It’s that time of the year again when the entertainment industry is abuzz with expectation and juicy gossip! Who will get it? What will they be wearing on the red carpet? … Why? It’s Oscar season! On the 22nd February, the biggest names in Hollywood will be celebrated for achievement in creative and technical excellence in their different fields of filmmaking. Today, courtesy of weeklyinsights.wordpress.com, we get to check out some very interesting reviews of the big contenders and how they’re likely to fare at this year’s awards ceremony:

The Oscars 2015 event is where the movie gurus tell us what they think the best movies from the previous years were. It is the biggest award ceremony for movies and everyone pays attention. I feel obligated to also give my two cents on the movies and actors nominated. This year I watched fifteen of the movies from which all the big nominations came. I will start by reviewing these fifteen movies; my rating system goes from (- – -), the worst, to (+++), the best.

Birdman(–) is a weird, off-beat movie about a washed up actor who once played an iconic superhero, i.e., Birdman. He attempts to make a comeback in a Broadway play. Interestingly the main actor, Michael Keaton’s, career stalled after he played Batman (1989 and 1992).

Boyhood(+) shows the life of a young man, Mason, from age 5 to age 18. It has received rave reviews but I’m not sure why. Maybe it has to do with the fact that film was shot over 13 years in real life and the actor was 5 when they started shooting ended when he was 18. Apparently they would shoot on average one week per year. Well, I guess that’s impressive. I found myself thinking of other things when I watched the movie.

The Grand Budapest Hotel(++) is a very entertaining movie about the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.

The Imitation Game(+) is the true story about how math whiz Alan Turing, who was recruited by MI6, cracked the Nazis’ secret code, which was code-named “Enigma.” Benedict Cumberbatch delivers an outstanding performance as the socially challenged professor whose accomplishment shortened World War II by two years, by some estimates. He was then found guilty of being a homosexual and ended up committing suicide. Tragic.

Selma(+) is a chronicle of Martin Luther King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. Who would have thought that after all these years America would still be dealing with Civil Rights issues?

The Theory of Everything(+) examines the relationship between the famous physicist Stephen Hawking, played brilliantly by Eddie Redmayne, and his wife Jane. Their combined strength in overcoming Hawking’s terrible medical condition is just as extraordinary as Hawking’s contributions to physics.

Whiplash(+++) is an excellent and intense movie about a young drummer who aspires to be one of the best in the world. His drill-sergeant conductor pushes him over the edge, but he climbs back impressively.

Foxcatcher(-) shows how the greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team joins Team Foxcatcher led by multimillionaire sponsor John E. du Pont as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul – a union that leads to unlikely circumstances. Another weird movie. The ending is tragic and the saddest part is that it actually happened.

American Sniper(+) is an intense movie based on the extraordinary true story of Chris Kyle, a US Navy SEAL who served four tours in Iraq as a lethal sniper committed to protecting his comrades-in-arms. Yet another tragic end to the story in this one. Lots of debate surrounding this movie, some say it doesn’t address the reasons why America invaded Iraq & Afghanistan in the first place so this hero is no hero, plus he killed lots of people. The movie itself I found enjoyable, nothing amazing.

The Judge(+) shows a big-city lawyer who returns to his hometown for the funeral of his mother. He stays longer than he expected or wanted to in order to defend his estranged father, the town’s judge, who is on trial for committing a murder. Again, enjoyable movie – not much else.

Two Days, One Night(-) is about Sandra, a young Belgian mother, who discovers that her workmates have opted for a significant pay bonus, in exchange for her dismissal. She has only one weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses so that she can keep her job. Very slow-paced and ultimately I didn’t really enjoy it.

Still Alice(+++) is about Alice Howland, who’s happily married with three grown children, and a renowned linguistics professor, who starts to forget words. When she receives a devastating diagnosis – she has early onset Alzheimer’s disease. We then see how the family bonds are tested as the disease gets worse. Knowing that the director also suffers from this disease and could barely finish shooting the movie makes it even more heart-wrenching.

Gone Girl(++) With his wife’s disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it’s suspected that he may not be innocent. This movie proved a few things to me..Ben Affleck is a good actor, not just a great director. Secondly Neil Patrick Harris can act in a serious role, not just comedy. But the revelation for me was Tyler Perry, yes Madea – who knew that he could also act a serious role? That was a surprise. The fact that he also throws a few F-bombs might, or might not, have been a surprise to Christians. Oh well, we need another day to talk about Christians in Hollywood.

Wild(-) is a gripping movie about a woman’s 1,100-mile solo trek on the Pacific Crest Trail. It is based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed, who went on the long walk to clear her head after a catastrophic loss in her life.

Into the Woods(++) is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales in a musical format that follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel-all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them.

So those are my thoughts on the actual movies, as you can see only two movies were really outstanding, Whiplash and Still Alice. As to the actual nominations, here’s my take:

Best Picture
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Prediction: Apparently its a toss up between Boyhood and Birdman – I would have voted for Whiplash.

Actor
Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”
Prediction: Toss up between Keaton & Redmayne but since I enjoyed The Theory of Everything more my vote goes to Redmayne.

Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”
Prediction: If J.K Simmons, who delivered the acting performance of his career, doesn’t win then I’m boycotting The Oscars forever!

Actress
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”
Prediction: Julianne Moore should win here, she was a class above the rest of the field.

Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”
Prediction: This one is really hard to call, very evenly matched performances – my heart says Streep but if I was a betting man I’d go with Arquette.

Best Achievement in Directing
Richard Linklater for Boyhood
Alejandro González Iñárritu for Birdman
Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game
Prediction: I agree with all those who are saying Ava DuVernay should’ve been nominated for directing Selma. From those nominated it looks like a toss up between Inarritu & Linklater. Smart money is on Linklater.

What is your take on the views expressed in this post and what are your own Oscars 2015 predictions? We’d love to hear from you!

 

Special thanks to Gerald Zengeya (weeklyinsights.wordpress.com) for letting us use his review for this post.