The Academy Awards

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.....

While 2014 wasn't the most amazing year for the box office, I will say that it's going to be a close race in some of the categories.  I believe the focus will be directed towards the acting, as there were several roles that were more than difficult to portray.  If you are attending any Oscar watching parties, hopefully my predictions will help you win prizes.  As usual, there are films that I think will win, but I am always rooting for the underdogs.  So, traditionally, I will write about who I want to win, and who I think will win.  On some of the major categories, I will talk about the nominees, and then some I will just list my rankings.  I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees, and you can read the full reviews on my blog.  On your mark.....get set.....Go!

BEST PICTURE

WILL WIN:  Boyhood.  Even though I didn't think the film was that great, you got to give the director, Richard Linklater, some credit for filming a movie over twelve years.  It was definitely cool to see the actors age and go through many real life situations that would happen over that period of time.

SHOULD WIN:  Whiplash.  I think a movie that makes me want to go back and see it right away deserves an award.  While Whiplash was not a "thinker," it was a fun film that was beautifully made.

BEST ACTOR

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Michael Keaton.  This is one of the categories that was complicated.  However, I think Keaton did some of the most amazing acting I have seen in years, in the film Birdman.  However, over the last few weeks, critics have started shifting their vote towards Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything.  Both acted excellently, but Keaton took on an extremely controversial role and nailed it in every aspect.

BEST ACTRESS

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN:  Julianne Moore.  She is one of the most talented actresses in the industry.  In Still Alice, she is able to make the audience cry from a simple look in her eyes.  The movie wasn't all the great, but Moore took every part and made it hers.  Her only close contender is Reese Witherspoon for Wild, but I did not think Witherspoon had a role nearly as intense as Moore's.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

WILL WIN: Ethan Hawke.  He really captured the role of playing a dad during the twelve years of filming.  And all the hype is around him.  This category was too hard to simplify, but I am rooting for the "should win" on this award.

SHOULD WIN: J.K. Simmons for Whiplash.  He played one the best onscreen villains I have seen.  I hope he wins, and the critics do believe it will also be a close race.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

WILL WIN: Patricia Arquette.  I don't know.  Maybe she does deserve to win it.  Her role in Boyhood was much more complicated than Ethan Hawke's.  She did an amazing job.

SHOULD WIN:  Emma Stone.  Believe it or not, she had a scene that blew me away in Birdman.  Although her most powerful scene was extremely short, this does not make a difference in the Academy's eyes.  Viola Davis was nominated for a brief scene in the movie Doubt (2008).  She didn't win, but she definitely deserved a nomination.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

WILL WIN: Big Hero 6.  It was a pretty cool movie, right?

SHOULD WIN: Song of the Sea.  A creative film made in, check this out, 2D.  I loved the story, but it doesn't compare to the action that audiences want.

Now I'll be going into the categories that many people don't understand.  I am not going to explain them, but if you don't know what it is, you can use my prediction for your ballot or you can make a guess.  Here they are.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

WILL WIN: Birdman.  It was filmed in only eight conspicuously placed cuts.  That's some talent right there, but did it really affect the overall film?

SHOULD WIN: The Grand Budapest Hotel.  Amazing scenes.  I just think the critics hate Wes Anderson for some reason.

COSTUME DESIGN

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN:  Into the Woods.  That may be one of the awards it actually wins.

DIRECTING

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Richard Linklater.  It takes some effort for a director to get a cast together for that many years, AND to front some of his own money for the project.  It'll be a close call with Alejandro G. Inarritu for Birdman.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Virguna.  To make a documentary about primates that we haven't seen yet, takes some talent.  If you have Netflix, you can actually watch this now.  The underdog in this category is Finding Vivian Maeir.  I like that one, too.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

WILL WILL/SHOULD WIN: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1.  For a short documentary, this was intense.  Maybe it was because I used to be a 911 dispatcher, but this film really got to me.  I hope it wins.

FILM EDITING

WILL WIN: Whiplash

SHOULD WIN: The Grand Budapest Hotel.  There were some fun edits in this film.  I am not confident about this category, so either one may win.

FOREIGN FILM

WILL WIN: Timbuktu.  I didn't like it that much.

SHOULD WIN: Leviathan.  It's been a while since there was a film about crazy Russians getting angry with each other.  I found it to a similar style as The Godfather.

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Guardians of the Galaxy.

MUSIC ORIGINAL SCORE

WILL WIN: Interstellar.  Bleh.  That was one of the biggest disappointments this year.  The music, at least, wasn't a let down.

SHOULD WIN: The Theory of Everything.  Moving. Elemental.  The music was inspiring.

MUSIC SONG

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Everything is Awesome.  From the Lego movie.  Who doesn't hum it from time to time?

PRODUCTION DESIGN

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN:  The Grand Budapest Hotel, but I have a feeling Into the Woods might make an appearance here.

SHORT FILM ANIMATED

This category is always the most complicated for me, because I love all the animated short films.  But I guess I have to pick one.

WILL WIN: Feast

SHOULD WIN: A Single Life.  It made me laugh my butt off.

SHORT FILM LIVE ACTION

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: The Phone Call.  It has some major actors in it, and it was well executed.

SOUND EDITING

WILL WIN: Birdman

SHOULD WIN: Interstellar

SOUND MIXING

WILL WIN/SHOULD WIN: Whiplash

VISUAL EFFECTS

WILL WIN: Interstellar

SHOULD WIN: Guardians of the Galaxy

WRITING - ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

WILL WIN: The Theory of Everything.  While I am not a published screenwriter, I do love to write them.  Adapting a screenplay from a book is much harder, because the writer has the readers' expectations to live up to, which rarely happens.  I did not read the book the film is based upon, but I am guessing it stayed true.

SHOULD WIN: The Imitation Game.  It was a fast film.  I am sure the screenplay took a bit longer to adapt.

WRITING - ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

WILL WIN: Boyhood.  But I don't want it to win this award.

SHOULD WIN: Birdman.  Obviously, the writer must have been thinking about Michael Keaton's real life before writing this one.