Oscar Picks 2015
There are picks to be made so I’ll get straight to it. I’m adding each movies betting odds as of
4:30 this afternoon and seeing how much money I would make(lose) if I dropped
$10 on each pick. On we go.
Best Picture
Birdman
Odds: 4/9
I’ll start with the favorite. Birdman was a very well done movie. It was filmed to make it look like they got
everything in one take, which was very cool.
The acting was swell and I thought the ending was decent for being
ambiguous.
Candy and a Movie Rating: 7.2
Boyhood
Odds: 8/5
Boyhood, (aka ASAB(all stepdads are bastards)) the movie
that took 12 years to make. Filming it
over 11 years was a very cool idea but the movie itself was very
underwhelming. You’d think with all that
time that they would be able to think about a little story every once in a
while. Also I bet they wished that the
kid grew up to be an actor.
Candy and a Movie Rating: 6.5
American Sniper
Odds: 9/1
Now this was a solid movie.
Great acting by Cooper and cool battle scenes. Didn’t suck me in super emotionally
though.
Candy and a Movie Rating: 7.4
The Imitation Game
Odds: 33/1
Every movie from here on is a big long shot now. Sherlock sure can act. I knew very little about the story so it was
cool to learn a little while watching.
Candy and a Movie Rating: 7.5
Selma
40/1
I just finished Selma like 30 minutes ago. Actor who played MLK did a really good job,
especially delivering speeches and the violence was definitely a little
powerful. Not as good as some of these
others but I thought it deserved its place being nominated.
Rating: 6.9
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Odds: 50/1
Wes Anderson makes a very Wes Anderson movie. I liked it but it wasn’t his best.
Rating: 7.3
Whiplash
66/1
Whiplash definitely had the best ending of any of these
movies. Also out of all of the best
pictures, it would be the first that I watched again.
Rating: 7.9
Theory of Everything
66/1
I thought this movie was kind of a well acted, high budget
lifetime channel movie or something. What
I’m saying is that I don’t see all of the love.
Is it decent? Sure but there are
other movies more deserving to be nominated.
Rating: 6.3
My pick: I’m going Birdman.
It wasn’t my favorite but I can’t deny how well it was made. So that’s a $10 bet to win $4.44 This would be a stupid bet to make in real
life so don’t actually do it viewers.
How I liked them:
1. Whiplash
2. Imitation Game
3. American Sniper
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel
5. Birdman
6. Selma
7. Boyhood
8. Theory of Everything
Best Director
Foxcatcher hasn’t been mentioned so I’ll talk about that
first. This movie was slow but I liked
the way it built tension. Steve Carrell
and Channing Tatum were really good while Mark Ruffalo was solid himself. I’d say it is worth the one time watch.
Rating: 6.8
O.k., so the directors…
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
1/2
Inarritu is the slight favorite at the moment. Like I said before, the movie is very well
done. I’ve only seen one other of his
movies, Amores Perros, and I liked it.
Babel, 21 Grams and Biutiful are movies I always meant to see. He did a good job.
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
6/5
Boyhood was a very novel movie and if he wins, it’s because
of the idea of Boyhood more than the execution.
Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
25/1
He has his own style and they are always at least decent
movies. Not a real chance here though.
Morten Tyldum
50/1
Does this guy have a name that could be in Game of Thrones
or what? Headhunters has been on my
watch list for a long time and I didn’t know he made that until just now. This was the first I’ve seen of him and I
liked it.
Bennent Miller
50/1
I know they say people with three first names usually turn
out to be serial killers but I have no idea what people with 2 last names turn
into. Right now it’s a director with no
chance of winning.
My pick is Linklater. $10 wins me $12. That’s action I like. After that my order would be Inarritu,
Anderson, Tyldum, and then Miller
Best Actor
All of the movies have been covered already so no need for
filler.
Eddie Redmayne (Theory of Everything)
2/7
He’s a pretty large favorite at the moment. I can’t really say more than he really did
become Hawking.
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
3/1
I’ve been digging the Keaton comeback (other than Need for
Speed) and it’s good to see him nominated because he did a good job.
Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
7/1
He’s come a long way since The Hangover right? Did a wonderful job with the emotional scenes
as well as the combat.
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
28/1
Played a more reserved version of Sherlock pretty much and
did a great job. Did call black people
colored in real life though. Total
Sherlock move
Steve Carrell (Foxcatcher)
50/1
He’s not winning although this was his best acting job
yet. Other than one or two lines, I
never saw Michael Scott.
I’m picking Keaton in the upset although Redmayne winning
would be deserving too. $10 to win $30
The others in order would be Redmayne, Cooper, Cumberbatch,
Carrell/
Best Actress
Running out of time so I’ll hit the movies that haven’t been
mentioned yet real quick now, give my winners and my rankings. Boom
Still Alice was pretty sad but worth the watch. All about Moore’s performance. 6.9
Gone Girl sure was a wild.
I’d watch it again. Pike
certainly made me feel some things and did a good job. 7.3
I didn’t care for Wild all that much. Tracks was basically a better version of the
same movie. 6.3
Two Days, One Night is a very simple but good movie. Cotillard carried the movie. 7.0
Nominees
Julianne Moore (Still Alice) 1/50
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
12/1
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) 25/1
Felicity Jones (Theory of Everything) 40/1
Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night) 50/1
My Pick: Julliane Moore.
$10 wins me an awful $0.20. She’s
a big favorite.
My Rankings: Moore, Cotillard, Pike, Jones, Witherspoon
Supporting Actor
Jk Simmons is about all I need to say. Everyone else rightfully has no chance. Only movie not mentioned yet was The
Judge. It was a pretty simple watch. Worth seeing one time. 6.8
Jk Simmons (Whiplash)1/50
Edward Norton (Birdman) 12/1
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher) 16/1
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood) 33/1
Robert Duvall (The Judge)
33/1
Picking Simmons again for another $10 to win $0.20.
My Rankings; Simmons, Norton, Duvall, Ruffalo, Hawke. I’m not sure why Hawke is here.
Supporting Actress
Into the Woods is the only unmentioned one here. It wins the award for dirtiest kids movie of
the year. Didn’t like it at all (usually
I’d be really into the dirtiest kids movie) and I’d say it’s not worth the
watch. 4.9
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) 1/50
Emma Stone (Birdman) 14/1
Meryl Streep (Into the Woods) 25/1
Kiera Knightley (The Imitation Game) 25/1
Laura Dern (Wild) 25/1
My Pick: Arquette $10 to win $0.20 again. Big favorites for all of these lately.
My Ranking: This is
the weakest category performance wise so far.
Arquette, Dern, Knightley, Streep, Stone
Best Adapted Screenplay
One new addition is Inherent Vice. Liked it better than The Master but still not
close to There Will Be Blood level for the other Anderson Director
The Imitation Game 2/5
Whiplash 5/2
The Theory of Everything 5/1
American Sniper 16/1
Inherent Vice 33/1
My Pick: Tough call between Imitation Game and Sniper. Going with the favorite, Game, at $10 to win
$4
My Ranking: The Imitation Game, American Sniper, Whiplash,
The Theory of Everything, Inherent Vice
Original Screenplay
I really liked Foxcatcher a lot. Worth multiple watches in my opinion. 7.9
The Grand Budapest Hotel 4/9
Birdman 3/2
Boyhood 12/1
Foxcatcher 50/1
Nightcrawler 50/1
My Pick: Birdman $10 to win $15
My Ranking: Nightcrawler, Birdman, Budapest, Foxcatcher,
Boyhood
Animated Feature
Here’s the first category where I haven’t seen one. I couldn’t find the Song of the Sea anywhere,
so if it wins, it doesn’t count here. I
didn’t care for How to Train Your Dragon 2.
Liked the first much better 5.8.
Big Hero 6 was very enjoyable. I
think I’ve seen it twice while babysitting now and it was good both time. 7.0. The
Tale of Princess Kaguya looks pretty beautiful.
I’m a fan of the watercolor looking Japanese movies. Story itself was ok. Wouldn’t call it a must watch though. 6.0.
The Boxtrolls was stale. Not
worth the watch. 5.0
HTTYD2 1/4
Big Hero 6 5/2
Song of the Sea 16/1
The Tale of Princess Kaguya 16/1
The Boxtrolls 18/1
My Pick: It would be The Lego Movie because it was better
than all of these. I guess I’ll pick the
favorite, Dragon, because I don’t think the old Academy members will pick a
superhero movie. $10 wins $2.5
My Ranking: Big Hero 6, Tale of Princess Kaguya, HTTYD2,
Boxtrolls
Best Foreign Film
I didn’t see Timbuktu or Wild Tales (really wanted to see
this one) so again if they win, this doesn’t count. Ida was a really great looking black and
white polish movie that is definitely worth the watch. 7.3. A
little harsh though. Leviathan is the
Russian entry and is great looking although the story is insanely harsh. I
thought it was worth the watch but make sure you know what you’re are getting
into (I didn’t). 6.9. Tangerines has the be the first Estonian
movie I’ve ever seen and I liked it a lot.
Totally worth the watch.
7.2. Also you might here that
Force Majeure was a snub but I disagree.
It was pretty good but not as good as these 3.
Ida 2/5
Leviathan 11/5
Wild Tales 8/1
Timbuktu 25/1
Tangerines 33/1
My Pick: Ida $10 to win $4
My Ranking: Ida, Tangerines, Leviathan
Best Documentary Feature
Let me start by saying 20 Feet from Stardom beating Act of
Killing last year was terrible. Never
should have happened. Anyway, this year
I didn’t see Salt of the Earth.
CitizenFour had me interested in a very uninteresting topic. 6.4
Virunga was a doc set in Africa so you know it’s going to be about
people going through some things. Very
good. 6.8. Finding Vivian Maier was pretty boring. Only watch if you really want to. 6.0
Last Days In Vietnam had some good stories. 6.4
CitizenFour 1/8
Virunga 4/1
Finding Vivian Maier 14/1
Last Days in Vietnam 25/1
The Salt of the Earth 25/1
My Pick: CitizenFour
$10 to win $1.25
Best Original Score
Interstellar was a whole thing. I like Nolan movies a lot so I'll be watching it again. 7.5. Mr. Turner didn't really do much for me but Peter Pettigrew did a really solid job acting. There were a couple of very cool shots too. 6.8
Theory of Everything 4/7
Budapest 7/5
Imitation Game 10/1
Interstellar 12/1
Mr. Turner 50/1
My Pick: Theory of Everything $10 to win $5.71. When you actually notice the score, you know
it’s good
My Ranking: Theory of everything, Interstellar, Budapest,
Imitation Game, Turner
Best Original Song
Haven’t heard the Beyond the Lights or Glen Campbell song
The Lego movie was my favorite animated movie this year. 7.2 Multiple watches. Begin Again was a good easy movie. Like Ruffalo more in this than Foxcatcher. 6.6
Glory(Selma) 1/5
Everything is Awesome (The Lego Movie) 4/1
I’m Not Gonna Miss You (GC) 9/1
Lost Stars (Begin Again) 10/1
Grateful (BtL) 33/1
My Pick: Glory $10 to win $2 although I think The Lego Movie should win something so i'll be rooting for it.
My Ranking: Lego, Selma, Begin Again
Costume Design
Generally I think most people didn't care for Maleficent but I thought it was better than I expected. 6.5
Budapest 1/10
Into the Woods 9/2
Maleficent 20/1
Mr. Turner 20/1
Inherent Vice 25/1
My Pick: Budapest $10 to win $1
My Ranking: Budapest, Maleficent, Mr. Turner, Into the
Woods, Inherent Vice
Animated Short
I only saw Feast so that’s my pick. This Category won’t count but I’ll give you
the odds anyway.
Feast 1/4
The Dam Keeper 7/2
The Bigger Picture 6/1
A Single Life 20/1
Me and my Moulton 20/1
Best Live Action Short
Didn’t see any.
The Phone Call 4/9
Boogaloo and Graham 3/1
Butter Lamp 6/1
Parvaneh 8/1
Aya 12/1
I guess I’ll go with the favorite
Best Production Design
Budapest 1/12
Into the Woods 5/1
Mr. Turner 12/1
Interstellar 22/1
Imitation Game 25/1
My Pick: Budapest $10 to win $0.83. The sets were my favorite part of the movie
My Ranking: Budapest, Interstellar, Turner, Woods, Imitation
Game
Visual Effects
I didn't see the Franco Planet of the Apes but watched this one anyway. It wasn't bad. 6.5. Guardians of the Galaxy was a lot of fun and one of my favorites this year. 7.4 X-Men was a little disappointing. I don't really like McAvoy 6.6 Winter Soldier was a lot better than the first 6.9
Interstellar 1/5
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 11/4
Guardians of the Galaxy 7/1
X-Men: Days of Future Past 40/1
Captain America: The Winter Soldier 50/1
My Pick: Interstellar $10 to win $2
My Ranking: Interstellar, Guardians, Apes, X-Men, Captain
America
Cinematography
Unbroken was a pretty good biopic that got a little cheesy at times. 6.7
Birdman 1/12
Budapest 5/1
Ida 16/1
Unbroken 16/1
Turner 33/1
My Pick: Birdman $10 to win $.83
My Ranking: Birdman, Ida, Budapest, Turner, Unbroken
Makeup and Hairstyling
Budapest 1/7
Guardians of the Galaxy 7/2
Foxcatcher 8/1
My Pick: Guardians $10 to win $35
Ranking: Guardians, Budapest, Foxcatcher
Film Editing
Boyhood 1/5
Whiplash 13/5
American Sniper 10/1
Budapest 25/1
Imitation Game 25/1
My Pick: Boyhood $10 to win $2. They had 12 years of stuff to edit
Ranking: My order of favorites for once
The rest of these don’t have odds
Best Documentary Short
I only saw 2, Crisis Hotline and Our Curse so if it’s not
one of those, it won’t count. Liked
Curse better
Sound Editing
The Hobbit was the same old thing as you've heard and was kind of a let down. 6.4
Pick: American Sniper
Ranking: American Sniper, Interstellar, Hobbit, Birdman,
Unbroken
Sound Mixing
Pick: Whiplash
Ranking: Whiplash, American Sniper, Interstellar, Birdman,
Unbroken
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