4 March 2018
This wasn’t a year where one film really stood out to me. Even as the year went on, I thought it was a pretty weak year. Towards the end of 2017, I got to see a lot of great films but none of them really struck me the way some of my favorites have in the past. My favorite film of the best picture nominees is Get Out but I just don’t see it winning this award. I haven’t seen it but with Shape of Water being nominated for the most awards and the fact that I don’t think it’s going to win anything else, I’ve slotted it in here.
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
I haven’t seen Darkest Hour and I get that Gary Oldman was great as Winston Churchill, but I think it would be a travesty if Daniel Day-Lewis didn’t win best actor again. There is a reason he has already won three Oscar’s and he proves it once again that he is the best around.
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post
Mary J. Blige was excellent in Mudbound but Laurie Metcalf’s performance just struck a chord for me, really capturing the essence of that relationship.
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape of Water
Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Victoria and Abdul
I was dumbfounded when I heard P.T. Anderson has never won an Oscar. To me, this is absolutely the best category and they got the nominations perfect. I can’t blame the Academy for choosing any of these five. Anderson, Gerwig, and Peele are my tier 1 for this but you can’t go wrong with del Toro or Nolan.
Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Jordan Peele, Get Out
I loved Baby Driver so much and considering the whole movie moves to the music, I really hope it takes this award.
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Just based on the trailer, Gary Oldman looks fantastic.
Darkest Hour
Victoria and Abdul
Wonder
This was a tough one for me because I loved the Phantom Thread score but ultimately, Dunkirk was heightened by the audio throughout and the score was a large part of that.
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
“Mighty River,” Mudbound
“Mystery of Love,” Call Me By Your Name
“Remember Me,” Coco
“Stand Up for Something,” Marshall
“This Is Me,” The Greatest Showman
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
I already spoke to the score, but to me Dunkirk should also win both Sound Editing and Sound Mixing for the whole experience.
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Blade Runner 2049
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Kong: Skull Island
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the Apes
I haven’t seen as much of Aaron Sorkin’s work as I’d like but everything I have seen has always had the best dialogue. You can always tell you are watching a Sorkin film and Molly’s Game is no exception.
Call Me By Your Name
The Disaster Artist
Logan
Molly’s Game
Mudbound
The Big Sick was my favorite movie of the year. It was a pitch perfect movie to me and the lack of other nominations is a bit disappointing. It’s tough to pick this over Lady Bird and Get Out but ultimately I believe it deserves it the most.
The Big Sick
Get Out
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri