Lisa Tries To Predict The Oscars!


Oscars

Well, it’s almost here!

Tomorrow night, the Oscars will be handed out!  Now, I have to admit that, despite all of the time that I spent keeping up with all of the guild awards and the critics award and all the other precursors, I kinda lost interest in the Oscar race after the actual nominations were announced.  I took one look at Jeff Wells claiming to be solely responsible for the success of Birdman and Sasha Stone going on and on about Selma and Ryan Adams doing whatever the Hell it is that he supposedly does over at Awards Daily and I just found myself saying, “Fuck it, who cares?”

Seriously, 2015 will be remembered as the year that Oscar punditry jumped the shark.  Hopefully, within the next few years, new voices will emerge and we’ll be spared from having to deal with Jeff Wells, Sasha Stone, and all the rest.

The Oscar commentary this year has been so negative and so toxic and so predictably strident and so tediously bitter that I did get a little bit burned out.  It just hasn’t been as much fun this year.  When, earlier this week, I was reminded that the Oscars were this Sunday, I have to admit that I was taken a little bit by surprise.  For some reason, I had gotten into my head that the Oscars were next week.

But anyway, they’re not next week.  They’re tomorrow and that means that it is now time for me to try to predict who and what will win tomorrow night.  A lot of people are saying that this is the closest Oscar race in years.  But you know what?  They say that every year.

Remember how there were going to be a lot of upsets last year?

And, in the end, exactly what everyone thought would win did win.

I imagine the same thing will happen this year.

Here are my predictions!  I will be listing both what I think will win and what I think should win.

Need to kill some time?  Look through all the posts since November and count up how many times this picture has appeared on the site!

Need to kill some time? Look through all the posts since November and count up how many times this picture has appeared on the site!

Best Picture: 

Will Win: Birdman

Should Win: Boyhood

Best Director:

Will Win: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Birdman

Should Win: Richard Linklater for Boyhood

Best Actor

Will Win: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything

Should Win: Michael Keaton for Birdman

Best Actress

Will Win: Julianne Moore for Still Alice

Should Win: Reese Witherspoon for Wild

Best Supporting Actor

Will and Should Win: J.K. Simmons for Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress

Will and Should Win: Patricia Arquette for Boyhood

Best Original Screenplay

Will Win: Birdman

Should Win: Boyhood

Best Adapted Screenplay

Will and Should Win: Whiplash

Best Animated Feature:

Will Win: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Should Win: Big Hero 6

Best Foreign Language Film

Will Win: Leviathan

Should Win: Ida

Best Documentary Feature

Will Win: CitizenFour

Should Win: Finding Vivian Maier

Best Documentary Short Subject:

Will Win (random guess): Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

Should Win: ???

Best Live Action Short Film:

Will Win (random guess): The Phone Call

Should Win: ???

Best Animated Short Film:

Will and Should Win: My Moulton

Best Original Score:

Will and Should Win: The Theory of Everything

Best Original Song:

Will Win: “Glory” from Selma

Should Win: “Hooray for Everything” from The Lego Movie

Best Sound Editing

Will and Should Win: American Sniper

Best Sound Mixing

Will Win: American Sniper

Should Win: Whiplash

Best Production Design

Will and Should Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Cinematography

Will Win: Unbroken

Should Win: Ida

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Will Win: Foxcatcher

Should Win: Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Costume Design

Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Should Win: Inherent Vice

Best Film Editing

Will and Should Win: Boyhood

Best Visual Effects

Will Win: Interstellar

Should Win: Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy

Well, those are my predictions!  Will I be right or will I be wrong?  We’ll find out tomorrow!

Here Are The Oscar Nominations!


Oscar1

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning and, judging from the overdramatic reactions on twitter, some people are apparently taking all of this way too seriously.  Listen, I wish The LEGO Movie had been nominated.  I wish Jake Gyllenhaal had been nominated.  I haven’t seen Selma yet but it does seem strange that it was only nominated for one other Oscar.  And, for that matter, how did Foxcatcher get nominated for director, screenplay, actor, and supporting actor without getting a nomination for best picture.

And yes, I do wish that more women had been nominated but, then again, I also wish that more women were being given the opportunity to write and direct films.  If the Oscars are male-dominated, that’s because so is the industry.

AND WHERE’S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY!?

AND WHAT ABOUT JODOROWSKY’S DUNE!?

*ahem*

But, honestly, I think people are overestimating the importance of the Oscars.  Great films will survive, regardless of awards won and lost.  Believe me, there were a lot of nominations that I did not agree with but I’m not going to have a Sasha Stone-style freak out over it because, ultimately, the Oscars are what they are and if you think they’re anything more than an event, you really need to calm down and get some perspective.

I’m just happy that it was a good morning for Texas filmmaking.  Richard Linklater and Wes Anderson were both nominated for best director.  Boyhood, a Texas film if there ever was on, is the front runner for best picture.  Texas actor Ethan Hawke was nominated for best supporting actor.  Bradley Cooper may not be a Texan but he played one and, judging from the trailer and commercials for American Sniper, he actually got the accent right.

So, I’m happy!

(And, by the way, let’s give this talk about how Laura Dern stole Jessica Chastain’s nomination a rest.  If anything, Meryl Streep stole Chastain’s spot.)

Here are the nominees!

BEST PICTURE
“American Sniper”
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Whiplash”

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”
Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”

BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”

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”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall, “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Laura Dern, “Wild”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“Foxcatcher”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Nightcrawler”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“American Sniper”
“The Imitation Game”
“Inherent Vice”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Whiplash”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Birdman”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Ida”
“Mr. Turner”
“Unbroken”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Inherent Vice”
“Into the Woods”
“Maleficent”
“Mr. Turner”

BEST EDITING
“American Sniper”
“Boyhood”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Whiplash”

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
“Foxcatcher”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Interstellar”
“Into the Woods”
“Mr. Turner”

BEST SCORE
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Interstellar”
“Mr. Turner”
“The Theory of Everything”

BEST SONG
“Everything Is Awesome from “The Lego Movie”
“Glory” from “Selma”
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”
“I’m Not Going to Miss You” from “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me”
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”

BEST SOUND EDITING
“American Sniper”
“Birdman”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“Interstellar”
“Unbroken”

BEST SOUND MIXING
“American Sniper”
“Birdman”
“Interstellar”
“Unbroken”
“Whiplash”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“Interstellar”
“X-Men: Days of Future Past”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Big Hero 6”
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“Song of the Sea”
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Citizenfour”
“Finding Vivian Maier”
“Last Days in Vietnam”
“The Salt of the Earth”
“Virunga”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Ida”
“Leviathan”
“Tangerines”
“Timbuktu”
“Wild Tales”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
“The Bigger Picture”
“The Dam Keeper”
“Feast”
“Me and My Moulton”
“A Single Life”

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
“Joanna”
“Our Curse”
“The Reaper”
“White Earth”

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
“Aya”
“Boogaloo and Graham”
“Butter Lamp”
“Parvaneh”
“The Phone Call”

Here’s The Latest From The Guilds: WGA, CDG, and ASC


Timothy Spall in Mike Leigh's Mr Turner

Here’s the latest news from Awards Season!  Today, three more guilds announced their nominees for the best of 2014.

First off, the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) nominated the following five films:

Birdman

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Mr. Turner

Unbroken

And then, the Costume Designers Guild (CDG) nominated the following fifteen films:

Excellence in Contemporary Film
Birdman – Albert Wolsky
Boyhood – Kari Perkins
Gone Girl – Trish Summerville
Interstellar – Mary Zophres
Wild – Melissa Bruning

Excellence in Period Film
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Milena Canonero
The Imitation Game – Sammy Sheldon Differ
Inherent Vice – Mark Bridges
Selma – Ruth E. Carter
The Theory of Everything – Steven Noble

Excellence in Fantasy Film
Guardians of the Galaxy – Alexandra Byrne
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Bob Buck, Lesley Burkes-Harding, Ann Maskrey
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 – Kurt and Bart
Into the Woods – Colleen Atwood
Maleficent – Anna B. Sheppard, Jane Clive

(Is anybody else surprised to learn that Interstellar is apparently a contemporary film?)

And finally, here are the Writer’s Guild (WGA) nominations!  As always, the WGA nominations should be taken with a grain of salt as several Oscar front runners — Birdman, Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Mr. Turner, had been ruled ineligible for a WGA nomination.  Over the years, many films that were ineligible for a WGA nomination have gone on to win Oscars for original and adapted screenplay.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Boyhood, Written by Richard Linklater; IFC Films
Foxcatcher, Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman; Sony Pictures Classics
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness; Fox Searchlight
Nightcrawler, Written by Dan Gilroy; Open Road Films
Whiplash, Written by Damien Chazelle; Sony Pictures Classics

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper, Written by Jason Hall; Based on the book by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice; Warner Bros.
Gone Girl, Screenplay by Gillian Flynn; Based on her novel; 20th Century Fox
Guardians of the Galaxy, Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman; Based on the Marvel comic by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Imitation Game, Written by Graham Moore; Based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges; The Weinstein Company
Wild, Screenplay by Nick Hornby; Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed; Fox Searchlight

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Finding Vivian Maier, Written by John Maloof & Charlie Siskel; Sundance Selects
The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, Written by Brian Knappenberger; FilmBuff
Last Days in Vietnam, Written by Mark Bailey & Kevin McAlester; American Experience Films
Red Army, Written by Gabe Polsky; Sony Pictures Classics

richard-linklaters-boyhood-movie-film-still-ellar-coltrane

Award Season Continues! Here Are The Winners From Georgia!


selma

Yes, awards season is still going on and critics and guilds from across the country and the industry are still announcing their picks for the best of 2014!

The latest group to make their picks known?  The Georgia Film Critics Association!  Here are their nominees for the best of 2014!

Best Picture
BIRDMAN
BOYHOOD
GONE GIRL
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
IDA
A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
NIGHTCRAWLER
SELMA
SNOWPIERCER
WHIPLASH

Best Director
Richard Linklater BOYHOOD
David Fincher GONE GIRL
Wes Anderson THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Ava DuVernay SELMA
Damien Chazelle WHIPLASH

Best Actor
Ralph Fiennes THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Jake Gyllenhaal NIGHTCRAWLER
Michael Keaton BIRDMAN
David Oyelowo SELMA
Eddie Redmayne THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING.

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT
Scarlett Johansson UNDER THE SKIN
Felicity Jones THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
Lisa Loven Kongsli FORCE MAJEURE
Julianne Moore STILL ALICE
Rosamund Pike GONE GIRL

Best Supporting Actor
Riz Ahmed NIGHTCRAWLER
Ethan Hawke BOYHOOD
Edward Norton BIRDMAN
Mark Ruffalo FOXCATCHER
JK Simmons WHIPLASH

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette BOYHOOD
Jessica Chastain A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
Rene Russo NIGHTCRAWLER
Emma Stone BIRDMAN
Tilda Swinton SNOWPIERCER

Best Original Screenplay
BOYHOOD
CALVARY
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
NIGHTCRAWLER
SELMA

Best Adapted Screenplay
GONE GIRL
THE IMITATION GAME
INHERENT VICE
SNOWPIERCER
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
WILD

Best Cinematography
BIRDMAN
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
IDA
INHERENT VICE
INTERSTELLAR

Best Production Design
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
INHERENT VICE
INTERSTELLAR
INTO THE WOODS
SNOWPIERCER
UNDER THE SKIN

Best Original Score
BIRDMAN (Antonio Sánchez)
GONE GIRL (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross)
INTERSTELLAR (Hans Zimmer)
LIFE ITSELF (Joshua Abrams)
UNDER THE SKIN (Mica Levi)

Best Original Song
“Everything is Awesome” from THE LEGO MOVIE
“Glory” from SELMA
“We Will Not Go” from VIRUNGA
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from GLEN CAMPBELL: I’LL BE ME
“Something So Right” from MUPPETS MOST WANTED

Best Ensemble Cast
BIRDMAN
BOYHOOD
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
GONE GIRL
SELMA

Best Foreign Language Film
FORCE MAJEURE
IDA
SEPIDEH
TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT
WE ARE THE BEST!

Best Animated Feature Film
BIG HERO 6
THE BOOK OF LIFE
THE BOXTROLLS
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
THE LEGO MOVIE

Best Documentary Feature Film
CITIZENFOUR
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER
KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON
LIFE ITSELF
SEPIDEH

Breakthough of the Year
Ellan Coltrane
Ava DuVernay
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Jenny Slate
Tessa Thompson

Selma

 

Here Are The Eddie Nominations!


American Sniper

The Eddies!  Isn’t that a perfectly adorable name for an award?

Anyway, the Eddies are given out by the American Cinema Editors and they honor the best editing in film and television.  The Eddies make for an interesting precursor because (much like the SAG awards), they’re a guild award and the nominees and winners are being determined by many of the same people who will be voting on the Oscars.

Add to that, films that get a nomination for best editing often also get nominated for best picture.  (One huge exception to that rule would be David Fincher’s rehash The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which actually won best editing despite not being nominated for best picture.)

The big news from the Eddie nominations is that potential Oscar front-runner Selma was snubbed.  However, American Sniper was not.  While I doubt that the makers of Selma have anything to worry about, this does seem to indicate that — despite not making a huge showing as far as the critics awards are concerned — American Sniper might still be a factor in the best picture race.

(Then again, Oscar watchers like me are notorious for overanalyzing stuff like this…)

The film nominees can be found below.

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
“American Sniper” (Joel Cox, ACE & Gary Roach, ACE)
“Boyhood” (Sandra Adair, ACE)
“Gone Girl” (Kirk Baxter, ACE)
“The Imitation Game” (William Goldenberg, ACE)
“Nightcrawler” (John Gilroy, ACE)
“Whiplash” (Tom Cross, ACE)

Best Editing Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
“Birdman” (Douglas Crise & Stephen Mirrione, ACE)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Barney Pilling)
“Guardians of the Galaxy” (Fred Rasking, Hughes Winborn, ACE & Craig Wood, ACE)
“Into the Woods” (Wyatt Smith)
“Inherent Vice” (Leslie Jones, ACE)

Best Edited Animated Feature Film
“Big Hero 6” (Tim Mertens)
“The Boxtrolls” (Edie Ichioka, ACE)
“The LEGO Movie” (David Burrow & Chris McKay)

Best Edited Documentary (Feature)
“CITIZENFOUR” (Mathilde Bonnefoy)
“Finding Vivian Maier” (Aaron Wickenden)
“Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” (Elisa Bonora)

Guardians of the Galaxy

Here Are The Detroit Film Critics Nominations!


Under the Skin

And here are the Detroit Film Critics Nominees for 2014!  I’m happy to see that they had some love for one of my favorite films of the year, Under the Skin!

(h/t to awards circuit)

BEST FILM

Boyhood
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Under the Skin
Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

BEST ACTOR

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Brendan Gleeson, Calvary
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Tom Hardy, Locke
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS

Essie Davis, The Babadook
Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
JK Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Rene Russo, Nightcrawler
Emma Stone, Birdman
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

BEST ENSEMBLE

Birdman
Boyhood
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Into the Woods

BREAKTHROUGH

Damien Chazelle, Whiplash (director, screenplay)
Jennifer Kent, The Babadook (director, screenplay)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle, Beyond the Lights (actress)
Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy (actor)
Dan Stevens, The Guest (actor)

BEST SCREENPLAY

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Nicolas Giacobone and Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
John Michael McDonagh, Calvary

BEST DOCUMENTARY

CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Keep On Keepin’ On
Life Itself

(It’s interesting to note that, despite the fact that they clearly appreciate independent visions, the Detroit Film Critics totally snubbed Only Lovers Left Alive, a film that is, in many ways, a love letter to Detroit.)

968full-only-lovers-left-alive-screenshot

Here Are the St. Louis Film Critics Nominations!


Birdman

The Golden Globes weren’t the only precursors to be announced today!  Here are the St. Louis Film Critics Nominations.  One thing that I like about the St. Louis Film Critics is that they give out an award for “best scene.”  Personally, I would vote for the prison break from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Here are the nominees:

(h/t to awards circuit)

BEST PICTURE 
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
David Fincher, “Gone Girl”
Alejandro Inarritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
Tom Hardy, “Locke”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”

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”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, “Inherent Vice”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Tony Revolori, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”
Carrie Coon, “Gone Girl”
Mackenzie Foy, “Interstellar”
Kiera Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Boyhood
Locke
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Whiplash

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
Nightcrawler
Unbroken

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS 
Birdman
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Noah

BEST ART DIRECTION
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Mr. Turner
Nightcrawler
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin

BEST MUSIC SCORE
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Interstellar
Under the Skin

BEST MUSIC SOUNDTRACK
Begin Again
Boyhood
Get On Up
Guardians of the Galaxy
Into the Woods
Whiplash

BEST FOREIGN FILM 
Force Majeure
Gloria
Human Capital
Ida
Two Days, One Night

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
Penguins of Madagascar

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Life Itself
Red Army
Rich Hill

BEST COMEDY
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Obvious Child
St. Vincent

BEST ARTHOUSE
Boyhood
Calvary
Frank
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Locke
Whiplash

BEST SCENE 
22 Jump Street – End Credits
Birdman – Times Square
The Guardians of the Galaxy – Prison Break
Selma – Church Bombing
Whiplash – Finale drum solo
X-Men: Days of Future Past – Quicksilver Pentagon Escape

Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-rocket-with-gun

Here Are The 15 Semi-Finalists For The Best Documentary Feature Oscar!


Dune

Earlier today, the Motion Picture Academy announced the 15 semi-finalists for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.  These 15 movies were selected from 134 eligible documentaries.  Next month, of course, 5 final nominees will be selected from the 15 possibilities listed below.

Unfortunately, I have only seen four of the movies listed below: Art and Craft, Finding Vivian Maier, Jodorowsky’s Dune, and Life Itself.  

And they’re all more than worth making the effort to see!

Here are the 15 semi-finalists!

“Art and Craft,” Purple Parrot Films
“The Case against 8,” Day in Court
“Citizen Koch,” Elsewhere Films
“CitizenFour,” Praxis Films
“Finding Vivian Maier,” Ravine Pictures
“The Internet’s Own Boy,” Luminant Media
“Jodorowsky’s Dune,” City Film
“Keep On Keepin’ On,” Absolute Clay Productions
“The Kill Team,” f/8 filmworks
“Last Days in Vietnam,” Moxie Firecracker Films
“Life Itself,” Kartemquin Films and Film Rites
“The Overnighters,” Mile End Films West
“The Salt of the Earth,” Decia Films
“Tales of the Grim Sleeper,” Lafayette Film
“Virunga,” Grain Media