Predictions for the 2016 Oscars

My predictions in all of the 24 categories. I haven't seen everything, so a few of the picks are based on which are considered favorites to win. Best Picture was actually the trickiest as I think it could easily go to Spotlight because of that films important topic. However Spotlight has the backing of a smaller studio in Open Road Films, so I'm guessing The Revenant (distributed by 20th Century Fox) has more money for its oscar campaign.
Best Supporting actor is also a very close race, with Stallone, Ruffalo and Rylance all in with a shot at winning.
I would love to see World of Tomorrow win for Best Animated Short Film, which to me is a masterpiece. Bear Story (which I've seen and is very good) and Sanjay’s Super Team appear to be the frontrunners in that category.




BEST PICTURE: The Revenant

BEST DIRECTOR: Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant

BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson, Room

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sylvester Stallone, Creed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Spotlight

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Big Short

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Inside Out

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM: Son of Saul

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Amy

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Revenant

BEST FILM EDITING: Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Cinderella

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING: Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: Til It Happens to You by Lady Gaga (The Hunting Ground)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

BEST SOUND MIXING: The Revenant

BEST SOUND EDITING: Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST ANIMATED SHORT: Sanjays Super Team

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT: Shok

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT: Body Team 12

Update: I got 15 of 24 correct

80s Thursday - Best songs of 1980 (part 13)

Album: Remain in Light by Talking Heads 
Listen to:
Once In A Lifetime 
Born Under Punches

The Great Curve

Album: Flesh + Blood by Roxy Music

Listen to:

Same Old Scene
Oh Yeah!
Over You

Album: Dumb Waiters by The Korgis 

Beck would later record a cover of the song for the soundtrack to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Listen: 

Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime

Dumb Waiters

Best songs of 1980 (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13)

Tuesday short film: A Trip to the Moon (1902)

A Trip to the Moon (aka Le voyage dans la lune). The iconic 13 minute silent film by Georges Méliès. A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the moon. For its time, a landmark achievement for special effects. Be cautious of youtube, many videos don't include the ending. A restored hand-tinted version was presented at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival with a soundtrack by the French band Air. Music by Air works well with the images, in fact I prefer the album combined with the film. Having watched color and black & white versions, I have to admit the color version was easier to follow what was going on. The first known science fiction film.









Favorite short films (part 1) (part 2) (part 3)

2016 Blind spot series: Betty Blue (1986)

My contribution to Ryan McNeil's 2016 blindspot series blogathon where I watch a film each month that I have never seen before.

Oscar-nominated French drama/romance. A touching and at times humorous 80s cult classic. Based on the 1985 novel by Philippe Djian. A star making turn by model Béatrice Dalle as the title character, a mentally unbalanced and sexually aggressive free spirit who becomes involved with Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade), a repairman and aspiring writer.

I saw the longer director's cut which is three hours.  Has quite a bit of nudity, the film starts with a sex scene, and later we see scenes leaving little to the imagination of them naked. It’s a running theme that the main characters feel uncomfortable wearing underwear, which links to how free-spirited and sexually liberated they are.

An example of cinéma du look, which referred to a group of French films from the 80s that had a slick, gorgeous visual language with loving attention to the smallest detail. A focus on young, alienated characters who were said to represent the marginalized youth. Luc Besson, Jean-Jacques Beineix and Leos Carax were considered key directors of "le look.". These French filmmakers were inspired by New Hollywood films (most notably Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart and Rumble Fish), late Fassbinder films (Lola), television commercials, music videos, and fashion photography.

The story feels light-hearted, but if you look a little deeper it’s about how relationships and friendships affect your life. Betty is described as a wild horse, who cannot bear immobility and wasn’t made for that.

It’s a brave choice to let Betty do unlikeable things, even if those she has hostility towards are not exactly likeable themselves, such as the man who asks them to paint the holiday homes, the grumbling woman at the restaurant, and the book reviewer who trashes Zorg’s book.

I've read criticism that Zorg in real life would not have put up with Betty's antics, and that the film is only about skin, but I didn't have those problems, and I believed in their intense feelings and that they were head over heels in love.

The film worked best during the opening 90 minutes. After the funeral scene, I felt the story lacked urgency, although the scene with the piano on the truck was fun. The last act is certainly memorable, and explains what came before.

Despite these quibbles, a beautiful and sensual film which you can lose yourself in. Strong performances by the two lead actors, and a haunting score by Gabriel Yared.

Raing 8/10

Road Trip playlist

By request

Road trip playlist




The tracklist:

Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf

A Horse With No Name by America

Take Me with U by Prince

Cruisin by Huey Lewis & Gwyneth Paltrow (Smokey Robinson cover)

Crockett's Theme by Jan Hammer (Miami Vice soundtrack)