Monday, 29 February 2016

And the Oscar goes to...

The 2015 film awards are over! Yes, after last night's Academy Awards, the year's celebrations have reached an end to large applause. With surprises here and there and plenty of things to be happy about, let's jump right into it. Starting with...

Best Supporting Actor
And the winner is...
Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
Bridge of Spies was something which deserved some form of credibility for its performances and direction, but less for the overall film nor its quality, so it's great to see the Spielberg entry succeeding in this, it's most-worthy category. Yes, Sylvester Stallone may have been robbed for his great work in Creed, but Rylance was just all the more engaging in his little screentime. It was always a match between the two of them, but in my eyes the right man won. Sorry Rocky fans.

Best Costume Design
And the winner is...
Jenny Beavan (Mad Max: Fury Road)
When the nominations were announced last month, I was surprised by Mad Max's inclusion to the list. Granted, the make up and hairstyling was certainly extravagant, but the majority of costumes were a bit, well, "mediocre". Not to say it's terrible - just a tad unnoteworthy; especially when up against the likes of Carol or Cinderella. But here we are - a great blockbuster with its first win of the night. 

Best Make Up and Hairstyling
And the winner is...
Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega & Damian Martin (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Now for the not-so-surprising! With a slim selection to choose from, Mad Max easily took the victory from The Revenant and The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared (which I kinda want to see for that title alone) solely for its extreme style and designs. Little else to say but YAY!

Best Sound Mixing
And the winner is...
Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff & Ben Osmo (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Well, there's a hell of a lot going on in this film. Why shouldn't it win this and Sound Editing?

Best Sound Editing
And the winner is...
Mark Mangini & David White (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Likewise, this is a super easy win here. The closest competitor it had was Star Wars, and that just borrows a lot from the past 6 movies, so...

Best Supporting Actress
And the winner is...
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
In my eyes, this is the most questionable decision made by the Academy. Certainly, she gives off a great performance in this film and is well worthy of a nomination (although as a Lead Actress and not a Supporting one), but not only does she give off the better acting in Ex Machina but some of her competition is a little more deserving. Kate Winslet for Steve Jobs, Rooney Mara for Carol, and Jennifer Jason Leigh for The Hateful Eight might have been just a tad more suitable.

Best Visual Effects
And the winner is...
Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington & Sara Bennett Read (Ex Machina)
Okay, this is where I get drawn and quartered: I think this was the right choice for the prize. For a film with a much smaller budget, it looks absolutely fantastic, and unlike the likes of Star Wars, Mad Max and even The Martian it stayed consistently strong. I'm sorry Force Awakens fans, but I can believe that Ava exists - I can't see Maz Kanata in the same way.

Best Animated Feature
And the winner is...
Inside Out
Yeah, this was a no-brainer. Inside Out was definitely going to take this prize home. Nothing more to add other than "GO PIXAR WOOO!"

Best Production Design
And the winner is...
Colin Gibson & Lisa Thompson (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Hello again, Mad Max! Yes, another successful win for the most exciting film of the year. The attention to detail is something to marvel at, so its no surprise that a win was given. I mean, just look at all!

Best Cinematography
And the winner is...
Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)
And here comes The Revenant riding in on a bear! Yes, this is by far the best technical award the film cold go for - it's beautifully made and Lubezki can really do no wrong.

Best Film Editing
And the winner is...
Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Action scenes which last an entire movie with dozens of stunt work and explosions? Why of course it means it'll win Best Editing. Although The Revenant might have come close for its long shots...

Best Original Song
And the winner is...
Writing's on the Wall - Sam Smith (Spectre)
I knew very little about the nominees this year, so it's nice to see the one I've actually heard win. Although reportedly Lady GaGa's performance of her song from The Hunting Ground was incredible, so perhaps this was the wrong move.

Best Original Score
And the winner is...
Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)
The Hateful Eight's sole win, it's been sweeping the awards circuit and allows for western staple Morricone to finally have an Oscar which isn't for a simple honour.

Best Original Screenplay
And the winner is...
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer (Spotlight)
Wait, isn't this based on a true story? I mean, it's a great movie and well-deserving of this screenplay accolade, but surely it's based on the writings of the actual Spotlight team? Call me biased all you want but Inside Out was a bit more original.

Best Adapted Screenplay
And the winner is...
Adam McKay & Charles Randolph (The Big Short)
At last, a win for The Big Short! While the likes of The Martian may be more entertaining visually, The Big Short was witty enough and incredibly well-done that the win here is an acceptable notion. As the film's biggest strength, it's good to see it here.

Best Director
And the winner is...
Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)
And this surprises no one. As with cinematography, the overall style of The Revenant is one to be amazed by. It works so well, and only Iñárritu could succeed with this. Although George Miller did put up a strong fight...

Best Actor
And the winner is...
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
It finally happened. After this time, it's finally happened...

The meme can end now.

But all kidding aside, this was one of DiCaprio's best performances, with very few of his competitors even coming close to beating him. Take a bow, Leo.

Best Actress
And the winner is...
Brie Larson (Room)
Like Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson's win was a-given (although Saoirse Ronan was tough competition for Brooklyn) for her stunning performance as Joy. It's a pity that co-star Jacob Tremblay wasn't nominated or anything because these two actors were absolutely phenomenal in this movie. A well-chosen decision.

Best Picture
And the winner is...
Spotlight
It's weird to think that this was a potential underdog, because in all honesty it's the most deserving of the big win. Sure, The Revenant was brutal and Mad Max: Fury Road was exciting, but Spotlight is a true and ongoing affair - it's a scary thought, and it delivers the initial findings from the Boston newspaper chain almost perfectly. Before the Oscars, I put up this list:
And while I'm glad that The Revenant, Bridge of Spies and others won big awards, Spotlight was the most deserving of the big one because it was the very best. So this makes Michael Keaton two-for-two then?
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