Oscars Collab Post: Best Actor

The Oscars are taking place tonight and all of the stars are glamouring up to celebrate a great year of film! One of the biggest awards that will take place on the night is the coveted Best Actor award currently held by Casey Affleck. The award has been a mainstay and highlight of the show for years with recent triumphs like Leonardo Di Caprio's eventual win to Tom Hanks historic double win in 1994 and 1995. 

2018 brings another 5 lucky nominees in what is a fairly diverse range of actors with a couple of newcomers appearing amongst some regular faces. In this post, I am going to look at each individual and evaluating their performance, looking at the buzz surrounding them and also how likely they are to win the award. As this is a post that is part of a collaborative effort, I will leave links to other members posts on the different categories of tonight, enjoy!

Denzel Washington - Roman J. Israel Esq

Previous nominations: 8x Academy Award nominee and 2x Winner

Now I have to make a confession for this performance... I actually haven't seen it. What on earth happened with the distribution of this film? This only showed in a handful of theatres in Scotland, none really in City Centres meaning I wasn't able to catch this film. To add to that, nobody seems to be talking about this performance in the lead up to the Oscars at all. Due to that alone, I feel we can basically rule Denzel out of having any chance of winning at all. Denzel had a lot better chance last year with Fences but this time around, he's got no chance.

Daniel Day-Lewis - Phantom Thread

Previous nominations: 6x nominee and 3x Winner

As expected, Daniel Day-Lewis proved why he is one of the world's best actors with his performance in Phantom Thread. Day-Lewis commits to his role remarkably in what is yet another high point of his career.  His charm and quirks are highly entertaining throughout as his chemistry with co-stars Vicky Krieps and Lesly Manville. Unfortunately, due to some stern competition, he is actually an outsider to win. Day-Lewis, in my opinion, has the second-best performance of the nominees and unfortunately won't be walking away with his fourth Academy Award. 

Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out

Previous nominations: First-time nominee

Kaluuya being nominated came as quite the surprise for me, I hadn't even taken it into consideration that he was a possible candidate. I have come around to an extent on Kaluuya on the second watch of Get Out where I realised Kaluuya genuinely was great. It's a fairly quiet performance but Kaluuya's is excellent reacting to the madness that is surrounding him. I also have a soft spot for this film and performance simply due to the fact that it's incredibly cool that a horror film is getting this attention from the Academy. That alone amazes me but it isn't for me to actively root for Kaluuya and I don't think he'll be walking away with the gold. Nonetheless, it is one hell of a breakout performance.

Timothee Chalamet - Call Me By Your Name

Previous nominations - First-time nominee

In an ideal world, by Monday we would all be calling Timothee Chalamet an Academy Award winner. He is the youngest Best Actor nominee in around the last 80 years but his performance is nothing but remarkable. Chalamet is charming and cool but showcases an impressive range that will stick with you for a long time. The ending of Call Me By Your Name is incredibly beautiful and packed with emotion and a lot if it is down to Chalamet. It's heartbreaking to watch him at the end of this film and due to the impact it left on me, I have to support Chalamet this year. Sadly and unjustly, I think he will miss out. 

Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour

Previous nominations: 1x Best Actor Nominee

I'm not going to use this as a chance to rant against Oldman winning the Oscar. He definitely isn't my pick to win but I cannot deny that he was really good in this role. Oldman has completely transformed into Churchill with the help of makeup to the point where he is completely unrecognisable. Oldman's performance is the loudest performance but fantastically well with the dialogue where he gets the chance to rant in parliament. It's not my pick but I think he is a shoe-in to win this award and gain his first Oscar in what has been an incredible career.

Who will win? Gary Oldman

Who should win? Timothee Chalamet

Thank you for checking out my blog post on the Best Actor category! Please make sure to check out the rest of the posts down below and have a great time with the Oscars!

@QF_Reviews video on the Best Picture nominees: https://t.co/CrYMTyyzXv

@ThrSilverScreen post on the Original Screenplay nominees: https://t.co/FIJ7fpDGfl

@ThrSilverScreen post on the Cinematography nominees https://t.co/EPlj1g7cEK

@TheMarckoguy post on the Best Music nominees: https://t.co/fPyTIhU85A

@PlainSimpleTom post on the Best Supporting Actor nominees: https://t.co/ea7D0ooowd

@__Nathan post on Best Animated Feature and Adapted Screenplay nominees: https://t.co/f3sYldxmw0
@madelexne post on the Best Actress categories: https://t.co/JgPnVRGfYg

Oscar 2016 Predictions!

February 28th marks the day of the Oscars presented by Chris Rock. It is always surrounded with much publicity as it is probably the biggest event in the world of entertainment. There is also much debate to who will pick up the illustrious awards this year with the categories being filled with fierce competition. Instead of just giving my own predictions, I thought I would turn it into a bit of fun and invite a couple of my friends and fellow film enthusiasts to give their predictions as well. We haven't seen every film that has been nominated or has someone nominated in it but we'll still try our best with our predictions. Due to this we won't be doing every award as if none of us have seen any of the candidates there isn't much of a point in going over it. So lets get started!

So there will be four of us doing predictions. Obviously one will be myself. The three others are my friends and fellow college students Michael, Drew and Billy. This is all just a bit of fun for four movie fans at the biggest event of the year. I will be giving a slight insight to what has made me decide on my picks. I will only be doing the main categories as it would end up being far too long to put reasoning for each of us on each category. The other categories that we will be predicting will be in a table at the bottom for a quick summary of our picks.

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

There's no better place to start than with Best Picture. This is considered the biggest of them all as it represents all the directing, acting, music composing, writing etc put forth into a film.

Angus: Spotlight: For me, I feel that Spotlight should win this award. This came down to The Revenant and Spotlight for this accolade. It was a tough one but I decided to go for the one that I felt was a better movie and had a bigger impact on me . And that was Spotlight. In my heart I really wanted to go with Mad Max and I would absolutely love it if it were to win.

Michael: Spotlight

Drew: The Revenant

Billy: Room

Best Actor: Nominees: Bryan Cranston, Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Michael Fassbender, Eddie Redmayne

Second is the Best Actor award currently held by Eddie Redmayne. He is up for it again but did any of us think he had what it takes to retain his crown? Or would a certain Leonardo Di Caprio finally scoop up the award?

Angus: Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant): My pick for this award is Leonardo Di Caprio. However I don't feel that he should. I feel that there were better performances in this category. But I am going with my head here and I think that this will finally be Leo's time.

Michael: Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Drew: Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)

Billy: Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)

Best Actress: Nominees: Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Rampling, Brie Larson, Saorise Ronan, Jennifer Lawrence

Best Actress is next which is currently being held by Julianne Moore. There is no possibility of that happening two years in a row but there is a chance for both Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Lawrence to pick up a second Best Actress award.

Angus: Saorise Ronan (Brooklyn): I am not entirely sure about this category due to unfortunately not being able to catch many of the movies. This is just me really going out on a limb here for my pick. I have heard many good things about Ronan's performance and look forward to seeing this in the future.

Michael: Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Drew: Jennifer Lawerence (Joy)

Billy: Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Best Supporting Actor: Nominees: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Rylance, Sylvester Stallone

Christian Bale is the only one to have lifted this award before and looks to do so again this year. He faces a lot of tough competition in what is one of the most competitive categories this year.

Angus: Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight): I think that Mark Ruffalo deserves this award. I loved his performance in Spotlight and thought he was really great. And if he doesn't win, lets just hope he doesn't get angry....

Michael: Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Drew: Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

Billy: Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Best Supporting Actress: Nominees: Rachel McAdams, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Alicia Vikander, Rooney Mara

Angus: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl): This was one of the toughest categories for me to decide. It was between Vikander, McAdams and Winslet all the way as I loved all three of their performances and could hardly separate them. Alicia Vikander is my favourite actress right now and due to that, it gave her the edge over very tough competition.

Michael: Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)

Drew: Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Billy: Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Best Director: Nominees: George Miller, Lenny Abrahamson, Tom McCarthy, Adam McKay, Alejandro G Inarritu

Angus: Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant): I really really want to go with George Miller here for Mad Max but I do think that Inaritu will pick up his second Oscar in a row in this category.

Michael: Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)

Drew: Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)

Billy: Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)

Category	Angus	Michael	Drew	Billy
Best Picture	Spotlight	Spotlight	The Revenant	Room
Best Actor	Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)	Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)	Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)	Leonardo Di Caprio (The Revenant)
Best Actress	Saorise Ronan (Brooklyn)	Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)	Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)	Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
Best Supporting Actor	Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)	Christian Bale (The Big Short)	Tom Hardy (The Revenant)	Christian Bale (The Big Short)
Best Supporting Actress	Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)	Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)	Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)	Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Cinematography	Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)	John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)	Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)
Best Director	Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)	Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)	Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)	Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant)
Costume Design	Jacqueline West (The Revenant)	Jenny Beaven (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Jenny Beaven (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Jenny Beaven (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Make-up and Hairstyling	Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini (The Revenant)	Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini (The Revenant)	Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini (The Revenant)
Music Original Score	John Williams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)	John Williams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)	Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)	Ennio Morricone (The Hateful Eight)
Production Design	Arthur Max and Celia Bobak (The Martian)	Jack Fisk and Hamish Purdy (The Revenant)	Arthur Max and Celia Bobak (The Martian)	Arthur Max and Celia Bobak (The Martian)
Visual Effects	Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams (Mad Max: Fury Road)	Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett (Ex_Machina)
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)	Emma Donoghue (Room)	Charles Randolph and Adam McKay (The Big Short)	Drew Goddard (The Martian)	Drew Goddard (The Martian)
Writing (Original Screenplay)	Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)	Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)	Matt Charman, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (Bridge Of Spies)	Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Ronnie del Carmen (Inside Out)

Some very different picks and not a lot of the same in most categories. It will certainly be interesting to see what is picked to win the illustrious awards. This has just added a little extra spice to the whole event. Only one category was unanimously picked and that was Best Director. It shall be interesting to see how this all pans out.

So those are our picks. Please feel free to leave your picks for the categories in the comments and also if you agree or disagree with anything please say. Thanks for taking the time to read our picks for the 2016 Oscars, it means a lot. I'd also like to thank Michael, Drew and Billy for giving their time to predict the winners for this blog post. Please check out my reviews for some of the films nominated such as 'Spotlight', 'The Revenant' and 'The Danish Girl' Once again thanks for reading!

By Angus McGregor

Trumbo Review

The last of the films I had left to see that featured the candidates in the Best Actor category was Trumbo. The biographical drama featured a performance worthy of the highest honour for an actor for Bryan Cranston. But is there more to this film rather than just a good performance?

Trumbo is a biographical film featuring Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K and John Goodman. It follows the life of American communist screenwriter Dalton Trumbo who along with 9 other Hollywood figures are placed on the blacklist due to their political beliefs. They lose their rights to work on Hollywood projects and are even put in jail. The film shows how Trumbo continued to create his legacy although the world did not know anything about it at first.

I went into this film knowing nothing about this. I'd only seen the film poster. I didn't know the plot or see any trailers so I went into this completely blind. I won't lie either. I didn't know who Walton Trumbo was before this film. Due to this I was surprised to see that this was based on real events as I wouldn't have known due to my knowledge prior to the film. After seeing the film, I left wanting to know more. This man seems so incredibly interesting. I will no doubt be doing a bit of research on him as he seems like a remarkable person. Definitely someone as a media student I will be particularly interested in. So thank you Trumbo for enlightening me.

Now again there is something or specifically someone else that I am not entirely familiar with. And that unbelievably is Bryan Cranston. I haven't seen Breaking Bad which from what I've heard from many people is incredible and he is excellent in. From only seeing him in a few episodes of Malcolm in the Middle and his brief appearance in Godzilla, I don't feel I've had enough of a taste to see what is so truly great about him. That has now changed. He was great in this role. He completely compelled me as this character and is part of the reason to why I was so interested in him. I'm not really surprised he was nominated as he feel he was great in this film. He was probably quite easily the stand out in this film by far.

Bryan Cranston as Dalton Trumbo

The rest of the cast were good as well. Nothing special but also nothing terrible either. Famous figures were portrayed such as John Wayne and Kirk Douglas fairly well I would say. As a child I was brought up watching John Wayne westerns due to my fathers interest in them and I was surprised that Wayne was being portrayed in this film. This was mainly due to the actor not looking like him at all which did take me out of the film for a little bit but I do feel that his portrayal was good. Performances from Helen Mirren and John Goodman were also very good and enjoyable.

Trumbo meeting the legendary Kirk Douglas

The film at the start is mainly all based about Trumbo being a communist. A lot of it has to do with how they are being perceived due to their political beliefs and also shows what it caused them to go through due to this. The film does this very well and made it clear what was happening. However at times it did feel slightly rushed and there wasn't much of a reaction to what had happened. Also the time periods weren't entirely clear at times and it seemed to have passed several months without notice. Also I feel that later on in the film it seemed to drop the communism completely and was barely mentioned. I found this strange as it was so heavily featured but wasn't mentioned nearly as much.

Trumbo (Cranston) and his wife Cleo (Diane Lane)

In saying that I did find a great deal of enjoyment just watching him continue his magnificent work whilst being on the blacklist. Seeing him continue to give out scripts in secret which were of the highest quality and continue to defy all accusations against him was truly great. This also was very intriguing and also quite odd to see that he was so willing to not take credit for his masterpieces. However it did provide a great feel good moment when it showed him finally getting the recognition he oh so much deserved.

Trumbo also did a magnificent job at making everything seem classic. The style of clothes in this film helped along with the classic cinemas gave this an old fashioned feeling. The he classic cinemas were done very well with the news reels beforehand as well as smoking in the cinema. Trumbo did a great job at making it feel as if we were in that specific time period.

Final Verdict: Trumbo = B
A very interesting and intriguing film considering I had no idea what I was going in to see. I enjoyed this film a lot and would recommend that you go see it. A great adaptation for someone who seems to have been a creative genius.

So have you seen Trumbo? If so tell me what you thought about it? If you're planning on seeing it, i hope you get as much enjoyment as I did. Once again thank you for reading. If you like, you can look back at my other reviews, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor