The Oscars make an entertainment writer's job a lot easier. It's the buzziest of all the Hollywood awards shows filled with trending celebrities generating memes and gifs left and right thanks to hilariously candid reactions (See: Leo, Golden Globes). But the No. 1 benefit of the Academy Awards is that it allows film critics to write endless think pieces and self-serious analytical columns delving into the background politics of it all. You know, just critiquing the whole shebang.
I'm not going to do that (again).
Instead, here are this year's nominations (for the major categories) and who is likely to go home happy at the 88th Annual Academy Awards.
Best Picture
"The Big Short"
"Bridge of Spies"
"Brooklyn"
"Mad Max: Fury Road"
"The Martian"
"The Revenant"
"Room"
"Spotlight"
Frontrunner: "The Revenant" leads the pack with 12 total Oscar nominations. No doubt the Academy fawned over Alejandro González Iñárritu's artistic approach. "The Revenant" was challengingly shot in chronological order using only natural light while dealing with nightmarish weather conditions. It's beautiful cinema, but is it really the best movie of the bunch?
Longshot: "Room" is the type of turn pager book that never crosses your mind as a potential movie. A mother and young son held captive in an enclosed space for years before gaining their freedom? Sounds too tricky to put on film. But clever camera work from director Lenny Abrahamson and strong performances from "Room's" stars really make this movie standout.
Snub: "Sicario" and "Ex Machina" were both worthy of consideration since up to 10 films can be nominated in a given year. The former is what Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" should have been, while the later was arguably the smartest sci-movie in a year that also included "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Jurassic World" and "The Martian."
Who Should Win: "Spotlight" is through and through the best overall movie. No other candidates can match its blend of story, structure, acting and execution.
Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, "The Revenant"
Tom McCarthy, "Spotlight"
Adam McKay, "The Big Short"
George Miller, "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Lenny Abrahamson, "Room"
Frontrunner: Tom McCarthy is somehow the same guy who made both the spectacular "The Station Agent" with an early career Peter Dinklage and Adam Sandler's unwatchable "Cobblers" (fun fact: he also wrote "Up"). While Iñárritu and Miller were undoubtedly given the greatest degree of difficulty, McCarthy may very well have made the best overall movie of the group.
Longshot: Adam McKay made his first big mark with Ron Burgundy eating cat poop. Now, he's an Academy Award nominated person. "The Big Short" was surprisingly well-done, dotted with great performances and sauntering onward with an unusually attractive energy.
Snub: Bill Pohlad's Brian Wilson biopic "Love & Mercy" had the unenviable task of featuring its main character concurrently at two very different points in his life along two very different timelines. A tough tightrope act that Pohlad pulled off with ease.
Who Should Win: Alejandro González Iñárritu basically pulled off the impossible given the mountain of obstacles put in his way.
Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, "Trumbo"
Matt Damon, "The Martian"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant"
Michael Fassbender, "Steve Jobs"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Danish Girl"
Frontrunner: Leonardo DiCaprio is certainly deserving of that long elusive statue for the ringer he put himself through while filming "The Revenant." In a nearly silent performance, the five-time nominee commands the screen at all times. But the "he's due" narrative dominating the Internet has outshined other worthy candidates.
Longshot: Eddie Redmayne has a shot at becoming the first back-to-back leading role winner since Tom Hanks did it with "Forest Gump" and "Philadelphia" in the mid-1990s. Perhaps that makes him a bit overqualified for the longshot category, yet he remains the best competition for Leo.
Snub: Idris Elba could have been considered for his warlord role in the Netflix movie "Beast of No Nation," which drew comparisons to Forest Whitaker's winning turn in "The Last King of Scotland." The power and gravitas that the Academy tends to be drawn to in a role were all there.
Who Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio really put it all on the line this year. It's hard to challenge the pure rawness of his role.
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, "Carol"
Brie Larson, "Room"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Joy"
Charlotte Rampling, "45 Years"
Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn"
Frontrunner: Cate Blanchett is an Oscars favorite with two wins and six total nominations already under her belt and the 46-year-old actress is completely deserving of them all. Her turn in "Carol," a doomed love story of sorts, is no different.
Longshot: Saoirse Ronan, remember the name even if you can't pronounce it (it's like "inertia"). She's an incredibly talented actress who anchors "Brooklyn" all by herself. Ronan is the youngest of the nominees at just 21, but she comes across as a seasoned veteran.
Snub: Helen Mirren is basically England's version of Meryl Streep, which makes her exclusion for her work in "Trumbo" - for which she landed a Golden Globe nod - a bit curious.
Who Should Win: Cate Blanchett outshines her younger counterparts in a relevant and emotional go-around this year.
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, "The Big Short"
Tom Hardy, "The Revenant"
Mark Ruffalo, "Spotlight"
Mark Rylance, "Bridge of Spies"
Sylvester Stallone, "Creed"
Frontrunner: Tom Hardy, maybe? All of the nominees this year are deserving (though Stallone's nod may be just a bit generous), but there is no clear-cut favorite like last year when J.K. Simmons gave us all PTSD with his sadistic role in "Whiplash." Ruffalo shined in "Spotlight" but his character wasn't quite meaty enough for me to throw my full support behind as an Oscars lock. This one is a toss-up.
Longshot: Sylvester Stallone joins a group of five actors to be nominated for the same role multiple times. Though Rocky's vulnerable side was on full and impressive display in "Creed," a Best Supporting Actor statue is just too rich of a reward.
Snub: Samuel L. Jackson inhabited one of the showiest roles in Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight." Though Tarantino's characters are sometimes a bit one-note, no one is able to hit that mark quite like Jackson, who delivers QT's signature dialogue with unmatched flare and helps to center the twisty story.
Who Should Win: Tom Hardy's dialect skills are unparalleled in Hollywood right now as is his intensity.
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh, "The Hateful Eight"
Rooney Mara, "Carol"
Rachel McAdams, "Spotlight"
Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"
Kate Winslet, "Steve Jobs"
Frontrunner: Kate Winslet is another favorite of the Academy, with one win and seven total nominations in her career. She definitely brings it in "Steve Jobs" as the counterweight to our titular anti-hero. But this feels like the safe choice.
Longshot: Rachel McAdams has been rewarded with her first ever Oscar nomination this year. But the honor feels like its due more to the importance of the film ("Spotlight") than it does with her actual performance.
Snub: Alicia Vikander could have easily been nominated for both "The Danish Girl" and her role in "Ex Machina." Keep your eye on her, something tells me she's going to be captivating audiences for quite some time.
Who Should Win: Alicia Vikander can oscillate between extreme emotions while also presenting a normal front so well. Truly impressive performance.
