My 2015 Oscars Rankings and Predictions

The Oscars are on tonight, which means that movie fanatics and live-tweeters can join together to make all forms of social media unbearable.  With that being said, I will absolutely be live-tweeting and complaining about each Oscar win that I disagree with.  I'm already preparing myself for the inevitable loss in the Adapted Screenplay category for Paul Thomas Anderson.  Since the Oscars have a tendency to not be very shocking, I'm hoping there are some surprises this year.  At the very least, Neil Patrick Harris should be a good host.

In All Seriousness:

Below I will rank the films and performances in order from would like to win the most to the least, and I will put an asterisk next to the film/performance that I think will win.  And the short film categories were picked at random because I haven't seen any of them.

*= My predicted win

BEST PICTURE

1. Whiplash

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

3. Boyhood*

4. Birdman

5. The Imitation Game

6. Selma

7. The Theory of Everything

8. American Sniper

BEST ACTOR

1. Michael Keaton (Birdman)*

2. Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

3. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)

4. Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)

5. Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)

BEST ACTRESS

1. Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

2. Julianne Moore (Still Alice)*

3. Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)

4. Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

5. Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)*

2. Edward Norton (Birdman)

3. Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)

4. Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)

Did not see: Robert Duvall (The Judge)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)*

2. Emma Stone (Birdman)

3. Laura Dern (Wild)

4. Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)

Did not see: Into the Woods

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Richard Linklater (Boyhood)*

2. Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

3. Alejandro G. Inarritu (Birdman)

4. Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)

5. Morton Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel*

2. Birdman

3. Nightcrawler

4. Boyhood

5. Foxcatcher

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

1. Inherent Vice

2. Whiplash*

3. The Theory of Everything

4. The Imitation Game

5. American Sniper

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. Ida*

Did not see:

"Leviathan," Russia

"Tangerines," Estonia

"Wild Tales," Argentina

"Timbuktu," Mauritania

BEST ANIMATED FEATURED FILM

Did not see:

"Big Hero 6"

"The Boxtrolls"

"How to Train Your Dragon 2"*

"Song of the Sea"

"The Tale of the Princess Kaguya"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Birdman*

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

3. Ida

4. Mr. Turner

Did not see: Unbroken

BEST FILM EDITING

1. Whiplash

2. Boyhood*

3. The Grand Budapest Hotel

4. American Sniper

5. The Imitation Game

BEST SOUND EDITING

Richard King, "Interstellar"

Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro, "Unbroken"

Brent Burge and Jason Canovas, "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"

Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman, "American Sniper"*

Martin Hernandez and Aaron Glascock, "Birdman"

BEST SOUND MIXING

Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten, "Interstellar"

Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley, "Whiplash"*

Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montano and Thomas Varga, "Birdman"

John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin, "American Sniper"

Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montano and David Lee, "Unbroken"

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Dennis Gassner (Production Design) and Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration), "Into the Woods"

Adam Stockhausen (Production Design) and Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration), "The Grand Budapest Hotel"*

Nathan Crowley (Production Design) and Gary Fettis (Set Decoration),"Interstellar"

Maria Djurkovic (Production Design) and Tatiana Macdonald (Set Decoration), "The Imitation Game"

Suzie Davies (Production Design) and Charlotte Watts (Set Decoration),"Mr. Turner"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Milena Canonero, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

Mark Bridges, "Inherent Vice"*

Colleen Atwood, "Into the Woods"

Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive, "Maleficient"

Jacqueline Durran, "Mr. Turner"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. The Theory of Everything*

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel

3. The Imitation Game

4. Interstellar

5. Mr. Turner

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"Glory" by Common and John Legend, "Selma"*

"Lost Stars" by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and NickSouthwood, "Begin Again"

"Everything Is Awesome" by Shawn Patterson, "The LEGO Movie"

"I'm Not Gonna Miss You," by Glen Campbell, "Glenn Campbell: I'll Be Me"

"Grateful," "Beyond the lights"

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

"Foxcatcher"

"The Grand Budapest Hotel"

"Guardians of the Galaxy"*

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher, "Interstellar"*

Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"

Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould, "Guardians of the Galaxy"

Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick, "Captain America: Winter Soldier"

Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer, "X-Men: Days of Future Past"

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

"Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1"

"Joanna"

"Our Curse"

"White Earth"

"The Reaper"*

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Did not see:

"Citizenfour"*

"Last Days in Vietnam"

"Virunga"

"The Salt of the Earth"

"Finding Vivian Maier"

BEST SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION

"Boogaloo and Graham"

"Aya"

"Butterlamp"

"Parvenah"

"The Phone Call"*

BEST SHORT FILM, ANIMATED

"Feast"*

"The Bigger Picture"

"A Single Life"

"The Dam Keeper"

"Me and My Moulton"

-Ryan Moncrief

What Movie Should You Be Watching on Valentine's Day?

Love is in the air. Chocolate is in our mouths. People are ironically and un-ironically tossing around the "word" "bae".  This must mean it's Valentine's Day.  Whether you hate it or hate it (does anyone actually really like V-Day?) you have to endure it like everyone else.  Single or not, one of the best ways to spend February 14th is by watching movies.  Below I will show you what movie to watch on Valentine's Day depending on what kind of person you are.  Even if you're single!

In All Seriousness:

You've been with the same Valentine for a long time: Groundhog Day

Sit down with your husband/wife or your long-term boyfriend/girlfriend, and enjoy this incredible Bill Murray film.  Murray is at the top of his career in what is in my opinion his best film.  Hilarious and touching to reignite that burning desire in you both.  For a different kind of burning feeling, enjoy your Valentine's Day dinner at Taco Bell.

You're reuniting with your Valentine after a while apart: Wild at Heart

Have you been on opposite sides of the country as your significant other?  Are you just getting out of serving a prison sentence only to reunite with your lady and go on the run with her because her mom is hiring people to kill you? The second scenario is what happens to Nicolas Cage's character Sailor in Wild at Heart.  This movie is darkly funny, crazy as hell, and super weird.  All things you'd expect from a David Lynch film.

You were recently broken up with before V-Day: Sideways

I get it.  Breaking up sucks.  You have no hope for the future.  Why don't you give that Sam Smith album a break and pop in Sideways.  It's funny, it's filled with bright California images, and it shows that even if you're Paul Giamatti, there is still hope to find love in this world.

You recently started a relationship before V-Day: Punch-Drunk Love

Woooo!  Finally got a boyfriend or girlfriend, huh?  Adam Sandler knows exactly how you feel in Punch-Drunk Love.  "I have a love in my life.  It makes me stronger than anything you can imagine." Adam Sandler's Barry Egan's love makes him stronger than anything you can imagine when he gets into some trouble with a mattress salesman as he enters a new relationship.  Short, sweet, and has one of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman's best roles despite how small it is.

Your best friend is your valentine this year: Thelma and Louise

As is the common consensus with single people, both boys and girls suck.  That's why your best friend is your valentine this year.  There is no shame in that.  You might be closer with that person than you ever could be with someone of the opposite sex.  You could argue that Thelma and Louise's love for each other is stronger than most romantic relationships in other films.  Just try not to go on a crime spree with your friend this Valentine's Day.

Just because I'm thirteen doesn't mean I can't be in love, MOM: Moonrise Kingdom

You are young, dumb, and in love.  It happens.  You are mature enough to make decisions for yourself.  And as we can see in Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, sometimes the kids act like adults and adults act like kids.  Enjoy being a kid, write letters to each other, enjoy picnics together, and hope that Bill Murray isn't your dad.  (Actually scratch that, Bill Murray would be an amazing dad.)

Ahhhhhhh I'm single and I'm pissed about it!: Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2

Woah!  Take it easy.  Stop breaking things.  You're making a scene.  You're single, again.  It sucks.  Instead of putting bags of poop on your ex's doorstep (actually don't rule this out, sounds fun), watch a film where a girl goes on an unstoppable quest for revenge, trying to take down every person that stands in her way just so she can kill her ex.  Watch all four hours of this 2-part action film (let's face it, you have the time), and watch Uma Thurman let out all of her anger in a way that you wish you could.

Whether you actually listen to my recommendations or don't watch a movie at all, I hope you all have a great Valentine's Day.

-Ryan Moncrief