With the 89th Annual Academy Awards this Sunday, I figured I would let everyone know who I am rooting for at this year's awards presentation as well as an explanation to as to why I chose the nominee (NOTE: These are not my official picks (those will be out on the night of the Oscar's) though I may already go ahead and pick a couple that I have my mind made up on. So without further ado...
Best Live Action Short Film, Best Documentary-Short Subject and Best Foreign Language Film
I don't really know a lot about the nominees in each of these films or I haven't seen any of them , so I can't really root for something that I don't know a lot about.
Best Visual Effects
The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon
This entire category is stacked with films who have some gorgeous special effects, but to me the effects in The Jungle Book are revolutionary and deserves to be honored with the award. The fact that the entire film was shot on green screen on a sound stage in Hollywood and made to look so real is remarkable and it will be a shock if anything besides it wins.
Best Film Editing
Hacksaw Ridge – John Gilbert
When you are my favorite film of the year, you are going to get a lot of love from me this time of year. Look La La Land is going to run away with the award, but it wouldn't be a shocker if Hacksaw Ridge won the award. The film moves at a frantic pace during the late second act moving into the third act with the war scenes and everything is so smooth and crisp that you actually feel as if you are there and seeing everything happen at once.
Best Costume Design
Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
Out of all the awards La La Land is nominated for, this is the one that it probably won't win. You could argue that Jackie ultimately shouldn't win either because it falls in line with La La Land in the fact the dress worn by the main character at crucial points in the film is what got the nomination, but when it comes down to it, making the iconic pink dress that Jacqueline Kennedy wore look so good on the big screen is enough for me to
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini, and Christopher Nelson
Look I know Suicide Squad was a very disappointing film and to be honest it doesn't deserve any big accolades except for this award. The makeup in this film phenomenal espeically the work done on Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jared Leto as The Joker and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc. The other two films nominated deserve to win as well, but Suicide Squad had the best of the bunch.
Best Cinematography
La La Land – Linus Sandgren
I'm a huge fan of camera movements and if cameras aren't in the right place or they are put into weird angles, then it throws me off while watching a film. La La Land doesn't do that and the camera movements in the film are so swift and crisp and the tracking shots used in the dance numbers or when Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are just walking down the street are just so sharp and this film did a lot and it really does deserve the award.
Best Production Design
La La Land – David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Had Hail, Caesar! not been such a disappointment, I would've rooted for it because unlike La La Land it was set in classic Hollywood and the way the sets were designed to make you feel like you're in the decade are remarkable. However La La Land captures the L.A. scene perfectly and it even has nice subtle nods to classic Hollywood which is something that really gets to me and if anything else wins the award it will be a shock.
Best Sound Mixing
Hacksaw Ridge – Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie, and Peter Grace
War films are the best films when it comes to sound mainly because everything you hear makes you feel as if you are right there on the battlefield and in this film the sounds are just mixed together well to combat the score and really help build tension filled moments. La La Land may when this award mainly due to it being a musical and the sounds in musicals really elevate films, but it wouldn't shock me if Hacksaw Ridge won the award.
Best Sound Editing
Hacksaw Ridge – Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
As mentioned before with Hacksaw Ridge with Sound Mixing, I could say the same things in that the sounds of this film are very crispt and everything matches up so well and combined with the score, it really elevates the film. Again the main competition is La La Land but it is going to be a tight race between the two.
Best Original Song
"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from La La Land – Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
La La land is a true musical and to have a good musical you need songs that will stand the test of time and Audition is one of those. It's just a powerful song and it really just brings everything full circle and you truly see the development in Emma Stone's character when she sings the song. Now it's main competition is from same film and it's City of Stars and while I think Audition will win, City of Stars could steal some votes and How Far Will I Go from Moana may sneak in and win the award.
Best Original Score
La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Not only does La La Land have a great number of songs, the score is very catchy and upbeat enough to keep you in the film.
Best Documentary Feature
O.J.: Made in America – Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
2016 was the return of O.J. Simpson into our lives with not only this documentary, but with the tv show The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story and with that show having a lot of success, it helped out this documentary and this is going to runaway with it mainly due to the continues buzz it has been getting and its in-depth analysis on the case. Plus it's the only film in the category that I have seen so I can't root for anything else.
Best Animated Short Film
Piper – Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
The only reason why I am rooting for this to win is because it's the only short film I've seen out of the nominees. But also the short itself is really charming and very funny and heart-warming. It tells a great story within a 5 minute time span and it's really one of the better short films made and hopefully it can pull out a victory
Best Animated Feature
Kubo and the Two Strings – Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner
If you haven't seen Kub and the Two Strings then go see it right now. I'm a massive fan of stop-motion animation mainly due to me being appreciative of the hard work that goes into the films and if Kubo were to win it would be huge. The reason why it'll be huge is because Laika is struggling financially and having this film win the award would bring a lot of publicity towards them and more filmmakers will want to make more films with the studio and will bring more money to help. With all of that being said, I think Zootopia wins the award mainly due to the big marketing push Disney has put on the past two months and looks like Kubo will go home empty-handed.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Arrival – Eric Heisserer from "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang
People can complain all they want to about Arrival, I thought it was a well thought out film that had you puzzled from the moment go, but as things became more clear, you appreciate it even more. Now you could say there are some really predictable moments and the ending felt a little forced but everything leading up to it was pure gold. Moonlight is the one walking away with the award here mainly due to it's structure in being able to keep the same story going with the same character.
Best Original Screenplay
Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan
Taylor Sheridan is such a talented writer and his past two films have been some of my favorites (Sicario and Hell or High Water) and this guy has such a bright future ahead of him and it would be a crownign achievement for him he won the award. However Damian Chazelle is going to runaway with the award and rightfully so as La La Land is a magnificent story and it would make the award predictable, but it would be well deserved if either won.
Best Supporting Actress
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea as Randi
Although she may not be on the screen for a long time, Michelle Williams gave one of the more emotional performances of the year. Once you find out the main twist of the film, you automatically feel terrible for her and it really shows when she has a one on one scene with Casey Affleck and the way she is able to portray heartbreak is just unbelievable. However she may not win because of Viloa Davis who is in the wrong category to begin with (should be Best Actress as she has just as much screentime as Denzel Washington) and the fact that Viola gave a very emotional performance as well doesn't help Williams's chances, but I wouldn't be shocked if she ended up winning the award.
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight as Juan
Mahershala Ali is a phenomenal actor and he has built such an impressive filmography and after giving two great performances in Hidden Figures and Moonlight, he is the guy I'm cheering for. His performance in Moonlight is just terrific and while the other nominees all gave some great performances and he has some tough competition with Jeff Bridges being nominated, but I think Ali has this one wrapped up.
Best Actress
Natalie Portman – Jackie as Jackie Kennedy
This might be one the greatest acting performances of the decade so. Natalie Portman is perfectly cast as Jackie Kennedy and she does a great job getting the voice down as well as the way Mrs. Kennedy presented herself. While the film isn't great by any means, you go see the film due to Portman's performance and it really does force you to take a step back and realize how good she is. Her toughest competition is Emma Stone for La La Land and I believe she'll win the award, but seeing Portman wouldn't be a surprise and neither will Isabelle Huppert is Elle as the Golden Globe award may have pushed a little momentum her way.
Best Actor
Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler
Now while Hacksaw Ridge might have been my favorite film of the year, Manchester by the Sea was a close second and one of the reasons was Casey Affleck's performance in the film. The way he is able to hold in his emotions throughout the film is remarkable especially with everything his character has gone through and only Casey Affleck can do that. Now for the longest time he was the runaway frontrunner, but as of late he;s lost momentum due to Denzel Washington winning the SAG award and if you look at history of the SAG award for Best Actor, out of 22 years, only 4 times has the winner not gone on to win the Best Actor Oscar (Benicio Del Toro won the award, but won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars) so with that it doesn't look good for Affleck, but there's always a chance.
Best Director
Mel Gibson- Hacksaw Ridge
This may cause a little bit of controversy for some people. I know Mel Gibson has not had the best of luck as of late when it comes to his personal life and quite frankly he has pissed off the wrong people. However it says a lot that the voting body of the directors branch within the Academy is willing to nominated him and forgive says and lot and if they are willing to nominate him, they might be willing to give him the win. What he was able to with Hacksaw Ridge is an astonishing achievement and it reminded us of how good this guy really is and I'm holding out hope he wins.
Best Picture
Hacksaw Ridge – Bill Mechanic and David Permut
I think this is the most obvious one I'm rooting for simply because it was my favorite film of 2016 and it was just done so beautifully well by Mel Gibson. It's a fantastic story and it has some insanely good visual effects and it makes you feel like you are on the battlefield. Look it's a longhsot and La La Land basically has this and several other awards wrapped up, but I can still hold out a little bit of hope
So ladies and gentlemen who are you rooting for at this year's Academy Awards which air on February 26th at 8:30pm on ABC and what do you think of the people I'm rooting for. Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
Best Live Action Short Film, Best Documentary-Short Subject and Best Foreign Language Film
I don't really know a lot about the nominees in each of these films or I haven't seen any of them , so I can't really root for something that I don't know a lot about.
Best Visual Effects
The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon
This entire category is stacked with films who have some gorgeous special effects, but to me the effects in The Jungle Book are revolutionary and deserves to be honored with the award. The fact that the entire film was shot on green screen on a sound stage in Hollywood and made to look so real is remarkable and it will be a shock if anything besides it wins.
Best Film Editing
Hacksaw Ridge – John Gilbert
When you are my favorite film of the year, you are going to get a lot of love from me this time of year. Look La La Land is going to run away with the award, but it wouldn't be a shocker if Hacksaw Ridge won the award. The film moves at a frantic pace during the late second act moving into the third act with the war scenes and everything is so smooth and crisp that you actually feel as if you are there and seeing everything happen at once.
Best Costume Design
Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
Out of all the awards La La Land is nominated for, this is the one that it probably won't win. You could argue that Jackie ultimately shouldn't win either because it falls in line with La La Land in the fact the dress worn by the main character at crucial points in the film is what got the nomination, but when it comes down to it, making the iconic pink dress that Jacqueline Kennedy wore look so good on the big screen is enough for me to
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini, and Christopher Nelson
Look I know Suicide Squad was a very disappointing film and to be honest it doesn't deserve any big accolades except for this award. The makeup in this film phenomenal espeically the work done on Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jared Leto as The Joker and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc. The other two films nominated deserve to win as well, but Suicide Squad had the best of the bunch.
Best Cinematography
La La Land – Linus Sandgren
I'm a huge fan of camera movements and if cameras aren't in the right place or they are put into weird angles, then it throws me off while watching a film. La La Land doesn't do that and the camera movements in the film are so swift and crisp and the tracking shots used in the dance numbers or when Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are just walking down the street are just so sharp and this film did a lot and it really does deserve the award.
Best Production Design
La La Land – David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Had Hail, Caesar! not been such a disappointment, I would've rooted for it because unlike La La Land it was set in classic Hollywood and the way the sets were designed to make you feel like you're in the decade are remarkable. However La La Land captures the L.A. scene perfectly and it even has nice subtle nods to classic Hollywood which is something that really gets to me and if anything else wins the award it will be a shock.
Best Sound Mixing
Hacksaw Ridge – Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie, and Peter Grace
War films are the best films when it comes to sound mainly because everything you hear makes you feel as if you are right there on the battlefield and in this film the sounds are just mixed together well to combat the score and really help build tension filled moments. La La Land may when this award mainly due to it being a musical and the sounds in musicals really elevate films, but it wouldn't shock me if Hacksaw Ridge won the award.
Best Sound Editing
Hacksaw Ridge – Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
As mentioned before with Hacksaw Ridge with Sound Mixing, I could say the same things in that the sounds of this film are very crispt and everything matches up so well and combined with the score, it really elevates the film. Again the main competition is La La Land but it is going to be a tight race between the two.
Best Original Song
"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from La La Land – Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
La La land is a true musical and to have a good musical you need songs that will stand the test of time and Audition is one of those. It's just a powerful song and it really just brings everything full circle and you truly see the development in Emma Stone's character when she sings the song. Now it's main competition is from same film and it's City of Stars and while I think Audition will win, City of Stars could steal some votes and How Far Will I Go from Moana may sneak in and win the award.
Best Original Score
La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Not only does La La Land have a great number of songs, the score is very catchy and upbeat enough to keep you in the film.
Best Documentary Feature
O.J.: Made in America – Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
2016 was the return of O.J. Simpson into our lives with not only this documentary, but with the tv show The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story and with that show having a lot of success, it helped out this documentary and this is going to runaway with it mainly due to the continues buzz it has been getting and its in-depth analysis on the case. Plus it's the only film in the category that I have seen so I can't root for anything else.
Best Animated Short Film
Piper – Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
The only reason why I am rooting for this to win is because it's the only short film I've seen out of the nominees. But also the short itself is really charming and very funny and heart-warming. It tells a great story within a 5 minute time span and it's really one of the better short films made and hopefully it can pull out a victory
Best Animated Feature
Kubo and the Two Strings – Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner
If you haven't seen Kub and the Two Strings then go see it right now. I'm a massive fan of stop-motion animation mainly due to me being appreciative of the hard work that goes into the films and if Kubo were to win it would be huge. The reason why it'll be huge is because Laika is struggling financially and having this film win the award would bring a lot of publicity towards them and more filmmakers will want to make more films with the studio and will bring more money to help. With all of that being said, I think Zootopia wins the award mainly due to the big marketing push Disney has put on the past two months and looks like Kubo will go home empty-handed.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Arrival – Eric Heisserer from "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang
People can complain all they want to about Arrival, I thought it was a well thought out film that had you puzzled from the moment go, but as things became more clear, you appreciate it even more. Now you could say there are some really predictable moments and the ending felt a little forced but everything leading up to it was pure gold. Moonlight is the one walking away with the award here mainly due to it's structure in being able to keep the same story going with the same character.
Best Original Screenplay
Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan
Taylor Sheridan is such a talented writer and his past two films have been some of my favorites (Sicario and Hell or High Water) and this guy has such a bright future ahead of him and it would be a crownign achievement for him he won the award. However Damian Chazelle is going to runaway with the award and rightfully so as La La Land is a magnificent story and it would make the award predictable, but it would be well deserved if either won.
Best Supporting Actress
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea as Randi
Although she may not be on the screen for a long time, Michelle Williams gave one of the more emotional performances of the year. Once you find out the main twist of the film, you automatically feel terrible for her and it really shows when she has a one on one scene with Casey Affleck and the way she is able to portray heartbreak is just unbelievable. However she may not win because of Viloa Davis who is in the wrong category to begin with (should be Best Actress as she has just as much screentime as Denzel Washington) and the fact that Viola gave a very emotional performance as well doesn't help Williams's chances, but I wouldn't be shocked if she ended up winning the award.
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight as Juan
Mahershala Ali is a phenomenal actor and he has built such an impressive filmography and after giving two great performances in Hidden Figures and Moonlight, he is the guy I'm cheering for. His performance in Moonlight is just terrific and while the other nominees all gave some great performances and he has some tough competition with Jeff Bridges being nominated, but I think Ali has this one wrapped up.
Best Actress
Natalie Portman – Jackie as Jackie Kennedy
This might be one the greatest acting performances of the decade so. Natalie Portman is perfectly cast as Jackie Kennedy and she does a great job getting the voice down as well as the way Mrs. Kennedy presented herself. While the film isn't great by any means, you go see the film due to Portman's performance and it really does force you to take a step back and realize how good she is. Her toughest competition is Emma Stone for La La Land and I believe she'll win the award, but seeing Portman wouldn't be a surprise and neither will Isabelle Huppert is Elle as the Golden Globe award may have pushed a little momentum her way.
Best Actor
Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea as Lee Chandler
Now while Hacksaw Ridge might have been my favorite film of the year, Manchester by the Sea was a close second and one of the reasons was Casey Affleck's performance in the film. The way he is able to hold in his emotions throughout the film is remarkable especially with everything his character has gone through and only Casey Affleck can do that. Now for the longest time he was the runaway frontrunner, but as of late he;s lost momentum due to Denzel Washington winning the SAG award and if you look at history of the SAG award for Best Actor, out of 22 years, only 4 times has the winner not gone on to win the Best Actor Oscar (Benicio Del Toro won the award, but won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars) so with that it doesn't look good for Affleck, but there's always a chance.
Best Director
Mel Gibson- Hacksaw Ridge
This may cause a little bit of controversy for some people. I know Mel Gibson has not had the best of luck as of late when it comes to his personal life and quite frankly he has pissed off the wrong people. However it says a lot that the voting body of the directors branch within the Academy is willing to nominated him and forgive says and lot and if they are willing to nominate him, they might be willing to give him the win. What he was able to with Hacksaw Ridge is an astonishing achievement and it reminded us of how good this guy really is and I'm holding out hope he wins.
Best Picture
Hacksaw Ridge – Bill Mechanic and David Permut
I think this is the most obvious one I'm rooting for simply because it was my favorite film of 2016 and it was just done so beautifully well by Mel Gibson. It's a fantastic story and it has some insanely good visual effects and it makes you feel like you are on the battlefield. Look it's a longhsot and La La Land basically has this and several other awards wrapped up, but I can still hold out a little bit of hope
So ladies and gentlemen who are you rooting for at this year's Academy Awards which air on February 26th at 8:30pm on ABC and what do you think of the people I'm rooting for. Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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