2018 Oscar Results

Across the board, I was pleased with a vast majority of this year's winners! The ceremony was a little dull and uneventful overall because there weren't many surprises, but I loved the bit where Kimmel took a bunch of A-listers to the TCL Chinese Theater across the street. The jet-ski giveaway gag was funny and I liked some of the jokes from the presenters. It was simply an ordinary Oscars. The political talk was kept to a restrained minimum in comparison to last year where it felt like something was said literally every few seconds, which is always kinda nice, and for the most part, I either predicted correctly or got the results I wanted with a few exceptions... It was sorta sad to see War for the Planet of the Apes not receive an Oscar because it means the entire trilogy's officially been shut-out for a visual effect win and I also was a little disappointed that Baby Driver, Logan, The Big Sick, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Florida Project, and Lady Bird all walked away with nothing from the ceremony than a congratulatory pat on the back for being nominated. On the flip-side, I'm ecstatic about all the wins for The Shape of Water, Blade Runner 2049, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Darkest Hour, Get Out, Coco, and Phantom Thread. I really liked Dunkirk and believe it was definitely deserving of winning in the categories it did win in, but I do somewhat wish it had won in different areas or at least lost one or more of its awards to Baby Driver. So yeah, those are my condensed thoughts on everything.... If you'd like to know how well my predictions matched up with the winners, browse below!

2018 90th Academy Award Results

Best Picture

"Call Me By Your Name"

"Darkest Hour"

"Dunkirk"

"Get Out"

"Lady Bird"

"Phantom Thread"

"The Post"

"The Shape of Water"

"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: "The Shape of Water"
Likely winner: "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Actual winner: "The Shape of Water"

Best Director

Christopher Nolan, "Dunkirk"

Greta Gerwig, "Lady Bird"

Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"

Jordan Peele, "Get Out"

Paul Thomas Anderson, "Phantom Thread"

My choice: Christopher Nolan, "Dunkirk"
Likely winner: Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"

Actual winner: Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis, "Phantom Thread"

Daniel Kaluuya, "Get Out"

Denzel Washington, "Roman J. Israel, Esq."
Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"
Timothée Chalamet, "Call Me By Your Name"

My choice: Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"
Likely winner: Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"
Actual winner: Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

Best Actress

Francis McDormand, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Sally Hawkins, "The Shape of Water"

Saoirse Ronan, "Lady Bird"

Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"

Meryl Streep, "The Post"

My choice: Sally Hawkins, "The Shape of Water"
Likely winner: Francis McDormand, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Actual winner: Francis McDormand, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer, "All the Money in the World"

Richard Jenkins, "The Shape of Water"

Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Willem Dafoe, "The Florida Project"

Woody Harrelson, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: Willem Dafoe, "The Florida Project"
Likely winner: Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Actual winner: Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best Supporting Actress

Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"

Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"

Lesley Manville, "Phantom Thread"
Mary J. Blige, "Mudbound"
Octavia Spencer, 'The Shape of Water"

My choice: Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"
Likely winner: Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"

Actual winner: Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"

Best Original Screenplay

"The Big Sick"
"Get Out"
"Lady Bird"
"The Shape of Water"
"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Likely winner: "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Actual winner: "Get Out"

Best Adapted Screenplay

"Call Me By Your Name"

"The Disaster Artist"

"Logan"

"Molly's Game"

"Mudbound"

My choice: "Logan"
Likely winner: "Call Me By Your Name"

Actual winner: "Call Me By Your Name"

Best Film Editing

"Baby Driver"

"Dunkirk"

"I, Tonya"
"The Shape of Water"

"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: "Baby Driver"
Likely winner: "Dunkirk"
Actual winner: "Dunkirk"

Best Cinematography

"Blade Runner 2049"

"Darkest Hour"

"Dunkirk"

"Mudbound"

"The Shape of Water"

My choice: "Blade Runner 2049"
Likely winner: "Blade Runner 2049"

Actual winner: "Blade Runner 2049"

Best Costume Design

'Beauty and the Beast"

"Darkest Hour"
"Phantom Thread"
"The Shape of Water"

"Victoria & Abdul"

My choice: "Phantom Thread"
Likely winner: "Phantom Thread"

Actual winner: "Phantom Thread"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

"Darkest Hour"

"Victoria & Abdul"
"Wonder"

My choice: "Darkest Hour"
Likely winner: "Darkest Hour"

Actual winner: "Darkest Hour"

Best Production Design

"Beauty and the Beast"

"Blade Runner 2049"

"Darkest Hour"

"Dunkirk"

"The Shape of Water"

My choice: "Blade Runner 2049"
Likely winner: "The Shape of Water"

Actual winner: "The Shape of Water"

Best Visual Effects

"Blade Runner 2049"

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"

"Kong: Skull Island"
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
"War For The Planet of The Apes"

My choice: "War For The Planet of The Apes"
Likely winner: "Blade Runner 2049"
Actual winner: "Blade Runner 2049"

Best Sound Editing

"Baby Driver"
"Blade Runner 2049"
"Dunkirk"
"The Shape of Water"
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
My choice: "Baby Driver"
Likely winner: "Dunkirk"
Actual winner: "Dunkirk"

Best Sound Mixing

"Baby Driver"
"Blade Runner 2049"
"Dunkirk"
"The Shape of Water"
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
My choice: "Baby Driver"
Likely winner: "Dunkirk"
Actual winner: "Dunkirk"

Best Original Song

"Mighty River" from "Mudbound"
"Mystery of Love" from "Call Me By Your Name"
"Remember Me" from "Coco"
"Stand Up for Something" from "Marshall"
"This is Me" from "The Greatest Showman"

My choice: "Remember Me" from "Coco"
Likely winner: "This is Me" from "The Greatest Showman"

Actual winner: "Remember Me" from "Coco"

Best Original Score

"Dunkirk"

"Phantom Thread"

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"

"The Shape of Water"

"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: "Dunkirk"
Likely winner: "The Shape of Water"

Actual winner: "The Shape of Water"

Best Animated Feature

"The Boss Baby"
"The Breadwinner"
"Coco"

"Ferdinand"
"Loving Vincent"

My choice: "Coco"
Likely winner: "Coco"

Actual winner: "Coco"

Best Short Film, Live Action

"DeKalb Elementary"
"The Eleven O'Clock"
"My Nephew Emmett"
"The Silent Child"
"Watu Wote/All of Us"
Winner: "The Silent Child"

Best Short Film, Animated

"Dear Basketball"

"Garden Party"

"Lou"

"Negative Space"

"Revolting Rhymes"
Winner: "Dear Basketball"

Best Documentary Feature

"Abacus: Small Enough To Jail"
"Faces Places"
"Icarus"
"Last Men In Aleppo"
"Strong Island"
Winner: "Icarus"

Best Documentary, Short Subject

"Edith + Eddie"
"Heaven Is A  Traffic Jame on the 405"
"Heroin(e)"
"Knife Skills
"Traffic Stop"
Winner: "Heaven Is A  Traffic Jame on the 405"

Best Foreign Language Film

"A Fantastic Woman"
"The Insult"
"Loveless"
"On Body and Soul"
"The Square"
Winner: "A Fantastic Woman"

2018 Oscar Predictions

Tonight's the night! The awards season's almost over, and what an award season it's been thus far! This year, we entered the awards race without any clear frontrunners in contention for Best Picture as all the contenders seemed viable. However, the race has whittled since then, and I think the big prize currently stands between Get Out, The Shape of Water, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. As always, I've provided a list of the nominees followed by my personal pick and prediction for the category. I tried to remain as objective as possible, and there are a couple categories where I'd be happy with just any film winning (Original Screenplay and Original Score among others). I'll put out a post comparing the results to my predictions, which will undoubtedly contain my take on the ceremony overall. Best of luck to everyone in regards their own predictions, and hopefully we'll have a lot to discuss!

2018 90th Academy Award Predictions

Best Picture

"Call Me By Your Name"

"Darkest Hour"

"Dunkirk"

"Get Out"

"Lady Bird"

"Phantom Thread"

"The Post"

"The Shape of Water"

"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: "The Shape of Water"
Likely winner: "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best Director

Christopher Nolan, "Dunkirk"

Greta Gerwig, "Lady Bird"

Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"

Jordan Peele, "Get Out"

Paul Thomas Anderson, "Phantom Thread"

My choice: Christopher Nolan, "Dunkirk"
Likely winner: Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis, "Phantom Thread"

Daniel Kaluuya, "Get Out"

Denzel Washington, "Roman J. Israel, Esq."
Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"
Timothée Chalamet, "Call Me By Your Name"

My choice: Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"
Likely winner: Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

Best Actress

Francis McDormand, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Sally Hawkins, "The Shape of Water"

Saoirse Ronan, "Lady Bird"

Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"

Meryl Streep, "The Post"

My choice: Sally Hawkins, "The Shape of Water"
Likely winner: Francis McDormand, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer, "All the Money in the World"

Richard Jenkins, "The Shape of Water"

Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Willem Dafoe, "The Florida Project"

Woody Harrelson, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: Willem Dafoe, "The Florida Project"
Likely winner: Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best Supporting Actress

Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"

Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"

Lesley Manville, "Phantom Thread"
Mary J. Blige, "Mudbound"
Octavia Spencer, 'The Shape of Water"

My choice: Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"
Likely winner: Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"

Best Original Screenplay

"The Big Sick"
"Get Out"
"Lady Bird"
"The Shape of Water"
"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"
Likely winner: "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best Adapted Screenplay

"Call Me By Your Name"

"The Disaster Artist"

"Logan"

"Molly's Game"

"Mudbound"

My choice: "Logan"
Likely winner: "Call Me By Your Name"

Best Film Editing

"Baby Driver"

"Dunkirk"

"I, Tonya"
"The Shape of Water"

"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: "Baby Driver"
Likely winner: "Dunkirk"

Best Cinematography

"Blade Runner 2049"

"Darkest Hour"

"Dunkirk"

"Mudbound"

"The Shape of Water"

My choice: "Blade Runner 2049"
Likely winner: "Blade Runner 2049"

Best Costume Design

'Beauty and the Beast"

"Darkest Hour"
"Phantom Thread"
"The Shape of Water"

"Victoria & Abdul"

My choice: "Phantom Thread"
Likely winner: "Phantom Thread"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

"Darkest Hour"

"Victoria & Abdul"
"Wonder"

My choice: "Darkest Hour"
Likely winner: "Darkest Hour"

Best Production Design

"Beauty and the Beast"

"Blade Runner 2049"

"Darkest Hour"

"Dunkirk"

"The Shape of Water"

My choice: "Blade Runner 2049"
Likely winner: "The Shape of Water"

Best Visual Effects

"Blade Runner 2049"

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"

"Kong: Skull Island"
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
"War For The Planet of The Apes"

My choice: "War For The Planet of The Apes"
Likely winner: "Blade Runner 2049"

Best Sound Editing

"Baby Driver"
"Blade Runner 2049"
"Dunkirk"
"The Shape of Water"
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
My choice: "Baby Driver"
Likely winner: "Dunkirk"

Best Sound Mixing

"Baby Driver"
"Blade Runner 2049"
"Dunkirk"
"The Shape of Water"
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
My choice: "Baby Driver"
Likely winner: "Dunkirk"

Best Original Song

"Mighty River" from "Mudbound"
"Mystery of Love" from "Call Me By Your Name"
"Remember Me" from "Coco"
"Stand Up for Something" from "Marshall"
"This is Me" from "The Greatest Showman"

My choice: "Remember Me" from "Coco"
Likely winner: "This is Me" from "The Greatest Showman"

Best Original Score

"Dunkirk"

"Phantom Thread"

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"

"The Shape of Water"

"Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri"

My choice: "Dunkirk"
Likely winner: "The Shape of Water"

Best Animated Feature

"The Boss Baby"
"The Breadwinner"
"Coco"

"Ferdinand"
"Loving Vincent"

My choice: "Coco"
Likely winner: "Coco"

Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2018

We've officially rung in the New Year, so it only seems right to look ahead and decide which ten films I'm most looking forward to in 2018. Most of these will be blockbusters because I don't know too much about anything else as of now.

Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2018

10. Ready Player One

It's kind of difficult for me not to be excited for a new Spielberg film. The man's my favorite director and he's not directing too many projects these days, so each new entry to his resume always gets me a bit excited. The trailers for Ready Player One have been very promising and I'm ready to see it all materialize on March 30th!

9. Aquaman

This entry to my list is here primarily on account of my confidence in James Wan as director and Jason Mamoa in the role of Aquaman. We haven't seen any trailers for Aquaman yet, but Jason Mamoa was great in Justice League and I'm very curious to see how Wan will handle the underwater seqeunces in Atlantis (because I'm sure there will be A LOT). Here's hoping that Wan can pull off something similar to what Patty Jenkins did last year with Wonder Woman.

8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Mission: Impossible 6 made my list simply because I've loved the last few entries in the franchise. Most of the cast is returning, except for Jeremy Renner since he had his plate full with the two upcoming Avengers movies. We haven't seen much of the film aside from some still photos, but I'm also curious to see if that all that drama over Henry Cavill's mustache was worth it. That mustache better knock my socks off, because otherwise, I don't really see why it mattered.

7. Solo: A Star Wars Story

How could I possibly make a list of the films I'm most excited for and leave off an upcoming Star Wars film? I can't, hence why Solo made my list. Solo wasn't exactly a Star Wars Story I wanted to see, but I'll take what I can get from Lucasfilm and Disney. I know the developments behind the scenes seem troubling, but I'm hoping Ron Howard can pull it off! Maybe a trailer will excite me some more, but till then, here's to remaining cautiously optimistic till May 25th!

6. Ant-Man and the Wasp

Ant-Man was one of the funniest entries to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so naturally its sequel made its way onto my list. Adding to that, Ant-Man made a huge impression during the airport battle in Captain America: Civil War, Evangeline Lily finally gets to fly into the fray as Wasp, and Michelle Pfeiffer is joining the incredible ensemble as Janet Van Dyne. I'm also guessing that it will be another small-scaled story with enormous personal stakes, so I can't wait to see what Peyton Reed has in store for the size-changing superheroes on July 6th.

5. Isle of Dogs

This is probably the entry on my list that you're most confused by, but Wes Anderson is one of my favorite directors working today due to his quirky style and sensibilities as a filmmaker, and Isle of Dogs is his next project. Isle of Dogs looks to be another peculiar project for Anderson in the same stop-motion style as Fantastic Mr. Fox, one of my favorites from the auteur artist, so I can't help it that the trailer had me wagging my tail.

4. Deadpool 2

Deadpool was a film that could have gone wrong in so many ways, but wound up being a match made in heaven for the Merc with a Mouth. It was meta, hilarious, entertaining, and most importantly, R-Rated. There's no better possible casting choice for the role than Ryan Reynolds, and I can't wait to see what he does with the role here. It was a little concerning when the first film's director, Tim Miller, left due to creative differences, but I genuinely hope his replacement, David Leitch, can recapture the spark that lit theaters ablaze at the beginning of 2016. Although, the marketing campaign already seems to have that ball rolling with the "Wet on Wet" teaser they've released.

3. Black Panther

Black Panther looks awesome on so many levels. The idea of pairing Ryan Cooler, the director of Creed and Fruitvale Station, with an exceptional ensemble consisting of Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown, Andy Serkis, and Martin Freeman is cool enough on paper. The fact it's a Marvel movie and the first solo outing for the King of Wakanda only makes it a million times cooler. Black Panther is one of my favorite Marvel heroes and was one of my favorite parts of Captain America: Civil War, so I'm enormously excited that we're only a month away from his first feature film.

2. Incredibles 2

I've waited to see a sequel to The Incredibles for FOURTEEN years! It's still one of my favorite films from Pixar, Brad Bird's returning to the write and direct in the realm of animation, and it's picking up right where the first left off with the fantastic family of supers, so I couldn't possibly be more excited for June 15th.

1. Avengers: Infinity War

My number one choice on this list is a no-brainer. This is the culmination of ten years and nineteen films of build-up inside an unprecedented cinematic universe, and we're finally going to see the Avengers square off against Thanos. It looks to be epic in every way imaginable, and perhaps we'll finally get to see Captain America yell "Avengers, Assemble!" My spidey-senses are tingling just thinking about the release date of May 4, 2018.