Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come!
The Academy Awards are upon us and I could not be more excited. To give you some context — the Oscars is my Christmas.
Just like Christmas, there’s a lot of preparation to be done throughout the year itself. First off, I make it my mission to see all of the Best Picture nominees before the ceremony and this year, I made it just in time.
I also make sure that I’m up bright and early for the announcement of the nominations themselves, when I inevitably leave disappointed because some great films were snubbed.
I don’t care what the Academy says, “The LEGO Movie” is the Best Animated Film of 2014. Some more noticeable snubs were Ava DuVernay [Best Director] and David Oyelowo [Best Actor] for “Selma.”
But I know that “Selma’s” legacy will live on as it will be shown in schools for decades to come.
Philip Bergeron / Graphic Design Editor
But now, the days are getting closer until the moment that little golden statue is passed out to some of the greatest talents of 2014.
It took me a while to calculate my personal predictions to win because last year had some monumentally great films, from “Birdman” to “Whiplash.”
But I remain confident in my choices, so here they are. I’m going to save the biggest for last so grab your prediction sheets as I count down my picks to win.
Starting off on a smaller category is Best Animated Feature. When “The LEGO Movie” was left out of the competition, many were stumped as to what could be the frontrunner.
At the moment, “How to Train Your Dragon 2” has the highest chance to take the award out of all the nominees. I haven’t seen “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” or “Song of the Sea,” but if “Dragon” wins then I won’t be disappointed.
Next, we have Best Foreign Film and for a while it seemed like “Leviathan” had the upper hand. But since its nomination for Best Cinematography, it’s becoming more and more clear that “Ida” will win this category. For anybody who’s interested in seeing the film before the ceremony, “Ida” is available on Netflix Instant right now.
For Best Supporting Actress, we have quite an array of names to choose from. She has no chance, but of course Meryl Streep was nominated for the 19th time in her career. Laura Dern, Emma Stone and Keira Knightley were all fantastic last year, although the clear winner is Patricia Arquette for her 12-year dedication to “Boyhood.”
If she wins, it will be well-deserved, as she gives a heartbreaking performance of a mother who has to care for her children as they grow up before her eyes. Just like the last category, Best Supporting Actor is a no-brainer. With such names as Edward Norton, Robert Duvall and Ethan Hawke, it should have been a tough decision between the nominees. Although, clearly the actor that will come out on top is J.K. Simmons in his terrifying, yet brilliant performance in “Whiplash.”
Due to this film, Simmons is now being talked about as one of the best menacing figures in cinematic history and for good reason. Now the only question that remains is when he’s going up to the stage to get his Oscar, will he be rushing or dragging?
Of course, a film would be nothing without a great director to make it happen in the first place and, this year, there are some great names presented. Ava DuVernay would have made a fine nominee, but looking at what we got, I have no doubt in my mind that Richard Linklater will take home the prize for “Boyhood.” While Alejandro González Iñárritu wowed us all with shooting “Birdman” as if it was all one continuous shot, Linklater deserves the prize. Anything could have gone wrong over the course of this production, but he held in there and made a film that will be remembered for decades to come.
For Best Actor, it was a toss up between Eddie Redmayne for “The Theory of Everything” and Michael Keaton for “Birdman.” There was some talk of “Jupiter Ascending” hurting Redmayne’s chances to win. But, so far, the damaging effect of that film seems to be little-to-none, as he gave a great performance last year. I would like it if Michael Keaton got it, but Eddie Redmayne will take home the gold for his brave performance as the brilliant Stephen Hawking.
Not so surprisingly, Julianne Moore will finally get an Oscar for Best Actress due to her role in “Still Alice.” If it were up to myself, I would have chosen Rosamund Pike to win as she pushed herself to places that nobody knew she could go to in “Gone Girl.” While she still has a chance, it’s highly unlikely as Moore is currently the front-runner to take it all the way home. Out of the 24 categories for the 87th Academy Awards, it all comes down to the most important one of them all. Who will take home the gold for Best Picture of the Year?
First off, let me comment on the nominees themselves. “Birdman,” “Boyhood,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” The Imitation Game,” “Selma” and “Whiplash” were in my list of the best films of 2014. If I were a voting member of the academy, these would have been extremely difficult to choose from. Nevertheless, while “Boyhood” had a great start as the clear winner, it seems over the past few weeks that “Birdman” has a one-up. In that case, my prediction for Best Picture at the 87th Annual Academy Awards is “Birdman.”
Whoever wins, I’ll be satisfied. 2014 was a great year for film and the line-up this year proves my point. Come Feb. 22, I’ll be watching the Oscars in style, waiting to see if my predictions come true. Although, I think everybody knows who deserves to win the most, Dick Poop — sorry, I meant Dick Pope.
How the president of the Academy managed to screw up a name that easy is beyond me.
Matt Bilodeau can be contacted at mbilodeau@keene-equinox.com
