The Movies You Need to Watch Before the Oscars on Sunday
By Emily Young MA ‘16
This year could finally be the year that Leonardo DiCaprio gets an Oscar. You don’t want to be the only one in the room who hasn’t seen his award winning performance, do you?
The Oscars are here! Let me break it down for you, there are 5 key categories that everyone pays a lot of attention to: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Best Picture
My Prediction: Best picture is always a tough category to predict, since there are usually political undertones. All that aside, from the list here, the best movie I have seen is Mad Max. It is unlike anything you have ever seen and is truly well done. If I had to choose one movie I would watch for the rest of my life, it would be The Martian because Matt Damon’s character is hilarious. All that being said, if you haven’t seen the Big Short, you need to see this one epic scene.
Best Actor
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Matt Damon – The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl
My Prediction: Leonardo DiCaprio
If Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t win this one, I will go as far to say that he will never win an Oscar. They filmed The Revenant onsite in extreme conditions and Leo actually ate real liver since the fake one, “didn’t look real enough.” That being said, Leo really doesn’t have much dialogue in the film so that might be where the door is open for someone else to win the performance.
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie Larson – Room
Jennifer Lawrence - Joy
Charlotte Rampling- 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
My Prediction: Cate Blanchett
From Blue Jasmine to Carol, I think this is the time for Cate Blanchett to shine.
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale – The Big Short
Tom Hardy – The Revenant
Sylvester Stallone – Creed
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
My Prediction: Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy drives The Revenant as the dark twisted man looking only to better himself. You can fight me on this one, but Tom Hardy is one hell of an actor and the ending scene between Hardy and Leo is a must see for anyone who hasn’t seen the whole film.
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara – Carol
Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
My Prediction: Jennifer Jason Leigh
This prediction is going out on a limb here. While the academy usually supports films promoting a larger message to society like Spotlight, Carol, or The Danish Girl, I think Jennifer Jason Leigh had a standout performance in The Hateful Eight. Without Jennifer Jason Leigh Hateful Eight would have been dull and unentertaining. She added depth and color to the film, and the visual effects and stunts were amazing.
Just by scrolling you can already start to see which films are receiving a lot of support. Overall, the most nominations went to The Revenant, with 12, followed by Mad Max: Fury Road, with 10. The Martian was cited seven times, and Carol, Bridge of Spies, and Spotlight were each nominated six times. The Oscars will be on ABC this Sunday, February 28th, at 4:00 P.T. Get the popcorn ready now.
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