bag the Best Director gong based on its originality.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner Birdman
Dark Horse Mr. Turner
Other Nominees Unbroken | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Ida
The Academy Award for the best cinematography has to go to Birdman. The way it captures Keaton’s expressions and demeanour as he is tortured by his surroundings and mind is a masterstroke.
Mr. Turner, Mike Leigh’s biopic of one of Britain’s most revered artists, captures Georgian Britain perfectly. The lighting and attention to detail is gives it a shot at the gold.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Winner The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dark Horse Mr. Turner
Other Nominees Inherent Vice| Into The Woods | Maleficent
The Grand Budapest Hotel’s blend of traditional dress and zany colours give the film an almost-cartoon like feel. The Academy is surely going to go for that.
Mr. Turner on the other hand, is actually based on the real world of Georgian England. Timothy Spall looked the part alright, as did his fellow cast members. It’s a dark horse for sure.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Winner How to Train your Dragon 2
Dark Horse Song of the Sea
Other Nominees Big Hero 6 | The Boxtrolls |The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Only once before has a sequel won an Oscar (The Godfather Part II in 1974), but we think that How to Train Your Dragon 2 is good enough to repeat the achievement. It has certainly come up against strong competition, but the heart-warming story makes it a firm favourite.
It’s been a while since we saw a traditionally animated film hit the big screen. Based on the ancient Celtic myth of the Selkie; a creature that lives as a human on the land and under the water as a white seal. It’s an enchanting story which feels instantly timeless; certainly a dark horse.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Winner Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Dark Horse Interstellar
Other Nominees Captain America: the Winter Solider| Guardians of the Galaxy
| X-Men: Days of Future Past
Dawn of the Planet of the Apesis a far cry from the 1968 original. Still, the effects used to create the famous dystopian Earth were excellent and we feel it will pick up the gong.
Interstellar was 2014’s big sci-fi epic, and the visual effects used to demonstrate space and beyond were truly astounding. The way in which they appeared believably real doubtlessly gives it a chance.
