ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE
The award given to the overall best motion picture of the year as voted on by preferential ballot. Awarded annually since the first Academy Awards held in 1929, it is presented to as many as three of the winning film's credited producers. There may be as few as 5 or as many as 10 nominees, based on the percentages of nominating votes from the full voting body of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
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| Paramount Pictures |
(SCI-FI/MYSTERY-DRAMA)
★★★1/2
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Written by Eric Heisserer
Produced by Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder & David Linde
Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mark O'Brien, Tzi Ma, Abigail Pniowsky, Julia Scarlett Dan, Jadyn Malone, Frank Schorpion, Lucas Chartier-Dessert, Christian Jadah
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.
116 minutes
ARRIVAL is tricky to talk substantially about without spoilers. It's a mind-bender. Based on Ted Chiang's 1998 short story "Story of Your Life", it follows the story of Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguist brought to a military camp in rural Montana where one of 12 alien spacecrafts have touched down across the globe. Working alongside physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), she is tasked by on-edge government forces to interpret the entirely foreign efforts of communication used by the extra-terrestrial visitors. However, the clock is ticking on their efforts, while international and political fears created by the alien landing threaten to erupt into war. The plot and some themes are reminiscent of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, but with larger intellectual ambitions. At first, it seemed like the plot was overdeveloped, but given some time to ponder it, I appreciated its twists a bit more. During the past few years, there seems to be an annual "intellectual" or "high art" science fiction movie released in the fall, beginning with GRAVITY in 2013, then INTERSTELLAR and THE MARTIAN. ARRIVAL is the latest in that line. It's definitely better than INTERSTELLAR, and to a lesser extent, also THE MARTIAN. In terms of director Denis Villeneuve's career though, 2015's SICARIO was even better. Although ARRIVAL has a downcast atmosphere, it's soothing, and especially coming out a couple days after the previously unthinkable happened on Election Day, its story about communication and empathy resonates and inspires.
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| Paramount Pictures |
(DRAMA)
Directed by Denzel Washington
Written by August Wilson
Produced by Todd Black, Scott Rudin & Denzel Washington
Starring: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, Saniyya Sidney, Christopher Mele, Leslie Boone, Jason Silvis
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, language and some suggestive references.
139 minutes
I haven't seen FENCES yet.
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| Summit Entertainment |
(WAR DRAMA)
★★★1/2
Directed by Mel Gibson
Written by Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight
Produced by Bill Mechanic and David Permut
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Corr, Teresa Palmer, Rachel Griffiths, Richard Roxburgh, Luke Pegler, Richard Pyros, Ben Mingay, Firass Dirani, Damien Thomlinson, Matt Nable, Robert Morgan, Nathaniel Buzolic
Rated R for intense prolonged realistically graphic sequences of war violence including grisly bloody images.
139 minutes
Mel Gibson simply is not one for subtlety, so HACKSAW RIDGE is not a subtle film. It's old-fashioned, beginning with corny scenes of an idyllic, Norman Rockwell-style boyhood playing 'king of the hill' and a cute courtship between young Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield) and the nurse who becomes his wife (Teresa Palmer), and continuing to an initially cutesy version of basic training where Doss, a Seventh-day Adventist and conscientious objector who's nonetheless intent on serving his country in any way he can without touching a gun. Mel Gibson is one for graphic, horrifying, flesh-dismantling violence though, so with HACKSAW RIDGE, he has his cake and eats it too, with a real life hero character who is a pacifist in the face of fierce opposition to his convictions at home (a wonderful departure from recent military-themed hits where heroism in war is reduced to killing lots of brown people and being macho and stoic about it) but is then thrust into a battle bloody enough that it earned the nickname "Typhoon of Steel". Gibson's direction of the Battle of Okinawa, in which Doss saved the lives of dozens of soldiers, including some from the enemy side, is incredibly fierce and wouldn't feel out of place in a horror movie. It's sort of an anti-war film, but without the will to court controversy by fully confronting the choices and morality of the soldiers who do fight, instead treating them with the typical reverence of a WWII movie, but the story really is about and in honor of Doss. It's a little rough around the edges, with its nearly 140-minute run time split cleanly into two halves that seem to run separately, and some of it depends on your tolerance for Gibson's corniness, but for the most part, it's very potent. Gibson's return to directing is long overdue, and with HACKSAW RIDGE, he outdoes everything else he's done behind the camera save APOCALYPTO.
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| CBS Films |
(DRAMA/WESTERN)
★★★
Directed by David Mackenzie
Written by Taylor Sheridan
Produced by Carla Hacken and Julie Yorn
Starring: Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, Gil Birmingham, Marin Ireland, Katy Mixon, Dale Dickey, Kevin Rankin, Melanie Papalia, John Paul Howard, Christopher W. Garcia, Margaret Bowman
Rated R for some strong violence, language throughout and brief sexuality.
102 minutes
I sort of hoped that HELL OR HIGH WATER might be 2016's SICARIO (both are written by Taylor Sheridan), but it's not. HELL OR HIGH WATER is solid, but it's not clear to me what made it so special in the eyes of critics that made it one of their chosen darlings, except maybe that it arrived at the end of a summer that by most accounts was underwhelming and looked a lot better in comparison. Set in West Texas, this neo-western follows two brothers on a bank robbing spree; Toby Howard (Chris Pine), a divorced and unemployed father, and his reckless, ex-con brother Tanner (Ben Foster); on a mission to steal enough money from various branches of the Texas Midlands Bank in order to pay off their late mother's reverse mortgage before the Texas Midlands Bank forecloses on their family ranch. They're pursued by two Texas Rangers, Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham), and things naturally turn messier for both sides than either had initially hoped or anticipated. It's solidly made, with good acting, directing and writing, but it also feels very much in the vein of things like Breaking Bad and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, but without the same potency.
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| 20th Century Fox |
(DRAMA)
★★★1/2
Directed by Theodore Melfi
Written by Allison Schroeder & Theodore Melfi
Produced by Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams and Theodore Melfi
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, Glen Powell, Kimberly Quinn, Olek Krupa
Rated PG for thematic elements and some language.
127 minutes
HIDDEN FIGURES was a surprise, not necessarily in being nominated for Best Picture, but in that it was actually pretty good. I mean, it's a PG-rated civil rights history lesson, which is technically a good thing, but also seems a bit like the side of nutritious frozen vegetables that people only eat because they think they should. But no, it's actually really good, in a not-terribly-subtle, crowd-pleasing way. The story is a deleted section from the THE RIGHT STUFF story, about the oft-overlooked role of black mathematicians on the U.S. side of the Space Race, mainly the experiences of Space Task Group team member Katherine Goble (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae). There are some minor "white savior" elements involving Space Task Group director Al Harrison (Kevin Costner) and astronaut John Glenn (Glen Powell) heroically giving these women consideration that should have been expected in the first place, but for the most part, it's reasonably smart and complex in its portrayals of people striving for greatness against prejudices about their skin color and gender. It's funny and engaging, with excellent acting all around (especially Henson), but also, it's just great to have this story out there in such an accessible way.
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| Summit Entertainment |
(MUSICAL/ROMANCE)
★★★★
Directed by Damien Chazelle
Written by Damien Chazelle
Produced by Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz and Marc Platt
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, Jessica Rothe, Sonoya Mizuno, Callie Hernandez, J.K. Simmons, Tom Everett Scott, Meagan Fay, Damon Gupton, Jason Fuchs, Josh Pence
Rated PG-13 for some language.
128 minutes
The year's faraway favorite, a rare original live-action movie musical (now we're getting another in December 2017), LA LA LAND is a movie that I'd been looking forward to ever since I first heard about it, but now I find my personal feelings about it complicated. Let's be clear, it's a stellar production, a gorgeous, colorful, soulful and brassy musical with two delightful leads who ooze with chemistry, an ode to Los Angeles, dreams and the choices that make us who we are and the paths that may have been. LA LA LAND is what people mean when they talk about "movie magic." It brings up a lot of feelings for me though, and not all of them are ones that I like at the moment. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, who previously romanced in CRAZY STUPID LOVE, star as Mia Dolan and Sebastian Wilder, respectively, a struggling actress and a struggling jazz musician who meet and fall in love but find their relationship complicated by their ambitions. Nominated in 14 categories, it tied the record for most number of Oscar nominations (TITANIC and ALL ABOUT EVE being the only other movies to have so many) and stands a chance of reaching or surpassing the record of 11 Oscar wins. It's not terribly likely, but it's possible.
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| The Weinstein Company |
(DRAMA)
Directed by Garth Davis
Written by Luke Davies
Produced by Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Angie Felder
Starring: Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman, David Wenham, Abhishek Bharate, Divian Ladwa, Priyanka Bose, Deepti Naval
Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some sensuality.
118 minutes
I have not seen LION.
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| Amazon Studios |
(DRAMA)
★★★1/2
Directed by Kenneth Lonergan
Written by Kenneth Lonergan
Produced by Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck and Kevin J. Walsh
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol, C.J. Wilson, Tate Donovan, Kara Hayward, Anna Baryshnikov, Heather Burns, Erica McDermott, Matthew Broderick, Oscar Wahlberg
Rated R for language throughout and some sexual content.
137 minutes
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA is a quiet, comfortable, meandering and human "slice of life" kind of movie full of scenic imagery and rich atmosphere, but the rest of it would only mean so much without Casey Affleck's standout central performance. The younger Affleck stars as Lee Chandler, a quiet and withdrawn handyman who gets called back to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea when his brother Joe (played by Kyle Chandler in flashbacks) suffers a fatal heart attack, leaving behind a teenage son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges). As Lee gets to know his nephew again, after having not seen him in years, and works to have the funeral arranged, the events of Lee's past unfold, revealing what led him to choose his life of isolation. Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, with great supporting work by Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler, it's a low-key but flavorful experience, if only that it runs a bit too long. Affleck is fantastic though.
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| A24 |
(DRAMA)
★★★1/2
Directed by Barry Jenkins
Written by Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney (story credit only)
Produced by Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner
Starring: Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Alex Hibbert, Andre Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Jaden Piner, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Janelle Monae, Patrick Decile
Rated R for some sexuality, drug use, brief violence, and language throughout.
111 minutes
Similarly to HELL OR HIGH WATER, MOONLIGHT is a really solidly-made movie for which the immense critical acclaim is a little odd, because while it's very solid, it's not the knockout that a 98% positive, 9/10 average on Rotten Tomatoes score and placement at the top of dozens of critics' top ten lists seem to suggest. On the other hand, it is more unique in the type of characters it portrays, being the coming of age story of a gay black man from a rough side of Miami. Told in three distinct sections, MOONLIGHT is the story of Chiron, played as a child by Alex Hibbert, when he finds a compassionate mentor and protector in a crack dealer named Juan (Mahershala Ali), as a teen by Ashton Sanders, when he experiences his first love and heartbreak with his classmate Kevin (Jharrel Jerome), and as an adult by Trevante Rhodes, a hardened drug dealer who's tried to leave behind his past when he gets a call from Kevin (Andre Holland). It's achy and compassionate through and through, clearly personal and heartfelt, but in some ways fleeting and withdrawn. It humanely dismantles ideas about identity and stereotypes with boldness and aplomb, with a standard indie-style handheld, grainy look. It's great strengths above anything else are its performances, the notable standout being Mahershala Ali, but I'd also give note to Trevante Rhodes.
WHO WILL WIN: LA LA LAND
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED:
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| A24 |
SWISS ARMY MAN
It wouldn't have much chance of winning, but it deserves to be in the conversation, and the fact that the Academy managed to avoid nominating it in a single category is as absurd as its 'farting corpse' premise. In any case, it was one of the best and most brilliant movies of 2016.
SILENCE
For one, it's a new movie from Martin Scorsese, which ought to count for a lot, and it's been a passion project of his in development for 26 years. It's really rich and fascinating, with stellar acting, direction and production, but it's failure to receive much recognition from the Academy is due in part to a bungled roll-out by its distributor, Paramount Pictures.
BEST DIRECTOR
The award given to a film's director whose work on a given film stands out as most exceptional. Awarded annually since the first Academy Awards held in 1929, at which time it was divided into two awards for directing in drama and comedy before it was combined into a single award the following year, the 5 nominees are voted for by the directors branch of AMPAS, and voted on by the Academy body as a whole, with a plurality of votes determining the winner. Given the widely agreed upon integral relationship between the quality of directing and the quality of the film as a whole, the nominating and awarding of Best Director and Best Picture are often closely tied. The record for most wins in this category is John Ford with 4. The record for most nominations is William Wyler with 12. Mel Gibson is the only previous winner of this award among this year's nominees, having won in 1996 for BRAVEHEART, but this is his first nomination since then. The other four nominees from this year are first-time nominees in this category.
- ARRIVAL, directed by DENIS VILLENEUVE
- HACKSAW RIDGE, directed by MEL GIBSON
- LA LA LAND, directed by DAMIEN CHAZELLE
- MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, directed by KENNETH LONERGAN
- MOONLIGHT, directed by BARRY JENKINS
WHO SHOULD WIN: Chazelle, who crafted a gorgeous, peppy and fluent classically-styled musical with a modern edge on only his second feature film.
FURTHER ANALYSIS: The dark horse candidate here is Gibson, previously having won the Academy Award for Best Director 21 years ago for BRAVEHEART, and his nomination is the closest thing to a surprise in this category, especially after his 10-year shunning following a well-publicized, suspicion-confirming anti-Semitic rant. 10 years is a long time to pay for a drunken racist rant (horrible though drunken racist rants may be), and assuming he uses it well, I'm glad Gibson has his comeback. Seriously, he's so likable onscreen and APOCALYPTO is amazing.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Out of directors from the Best Picture-nominated films, they've already hit the main marks (haven't seen FENCES, so I can't speak to Denzel Washington's direction there), but Martin Scorsese definitely deserves notice for his impressive latest epic, SILENCE, and again to SWISS ARMY MAN, the Daniels, Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, and in a less traditional direction, Jon Favreau for the impressive technical vision of Disney's THE JUNGLE BOOK remake.
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| Damien Chazelle (left), writer/director of LA LA LAND, on set with Ryan Gosling (Summit Entertainment) |
BEST ACTOR
The award given to a male actor whose performance in a leading role in a given film is considered most exceptional by the voting body of the Academy. Awarded annually since the first Academy Awards in 1929, the 5 nominees are decided by a voting process limited to the actors branch of AMPAS, and the winner is decided by a plurality of votes from the voting body of AMPAS as a whole. The record for most wins in this category is held by Daniel Day-Lewis with 3. Of this year's nominees in the category, Denzel Washington is the only previous Oscar-winner, having won the Best Actor award in 2002 for his role in TRAINING DAY. Viggo Mortensen has been nominated previously in 2008 for EASTERN PROMISES, and Ryan Gosling was nominated in 2007 for HALF NELSON. Casey Affleck was nominated in 2008 for Best Supporting Actor in THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD.
- CASEY AFFLECK in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA as Lee Chandler
- ANDREW GARFIELD in HACKSAW RIDGE as Desmond T. Doss
- RYAN GOSLING in LA LA LAND as Sebastian Wilder
- VIGGO MORTENSEN in CAPTAIN FANTASTIC as Ben Cash
- DENZEL WASHINGTON in FENCES as Troy Maxson
WHO SHOULD WIN: I can't speak to Mortensen or Washington, but Casey Affleck is spot-on perfect and fully fleshed out in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA.
FURTHER ANALYSIS: In terms of Garfield, he was good in HACKSAW RIDGE, but the nomination comes in the same year as his superior performance in SILENCE. The dark horse candidate is Gosling.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Again, SWISS ARMY MAN, for which Daniel Radcliffe was terrific on multiple levels as the sentient corpse, Manny, and Andrew Garfield as Sebastio Rodrigues for SILENCE.
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| Casey Affleck in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (Amazon Studios) |
BEST ACTRESS
The award given to a female actor whose performance in a leading role in a given film is considered most exceptional by the voting body of the Academy. Awarded annually since the first Academy Awards in 1929, the 5 nominees are decided by a voting process limited to the actors branch of AMPAS, and the winner is decided by a plurality of votes from the voting body of AMPAS as a whole. The record for most wins in this category is held by Katherine Hepburn with 4, while a nominee this year, Meryl Streep, holds the record for most nominations at 16, plus 4 in Best Supporting Actress. Streep has also won Best Actress twice, first for SOPHIE'S CHOICE in 1984 and again in 2012 for THE IRON LADY, and Best Supporting Actress once for KRAMER VS. KRAMER in 1980. NATALIE PORTMAN has previously won in 2011 for BLACK SWAN. Emma Stone was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actress in BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE). Isabelle Hupprt and Ruth Negga are both first-time nominees.
- ISABELLE HUPPERT in ELLE as Michele LeBlanc
- RUTH NEGGA in LOVING as Mildred Loving
- NATALIE PORTMAN in JACKIE as Jackie Kennedy
- EMMA STONE in LA LA LAND as Mia Dolan
- MERYL STREEP in FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS as Florence Foster Jenkins
WHO SHOULD WIN: I can't speak to Portman in JACKIE, Huppert in ELLE, or Streep in FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS, and Negga was really good, but I like Emma Stone in pretty much everything. Maybe not BIRDMAN so much, but everything else she's in.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Amy Adams for both ARRIVAL and NOCTURNAL ANIMALS. The latter is the more complex performance, but the former is also very good and in a movie I liked much more. Both are Oscar-worthy.
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| Emma Stone in LA LA LAND (Summit Entertainment) |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The award given to a male actor whose performance in a supporting role in a given film is considered most exceptional by the voting body of the Academy. Awarded annually since the 9th Academy Awards in 1937, the 5 nominees are decided by a voting process limited to the actors branch of AMPAS, and the winner is decided by a plurality of votes from the voting body of AMPAS as a whole. The record for most wins in this category is Walter Brennan with 3. Among this year's nominees, Jeff Bridges has been nominated in this category 3 times previously without any wins but won for Best Actor in 2010 for CRAZY HEART, while Michael Shannon has been nominated before in 2009 for REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. Mahershala Ali, Lucas Hedges and Dev Patel are each first-time nominees.
- MAHERSHALA ALI in MOONLIGHT as Juan
- JEFF BRIDGES in HELL OR HIGH WATER as Marcus Hamilton
- LUCAS HEDGES in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA as Patrick Chandler
- DEV PATEL in LION as Saroo Brierly
- MICHAEL SHANNON in NOCTURNAL ANIMALS as Detective Bobby Andes
WHO SHOULD WIN: Michael Shannon is great and was an oasis of good humor in the well-made but aggressively unpleasant NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, but Ali is sublime in MOONLIGHT. In full disclosure, I can't speak to Dev Patel in LION.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: John Goodman for 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE, Trevante Rhodes for MOONLIGHT and Alden Ehrenreich for HAIL, CAESAR!.
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| Mahershala Ali (left) with Alex R. Hibbert in MOONLIGHT (A24) |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The award given to a female actor whose performance in a supporting role in a given film is considered most exceptional by the voting body of the Academy. Awarded annually since the 9th Academy Awards in 1937, the 5 nominees are decided by a voting process limited to the actors branch of AMPAS, and the winner is decided by a plurality of votes from the voting body of AMPAS as a whole. The record for most wins in this category is held by Dianne Wiest and Shelley Winters, both with 2. Among this year's nominees, Octavia Spencer is the only previous winner in this category for THE HELP in 2012, but Nicole Kidman has won for Best Actress in 2003 for THE HOURS. Viola Davis has been nominated once before in 2009 for DOUBT and for Best Actress in 2012 for THE HELP, and Michelle Williams has been nominated once before in 2006 for BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, as well as twice for Best Actress for BLUE VALENTINE and MY WEEK WITH MARILYN. Naomie Harris is a first-time nominee.
- VIOLA DAVIS in FENCES as Rose Maxson
- NAOMIE HARRIS in MOONLIGHT as Paula
- NICOLE KIDMAN in LION as Sue Brierly
- OCTAVIA SPENCER in HIDDEN FIGURES as Dorothy Vaughan
- MICHELLE WILLIAMS in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA as Randi
WHO SHOULD WIN: No opinion. Of the nominees, I still haven't seen Davis in FENCES or Kidman in LION, and am not confident enough to say any should win over the other.
FURTHER ANALYSIS: Octavia Spencer, who won in this category for 2011's THE HELP, is good as expected in HIDDEN FIGURES, but if I were to pick out an acting nomination from that movie, I'd go with Taraji P. Henson (although hers would be tough to argue as anything but a leading role). Kidman has a chance as a dark horse candidate thanks to the Weinstein Company power behind her, but following the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, they have three actresses of color to choose from here and they're unlikely to leave that out of consideration.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: From MOONLIGHT, I'd have gone with Janelle Monae over Harris.
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| Viola Davis in FENCES (Paramount Pictures) |
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The award given to the writer of a screenplay, not based upon previously published material, determined most exceptional by the voting body of the Academy. Awarded annually since the 13th Academy Awards held in 1941, the 5 nominated screenplays are selected by the voting process of the writers branch of AMPAS. The record for most most wins in this category is Woody Allen with 3. Damien Chazelle has been nominated once before for WHIPLASH, and Kenneth Lonergan has been nominated twice before for YOU CAN COUNT ON ME and GANGS OF NEW YORK.
- HELL OR HIGH WATER, written by Taylor Sheridan
- LA LA LAND, written by Damien Chazelle
- THE LOBSTER, written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou
- MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, written by Kenneth Lonergan
- 20TH CENTURY WOMEN, written by Mike Mills
WHO WILL WIN: Another tricky one, but I'll guess MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, the nominee other than LA LA LAND with nominations in both Best Picture and Best Director. In this case, I'm betting against LA LA LAND, a movie whose script is good, but doesn't stand out as particularly unique among its acheivements.
WHO SHOULD WIN: MANCHESTER sounds fine to me, but I haven't seen 20TH CENTURY WOMEN, and none of the nominees stands out as especially brilliant.
FURTHER ANALYSIS: I don't care if it's a critical darling; THE LOBSTER is an irritatingly twee indie film with a couple of really promising ideas and a lot of preciousness, and I don't like it. HELL OR HIGH WATER is my second-place pick to win.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Again, and here which it deserved most above all, SWISS ARMY MAN, written by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, which crafts a hilarious and moving essay exploring and celebrating the crass and divine in the human experience, and where the crass and divine meet, and unravels the nature of shame, intimacy, isolation, depression and hope, complete with extensive fart and boner jokes. THE WITCH, written by Robert Eggers, is a very sharp, chilling story of 17th century superstition, paranoia, horror and empowerment, and also would be very deserving.
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| Kenneth Lonergan (left), writer/director of MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, on set with Casey Affleck (Amazon Studios) |
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The award given to the writer of a screenplay, based upon previously published material, determined most exceptional by the voting body of the Academy. Awarded annually since the 1st Academy Awards held in 1929, the 5 nominated screenplays are selected by the voting process of the writers branch of AMPAS. The record for most wins in this category is 2, held between several writers. All nominees in the category this year are first-time nominees, although the late August Wilson won a Tony and a Pulitzer for his FENCES screenplay in its stage form.
- ARRIVAL, written by Eric Heisserer, adapted from "Story of Your Life", a short story by Ted Chiang
- FENCES, written by August Wilson, adapted from "Fences", a stage play by August Wilson
- HIDDEN FIGURES, written by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi, adapted from Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race, a non-fiction novel by Margot Lee Shetterly
- LION, written by Luke Davies, adapted from A Long Way Home, a non-fiction novel by Saroo Brierly and Larry Buttrose
- MOONLIGHT, written by Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, adapted from "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue", an unpublished stage play by Tarell Alvin McCraney
WHO WILL WIN: MOONLIGHT, which, outside of Mahershala Ali in the Best Supporting Actor category, has its best shot of winning in this category.
WHO SHOULD WIN: I haven't seen FENCES or LION, but from the ones I have seen, ARRIVAL. It's smart and meaty, and involving.
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| Barry Jenkins, director and co-writer of MOONLIGHT |
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The award given to a feature-length film, comprised of at least 75% frame-by-frame animation, considered the most exceptional film as a whole. Awarded annually since the 74th Academy Awards in 2002, the first winner in this category was SHREK.
- KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, directed by Travis Knight, produced by Travis Knight and Arriane Sutner
- MOANA, directed by Ron Clements & John Musker, produced by Osnat Shurer
- MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI, directed by Claude Barras, produced by Max Karli
- THE RED TURTLE, directed by Michael Dudok de Wit, produced by Toshio Suzuki
- ZOOTOPIA, directed by Byron Howard & Rich Moore, produced by Clark Spencer
WHO WILL WIN: ZOOTOPIA, the highest-grossing of the bunch, a critical darling, and a clever if thematically inconsistent rebuttal of the Trump era.
WHO SHOULD WIN: I love ZOOTOPIA, but I like MOANA even more. MOANA is a terrific musical fairy tale, more traditional than ZOOTOPIA, but not in a bad way.
FURTHER ANALYSIS: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS is so fantastic up until the near the end, at which point the conclusion didn't make a lot of sense.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: I wonder if THE JUNGLE BOOK qualifies for this category...
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| Disney |
The award given to the body of dramatic underscoring music composed originally for a film and considered most exceptional by the voting body of AMPAS. Awarded annually since the 7th Academy Awards held in 1935, the award was issued in two subcategories, one for an original score and one for a musical score, from 1939 to 1950, Score for Dramatic or Comedy Picture and Score of a Musical Picture from 1951 to 1970, Original Dramatic Score and Original Song Score and Adaptation from 1971 to 1985, and Original Dramatic Score and Musical or Comedy Score from 1996 to 1999. The record for most wins is Alfred Newman with 9, while the record for most nominations is John Williams with 50. Among this year's nominees, only Thomas Newman has been previously nominated, with this year making 14.
- JACKIE, score by Mica Levi
- LA LA LAND, score by Justin Hurwitz
- LION, score by Dustin O'Halloran & Hauschka
- MOONLIGHT, score by Nicholas Britell
- PASSENGERS, score by Thomas Newman
WHO WILL WIN: LA LA LAND, further padding out its count.
WHO SHOULD WIN: I haven't seen JACKIE or LION, and out of MOONLIGHT and PASSENGERS, I'd definitely go with MOONLIGHT, but neither one particularly stood out to me. LA LA LAND has the best music of the bunch, but I'm not sure where the line is between 'score' and song music. Maybe it doesn't matter though.
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| Justin Hurwitz, score and song composer for LA LA LAND |
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
The award given for an original song considered most exceptional and written specifically to accompany a film, awarded annually since the 7th Academy Awards held in 1935.
- "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from LA LA LAND, music by Justin Hurwitz, lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
- "Can't Stop the Feeling!" from TROLLS, music & lyrics by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin & Shellback
- "City of Stars" from LA LA LAND, music by Justin Hurwitz, lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
- "The Empty Chair" from JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY, music & lyrics by J. Ralph & Sting
- "How Far I'll Go" from MOANA, music & lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
WHO SHOULD WIN: Personally, I'm a big fan of "How Far I'll Go".
FURTHER ANALYSIS: Best Original Song is a weird category that is sometimes a strain to fill out, and usually, there's an odd nomination from a smaller movie or documentary that uses a pop song in the credits to garner further attention. I don't know much about "The Empty Chair" or JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY. Perhaps the most high-profile nominee this year is Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!" which has been blaring on radio stations since last summer, months before TROLLS hit theaters. It's like Pharrell Williams's "Happy" from a few years ago (which lost to "Let It Go"), a happy, peppy and shallow pop hit that's a lot better than the stinky piece of crap it was written for.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: This is the rare year that there were actually a lot of really good songs in movies. Part of that may be because we're a few years out from the FROZEN phenomenon, and we're just now getting the movies started in its immediate aftermath. I'm surprised that the Shakira-performed "Try Everything" from ZOOTOPIA wasn't nominated, or "You're Welcome" from MOANA, and one of the most overlooked movies of the year, POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING had a number of great songs deserving recognition, including "Finest Girl (Bin Laden Song)", "Mona Lisa", "I'm So Humble" and "Equal Rights". In terms of LA LA LAND, I kind of like "Someone in the Crowd", the exuberant number Mia and her friends sings with the accompaniment of chirping flutes as they go out for a night on the town.
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| Summit Entertainment |
The award given for the sound design and especially sound effects considered most exceptional in a film, awarded to the credited supervising sound editors of the film, awarded annually since the 54th Academy Awards held in 1982, and awarded intermittently from 1964-1968, 1976, 1978 and 1980.
- ARRIVAL, sound editing by Sylvain Bellemare
- DEEPWATER HORIZON, sound editing by Wylie Stateman & Renee Tondelli
- HACKSAW RIDGE, sound editing by Robert Mackenzie & Andy Wright
- LA LA LAND, sound editing by Ai-Ling Lee & Mildred Iatou Morgan
- SULLY, sound editing by Alan Roberty Murray & Bub Ashman
BEST SOUND MIXING
The award given for the overall sound and sound levels considered most exceptional in a film and awarded to the credited sound mixers and re-recording mixers of the film, awarded annually since the 3rd Academy Awards held in 1930.
- ARRIVAL, sound mixing by Bernard Gariepy Strobl & Claude La Haye
- HACKSAW RIDGE, sound mixing by Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie & Peter Grace
- LA LA LAND, sound mixing by Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee & Steve A. Morrow
- ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, sound mixing by David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio & Stuart Wilson
- 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI, sound mixing by Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush & Mac Ruth
FURTHER ANALYSIS: Academy Award-nominee 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI. It's just one of those ones that sound ridiculous. That movie was so boring. It wasn't even inflammatory. It was just boring.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The award given the overall visual appearance and unified vision of a film's art direction considered most exceptional, awarded to the credited art director and the credited set decorator. It has been awarded annually since the first Academy Awards held in 1929 when it was called 'Best Interior Decoration', then 'Best Art Direction' beginning in 1948 at the 20th Academy Awards, and most recently changed to 'Best Production Design' in 2013 for the 85th Academy Awards.
- ARRIVAL, art direction by Patrice Vernette, set decoration by Paul Hotte
- FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, art direction by Stuart Craig, set decoration by Anna Pinnock
- HAIL, CAESAR!, art direction by Jess Gonchor, set decoration by Nancy Haigh
- LA LA LAND, art direction by David Wasco, set decoration by Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
- PASSENGERS, art direction by Guy Hendrix Dyas, set decoration by Gene Serdena
WHO SHOULD WIN: LA LA LAND! I mean, did you see those color schemes? Just freaking beautiful.
FURTHER ANALYSIS: In terms of what really stands out, ARRIVAL really only has the spaceships, which have a cool and unique look, and without more momentum, it doesn't have a chance. PASSENGERS just has a really typical clean, white plastic future look that feels very standard. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM has a great production design, but not in a way that differentiates itself too much from what we've seen in the Harry Potter series. HAIL, CAESAR!, the Coen Brothers' idiosyncratic showbiz comedy from last February got its sole nomination in this category, but more than anything, this nomination is the best nod of recognition the Academy can muster to this movie released so early in the previous year.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: SILENCE, THE NICE GUYS, maybe NOCTURNAL ANIMALS even though I hated it as a whole, THE WITCH. Not that anything that did got nominated should have been replaced by these movies (except for maybe PASSENGERS), but each with really great production design.
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| Summit Entertainment |
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The award given for the camerawork considered most exceptional in a film and awarded to the credited director of photography on the film. Awarded annually since the first Academy Awards held in 1929, Emmanuel Lubezki, who is not nominated this year, has won the last three years in a row.
- ARRIVAL, director of photography Bradford Young
- LA LA LAND, director of photography Linus Sandgren
- LION, director of photography Greig Fraser
- MOONLIGHT, director of photography James Laxton
- SILENCE, director of photography Rodrigo Prieto
WHO SHOULD WIN: Probably LA LA LAND, a movie with a thoroughly beautiful look.
FURTHER ANALYSIS: I haven't seen LION. SILENCE received its only nomination in this category, but this is highly likely to wind up on the LA LA LAND pile.
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| Summit Entertainment |
The award given for makeup work and hairstyling considered most exceptional in a film, awarded annually as a competitive award since the 54th Academy Awards held in 1982, and previously awarded intermittently as an honorary award. The record for most wins in this category is Rick Baker with 7, who most recently won for the 2010 film THE WOLFMAN.
- A MAN CALLED OVE, Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
- STAR TREK BEYOND, Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
- SUICIDE SQUAD, Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson
WHO SHOULD WIN: Um, STAR TREK BEYOND seems fine to me, what with the typical alien makeup designs and such, but there's nothing remarkable in any of the nominees.
FURTHER ANALYSIS: Some years, there's an abundance of great makeup and hairstyling choices from a variety of historical and fantastical films to pick from, and some years, it's a struggle to justify the category. In this case, it's the latter. I haven't seen A MAN CALLED OVE, and to be honest, it probably has about as good a shot as STAR TREK BEYOND, except that I can't tell from the poster and synopsis why it garnered a nomination. I just can't abide the thought of SUICIDE SQUAD, a dumpster fire of a movie, would be given Oscar gold. Then again, the much-maligned 2010 remake THE WOLFMAN won in this category. Then again, THE WOLFMAN is actually kind of fun and SUICIDE SQUAD is about as fun as diarrhea farts to the face.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: SILENCE, HAIL CEASAR!, FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM.
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| Paramount Pictures |
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The award given for costume designs considered most exceptional in a film and awarded annually since the 21st Academy Awards held in 1949. The record for most wins in this category is the late Edith Head with 8, who last won for THE STING at the 46th Academy Awards held in 1974, and who was the visual inspiration for the character of 'Edna Mode' in the 2004 animated film THE INCREDIBLES
- ALLIED, costume design by Joanna Johnston
- FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM, costume design by Colleen Atwood
- FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS, costume design by Consolata Boyle
- JACKIE, costume design by Madeline Fontaine
- LA LA LAND, costume design by Mary Zophres
WHO SHOULD WIN: Either LA LA LAND or FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: You know what movie was really underrated? THE LEGEND OF TARZAN. That could have justified a nomination in Best Costume Design.
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| Summit Entertainment |
BEST FILM EDITING
The award given for the assembling, transitions, pacing, coherence and other qualities related to the film editing process considered most exceptional in a film. Due the widely agreed upon integral nature of the quality of the editing to the quality of the overall film, as with the award for Best Director, this category is closely correlated with the award for Best Picture.
- ARRIVAL, edited by Joe Walker
- HACKSAW RIDGE, edited by John Gilbert
- HELL OR HIGHWATER, edited by Jake Roberts
- LA LA LAND, edited by Tom Cross
- MOONLIGHT, edited by Nat Sanders & Joi McMillon
WHO WILL WIN: LA LA LAND. MOONLIGHT also has a good shot, but I'm predicting LA LA LAND.
WHO SHOULD WIN: LA LA LAND or ARRIVAL.
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| Summit Entertainment |
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The award given for the most exceptional achievement in visual effects work for a film, awarded intermittently since the first Academy Awards in 1929 as a special award, as an occasionally competitive award from 1978 through 1990, and annually since 1992.
- DEEPWATER HORIZON, visual effects work supervised by Craig Hemmeck, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton
- DOCTOR STRANGE, visual effects work supervised by Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould
- THE JUNGLE BOOK, visual effects work supervised by Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon
- KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, visual effects work supervised by Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff
- ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, visual effects work supervised by John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould
WHO SHOULD WIN: THE JUNGLE BOOK, for its AVATAR-level CGI environments and characters interacting with a live actor.
FURTHER ANALYSIS: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS is one of only two animated films to be nominated in this category, and it's a little odd because animated films are inherently visual effects as a whole. The last animated film to nominated for Best Visual Effects was another stop-motion animated feature, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
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| Walt Disney Pictures |
OTHER AWARDS THAT ARE SORT OF IMPORTANT BUT MOSTLY JUST TO THE PEOPLE NOMINATED FOR THEM AND I'M ONLY PREDICTING THEM FOR THE SAKE OF COMPLETION
BEST DOCUMENTARY - FEATURE
Okay, this one is actually fairly significant, but I don't see a lot of documentaries.
- FIRE AT SEA
- I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
- LIFE, ANIMATED
- O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA
- 13TH
PREDICTION: O.J.: MADE IN AMERICA
BEST DOCUMENTARY - SHORT SUBJECT
- EXTREMIS
- 4.1 MILES
- JOE'S VIOLIN
- WATANI: MY HOMELAND
- THE WHITE HELMETS
PREDICTION: WATANI MY HOMELAND
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
- ENNEMIS INTERIEURS
- LA FEMME ET LE TGV
- SILENT NIGHTS
- SING
- TIMECODE
PREDICTION: ENNEMIS INTERIEURS
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
- BLIND VAYSHA
- BORROWED TIME
- PEAR CIDER AND CIGARETTES
- PEARL
- PIPER
PREDICTION: PIPER
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Okay, this one is actually fairly significant too.
- LAND OF MINE (Denmark)
- A MAN CALLED OVE (Sweden)
- THE SALESMAN (Iran)
- TANNA (Australia)
- TONI ERDMANN (Germany)
PREDICTION: THE SALESMAN
