Best Picture.
Reel Takes Picks & Predictions
As far as our feelings on the Oscars this year, here’s an anecdote from Chip that sums it up perfectly:
At the start of the 19th century there was a very popular card game called Faro (brilliantly captured in the 1948 film The Queen of Spades). To play, two decks of cards were used. One person chose a card from his deck while the other flipped cards from his deck into two piles. One pile was designated dealer wins, the other player wins. Whichever pile the chosen card wound up on determined the winner.
Predicting the Oscars is similar to a game of Faro. The Academy has their pile, we have ours. Far more often than not the Academy wins, but we still keep playing. Here are our choices for the six major Awards along with who we think the Academy will select.
Best Picture
There’s a lot of buzz around The Revenant and The Big Short right now, but we’d like to see Spotlight get it. Tom McCarthy took a difficult subject, in the context of a dry newsroom drama, and managed to create a brilliant ensemble piece that is ultimately compelling entertainment.
Best Director
It’s possible that Alejandro Inarritu could win back-to-back Best Director and Best Picture Oscars this year for The Revenant. Michelle thinks he’ll get it for Best Director but not Best Picture. Chip thinks they’ll give it to George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road. Our vote goes to Tom McCarthy for Spotlight.
Best Actor
It seems Leonardo DiCaprio is the odds on favorite to win for The Revenant. We both would like to have seen Michael Caine get it for Youth, but he wasn’t even nominated. Chip would like to see Bryan Cranston win for Trumbo.
Best Actress
For a while, it seemed like young Saoirse Ronan had this one in the bag for Brooklyn, but late entries in the race provided some fierce competition. We’re thinking the Academy might give it to Brie Larson for Room, though we’d love to see Charlotte Rampling take the statuette for her quietly nuanced role in 45 Years.
Best Supporting Actor
With so many fine performances, this was one of the toughest categories to even make it into this year. Chip is rooting for Tom Hardy in The Revenant, but thinks they’ll give it to Sylvester Stallone for Creed. Michelle thinks they may, at long last, give it to Mark Ruffalo as the moral compass and heart of the ensemble in Spotlight.
Best Supporting Actress
It’s looking like Jennifer Jason Leigh may win for The Hateful Eight. While we’d be happy to see her win for such an all-in, no guts no glory performance, we’d give the edge to Alicia Vikander for her wonderfully loving and supportive role as Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl.