The 88th Annual Academy Awards Winners

Team Spotlight

Another year, another Oscars came and gone. The only difference being that I didn't watch them and only partially followed them on Twitter.

A night full of shocks as much as this entire awards season, the most unpredictable and weirdest in memory. SPOTLIGHT became the first film in decades to win best picture and only 1 other award, best original screenplay. The largely predicted THE REVENANT took cinematography (3rd in a row for Chivo), lead actor for Leonardo DiCaprio (who finally won the damn trophy) and Alejandro González Iñárritu became the third back to back director winner ever. Spotlight's two and The Revenant's three awards wins were only upped by MAD MAX: FURY ROAD which won 6 Oscars, the first film since the 70's to win that many without winning either picture or director. It was a great night for Miller's masterpiece to a point that it seemed that the sweeping momentum was probably going to be carried all the way till the end. So proud nonetheless.

Stats were shattered, preferential ballot favored the least divisive film, actors had already shown their love for the winner. Of the craziest wins though... Ex Machina was awarded visual effects over best picture nominees which rarely happens and also the predicted winner Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It is also the most left field and inspiring winner in a while. Sylvester Stallone widely favored for supporting actor lost to Mark Rylance. The mediocre song, awful Bond theme won best original song. The most hated winner of the night. My fellow Pakistani, the talented and brave Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won her career 2nd Oscar for directing yet another important, timely short doc. Ennio Morricone finally won an Oscar, the oldest winner ever. One of the greatest films ever didn't win best animated short. The rest pretty much expected. Category fraud favored, Brooklyn didn't win anything, neither The Martian or Carol. It was a strange night, not all that bad. Could have been a lot worse. Can't review the ceremony itself, the jokes or monologues or speeches. But yes, another film year ends. Till the next one... (the film year, not the Oscars):

Best Picture:
Spotlight

Final Predictions for the Academy Awards 2016

The Revenant

They are what they are and they'll be what they refuse not to be. Recent years have made it worse when it should be the opposite and hence my interest, involvement and excitement for this big ceremony has gone down the drain. I couldn't imagine things ever being this way, always giving them a free pass for their refusal to accept, embrace or adapt art and craft but my soul has dried up.

The Revenant will win this year making it the worst best picture winner in decades. Leonardo DiCaprio will win for a good performance but hardly the one he deserves to be awarded for. With the exception of Daniel Day-Lewis (three times), when has a grear actor with continous excellence and acknowledgement won an Oscar for the right role at the right time? Category frauds, lazy obvious nods, reliance on being force fed movie screeners, biases, internal issues, external problems... here are my predictions for the Academy Awards 2016:

I am ready to be wrong on some of these. Who cares?

Best Picture:
The Revenant

2016 Oscars Nominations and My Reaction

Brooklyn

The nominations for the 88th Annual  Academy Awards were announced in the grand greatly pleasing and even more depressing manner as they always are. THE REVENANT leads the pack with 12 nominations. At exactly half of that, CAROL is the most nominated film without a best picture nomination. Yes indeed my biggest fear of this snub came true. That might have been because there were only 8 nominations this year. Apart from the above two we have Room, Brooklyn (yaas), The Big Short, The Martian, Spotlight and Mad Max: Fury Road, which conquered as the film with nominations in all technical categories. All hail the genius of Miller and his team. The biggest snub in the director category was Ridley Scott, nominated instead of him is Lenny Abrahamson. Quite a shocker.

In the acting categories, the leads went as you and I expected. Indeed Charlotte Rampling was nominated. In the supporting category, Tom Hardy made in instead of Elba/Dano/Tremblay which now seems obvious considering the massive support for the film across the board. On the other hand, Rachel McAdams is now an Oscar nominee due to her lovely turn in Spotlight. She got in instead of Mirren/Fonda. Screenplay categories had some surprises as well. Straight Outta Compton nominated instead of The Hateful Eight. No Steve Jobs in adapted screenplay, which I expected initially but gave up after the Globes win. Foreign Language category has films from Colombia, Jordan, Hungry, France and Denmark. Documentary Branch went with Winter on Fire and What Happened Miss Simone? apart from the 3 obvious picks.

Animated category saw some joyful inclusions yet again. Boy and the World + Studio Ghibli's beautiful drama When Marine Was There over Peanuts Movie and Good Dinosaur. World of Tomorrow is nominated in animation short, a masterpiece. Editing has The Martian snub for Star Wars. Cinematography indeed includes The Hateful Eight which I was talked out of by the Internet. Star Wars, Carol or Cinderella aren't nominated for art direction. Brooklyn isn't nominated for Costume design but... The Revenant is? Makeup category has expected picks too. Basically Fury Road vs The Revenant in tech categories. Ex Machina and The Revenant showed up in visual effects too.

Original score has two bland picks, no Fury Road. Original Song has the hated Spectre song, no hit Furious 7 song, the other hit Fifty Shades of Grey song, Lady Gaga, Youth and a song or movie I have never heard before. Sound categories went as expected with Sicario and Bridge of Spies alternating one spot in each to Star Wars, The Martian, The Revenant and Fury Road. So there you have it.

It is sad to see Carol nominated for so much yet not director and picture. Todd Haynes will have to make mediocre films I guess to be qualified here? Great to see Brooklyn acknowledged. The crazy, immensely cinematic vision of Fury Road celebrated. I mean who would have thought? I have differences with The Revenant but Chivo is here. Spielberg made his best film in years. Star Wars got some nods. Sicario did too. Charlotte Rampling (yaas). Room is a sad and well told story. Spotlight is a great film with an ace ensemble. The Martian is Scott doing a big sci-fi film with humor and Damon giving his best performance. The Big Short is still a mystery to me. How? No its far from a bad film but how did it come so far? And finally on a bitter note, category fraud is alive and well. Mara and Vikander aren't supposed to be in supporting. February 28th is Oscars time and I can't wait for March.

Nominations below:

Best Picture:
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Predicting 2016 Oscars Nominations

The Oscars 2016 Poster

Here we are, after several weeks of critics and guilds announcing and puzzling, we have arrived at our first stop. Frankly it all seems about the Oscars. This rush of sorts to be like the Oscars or best foresee the outcome the earlier, the glorious. Predictions is a funny business where you think too much and you have so much to think about but are rarely right about the whole thing. This season in particular, very laid back surprising in its formless and shapelessness.

At this point, any film can be considered in danger. Or most. I can go on individually but I don't have the energy to do that. Please check out my predictions below:

Best Picture:
01. Spotlight
02. Mad Max: Fury Road
03. The Big Short
04. The Revenant
05. The Martian
06. Bridge of Spies
07. Carol
08. Room
09. Brooklyn

Academy Awards 2016 - Early Predictions

I can never explain clearly to anyone this need of mine to predict the Oscars, early or late. Since I am not a renowned critic or awards watcher, this need clearly doesn't stem from being the first one to predict something that may or may not happen months from now or well, being obligated to do it as part of my job. I like doing this even though most of what we want to see nominated or win doesn't, same goes for critics and their favorites. Internet buzz and critical acclaim doesn't transfer usually into Oscar love because the voters are the industry. Their mindset or their decision-making isn't to award the best art but the film that needs to be awarded for its subject or a heartening story attached to it. A film that perhaps tells an inspiring story, that makes them look good. Despite all that is wrong with the way Academy works, we can't stop talking about it. Every year we discuss how Academy needs to change its attitude towards film and filmmaking, to adapt to new ways and change their ancient ways of thinking, more diversity in age, gender, race etc. Filmmakers from around the world keep on making what they want to, festivals are more interesting and the Oscars are now reduced to well, a ceremony rather than a phenomenon that influences movie lovers or general population.

So this year (just like last), I wont be predicting film that hasn't had a general or festival release. Wont even mention them. As I write this post, the Toronto International Film Festival has had its premiere, Venice is about to end while Telluride ended a few days ago. Some films did emerge as potential players but at this point, you just can't tell. The films to watch are the ones that are about big men doing big things or inspirational stories of heroism and resilience.

Note: I am not adding Cary Fukunaga's Beasts of No Nation because of its release pattern, a single day online premiere/theatrical release has always meant ineligibility.

(Most likely contenders at this point, in alphabetical order, main categories.)

BEST PICTURE:

• Black Mass
• Brooklyn
• Carol
• Inside Out
• Love & Mercy
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Room
• Sicario
• Spotlight
• Steve Jobs
• Suffragette
• The Danish Girl
• Youth