Picks for the 2017 Oscars

It's time again for the annual Academy Award contest that I have with the wife every year.  I'm sure in a few years the daughter will be involved too, but for now it is the annual grudge match.  We've been doing this for at least twenty years now.  I find the more I prepare and study, the worse I do.  The wife goes on gut instinct and guesses, and usually does well.  I'm going more on that this year since I've only seen a few of the films nominated.

So this post will be my rational reasons why I choose what I did.  My next post will be the standard follow up of me carrying on about how stupid and crazy the academy is.  I'll start with the technical and work my way towards the major awards.

Visual Effects
Chris - War for the Planet of the Apes
Adam - War for the Planet of the Apes

For some reason I think this won this award for one of the previous films in this series.  Gone are the days of people putting on rubber masks to look like apes.  It also looks like a competitive category, so a lot of votes may cancel each other out.

Sound Mixing
Chris - Dunkirk
Adam - Dunkirk

War movie, so logic dictates that it should be a shoe in.  Although I think that burned me last year.  Since we both picked the same, it doesn't matter.

Sound Editing
Chris - The Shape of Water
Adam - The Shape of Water

I'm thinking this will be one of many awards this film will win during the Oscars.  And having seen the film I think this should win.  But to be honest I don't know how this is different from the previous award.

Cinematography
Chris - Dunkirk
Adam - The Shape of Water

So an opportunity for one of us to potentially move ahead.  I've seen Dunkirk and The Shape of Water, two different films.  I can see why Dunkirk could win with the beautifully shot scenes on the beach, but The Shape of Water really gave a mood with how it was filmed and I think that helped make the film that much better.

Makeup & Hairstyling
Chris - Victoria & Abdul
Adam - Darkest Hour

I've heard that Victoria & Abdul is a very stylish film that might take this award.  But I think the same for Darkest Hour.  Knowing my luck the third film in this category will probably win.

Costume Design
Chris - The Shape of Water
Adam - Victoria & Abdul

So this one I am hedging that Victoria & Abdul will win for costume design, but The Shape of Water is also a good pick too.

Production Design
Chris - Dunkirk
Adam - The Shape of Water

This is another category that can be tricky, do they look at how each film was designed or do they award it to the film that they are voting for Best Picture?  I'm betting on the later.

Film Editing
Chris - Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Adam - The Shape of Water

My theory is that the film that will win Best Picture will also win this award.  Although that hasn't been the case lately.  And I haven't been too good at picking what will win Best Picture.

Music Original Song
Chris - Stand Up For Something
Adam - Remember Me

I have never heard of any of these songs.  You could play one of them and ask me to guess which of the five nominees it is and I wouldn't know.  No idea, just a pure guess.

Music Original Score
Chris - Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Adam - Dunkirk

Again, another guess on my part.  This category is different than the previous one in that it's for music that is played throughout the movie.  I figured Dunkirk is as good as a guess as any other.

Writing Adapted Screenplay
Chris - Call Me by Your Name
Adam - Call Me by Your Name

Call Me by Your Name is this year's Moonlight.  I don't think it will win in any other category and the other four nominees are not nominated for Best Picture, while this film is.

Writing Original Screenplay
Chris - Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Adam - Get Out

This seems to be the more competitive category for screenwriting this year.  I'm guessing that Get Out will win this one since they want to award it something and it's not going to take any other category.  That and it is nice to see a horror/thriller film get nominated.  This is one of the genres that doesn't get recognized often.

Short Film Animated
Chris - Dear Basketball
Adam - Lou

And the random section of the Academy Awards now begins.  Pick a film, any film, you have a one in five chance of getting it right.

Short Film Live Action
Chris - The Eleven O'Clock
Adam - The Silent Child

It's better not to know anything and just guess.  Because if you did take the time to watch them and think about which one would win, you would be wrong.

Documentary Short Subject
Chris - Edith+Eddie
Adam - Traffic Stop

Sometimes they will show the nominees for the short films, and I foolishly watched one year.  Guess what, the worst movie got the Oscar.  So I given up.

Best Animated
Chris - Ferdinand
Adam - Coco

So I haven't seen any of these movies, but I'm sure in a few years I will become more of an expert in this category.  But for now, I picked the only movie I have heard of and was nominated for something else.

Best Documentary
Chris - Last Men in Aleppo
Adam - Faces Places

Again, no way to tell, so I guessed.  Some years it is pretty obvious.  Might be this year, but I seem to be missing it.

Best Foreign Language
Chris - The Square
Adam - A Fantastic Woman

This category has been disappointing for the past few years, mainly because I have been wrong.  My guess is that I don't think Chile has ever won a Best Foreign Language Oscar, let alone only has a few nominations, so I'm thinking this is their year.

Best Supporting Actress
Chris - Octavia Spencer
Adam - Allison Janney

The actress from I, Toyna is favored from what I read.  Okay, I did do some research, but not much.  Anyway, this might be the only Oscar from this film.  But Octavia Spencer was really good in The Shape of Water...

Best Supporting Actor
Chris - Sam Rockwell
Adam - Sam Rockwell

No matter what, Sam Rockwell is such a talented versatile actor that he is deserving of more recognition than he gets.  I'm also speculating that Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri might win a few of the major awards since it is out of the running for Best Picture, it didn't get a Best Director nod.  That pretty much nails a coffin shut on it winning Best Picture

Best Actress
Chris - Sally Hawkins
Adam - Frances McDormand

I don't think there is a clear front runner, it has been over twenty years since Frances McDormand won for Fargo.  But Sally Hawkins was really, really good too.  This might be an interesting one since the last number of years it has been noncompetitive.

Best Actor
Chris - Gary Oldman
Adam - Gary Oldman

Timothee Chalamet and Daniel Kaluuya are both newer actors and don't have much of a chance.  Daniel Day-Lewis and Denzel Washington have both won multiple Oscars before, so they don't have much of a chance.  Gary Oldman has been shut out in the past and is due this year.  And Darkest Hour will not have an opportunity to win any other major award category, so this one seems to be a lock.

Best Director
Chris - The Shape of Water
Adam - The Shape of Water

Guillermo del Toro is one of the class of extremely talented Mexican movie directors, along with Oscar winners Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Inarritu.  Inarritu won back to back Oscars, that is epic John Ford type of action.  I remember back when being a Mexican director was considered a joke, like below.  Those days have changed and he should win easily.

Best Picture
Chris - The Shape of Water
Adam - The Shape of Water

This is one of those times you hope that the Academy doesn't do what it has done in the past, ignore the politics and social messages, and reward a really good film.  This is one of them.  This film is a perfect film.  Everything is perfect, the acting, the scenery, the cinematography, the costumes, the mood, it really helps make this film work.  But I expect to be disappointed and you'll see my follow up after the awards air this weekend.