88th Academy Awards: Best Picture

Best Picture

So this time tomorrow, we here at Black Ribbon will be fully stocked up on coffee, energy drinks. those small cocktail sausages from Asda and perhaps the contraption that keeps Malcolm McDowell's eyes open within A Clockwork Orange in a brave attempt to keep awake during the early hours to which the latest incarnation of the Oscar ceremony will no doubt take place unto. For now however, it is time to examine the last and perhaps most important category of the 88th Academy Awards; the Best Picture category, a category which features a wide range of brilliant cinematic achievements, all of which have shocked, thrilled and stunned audiences across the world over the course of the past cinematic year, ranging from the all-out action craziness of Mad Max: Fury Road to the understated drama of Spotlight, two completely different movies, but both exceeding in critical acclaim nonetheless with the former being the favourite film of last year for two of Black Ribbon's leading contributors. 

As for the bookies, The Revenant is all set to continue its' success at the BAFTA's and walk away with the prestigious award yet it may face stiff competition from The Big Short and Spotlight, the film I believe deserves to win. There is no doubt that The Revenant is an excellent piece of cinematic achievement but Spotlight is a film that arks back to the fundamentals of film, one that believes telling a story in a straightforward fashion with a superb ensemble cast on top form is the most organic way to achieve true drama. Much like Whiplash last year, Spotlight is a film nominated for best picture and one that I hope wins against all the odds. We shall see. As for those who may have been overlooked, Inside Out, although odds on to win Best Animated Feature, should have been part of the Best Picture nominations, whilst films such as Sicario, Macbeth, The Gift and Straight Outta Compton all would have been on my own personal Oscar list for their achievements but in the eyes of the "prestigious" Oscar voters (See Link Below) such films were not worthy of Oscar stardom. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the ceremony as much as we will, and for the last time until this time next year, here are the nominations; 

Mad Max: Fury Road - George Miller

The Revenant -  Alejandro González Iñárritu  

Spotlight - Tom McCarthy

The Big Short - Adam McKay

Room - Lenny Abrahamson

Bridge of Spies - Steven Spielberg

The Martian - Ridley Scott

Brooklyn - John Crowley

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/oscars-2016-voter-admits-not-watching-some-films-praises-the-room-and-shuns-whats-her-name-from-a6897016.html

88th Academy Awards: Best Director

Best Director

Within this penultimate examination into this years' Oscar ceremony, with the annual event set to take place this Sunday evening and heading ever so early into the bright and early hours of Monday morning (Screw you time zones!) we finally come to the nominations for Best Director, a category currently filled with the winning shoes of one Alejandro González Iñárritu for his work on last years' big winner Birdman. Once again Iñárritu is one of the five nominees for his work on The Revenant, a film which may indeed walk away with the top trio of awards in which it is nominated for with it standing a solid chance of winning Best Picture, Best Director and of course, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. Although Iñárritu may indeed carry on his success at the BAFTA's and win at this years' Oscar ceremony, being only the third director to win consecutive directorial awards after John Ford and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, there are of course four other nominations in the directorial category with Adam McKay for The Big Short, George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road, Lenny Abrahamson for Room and finally Tom McCarthy for Spotlight. 

Inevitably, the odds are stacked highly in the favour of Iñárritu for The Revenant who is on course to make Oscar winning history, yet both Abrahamson and McCarthy shouldn't be forgotten for their understated yet brilliant work on both of their respected films. As for those who may have been overlooked entirely, Denis Villeneuve should have had a look in for his brilliant work on the sublime Sicario whilst F. Gary Gray should have been rewarded for keeping control of the egoistic mayhem that must have ensued on the set of Straight Outta Compton. Looking further afield, maybe J.J. Abrams could have been praised for getting the Star Wars franchise back on track. I mean the decision to have no Jar Jar Binks in the latest entry deserves some recognition right? Right? Anyhow, here are the nominations:

Alejandro G. Iñárritu - The Revenant

Adam McKay - The Big Short

George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road

Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

Lenny Abrahamson - Room

Next Time: BEST PICTURE!

88th Academy Awards: Best Actress

Best Actress

After last years' predetermination at the BAFTA's, with Julianne Moore winning the prestigious Best Actress award for Still Alice, a film that hadn't hit UK cinemas at the time of the ceremony leaving the choice of winner solely in the hands of preview-screened critics, the Oscar's soon followed suit and awarded Moore with her first award after many nominations for films such as Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights and Far From Heaven. Completing this years' nominations is a variety of talent ranging from rising stars to cinematic gems with each film definitely getting the vote of confidence from here at Black Ribbon, even Joy, the newest release from David O. Russell, which although features a riveting leading performance from Jennifer Lawrence has been regarded by many as a limp entry into the impressive canon Russell has already established, with The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook doing particularly well at the prestigious ceremony in previous years. Could his and Lawrence's success at the Oscar's continue this year? Let's ask the people in the know.

In the wise eyes of the bookies, Brie Larson is set to carry on her success at the BAFTA's with her being odds on to pick up the Oscar for Best Actress in Lenny Abrahamson's simply brilliant Room, a film which manages to carry the balance of the dark and the twisted yet ultimately proclaims itself as a life-affirming drama, featuring a world-class performance from young Jacob Tremblay who along with Larson brings the brilliance of the film to light, resulting in the rare occasion whereby I completely agree with the Academy. Sure, Cate Blanchett is rather flawless in Todd Haynes' Carol and Saoirse Ronan continues her streak of being perfect in every way possible (CRUSH INCOMING) within the beautiful Brooklyn, but Larson is the stand-out, pulling in a performance that those at the Oscar voting table love; no make-up and a lot of crying. It might just be the start of something magical. Cringe. 

Next Time: Best Director

88th Academy Awards: Best Actor

Best Actor

Could this finally be the year. Howard Hughes in The Aviator. Sorry, Jamie Foxx deserves that this year. How about Billy Costigan in The Departed? I'm afraid not. But how about my roles in either Django Unchained or The Wolf of Wall Street? Once again, I'm afraid not Leonardo, you just aren't good enough to deserve an Oscar. Fine. I'll find a director who will put me through sheer hell and force me to cut open a horse and sleep inside it, proper Luke Skywalker style from The Empire Strikes Back. Of course, I'm sure this isn't how the life of Leonard DiCaprio actually played out after countless times of Oscar betrayal but it does seem that his dedication to his role in The Revenant was that of a man giving all he possibly can in order to claim what has bypassed his clutches in the past. Everyone and their mum's believes it is time for Leo to win his Oscar and if somehow such did fail to occur this year, I fully believe the Leo supporting masses would violently and swiftly burn the Dolby Theatre down to the ground with Leo being the sole survivor of such a terrible tragedy. 

Extreme I know, but without even looking at the betting for this years' Best Actor category, it is obvious that Leo is the firm favourite. In fact, it is such a safe bet I would recommend putting your life savings on it. Trust me, I know these things. If however you are not privy to the odd bet or two and believe that the Oscars will continue to starve DiCaprio of his glory, the other contenders for the award include Bryan Cranston for Trumbo, Matt Damon for The Martian, Michael Fassbender for the brilliant Steve Jobs and Eddie Redmayne for the not-so-brilliant The Danish Girl.  As for those who may have been overlooked, Fassbender, if not for Steve Jobs, would have been nominated for his role as Macbeth in Justin Kurzel's cold-blooded adaptation of the Shakespearean classic, whilst it was a shame Samuel L. Jackson wasn't recognised for his eye-locking performance in The Hateful Eight, one which kept the film intriguing and captivating for its' ridiculously over-long runtime. Also, what about Jacob Tremblay's simply stunning performance in Room? Sure he's only nine but Tatum O'Neal won an Oscar at the age of ten. One to ponder upon anyhow. Here are the nominations: 

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant

Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs

Bryan Cranston - Trumbo

Matt Damon - The Martian

Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl

Next Time: Best Actress!

88th Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress

Best Supporting Actress

Following on from the nominations for Best Supporting Actor at this years' Oscar ceremony is the esteemed category of Best Supporting Actress, a category developed in order to not only distinguish the difference in gender, but to adhere to the notion that maybe the dated nature of the ceremony itself has failed to catch up with the times in a society where distinction is a much more delicate and diverse subject matter and can not only be distributed between one or the other. Maybe it's time to scrap the Actor/Actress thing overall and instead focus on just a leading/supporting role as well as perhaps an award for Best Cast? This would definitely suit a film like this years' Spotlight, a film which although has many nominations in the acting categories, depends mainly on the ensemble of a cast rather than certain individuals. An argument for another time maybe, but for now we have nominations for Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl, Rachel McAdams for Spotlight, Rooney Mara for Carol, Kate Winslet for Steve Jobs and of course Jennifer Jason Leigh for her blood-spattered performance in Tarantino's western thriller The Hateful Eight. 

As for the bookies and their infinite wisdom, favourite to win the award is Alicia Vikander for her role in Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl, contradicting Kate Winslet's win most recently at the BAFTA's whilst being fundamentally strange with Vikander's role in The Danish Girl no doubt being much more than one that is just supporting. You are a strange bunch you Oscar voters you. As for those who have been overlooked over the course of the past year or so, Vikander herself should have been recognised for her portrayal of Ava in the brilliant Ex Machina as either leading or supporting actress depending on your POV, whilst Marion Cotillard and Rebecca Hall both gave rip-roaring performances in Macbeth and The Gift respectively and could have easily been noted by this years' ceremony. But hey, they can't always be right can they? The nominations this year are: 

Rachel McAdams - Spotlight

Rooney Mara - Carol

Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs

Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight

Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl

Next Time: Best Actor!

88th Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actor

Here we are once again... The 88th Academy Awards is upon us, swiftly bringing with it a rafter of talent, talent that has simmered and shone throughout a cinematic year in which bears have been fought, evil deeds exposed and Mexican drug-lords being dispatched quicker than you can whisper Sicario. Beginning Black Ribbon's venture and exploration into the realms of Oscar Nomination goodness is the category of Best Supporting Actor, an award currently clutched onto by the majestic J.K Simmons for his electric portrayal of Terrence Fletcher in last years Whiplash, Black Ribbon's favourite film of 2016. Aiming to steal the limelight from under Mr. Simmons' shoes is a string of actors well accustomed to critical acclaim in the past with theatre legend Mark Rylance being nominated for his role in Steven Spielberg's Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies, Christian Bale for Wall Street comedy-drama The Big Short, Tom Hardy for his role in the sublime The Revenant, and of course, Mark Ruffalo for the equally brilliant Spotlight. Oh yeah, and there's Sylvester Stallone for Creed. 

Looking at the bookies and by word of mouth on the movie grapevine, favourite this year for winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor lies on the shoulders of both Mr. Stallone for Creed and Mr. Rylance for Bridge of Spies, with both being successful at previous movie ceremonies; Stallone at the Golden Globes and Rylance at the BAFTA's. As for those who may have been overlooked, both Benicio Del Toro for Sicario and Idris Elba for Beasts of No Nation would have been potential winners for their roles in two superb films, whilst the fear of Oscar white-washing isn't helped by the fact that the cast from Straight Outta Compton was completely ignored, particularly Jason Mitchell for his role as Eazy-E. It maybe just me, but the inclusion of any of these overlooked talents may have made this years' ceremony a bit more thrilling. Anyway, here are the nominations:

Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies

Christian Bale - The Big Short

Tom Hardy - The Revenant

Sylvester Stallone - Creed

Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight

Next Time: Best Supporting Actress!