If I Picked the Academy Awards…2015 Edition

Years ago the Rotten Tomatoes site used to have a blog option, and I blogged almost daily, and in the middle of the summer in 2011 I started in 1970 and went up to 2003 listing who was nominated for Oscars that year and that if I was a voter, this is what I’d vote for.  When the blogs were shut down not too long after that, I’ve always wanted to get back to that.  So I guess we can start again here, but this time start more recently and work our way backwards.  So here I’m going to list what was nominated in the big categories, what I’d vote for, and what ended up winning.  We will do Animated Feature, Screenplay categories, acting categories, director, and of course best film.  So without much more delay, let’s get started.

Best Animated Feature Nominees:

Anomalisa

Boy & the World

Inside Out

Shaun the Sheep Movie

When Marnie was There

The winner: Inside Out

My pick: Inside Out

Well, I guess this is a bad one to start out with.  Inside Out was the only nominee in this category that I’ve seen, but it was an emotional experience, a great original concept, and overall one of the best Pixar films in years.  It’s hard not to hate this pick.

Best Adapted Screenplay Nominees:

The Big Short

Brooklyn

Carol

Room

The Martian

The winner: The Big Short

My pick: The Big Short

This is one of the hardest categories to pick for me for 2015.  For one thing, all five nominees had great scripts.  In particular, The Martian was hilarious but also had some great and memorable one-liners, Room had a lot of emotional moments that were perfectly crafted from the script, but when it came down to it, the at times very funny and quotable Big Short gets my vote.  It’s just so smart and quippy, and like The Social Network (2010)’s script, it makes you feel smarter as you’re watching it.

Best Original Screenplay Nominees:

Bridge of Spies

Ex Machina

Inside Out

Spotlight

Straight outta Compton

The winner: Spotlight

My pick: Spotlight

I know what you’re thinking: boring!  I’m just agreeing with what won.  Well, we’ll have some disagreements coming up.  But Josh Singer and Tom McCartney’s script for Spotlight was nothing short of a brilliant telling of the true-life story of the Boston Globe reporters telling the story of the survivors of rape and abuse from those within the Catholic church.  Many memorable and hard-hitting lines also help make this one stand out above the rest, but again a lot of good choices here.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominees:

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara, Carol

Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

The winner: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

My pick: Rooney Mara, Carol

While I was a little underwhelmed by Vikander in Danish Girl, and while we’re on the subject, the film as a whole, Winslet and Mara were phenomenal in their roles.  I’m going to go with Mara in a close vote for having quite a great performance alongside her co-star, Cate Blanchett, and to hold your own with her giving one of the best performances in recent memory is certainly commendable.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominees:

Christian Bale, The Big Short

Tom Hardy, The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone, Creed

The winner: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

My pick: Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Ah, the groan heard ’round the world.  Everybody wanted Sly to win this one, me included, for his genuinely great performance.  Rocky Balboa has been, perhaps, the defining character of his career, and to walk in the favorite and go home empty handed must feel pretty bad.  Don’t get me wrong, Rylance was great in Bridge of Spies, but so many other great performances were overlooked, including Jacob Tremblay in Room and Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation.

Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominees:

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

The winner: Brie Larson, Room

My pick: Brie Larson, Room

Again, a lot of good choices here, and really any one of the five nominees are worthy.  I’m going with Larson because her role evoked the most feeling and emotion for me.  As a mother who has to raise her son in such a confined space while also keeping her sanity, Larson was terrific.  Overall Room was one of the best films of the year and her performance was no small part of why it was so great.

Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominees:

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

Matt Damon, The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

The winner: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

My pick: Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

I know, I know, everybody wanted Leo to finally win an Oscar, and he did, but I thought there were better performances than his.  One of those was certainly Michael Fassbender’s layered performance as the Apple co-founder.  While anybody who gets through an Aaron Sorkin script gets a major salute from me, Fassbender seemed natural as at first an unlikable protagonist who over times grows into a better person.  We’ll say there’s much more development in Jobs than there was in the character Leo played.

Best Director Nominees:

Lenny Abrahamson, Room

Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant

Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

Adam McKay, The Big Short

George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

The winner: Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant

My pick: Lenny Abrahamson, Room

Yeah, I really loved Room.  Sure, the technical challenge of directing the big-budgeted Mad Max and Revenant were a challenge for sure, but for me it’s even more challenging to have such a small cast and a limited set.  Abrahamson’s direction reminded me of the 80’s family dramas like Ordinary People (1980) and Terms of Endearment (1983), and Room has about as much emotional impact as those two films.

Best Picture nominees:

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

Room

Spotlight

The Martian

The Revenant

The winner: Spotlight

My pick: Room

2015 had a lot of great films, and these eight films are only some of them.  Of these eight, though, I have to say Room was the best.  From a wonderfully written script with powerful direction and magnificent performances, it is the total package.  There isn’t a wrong turn or a boring moment in the film, and it is one that will hopefully be remembered for years to come.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for this one.  This will not be a weekly blog, but when I have the time I’ll continue letting you know my picks for previous years.

PlagmanRules

I am a gigantic movie nerd who spends his free time memorizing Oscar winners and nominees and seeing as many good movies as I can. I have always wanted to write about films, review films, and speculate on films, and hope that this site helps me get a couple of people who can agree or disagree with me.