OSCAR 2015 - Pre-Show Thoughts & Predictions & Rants

OSCARS 2015 Thoughts and Predictions:

Oscar time, once again. The Oscars have gotten a lot of flack this year, but hey, I give 'em flack every year. The fact is, the Academy Awards rarely seem to really reflect the year's best films. And this year is no exception. From the complete lack of major awards love for the masterpiece that is Nightcrawler, to the stunning omission of deserving directors like Selma's Ava DuVernay, this year's Oscars seem to have dropped the proverbial ball in multiple ways. That said, what's often worse than the Oscar omissions is the unfounded backlash against deserving films that actually do get nominations. This year, there is tons of hate being thrown in the direction of movies like Boyhood. Wake-up call, people. Maybe it's not to everyone's tastes, but Boyhood is a landmark movie from a director who is both one of our best and one of our most historically under-appreciated. I have to shake my head at the same people who long griped about Richard Linklater not getting his due who now claim that perhaps his greatest work is overrated Oscar-bait (as if ... to work on a quirky side project for twelve years with the intention of it being Oscar-bait would be flat-out insane). In any case, while there are some clear omissions this year from the Oscar race, and some nominated films that to me are mere B+ players, there are also some fantastic movies in the mix that, should they win, would be more than deserving of Oscar gold.

To kick things off though, here are my Top 10 OSCAR SNUBS of 2015:

1.) Best Actor - Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler

- WTF. This was a performance for the ages, a De Niro in Taxi Driver-esque turn that was both mesmerizing and nightmare-inducing. This omission is flat-out embarrassing for the Oscars, because this is one that will be talked about for a long, long time.

2.) Best Picture - Nightcrawler

- Again, WTF. A clear top-tier film of 2015, it's shocking to me that this one was omitted at the expense of the good-but-not-even-Wes-Anderson's-best Grand Budapest Hotel and the overrated Birdman.

3.) Best Animated Feature - The LEGO Movie

- Once again - are you freaking kidding me? The LEGO Movie was one of the best animated films in YEARS, not even just of 2015. It was hilarious, poignant, and smartly self-aware. Crazy that it wasn't nominated.

4.) Best Director - Ava DuVernay - Selma

- It got a Best Picture nom, and yet the director of the masterfully-directed Selma got no nomination? But the director of Foxcatcher did? Say it ain't so.

5.) Best Actor - David Oyelowo - Selma

- Similarly ... are you serious, bro?! David Oyelowo kills it as MLK Jr., and brings humanity and dimensionality to an impossibly tricky role - and yet no nom? Completely crazy.

6.) Best Supporting Actress - Rene Russo - Nightcrawler

- Meryl Streep is nominated for Into. The. Woods?! But Rene Russo's incendiary turn in Nightcrawler is snubbed? Oscar, what hath thou become?

7.) Interstellar ... for anything.

- I suppose some of the backlash to this film kept it out of the Oscar race. But to me it was on par with Inception and other top-tier Nolan films. Nolan should have been nominated. McConaughey should have been nominated. And Jessica Chastain.

8.) Best Actor - Philip Seymour Hoffman - A Most Wanted Man

- One of the best ever gives you one final performance for the ages ... and no Oscar love? Guess it's fitting, as Hoffman was the kind of actor so good that he was sort of too good for the Oscars, anyways.

9.) Best Actor - Tom Hardy - Locke

- Tom Hardy destroys in Locke. He's the only actor on-camera the entire movie. And the whole thing takes place in the dude's car! And it's totally riveting. If that doesn't spell Oscar-worthy, then the Academy is on crack.

10.) Funny Women

- 2014 was a landmark year for women in comedy. Jenny Slate in Obvious Child. Kristin Wiig in Skeleton Twins. Amy Poehler in They Came Together. But as per usual, comedy is completely ignored by the Oscars unless it contains Wes Anderson quirk or whatever it is that Birdman has. Lame. Oscars, get a sense of humor.

2015 OSCAR PICKS AND PREDICTIONS:

BEST PICTURE:

Should Win: Boyhood or Whiplash

- Boyhood was, to me, a masterpiece. A flat-out modern classic in a year that produced few of them. Hate on it if you will, but I think this is the ultimate Richard Linklater film. Meanwhile, Whiplash for me was a very close second. A movie so intense that it's practically a horror movie. JK Simmons was *the man* in this film and his is a performance for the ages.

Will Win: Boyhood

- Despite some eleventh-hour backlash, I think there is some degree of consensus that Boyhood is the film to beat this year. Linklater's moment is now, and it's time that the rebel-slacker indie darling gets his moment in the sun.

BEST ACTOR:

Should Win: Eh ...

- I don't absolutely love any of the actual nominees this year. Eddie Redmayne was pretty amazing in The Theory of Everything, but it's also not a role that produced any super-memorable moments. Benedict Cumberbatch was fantastic in The Imitation Game as well, but again, not sure if there was truly a huge, classic, Oscar-worthy moment in the film. Gyllenhaal and Hardy should have been nominated here.

Will Win: Michael Keaton

- It seems like the momentum is in his favor. And who doesn't love Michael Keaton? But the fact is, he's great in Birdman, but the movie itself is a jumble of ideas and concepts that doesn't really amount to a fulyl cohesive statement. Plus, to me it was actually Emma Stone who stole the movie.

BEST ACTRESS:

Should Win: Rosamund Poke

- Pike killed it in Gone Girl, giving us the perfect balance of pulpiness and legit-disturbing psycho-killer creepiness. Without her, Gone Girl would not have worked as well as it did, and she deserves the gold.

Will Win: Julianne Moore

- I have yet to see Still Alice, but the movie just seems like the sort of dour prestige pic that the Oscars love. And Moore is a great actress long overdue for a win. I'm not opposed, but I'm not all that enthused either.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Should and Will Win: J.K. Simmons

- If there's one sure thing this year, it's Simmons - no question. Bet on it. Sometimes a performance is so damn awesome that there's no choice but to give it all of the awards. And Simmons' work in Whiplash is just such a performance. Not quite your tempo? If that's the case, I seriously question your movie taste, dude.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Should and Will Win: Patricia Arquette

- I liked all of the actresses in this category (save Meryl Streep in the messy Into the Woods). But Arquette was legendarily good in Boyhood - funny, heartbreaking, and pretty much awesome. She made it as much her story as anyone's (which makes you wonder why she's not in the Lead Actress category, but whatever). But Arquette - long an underrated actress - deserves awards for killin' it in Boyhood.

BEST DIRECTOR:

Should and Will Win: Richard Linklater

- This is a tough one to call, but again, I think this is the year Linklater get his due. I could see Alejandro Inarritu with an outside chance, but I'm guessing enough people agree with me that Birdman's single-take style was more gimmicky than great to keep him from taking the top prize. I don't think you can underrate Linklater's achievement with Boyhood. To weave twelve years' worth of story into a compelling and moving narrative is no easy feat.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Should Win: Nightcrawler

- Seriously, what an innovative, dark, funny, satirical, crackling screenplay. But given its omission from every other major category, I'd be shocked if the deserving Nightcrawler and Dan Gilroy won here.

Will Win: Birdman

- Deserving? Not really? There are some great little monologues in the movie (Emma Stone's kills it), but thematically and tonally, this one is all over the map. Still, the combo of quirky and meta and commenting on Hollywood (we know how Hollywood loves that!) will give it a victory.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Should Win and Will Win: Whiplash

- I've got to think that Whiplash will take this one. I mean, it's by far the most quotable movie of this Oscar season, with J.K. Simmons' "Not my tempo!" now in the pop-culture lexicon. Maybe The Imitation Game plays spoiler, but I think Whiplash gets the edge.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

Should and Will Win: Big Hero 6

- Disney's film was action-packed, stylish, smart, and had an awesome pro-science message. In LEGO Movie's absence, it's my pick. I also loved Book of Life, so wouldn't be upset to see it with an upset. I will caveat by saying that the Japanese films Song of the Sea and The Tale of Princess Kayuga could also play spoiler. I haven't seen these, but both have received rave reviews. So it's a tough one to call, no question.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

Should and Will Win: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

- There is room, I suppose, for an upset here. But come on, APES for the win. I mean, the movie made me care, a lot, about warring armies of intelligent apes. And Ceaser and Koba were the best hero/villain rivals of 2014 - and again, they were mo-capped monkeys! (er, apes). No monkey business, Oscar!

BEST FILM EDITING:

- Should and Will Win: Whiplash

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

- Should Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Will Win: Birdman

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

- Should and Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST ANIMATED FILM SHORT:

- Should and Will Win: Feast

BEST DOCUMENTARY:

- Should and Will Win: Citizenfour

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:

- Should Win: ?
- Will Win: Joanna

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT:

- Should Win: ?
- Will Win: The Phone Call

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

- Should Win: ?
- Will Win: Ida

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

- Should and Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:

- Should and Will Win: Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST SOUND MIXING:

- Should and Will Win: Whiplash

BEST SOUND EDITING:

- Should and Will Win: American Sniper

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

- Should and Will Win: Interstellar

BEST ORIGINAL SONG:

Should and Will Win: "Glory" from Selma

And there you have it. As I always do, I urge everyone to enjoy the Oscars but also not pay them too much attention. 2014 was an amazing year for movies - but a lot of the year's best were films that the Oscars simply doesn't and won't recognize. I'm talking about action films like The Raid 2 and Snowpiercer, blockbusters like Edge of Tomorrow and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Guardians of the Galaxy, horror like The Babadook, thrillers like The Guest, and comedies like Obvious Child, Top Five, and They Came Together. Remember, the Oscars are just one narrow slice of the movie universe. Be sure to explore it.

SELMA Soars With Still-Relevant Vitality

 SELMA Review:

- And this also," said Marlow suddenly, "has been one of the dark places of the earth." 

I often think of this quote from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness when I think about the United States. Our popular mythology paints America as the greatest country in the world, a place where freedom reigns and opportunity is there for any to seize. Indeed, America is yea land of great promise and unlimited potential. But too often, we forget that our country was not born of innocence. America's story is not one of immaculate conception, but of a long and evolving struggle to overcome and move beyond the sins of our past. In just the last fifty years, America has struggled to overcome a shadow of racism, of bigotry, and of oppression - and echoes of that recent past still reverberate today. It's hard to watch SELMA and not think of the unrest that has gripped the country over the last year, in places like Ferguson. It's hard to watch SELMA and not think of how, only fifty years ago, large parts of the country were still segregated, and large swaths of its African-American population were actively being denied the right to vote. But it's also hard to watch SELMA and not come away from it oddly optimistic. America is imperfect - it was plagued by injustice and it is plagued by injustice. But in large part thanks to the efforts of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., America is a better place now than it was then. This is a country that, for all its faults, was and is a place where individuals can make a difference, regardless of who they are, or where they come from. This is a country that can change based on the will of the people, that is in a continual state of self-repair. This is a country that was and is, perpetually, moving forward. SELMA brilliantly captures a moment where America decided to move forward - to march towards progress in a way that could not be denied. The film is a moving, inspirational story that also happens to be a cinematic tour de force. Filled with phenomenal performances, and impeccably directed by Ava DuVernay, SELMA is one of the absolute must-see films to come out of 2014.

I was not at all familiar with DuVernay prior to seeing SELMA, but she makes a huge impression here. The film is just incredibly well-crafted. The narrative wisely avoids giving us a drawn-out MLK biopic, instead focusing entirely on the events surrounding the 1965 protest march that King and his supporters led in Selma, Alabama, with the goal of securing equal voting rights for African-Americans. Even though the film gives us only a snapshot of King's life, it's a snapshot that gives us a wide breadth of information about the man and what makes him tick. We see the sense of purpose that drives King forward, as well as the doubts that haunt him in his darker moments. We see the struggles in his marriage to his wife Coretta, and how the threat of exposing his infidelities is dangled in front of King by the FBI - should the need arise to take him down a peg. We see the delicate relationship between King and President Lyndon B. Johnson - who likes that King is a non-violent activist, but who is also in no rush to make sweeping legislative reforms while preoccupied with the budding conflict in Vietnam. The film tells us so much about MLK the person, even without telling his entire life story. Instead, it shows him preparing to mount his biggest and most politically volatile demonstration to that point, and shows us the moment in time when he became more than just an activist, but perhaps the single most important and influential figure in the entire country - maybe the world. 

DuVernay imbues the film with an intelligence that is refreshing and commendable. She doesn't shy away from getting into the weeds when it comes to the issues - but that attention to detail makes the film not only more credible, but all the more fascinating as well. SELMA really gives a thorough - and thoroughly engrossing - account of what the national political climate was like at the time of King's march. We see the march not just from King's vantage point, but from that of LBJ and his office, as well as from Alabama governor George Wallace - who was virulently anti-civil rights and anti-King. But the film is also sweeping and moving and emotional. Not because it's unnecessarily maudlin, but because it conveys in full the power and symbolism of the march, and what it meant for the people of Selma, Alabama, and the country as a whole. DuVernay displays a real sense for visual sweep, filling her film with chill-inducing shots of the march, of MLK's speeches, and of people coming together in support of his cause. There's also a real sense of horror in the film as well. Scenes of violent police brutality and murder are genuinely disturbing and scary. But they are necessary, in that they provide a visceral reminder of the kind of flagrant abuse-of-power that King and his cohorts were fighting to put an end to. 

David Oyelowo is just plain incredible as Martin Luther King. Oyelowo is an actor who has become a Hollywood mainstay in recent years, and one who's consistently turned in fine performances. But here, he raises the bar, big-time. This is great stuff - Oyelowo plays King as a flawed and weary warrior, a savvy political negotiator, and a skilled performer who knows how to crank up the gravitas when need be. In short, he (aided by a great script) at once makes King iconic, but also grounded and multidimensional.

The supporting cast here is also off-the-charts fantastic. The biggest standout to me is the great Tom Wilkinson as LBJ. He plays the former President as a cantankerous and stubborn pragmatist who, though not in any rush to appease King and his cause, still finds himself determined to come out on the right side of history. Watching Wilkinson's LBJ spar with Oyelowo's King and Tim Roth's smarmy George Wallace is one of the film's greatest pleasures. I also have to give credit where it's due, and mention that Oprah Winfrey absolutely kills it in a small but crucial part, playing Annie Lee Cooper, a Selma resident determined to vote, despite the state's efforts to prevent it. Carmen Ejogo is also quite good as Coretta Scott King - she has very justified tension with her husband, but also can't help but admire his drive for change, and remains a steadfast public supporter despite the issues in their private life. I also loved pretty much every actor playing the members of King's inner circle. Wendell Pierce as Reverend Hosea Wilson impresses, as does Colman Domingo as Rev. Ralph Abernathy - who delivers a soul-stirring monologue while sitting in a jail cell with King that is among the film's most memorable moments. Another of the film's best scenes involves Stephan James as a young John Lewis (who later went on to become - and still is - a long-serving US Rep), in which Lewis provides some much-needed motivation to King to help renew MLK's faith in their cause. Lewis was a leader of the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), a group of college-age activists who at times came into conflict with King's more measured approach to protest. Lewis uses King's own words to remind his mentor of the importance of their work, and the need to maintain hope that change is possible. It's a great, affecting moment that is another example of how the film humanizes King. It's not afraid to show the cracks that he sought to keep away from the public view.

SELMA is vital, important cinema - but it's also a fast-moving, gripping, wholly engaging and emotionally involving film. What I found really interesting about the film is that it dared to not just be the glossy, smoothed-over re-telling of this chapter in MLK's history. It shows us the good, the bad, and the ugly of the march on Selma. It showed King as a flawed but inspiring leader, and LBJ as politically-motivated to a fault, but also admirably independent when backed into a corner. It shows us an America that is fractured, hurting, bloodied - but also an America that has infinite potential and that can rise to the occasion just when things look bleakest. The brilliance of SELMA is that by showing us these people - and this country - without mythologizing or pulling punches, it in turns becomes that much more inspiring as a film and as a slice of our shared history. We can do better. The film urges us to hear that message - and does so perhaps even with a bit of a chip on its shoulder. "Look what we can do," it pleads, even as it evokes the likes of Ferguson and other modern parallels to the events of fifty years ago. The film doesn't just present the events of Selma as an over-and-done chapter of our history. Instead, it presents them as a living reminder of the work still left to do.

My Grade: A