My 2015 Oscar Predictions

Best Picture

American Sniper

Birdman

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

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Will Win: Boyhood

Should Win: Whiplash

Snubbed: Foxcatcher, Nightcrawler, Gone Girl

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Best Director

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Alejandro González Iñárritu – Birdman

Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher

Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

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Will Win: Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Should Win: Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Snubbed: Damien Chazelle – Whiplash

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Best Actor

Steve Carell – Foxcatcher

Bradley Cooper – American Sniper

Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game

Michael Keaton – Birdman

Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

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Will Win: Michael Keaton – Birdman

Should Win: Steve Carell – Foxcatcher

Snubbed: Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler

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Best Actress

Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night

Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore – Still Alice

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon – Wild

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Will Win: Julianne Moore – Still Alice

Should Win: Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Snubbed: Shailene Woodley – The Fault in our Stars

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Best Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall – The Judge

Ethan Hawke – Boyhood

Edward Norton – Birdman

Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

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Will Win: J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Should Win: J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Snubbed: Riz Ahmed – Nightcrawler

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Best Supporting Actress

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Laura Dern – Wild

Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game

Emma Stone – Birdman

Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

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Will Win: Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Should Win: Patricia Arquette – Boyhood

Snubbed: Rene Russo – Nightcrawler

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Best Original Screenplay

Birdman – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo

Boyhood – Richard Linklater

Foxcatcher – E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness

Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy

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Will Win: Birdman – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo

Should Win: Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy

Snubbed: Locke – Steven Knight

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Best Adapted Screenplay

American Sniper – Jason Hall

The Imitation Game – Graham Moore

Inherent Vice – Paul Thomas Anderson

The Theory of Everything – Anthony McCarten

Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

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Will Win: The Imitation Game – Graham Moore

Should Win: Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

Snubbed: Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

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Best Animated Film

Big Hero 6

The Boxtrolls

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Song of the Sea

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

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Will Win: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Should Win: How to Train Your Dragon 2 I guess, but I honestly don’t care

Snubbed: The Lego Movie, obviously

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Best Foreign Language Film

Ida

Leviathan

Tangerines

Timbuktu

Wild Tales

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Will Win: Ida

Should Win: Out of all the nominees, I’ve only seen Ida. So Ida, I guess.

Snubbed: The Raid 2

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Best Documentary

Citizenfour

Finding Vivian Maier

Last Days in Vietnam

The Salt of the Earth

Virunga

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Will Win: Citizenfour

Should Win: Virunga

Snubbed: The Overnighters

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Best Score

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat

The Imitation Game – Alexandre Desplat

Interstellar – Hans Zimmer

Mr. Turner – Gary Yershon

The Theory of Everything – Jóhann Jóhannsson

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Will Win: The Theory of Everything – Jóhann Jóhannsson

Should Win: Interstellar – Hans Zimmer

Snubbed: Gone Girl – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

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Best Original Song

“Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie

“Glory” from Selma

“Grateful” from Beyond the Lights

“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me

“Lost Stars” from Begin Again

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Will Win: “Glory” from Selma

Should Win: “Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie

Snubbed: “I’ll get you what you Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)” from Muppets Most Wanted

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Best Sound Editing

American Sniper – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Birdman – Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Brent Burge and Jason Canovas

Interstellar – Richard King

Unbroken – Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

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Will Win: American Sniper

Should Win: Interstellar

Snubbed: Fury

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Best Sound Mixing

American Sniper – John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin

Birdman – Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga

Interstellar – Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten

Unbroken – Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee

Whiplash – Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

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Will Win: American Sniper

Should Win: Whiplash

Snubbed: Fury

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Best Production Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock

The Imitation Game – Maria Djurkovic , Tatiana Macdonald

Interstellar – Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis

Into the Woods – Dennis Gassner,  Anna Pinnock

Mr. Turner – Suzie Davies, Charlotte Watts

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Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Should Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Snubbed: Snowpiercer

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Best Cinematography

Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Robert Yeoman

Ida – Łukasz Żal and Ryszard Lenczewski

Mr. Turner – Dick Pope

Unbroken – Roger Deakins

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Will Win: Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki

Should Win: Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki

Snubbed: Enemy – Nicolas Bolduc

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Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Foxcatcher – Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier

Guardians of the Galaxy – Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

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Will Win: Foxcatcher

Should Win: Guardians of the Galaxy

Snubbed: Snowpiercer

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Best Costume Design

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Milena Canonero

Inherent Vice – Mark Bridges

Into the Woods – Colleen Atwood

Maleficent – Anna B. Sheppard

Mr. Turner – Jacqueline Durran

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Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Should Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Snubbed: Edge of Tomorrow, as long as the exo-suits count as costumes

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Best Editing

American Sniper – Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach

Boyhood – Sandra Adair

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Barney Pilling

The Imitation Game – William Goldenberg

Whiplash – Tom Cross

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Will Win: Boyhood

Should Win: Whiplash

Snubbed: Gone Girl

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Best Visual Effects

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist

Guardians of the Galaxy – Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould

Interstellar – Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

X-Men: Days of Future Past – Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer

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Will Win: Interstellar

Should Win: Interstellar

Snubbed: Godzilla

The Imitation Game – Movie Review

Alan Turing might just be the most important World War II figure whom you’ve never heard of. The British mathematician was a prominent figure in helping the Allied powers break the Nazi’s Enigma Code, an event which led to an Allied victory. Surprisingly, it seems like Turing has never received the recognition that he so rightfully deserved, but The Imitation Game attempts to tell his story. Directed by Morten Tyldum, it’s a well-made biopic about a truly extraordinary individual. The script by Graham Moore successfully takes a look at who Turing was, while also highlighting why his accomplishments were so important. The entire cast is great, but it’s Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as Turing that really steals the show. The film may begin to drag a bit in its second half, but it’s got a great ending that will surely move audiences and make them appreciate all of the work that Turing has done for the world.

As World War II rages on, the Allied powers are struggling for victory. The Germans continue to dominate, partially due to their unbreakable secret code. To decipher the code, listeners needed an Enigma Machine and they needed to know what settings the machine needed to be placed at. The machine offered billions of different settings, making it nearly impossible for someone to actually figure out what setting the Germans were actually using. To make matters worse, the Germans used a new setting for their machines every day, so anyone trying to decipher the code only had an 18 hour window between morning and midnight to do so. Because the code was so difficult to crack, the British government sought the help of some of the greatest mathematicians and linguists that the country had to offer. One of these men was Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch).

Turing was a difficult man to get along with and he alienated many of the scholars with whom he was supposed to cooperate. Although he was not initially in charge of cracking the Enigma Code, he was placed in charge after writing to Winston Churchill. Instead of trying to crack the code manually, Turing came up with the idea to build a machine that would be able to crack the code for him. He received a lot of negativity with this idea, particularly from one of his superiors, Alastair Denniston (Charles Dance). But after hiring a smart young woman named Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), Turing’s team began to support him and helped him develop this machine. Little did they know that they were building something that would still be studied and have an influence today: one of the world’s first computers.

The Imitation Game has received some criticism for skewing the facts of this true life story, but that hardly matters when the film is so gripping and effective. Tyldum takes a story that could have come across as dull due to its heavy focus on code breaking and shapes it into quite the compelling thriller. Even though the outcome of the film is fairly obvious for anyone with a basic understanding of history, it’s still very interesting to watch these men and women race against the clock in an attempt to solve an unbreakable code. The film does begin to hit a lull in its second half and it probably could have used some tighter work in the editing room, but there are still some great scenes that pop up towards the end of the film. The film’s best scene occurs when Turing and his coworkers discover a vital piece of war intelligence and must decide whether to act on the information or keep it a secret. It’s a tough choice and it becomes even more difficult when they learn that the life of a family member is at stake.

Sure, the film does feel a bit “awards-baity” at times, but at least it emotionally resonates and features some great performances. Benedict Cumberbatch seems to be in everything nowadays, but he definitely gives his best film performance here as Turing. He’s an eccentric guy, one who is undeniably brilliant, but also quite difficult to get along with. Everything from the way that he moves to the way that he talks feels unique and Cumberbatch ably inhabits all of the characters idiosyncrasies. Regardless of whether his character traits were exaggerated for the movie, Cumberbatch makes them feel entirely real. Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode also deliver fine performances, but it’s Alex Lawther as the young Turing who really surprises. His flashback scenes may feel unnecessary at first, but Lawther is great in the role, particularly in a scene where the school principal delivers him some tragic news. I still wasn’t a huge fan of these flashback scenes altogether, but they do end up fitting into the film’s plot in a very emotional way.

Viewers who may not have a firm grasp on the subject material of the film before viewing don’t need to worry, because Tyldum and Moore set up the situation and the characters in a very easy-to-follow way. The technical credits behind the camera are also great, with Oscar Faura’s cinematography Maria Djurkovic’s production design working together nicely. Alexandre Desplat’s score is also unique and interesting, further proving why he’s one of the best film composers working today. The Imitation Game is certainly not amazing, but it’s a finely crafted period piece, one that tells an exciting and emotional historical account that is still relevant today.

The Imitation Game receives 3/4