The Awards Connection

Last minute post here–just finally had the opportunity to watch both Carol and Mad Max: Fury Road (thank you HBO). Enjoy!

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

This, like many of the other categories in this race, is a tough choice. Room was my personal favorite of the year, but I must go with Spotlight. No, not because I am a proud Bostonian. It has the full package—an all-star cast with an amazing script that's (almost) perfectly executed. I recommended this movie to most of my friends and family and I have yet to hear a bad review. My hunch is that the Foreign Press feels the same and will give this picture the top prize.

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

The Big Short
Joy
The Martian
Spy
Trainwreck

As much as I would love Spy to win this category, I am sorry to say that it has no chance here. Everyone's favorite BFF's Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence basically made their respective movies what they are, and one will probably see payoff in the Best Actress category, but their performances will not help either movie tackle The Big Short or The Martian for this prize. It will be close between The Big Short or The Martian because they both have great acting, screenplays, and direction. The Big Short took on a difficult subject and gave it an entertaining spin that was fun to watch but left me with mixed feelings. I know I am not alone with this, especially amongst millennials in today's economy. The Martian, on the other hand, is a classic adventure story with an optimistic outlook that leaves you feeling pretty positive about living in today's world. Because of this discrepancy, I believe The Martian will win.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Will Smith, Concussion

Well let's see...Bryan Cranston might bring his small screen hype to win, Michael Fassbender's understated performance of the notorious innovator could win, Eddie Redmayne may win the love of the Foreign Press again, or Will Smith's interesting accent maybe enough to win some love—oh wait—let's not forget that all of these are maybe's, while Leonardo DiCaprio's performance in The Revenant is as likely to win this category as I am unlikely to win the 850+ million dollar Powerball.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Rooney Mara, Carol
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

I am excited to have seen some amazing actresses emerge this year. This is a toss-up category. To be honest, I have not yet seen Brooklyn, but I've heard great things from Saoirse Ronan. She may very well win. Both Rooney Mara and Alicia Vikander are on the line between lead and supporting, so I believe we can count them out. As I stated before, Room was my favorite film of the year. I do believe that Brie Larson both deserves to win this category and will win this category. Maybe it is a bit biased? But she killed it and is a new comer to the awards scene, which gives her a very tiny leg-up on Cate Blanchett. I am very interested to see how this category shakes out.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Christian Bale, The Big Short
Steve Carell, The Big Short
Matt Damon, The Martian
Al Pacino, Danny Collins
Mark Ruffalo, Infinity Polar Bear

If Steve Carell was the only actor nominated from The Big Short in this category, I would give him the win right now. But as strong as his performance was, I strongly suspect Christian Bale is going to negate his votes. No one is really talking about Al Pacino or Mark Ruffalo (except for the fact that all of the Spotlight actors were robbed of nominations). That leaves Matt Damon. Not a bad pick considering The Martian would have been nothing without him. Definitely a strong possibility that this is the year Matt Damon gets his first Golden Globe for acting.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Melissa McCarthy, Spy
Amy Schumer, Trainwreck
Maggie Smith, The Lady in the Van
Lily Tomlin, Grandma

I know I already described the Best Actress in a Drama category as a toss up, but it has nothing on this category. This is not a bad problem to have. I love that we have so many talented ladies in the running. Both Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer are getting lots of love from other predictors. From what I've seen, its pretty much 50/50 between the two. However, how can we not even mention the other amazing veterans in this pool? Maggie Smith can do no wrong and Melissa McCarthy is dominating the comedy world, but I am going to give this win to Lily Tomlin. She has had a great year and she has not yet won a Golden Globe. I believe the Foreign Press will pick up on this and give her the win.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

I just need to say it, I loved Creed. It was one of my favorite movies of the year. I strongly believe Michael B. Jordan was robbed of a nomination and I was very excited to see Stallone get some love in this category. The movie is far from just another sequel in the Rocky franchise and both actors gave amazing performances. Alas, I am unfortunately not a voter and I don't believe Stallone will emerge a winner. Mark Rylance is getting all kinds of hype for this category. This, plus a strong performance in a Spielberg movie, is a winning combination.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Jane Fonda, Youth
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

This is a very diverse category. There are strong veterans vs newcomers on the scene. It can go a variety of ways. The way I see it, Steve Jobs is the strongest film in this category and Kate Winslet gave a great performance in it. Because of this, plus that fact that she is beloved by film critics, I am picking her to win the category.

Here are my other picks for the night:

Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant

Best Screenplay: Spotlight

Best Original Song: "See You Again", Furious Seven

Best Original Score: Carol

Best Animated Film: Inside Out

Best Foreign Language Film: Mustang

Allison's Final 2015 Oscar Predictions

Allison's 2015 Golden Globe predictions