Rank the Nominees

[Culturegeek]

(01-18-2016 04:47 AM)Dr.ciski77 Wrote:  

(01-18-2016 04:37 AM)Culturegeek Wrote:  13. 45 Years
14. Ex Machina

Did not expect this.

I should rewatch 45 Years, but I found it rather airless on the whole. I was rather tired, so I don't entirely trust my opinion.

I did not like Ex Machina as a whole, though it had several good elements.

[NUguy514]

Best Picture
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Brooklyn
3. Room
4. Spotlight
5. The Revenant
6. The Martian
7. Bridge of Spies
8. The Big Short

I loved the first four and would be thrilled with any of them winning, liked #5 quite a bit, thought #6 was pretty good, was bored by #7, didn't like #8 much at all.

Best Director
1. George Miller
2. Alejandro González Iñárritu
3. Lenny Abrahamson
4. Todd McCarthy
5. Adam McKay

The first three are incredible. I would only be really pissed if McKay won; the other four are great.

Best Actor
1. Leonardo DiCaprio
2. Matt Damon
3. Michael Fassbender
4. Eddie Redmayne
5. Bryan Cranston

This category sucks. I liked DiCaprio well enough, thought Damon was watchable, didn't care about Fassbender, and hated the other two.

Best Actress
1. Saoirse Ronan
2. Brie Larson
3. Cate Blanchett
4. Jennifer Lawrence
5. Charlotte Rampling

This category, on the other hand, is phenomenal. Any of these five women would make for incredible winners; loved each and every one of them, even if I'd replace Lawrence or Rampling with Charlize Theron.

Best Supporting Actor
1. Mark Ruffalo
2. Sylvester Stallone
3. Tom Hardy
4. Christian Bale
5. Mark Rylance

I like the first three quite a bit, didn't care about Bale that much, and thought Rylance was bland as shit.

Best Supporting Actress
1. Rooney Mara
2. Alicia Vikander
3. Rachel McAdams
4. Kate Winslet
5. Jennifer Jason Leigh

The top two are wonderful (even if Vikander's movie is offensive), McAdams was really good, Winslet was whatever, and Leigh was awful.

[Veronica Mars]

Ooh. I do like ranking everything together.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. Spotlight
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Inside Out
5. Carol
6. Creed
7. Room
8. The Martian
9. Ex Machina
10. Sicario
11. Brooklyn
12. The Hateful Eight
13. Anomalisa
14. Amy
15. The Hunting Ground
16. What Happened, Miss Simone?
17. Sanjay's Super Team
18. 45 Years
19. Bridge of Spies
20. Steve Jobs
21. The Big Short
22. Joy
23. The Danish Girl
24. Cinderella
25. The Revenant
26. Straight Outta Compton
27. Trumbo
28. SPECTRE
29. Youth
30. Fifty Shades of Grey
    

[venom1976]

Picture
1. Spotlight
2. Carol
3. Steve Jobs
4. The Big Short
5. Brooklyn
6. Room
7. The Danish Girl
8. The Martian
9. Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Actress
1. Blanchett
2. Ronan
3. Larson

Best Supporting Actress
1. Mara
2. Vikander
3. McAdams
4. Winslet

I'll be seeing Revenant and Bridge of Spies (and maybe Creed) in the coming weeks, so I'll add Actor/Supporting Actor then.

[Above the Title]

(01-20-2016 04:17 AM)venom1976 Wrote:  Picture
1. Spotlight
2. Carol

Not nominated!

[venom1976]

Neither was Steve Jobs - I went with ranking everyone.

For me 2-5 are all pretty close - actually 1-5 are all pretty close.

[teppo2]

Best Picture
1. Spotlight
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. Room
4. Bridge of Spies
5. Brooklyn
6. The Revenant
7. The Martian
8. The Big Short

1 and 2 are pretty much equal in such different ways, and Room was mesmerizing with incredible performances across the board. Bridge was very well made and kept me interesting the whole time. Brooklyn was lovely. Then it drops a bit - Revenant was gorgeously shot, but perhaps a bit too exhausting yet hollow. Martian was entertaining but certainly not great - at anything, really. The Big Short has a fascinating subject and some fun (if not great) performances but falls apart with the direction.

Best Director
1. George Miller
2. Lenny Abrahamson
3. Tom McCarthy
4. Alejandro González Iñárritu
5. Adam McKay

I'd give it to Miller for so wonderfully imagining and committing to this batshit world and yet grounding it all in thematic wonder. Abrahamson's mastery of tension and space and the performances he was able to wring was no small feat either. McCarthy was also in top form allowing that cast to sparkle and that message to resonate. Iñárritu absolutely nails the production side but loses me a bit in the thematics. McKay - yeah no.

Best Leading Actor
1. Eddie Redmayne
2. Michael Fassbender
3. Leonardo DiCaprio
4. Matt Damon
5. Bryan Cranston

I'm probably pretty unpopular for saying it, but I was mesmerized by both Redmayne and Vikander in their film. He definitely has a very unique style of commitment in his performances, and for me it absolutely works. Fassbender was superb as well although the film's tone threw me/his performance beats off at times. DiCaprio is good at what he does but the role doesn't require a whole lot from him - very Watts in The Impossible for me. Damon's schtick was fun for a while but grew stale eventually. Cranston - yuck. What a terrible waste of a film and talent.

Best Leading Actress
1. Brie Larson
2. Cate Blanchett
3. Saoirse Ronan
4. Jennifer Lawrence

Brie Larson absolutely nailed the depth of the experience of that character - such wonderful commitment. Cate Blanchett was absolutely luminous - and not a single wasted choice, something I feel she can be prone to at times. Ronan was just as lovely as the film, and Lawrence does her best in a role that, again, is all wrong for her, and this time with a script I wasn't a fan of in the least.

Not Seen: Charlotte Rampling

Best Supporting Actor
1. Sylvester Stallone
2. Mark Ruffalo
3. Mark Rylance
4. Tom Hardy
5. Christian Bale

Sue me, I love this category. All five were performances I was very fond of - Bale's reeled-in histrionics, Hardy's despicable ruthlessness, Rylance's concentrated tranquility, and Ruffalo's slightly offbeat passion. However, Stallone would be my pick for coming out of nowhere and punching me right in the gut - surprisingly tender and supremely lived-in work from him.

Best Supporting Actress
1. Rooney Mara
2. Alicia Vikander
3. Rachel McAdams
4. Kate Winslet

Category fraud reigns supreme! Mara and Vikander were the other halves of wonderfully-acted couples I mentioned above and I would be hard-pressed to pick between them - Mara's quiet transition from complacency to confidence was a joy, and Vikander's emotional vigor and commitment outside of duty was heartbreaking. They both should've been in the Lead category, which would've opened up discussion, at least, for Paulson and to a lesser extent Heard in those respective films. McAdams was fine and has a couple great moments, but is often overshadowed by her screen partners. I remember liking Winslet at the time, but her performance just hasn't stuck with me - yeah, the accent was a bit weird at times, but it's more than that. Maybe just the distant feel of the film as a whole?

Not Seen: Jennifer Jason Leigh

Best Original Screenplay
1. Inside Out
2. Ex Machina
3. Spotlight
4. Bridge of Spies
5. Straight Outta Compton

Another category where I really enjoyed each of the nominees. Compton makes great use of each of its characters, and Spies' excellent craftsmanship extends to the formulation of its story beats. Spotlight's strengths are more its direction and cast, but it certainly knows how and when to release the bits of information it does until the tension boils over into that cathartic moment when the papers are printed at the end. Ex Machina was frighteningly realistic in its exploration of some very imposing themes - it'd be a great companion piece for Her, now that I think about it. It'd be a very worthy winner, but I'd give it to Inside Out for its wild imagination, its supremely fun dialogue, and its keen ability to tug at your emotions, even in a story who's overrriding plotline would seem rather mundance otherwise.

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Room
2. Carol
3. Brooklyn
4. The Big Short
5. The Martian

Room's translation to screen was seamless and heartbreaking. Carol's impeccable across the board, and it doesn't have a single false moment or line out of place. Brooklyn was very sweet with some great framing of how the choices we are faced with can be so unexpectedly forced upon us. The Big Short has a lot of clunky choices, but there are certain scenes that crack. The Martian owes any successes it has to its technical work/Scott and to most of its cast; many of its scenes feel short-changed, characters that feel like they should have more of a presence are glaringly absent, and that incessantly cocky dialogue from Damon wears incredibly thin (granted, I know it's present in the book. Doesn't mean I have to like it!).


Updated with Room placements and Cranston.

[Dr.ciski77]

Best Picture
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Brooklyn
3. Spotlight
4. The Martian
5. Bridge of Spies
6. The Revenant
7. Room
---
The Big Short

Best Director
1. George Miller
2. Tom McCarthy
3. Alejandro González Iñárritu
4. Lenny Abrahamson
---
Adam McKay

Best Actor
1. Matt Damon
2. Leonardo DiCaprio
3. Eddie Redmayne
---
Bryan Cranston
Michael Fassbender

Best Actress
1. Charlotte Rampling
2. Saoirse Ronan
3. Cate Blanchett
4. Brie Larson
---
Jennifer Lawrence

Best Supporting Actor
1. Mark Ruffalo
2. Mark Rylance
2. Tom Hardy
---
Christian Bale
Sylvester Stallone

Best Supporting Actress
1. Rachel McAdams
2. Alicia Vikander
3. Rooney Mara
---
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Kate Winslet

[eurocheese]

It's that time.

Picture

1. Moonlight
2. La La Land
3. Arrival
4. Hell or High Water
5. Lion
6. Fences
7. Hidden Figures
---------------------
8. Hacksaw Ridge
9. Manchester By the Sea

Really a great list overall. Love the top six and Hidden Figures is a great pick too. Well done Academy, even if eight without Hacksaw would have been better.

Director

1. Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
2. Damien Chazelle, La La Land
3. Denis Villenueve, Arrival
------------------------------
4. Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By the Sea
5. Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge

I'd be all in for a top three tie. Hard to be pissed at Lonergan getting some love - I'll just pretend it's for You Can Count On Me. Disappointingly lazy choice going with Gibson.

Actor

1. Denzel Washington, Fences
2. Ryan Gosling, La La Land
3. Casey Affleck, Manchester By the Sea
4. Viggo Mortenson, Captain Fantastic
5. Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge

None of these are bad - even Garfield is considerably better than his dialogue - but I really wish Denzel had more momentum. One of his best performances, and that's saying something. As it is, I'd love to see Gosling upset Affleck.

Actress

1. Emma Stone, La La Land
2. Isabelle Huppert, Elle
3. Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
--------------------------------------------
4. Natalie Portman, Jackie
5. Ruth Negga, Loving

For all the fuss over this category being competitive, only Emma is in my personal top five. I totally understand people wanting a Huppert upset, even if I still have a lot of questions about that character's interior life. Portman and Negga - just not for me. Wish Adams was here.

Supporting Actor

1. Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
2. Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
3. Dev Patel, Lion
--------------------
4. Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
5. Lucas Hedges, Manchester By the Sea

Even if I like Bridges a lot, I'll be pissed if anyone but Ali wins.

Supporting Actress

1. Viola Davis, Fences
2. Nicole Kidman, Lion
3. Naomie Harris, Moonlight
4. Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
---------------------------------------
5. Michelle Williams, Manchester By the Sea

Davis is downright incredible, Kidman gives one of her best turns, Harris is stellar and Spencer has some great moments. If only we could swap Williams for Shannon or Monae.

Original Screenplay

1. Hell or High Water
2. La La Land
3. 20th Century Women
4. The Lobster
----------------
5. Manchester By the Sea

Didn't realize I'd vote this way until right now. I love all of the top four but the Hell or High Water script is so sharply written. Great category.

Adapted Screenplay

1. Moonlight
2. Arrival
3. Fences
4. Lion
5. Hidden Figures

All good choices, though I'd say the bottom two lean more on the acting than great dialogue.

[Dr.ciski77]

Picture
1-Moonlight
2-Arrival
3-Lion
4-Hidden Figures
5-Manchester by the Sea
6-La La Land

Director
1-Jenkins
2-Villeneuve
4-Lonergan
3-Chazelle

Actor
1-Affleck
2-Gosling

Actress
1-Huppert
2-Streep
3-Stone

Supporting Actor
1-Ali
2-Patel
3-Hedges

Supporting Actress
1-Harris
2-Kidman
3-Spencer
4-Williams