Oscar Results 2015

Well, the Oscars were announced last Sunday, so while they’re still fresh in our memories, I might as well give a quick follow up post concerning my thoughts on the results. Not much to declare here, so let’s cut to the chase.

Best Picture

I am so glad Birdman won. While I would also have been happy with Whiplash winning this award, I basically just didn't want Boyhood to win. I know that seems a bit harsh, especially since I haven’t seen it yet, but the fact that it came out around half a year ago, went through the whole charade of being nominated for awards left, right and centre and have perfect scores from critics (Metascore is 100), and then had the balls to not really have a proper cinema run over here in the UK, or at least, not near where I live, sort of left a bad taste in my mouth. But I'm sure the film itself is fine. Besides that, it’s also good to see Selma didn't win. I have nothing against the film, but it simply isn't a 2014 release, in my eyes.

Best Actor

Predictions are running well so far, and so consequently I am also happy with Redmayne’s win. Not really much to say here that wasn't really said in my last post, so I guess I’ll leave it at that.

Best Actress

First prediction to go awry. I honestly wasn't expecting Julianne Moore’s performance from Still Alice, as the film seemed a bit too low profile for the Academy to notice, but I'm glad they’re opening their eyes a bit. I personally haven’t seen the film, but it looks very interesting, and based on what I said in my last post about going above and beyond in your role, I would imagine a sufferer of Alzheimer’s to be a challenging role indeed.

To be honest, I'm basically just glad Reese Whitherspoon didn't win for her role in Reese Whitherspoon: The Movie or to go by its alternate title, Give me an Oscar please, featuring Whitherspoon. So, I guess I've got to watch out for those flying pigs.

Best Director

Refer to the ‘Best Picture’ section above.

Best Supporting Actor

Since I wrote my last post, I have finally had the chance to see Whiplash, and it’s pretty damn good. Easily my second favourite film of the year, as long as you still consider it a 2014 release, and one of the things that made it so compelling was J.K. Simmons. If you haven’t seen it yet, be assured, he’s just as good as everyone’s been saying. Really, there was no competition for this category. As great as Edward Norton may have been, I can see Fletcher becoming one of the most memorable characters from this decade of film. Stupendous stuff, and well deserving of the Oscar.

Best Supporting Actress

[Insert frustration pertaining to Boyhood] But seriously, I'm just glad Meryl Streep didn't win. Oh, don’t give me that look; she’s got plenty of Oscars. It might seem a bit weird that I keep wanting certain people to not get Oscars, but as far as I see, preserving the value of an Oscar is just as much about making sure the wrong people don’t get it as it is the right people getting it. In fact, I think they should be able to refuse to give an Oscar out if all the nominations in the category were shit. Of course, that doesn't really apply here, but it’s an idea to consider.

Best Cinematography

You know, despite what I said, it’s actually a slight shame that Whiplash didn't win this. Don’t get me wrong, I still think Birdman rightfully deserved it more, but Whiplash still had some absolutely fantastic cinematography. If it had come out any other year, it would have won the Oscar, but unfortunately it just couldn't compare to Birdman’s one shot illusion. Tough luck, Whiplash. Bravo, Birdman.

Best Animated Film

Big Hero 6 was the deserving winner, although it was the only one of the nominations I've seen, but it was a fantastic film. I've heard some people lament that How to Train Your Dragon 2 didn't win. Personally, I haven’t seen it or it's predecessor yet (don’t worry, I’ll get there in due time) so I can’t really comment. However, Big Hero 6 was better than some of the Best Picture nods, in my eyes, so on that philosophy alone it deserves the win.

Best Visual Effects

Interstellar makes sense. For the Oscar that is, although I suppose the plot is more or less comprehensible, as well. It always brings me joy when a high-concept film uses both computer and practical effects to achieve its visuals; it shows me that there is still hope for the industry to eventually learn that the 100% CGI is not the way to go, and if you combine the two, the end result almost looks real.

Best Sound Mixing / Best Editing

Whiplash was a fantastic film, both emotionally, but almost more so technically. So even though it missed out on the cinematography Oscar, the Academy still decided to make up for it. Whiplash’s strongest technical element besides its cinematography was its editing, and the two went hand in hand to make some chillingly brilliant sequences. Sound mixing seems an odd Oscar to me, since I've never really seen, or heard I suppose, bad sound mixing. It doesn't really seem like the kind of thing that’s a) massively noticeable, relative to other components or b) worth its own award, separate from Best (Sound) Editing. But anyway, Whiplash was a film about music, so I guess that’s grounds for Best Sound Mixing? I don’t know; sound’s not my forte, okay.

And that about wraps it up. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the turnout this year, and also quite happy with how many films I managed to see in the past few months. Judging by my current progress, I'm going to get through a lot of films in 2015, so you’ll be sure to see another one of these posts next year. In the meantime, it’s back to regular film discussions next time, and I've got a film lined up that I am just about ready to gush about from every orifice. So, that’s something to look forward to.

Although not for the cleaners, I guess.