Oscar Predictions 2024

Oscar season is here again! Once again the Academy have gone with the safe hosting choice of Jimmy Kimmel so expect lots of Barbenheimer jokes and jokes about how long movies are and an overall safe, boring ceremony. But unlike the ceremony this year has been a really good one for movies with lots of interesting films being nominated, so let’s see how I do with my predictions and how the Academy does with making the right choices!

Best Visual Effects

Nominees: The Creator, Godzilla Minus One, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3, Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning: Vol 1, Napoleon.

Prediction: Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Vol 1

Personal Choice: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3

For a first category this is a really tough one to call as none of these films have nominations in pretty much any other category. Honestly I could see any of these winning, but I’ve gone with Mission: Impossible as having the most visually impressive effects, with Guardians being my personal favourite of these.

Best Film Editing

Nominees: Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, Poor Things.

Prediction: Oppenheimer

Personal Choice: Poor Things

Oppenheimer is a good bet in any technical category it is nominated in and a win would see Jennifer Lame become the first solo woman to win in this category. I might personally go for Poor Things, but I’m not unhappy with an Oppenheimer win.

Best Costume Design

Nominees: Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, Oppenheimer, Poor Things

Prediction: Barbie

Personal Choice: Poor Things

This is a tight-race between Barbie and Poor Things with both having amazing costume work. I personally would pick Poor Things, but Barbie also absolutely deserves and I think the Academy will reward a movie where costumes are so central to the story.

Best Make-Up and Hairstyling

Nominees: Golda, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, Society of the Snow.

Prediction: Maestro

Personal Choice: Poor Things

Although I haven’t seen it everything I’ve seen about Maestro is that the make-up and hairstyling is a very big part of it, so that’s my prediction. I’d personally go Poor Things and you can never fully rule out Oppenheimer, but I’m going Maestro on this.

Best Cinematography

Nominees: El Conde, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Poor Things.

Prediction: Oppenheimer

Personal Choice: Oppenheimer

I think Oppenheimer takes this one and Hoyte van Hoytema getting some recognition is good with me. I think Poor Things is a close second and there’s also some amazing shots in Killers of the Flower Moon. I know nothing about El Conde, but the plot synopsis on Wikipedia is wild!

Best Production Design

Nominees: Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, Oppenheimer, Poor Things.

Prediction: Barbie

Personal Choice: Poor Things

This is an interesting one as I have seen a lot of predictions go for Poor Things and I would love that, the production design in that film is amazing and so creative and I really want it to win at least one award. I think Academy voters will be swayed by the popularity of Barbie and the design of the Barbie Dream House (which also is really good, just personally prefer Poor Things, which is doing something more interesting and unique in my eyes!).

Best Sound

Nominees: The Creator, Maestro, Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Vol 1, Oppenheimer, The Zone of Interest.

Prediction: Oppenheimer

Personal Choice: Oppenheimer

Not much to say on this one Oppenheimer is the most obvious pick and I’m happy with that, it does sound amazing particularly in a big screen.

Best Original Song

Nominees: ‘The Fire Inside’- Flamin’ Hot, ‘I’m Just Ken’-Barbie, ‘It Never Went Away’-American Symphony, Wahzahzhe (A Song for My People)- Killers of the Flower Moon, ‘What Was I Made For?’- Barbie.

Prediction: ‘What Was I Made For?’- Barbie

Personal Choice: ‘I’m Just Ken’- Barbie

My actual personal choice of ‘Dance the Night’-Barbie was not even nominated which is a tragedy! For me this category is where the Academy made the most mistakes. Is a song from a movie about the creation of Cheetos (Flamin’ Hot) really better than Dance the Night, anything from Across the Spiderverse or hell, even Peaches from the Super Mario Bros movie? But anyway only a fool would bet against Billie Eilish winning any award, personal choice would be I’m Just Ken, just as that’s the most entertaining.

Best Original Score

Nominees: American Fiction, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer, Poor Things

Prediction: Oppenheimer

Personal Choice: Killers of the Flower Moon

I can’t really see anything but Oppenheimer winning here, which is not a problem with me, it is an amazing score and Ludwig Goransson is a really talented composer. Would personally give to Killers of the Flower Moon as a really unique score by a composer who sadly passed away since his nomination (Robbie Robertson). Could we maybe have nominated Across the Spiderverse or All of Us Strangers instead of Indiana Jones? (which let’s be honest is the same score for a fifth time!)

Best Animated Short Film

Nominees: Letter to a Pig, Ninety-Five Senses, Our Uniform, Pachyderme, War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Prediction: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Personal Choice: N/A

Have not seen any of these but have to go with the one that has famous names attached to it and an anti-war film in the current international climate would definitely go down well with Oscar voters.

Best Live Action Short Film

Nominees: The After, Invincible, Knight of Fortune, Red, White and Blue, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

Prediction: Red, White and Blue

Personal Choice: N/A

Also haven’t seen any here. Lots of people put The After as a favourite, but from what I’ve read it has been polarising with critics which could harm its chances. Red, White and Blue looks at the issue of reproductive rights in the US which is a very current issue which I think gives it as a good chance of winning. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar also has a shot being directed by Wes Anderson and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, but I would go with Red, White and Blue.

Best Documentary Short Film

Nominees: The ABCs of Book Burning, The Barber of Little Rock, Island in Between, The Last Repair Shop, Nai Nai & Wai Po.

Prediction: The ABCs of Book Burning

Personal Choice: N/A

The ABCs of Book Burning has a very visceral, catchy title and examines the issue of Florida’s attacks on LGBTQ+ and Black stories, which will capture the attention of Academy voters. Nai Nai and Wai Po is backed by Disney and is a heartwarming tale of two Grandmothers having a lunch so also has a chance.

Best Documentary Feature Film

Nominees: Bobi Wine: The People’s President, The Eternal Memory, To Kill a Tiger, 20 Days in Mariupol

Prediction: 20 Days in Mariupol

Personal Choice: N/A

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is too pressing for the Academy to ignore so I think 20 Days in Mariupol will take this one.

Best International Feature Film

Nominees: Io Capitano, Perfect Days, Society of the Snow, The Teacher’s Lounge, The Zone of Interest

Prediction: The Zone of Interest

Personal Choice: N/A

This one is pretty nailed on as it is also nominated for Best Picture and Jonathan Glazer is a very interesting film maker so I’m happy to see this one take this award and I am interested to see The Zone of Interest.

Best Animated Feature

Nominees: The Boy and the Heron, Elemental, Nimon, Robot Dreams, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse

Prediction: The Boy and the Heron

Personal Choice: Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse

This one is very close between The Boy and the Heron and Spiderverse. One one hand Spiderverse has been campaigning very hard and have won previously in this category. But I think the previous awards success of Boy and the Heron and the desire in the industry to reward Miyazaki will just give this the edge. I’d be happy to be proved wrong on this one though as I think Spiderverse is great!

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominees: American Fiction, Barbie, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, The Zone of Interest.

Prediction: American Fiction

Personal Choice: Poor Things

This is a tough category and I feel bad predicted against either of Barbenheimer (either of which I could see taking this home). But the whole premise of American Fiction is about writing, which I think fits well with Academy voters and this category, which also often awards films that won’t win Best Picture, so that is my pick. Barbie is also unlikely to win Best Picture, so will be a close second. Poor Things would be my personal choice.

Best Original Screenplay

Nominees: Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Maestro, May/December, Past Lives.

Prediction: Anatomy of a Fall

Personal Choice: N/A

I actually haven’t seen any of these, but by all award indications Anatomy of a Fall looks likely to take this one home. The Holdovers is the potential upset win here being a feel-good drama, but I’m still going to stick with Anatomy of a Fall. Would’ve been great to see some love for Saltburn in this category.

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees: Emily Blunt- Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks- The Color Purple, America Ferrera- Barbie, Jodie Foster- Nyad, Da’vine Joy Randolph- The Holdovers.

Prediction: Da’vine Joy Randolph- The Holdovers

Personal Choice: Emily Blunt- Oppenheimer

Da’vine Joy Randolph is certain to take this one home and I haven’t seen The Holdovers, but all indications are that people are happy with this. Personal pick on what I have seen would be Emily Blunt. Claire Foy was eligible for this award for All of Us Strangers which would have been great to see as a nomination or even Rosamund Pike for Saltburn too!

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees: Sterling K.Brown- American Fiction, Robert Downey Jr- Oppenheimer, Ryan Gosling- Barbie, Mark Ruffalo- Poor Things.

Prediction: Robert Downey Jr- Oppenheimer

Personal Choice: Mark Ruffalo- Poor Things

There’s some really strong competition here with some great nominees, but theres’s no stopping Robert Downey Jr and honestly that’s fine with me, he is great in Oppenheimer and deserves an Oscar in his career. My personal pick would be Mark Ruffalo who is a great actor and does a great job in Poor Things with a really devious and interesting character. Would love to have seen a nomination for Willem Dafoe for Poor Things, who gave a really unique performance.

Best Actress

Nominees: Annette Benning- Nyad, Lily Gladstone- Killers of the Flower Moon, Sandra Huller- Anatomy of a Fall, Carey Mulligan- Maestro, Emma Stone- Poor Things.

Prediction: Lily Gladstone- Killers of the Flower Moon

Personal Choice: Emma Stone- Poor Things

This is the closest of the big four acting awards, but I think Lily Gladstone will take this home becoming the first Native American woman to do so. Gladstone does give an amazing performance in the film and I’m absolutely fine with her taking home this award. Personal pick would be Emma Stone whose performance is an integral part of what makes Poor Things so unique and interesting and I can’t imagine anyone else in that role. I’m still really surprised there was nothing for Margot Robbie here for Barbie as she definitely deserved at least a nomination.

Best Actor

Nominees: Bradley Cooper- Maestro, Colman Domingo- Rustin, Paul Giamatti- The Holdovers, Cillian Murphy- Oppenheimer, Jeffrey Wright- American Fiction

Prediction: Cillian Murphy- Oppenheimer

Personal Choice: Cillian Murphy- Oppenheimer

I’m pretty certain in calling this one for Cillian and I’m very happy with that. Great actor who deserves recognition and whose performance carries Oppenheimer. Outside shout for Paul Giamatti, who is also a great actor deserving of recognition, but I think its Cillian’s year. Would love to have seen nominations for Barry Keoghan for Saltburn, Andrew Scott for All of Us Strangers or even Leo for Killers of the Flower Moon.

Best Director

Nominees: Justine Triet- Anatomy of a Fall, Martin Scorses- Killers of the Flower Moon, Christopher Nolan- Oppenheimer, Yorgos Lanthimos- Poor Things, Jonathan Glazer- The Zone of Interest.

Prediction: Christopher Nolan- Oppenheimer

Personal Choice: Christopher Nolan- Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan is pretty locked on to take this one home and I’m happy with that. It’s a really well directed movie and he deserves an Oscar for his great filmography. Happy to see Yorgos nominated and would be my second choice. Would happily have seen a nomination here for Andrew Haigh for All of Us Strangers.

Best Picture

Nominees: American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, The Zone of Interest.

Prediction: Oppenheimer

Personal Choice: Poor Things

Often the biggest award of the night is the hardest to predict but this year the combination of Oppenheimer being a historic movie, covering an important moment in American history and the desire for the Oscars to recognise the Barbeheimer phenomenon and it’s impact on cinema this year makes it the obvious choice. It is also a really good film, so I’m absolutely happy with it winning. Poor Things might just edge it for me for being more weird, unique and interesting but absolutely happy with that. I feel like I have said it a lot but would have been great to see nominations for (in particular) All of Us Strangers and Saltburn.

Cinema Review #210: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (2023)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is the third part of the trilogy and the latest offering in the MCU. Directed once again by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff and Vin Diesel. Joined this time by Will Poulter and Chukwudi Iwuji.

Finally some good MCU content once again. Can’t tell you how happy I am that this turned out good. I was concerned with everything that’s gone on with James Gunn and Disney and now being head of DC that his heart wouldn’t be in this but it absolutely is. Everyone gets their chance to shine in this one, but it is particularly Rocket who we really get a focus on, finding out his backstory (which had me close to shedding a tear I won’t lie). But everyone gets some really nice character moments.

Great villain in the form of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) who is suitably evil and threatening. Definitely the best (new) villain in the MCU since Thanos. You really get a good idea of what drives him and why he has done the awful things he’s done. (There’s also a great physical reveal that I won’t spoil).

So many hilarious moments and a great sound track (of course). The effects are also really good and all the worlds feel like someone spent time creating something unique and interesting and not just putting a green screen up and assuming VFX artists would sort it later (Quantumania).

A perfect conclusion to the trilogy and conclusion to the Guardians’ (as we know them) story. James Gunn can definitely move on with his head held high having creating the best trilogy in the MCU and three of the best Superhero films of all time. 4 Stars.

Cinema Review #209: Missing (2023)

Missing is the new film from the makers of Searching (2018) directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson. It stars Storm Reid as a young girl trying to find her missing mother (Nia Long). Similar to Searching it shows everything from the point of view of the screens the main character uses.

I think Missing works really works. I think it’s a particular positive that it uses real apps and systems (like Facebook, Snapchat, Facetime etc), so it feels real. It’s better than using VideoChat or WorldWideSearch or other made up systems films sometimes use. I also like the way they write into the story the fact that everything is from the screen’s POV.

The mystery is also well written and compelling. I don’t think it has crazy rewatch value and my ability to remember everything would be tested in a few months. But the acting was good, the way the film is made enhances the story and I had a good time. So I would definitely recommend it. It’s honestly surprising it got a cinema release as its certainly a film that is made to watch on a laptop or TV. But yes I enjoyed it and would recommend. It’s a very similar level of quality to Searching which is also good. 3.5 Stars.

Cinema Review #208: The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023)

The Super Mario Bros Movie is a new animated film from Illumination in partnership with Nintendo and adapts the characters from the popular video game franchise. Chris Pratt is Mario, Charlie Day is Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy is Princess Peach and Jack Black is Bowser.

This was so much better than I could have hoped. I’ve not been a fan of Illumination in the past, particularly their bland animation style. But the animation in this is amazing. It’s so creative and full of life and its full of references to the video games that I’m sure fans would love. The characters were all fun, particularly Jack Black’s Bowser (the song is legendary). It comes in at a perfect 90 minutes.

Honestly as much as people clown on Illumination for being insanely corporate and greedy (which they are). In rare cases like this they can use their scientific formula for box office success to make something really entertaining. Sure its not the best movie ever made, but I had a good time. And judging by it absolutely owning the box office (already passing $1 billion worldwide), it seems like others did too. I think the fact that kids would actually enjoy it is a real positive (unlike some of Disney’s recent output- Lightyear and Strange World)3.5 Stars.

Cinema Review #207: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Dungeons & Dragond: HAT is based on the popular role playing game of the same name. This adaptation is directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein and stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant.

Honestly this one is significantly better than it could have been. A film with this premise definitely could have been terrible and at its worst really boring (similar to the Mortal Kombat movie a few years ago). But I think it’s well written, made me chuckle a few times and has a good cast who put in good performances.

It’s not a masterpiece, I’m not sure I would watch it again. But it kept me engaged throughout and I’m sure 12 year old me who have loved it, which is probably the biggest compliment I could give it as that’s definitely the target demographic. 3 Stars.

Cinema Review #206: Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the follow up to 2019’s Shazam! and again stars Zachary Levi as the super version of Billy Batson (Asher Angel). Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu join the cast as the villains and this is again directed by David F Sandberg.

There are some parts I like about this I like Freddy Freeman, I think Jack Dylan Grazer is the best of the younger actors, I wish him success as he gets older. Some of the action is fine too.

I think this film just has absolutely no reason to exist. They probably didn’t know that at the start, but with the wider shifts in the DCEU, Shazam! is not going to be part of that going forward, same as Black Adam, so this one is redundant. The post-credit scenes mean nothing and we’ll never see Shazam! fight Black Adam, so that’s that. At least the film could have been entertaining, but honestly its just dull.

I don’t really understand also why Zachary Levi acts like a child in adult form when he’s really 17. It’s bizarre. I think he definitely doesn’t improve the film despite being its lead character.

Honestly don’t bother with this, even if you liked the first. It’s a waste of your time. 2.5 Stars.

Cinema Review #205: Scream VI (2023)

Scream VI follows up to the Scream (2022) reboot again directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and starring Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega. Much like Scream 2, this time the action takes place with our main characters in college this time in New York.

I thought this was a big improvement on the last one. Scream (2022) is one where my opinions of it have improved over time, but I still felt like everyone was trying to be a bit clever and as a result the film felt a bit insincere and impressed with itself. This one is more back to basics classic Scream fare. Some good kills, a neat reveal and some nice references for those who have seen all the previous films.

If you enjoy the Scream franchise this is worth checking out. It does reveal the killers for some of the last ones, so maybe watch them first if you can. But yes I had a good time with this one. 3.5 Stars.

Cinema Review #204: Creed III (2023)

Creed III is the third film in the Creed franchise a spin off to the Rocky films. This time Michael B Jordan directs as well as stars. Jonathan Majors stars as Creed’s opponent Damian. Tessa Thompson also returns as Creed’s wife Bianca.

For this I watched the first two Creeds and I think I would say this is the weakest. I think it really misses Sylvester Stallone (who is in the first two, but not this one). In reality, this is because Stallone had a dispute over the story direction, but in the context of the film it makes no sense. There are several key events in the film where Rocky definitely would have been there no matter what for Adonis, so the fact he’s not there is strange.

On the positive side the boxing scenes are great. Jonathan Majors (unlike as Kang) is a believable and threatening villain. There’s definitely a long gap between some of the boxing scenes though which does cause them to drag, again the absence of Rocky and his story which added to the first films is definitely felt.

Overall, pretty good, if you’ve seen the first two this one’s still enjoyable. If you haven’t seen any, the first is the best, the second is second best and this is the weakest, but they are all watchable boxing movies. 3 Stars.

Cinema Review #203: 65 (2023)

65 is a new film from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (writers of A Quiet Place) and stars Adam Driver as an astronaut who crash lands on Earth 65 million years ago and fights to survive during the dangerous prehistoric environment.

65 is an interesting one as it has an interesting premise, Driver is a good actor and a decent team behind it. I think there’s not really enough meat on the bones of the premise (the kind of meat a dinosaur would eat, he added cleverly). I think the film very quickly becomes pretty dull and the fact that he has no one to really talk to beyond the one child he discovers on the ship (who he can’t communicate with) means the film ends up feeling very similar to After Earth which is something you really don’t want to do.

Honestly I’ve seen worse and the effects look pretty good. I think its just a bit dull to really recommend spending your time on it. There are better survival movies and better dinosaur movies out there for sure. 2.5 Stars.

Cinema Review #202: Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania completes the Antman trilogy all directed by Peyton Reed and again starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily with Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer in support. Joined by Kathryn Newton as Antman’s daughter Cassie. This time they face off against the MCU’s newest baddie Kang played by Jonathan Majors.

The fact that Antman has a trilogy is pretty hilarious particularly given none of them are really any good. The first one is fine, I weep for the Edgar Wright version we could have had. The second one is ok, just incredibly forgettable (being sandwiched between infinity war and endgame definitely made everyone go easy on it- myself included). Now this one, which doesn’t have the grace of being held near other great MCU content and so I won’t go easy on it.

There’s no reason to see this film. It looks terrible, some of the worst CGI in a big budget film you will see. I think its partly because it’s used for absolutely everything, so there’s just no way it would look good enough without either being fully animated or spending 10 years on it like Avatar. I know he’s a joke but Modok is one of the most ungodly terrible character designs of all time. And the characters just do nothing in this film. Antman and the Wasp have no chemistry at all. Cassie is just amazing at everything so has no real development. Paul Rudd is trying is best and god knows a less likeable actor would have been ten times worse, but Antman has no real development either. WHY DOES THIS MOVIE EXIST?

The real reason is to be set up Kang. I imagine Kevin Feige looked at his character list and his contracts and said well we’ve got Paul Rudd for one more, let’s put Kang in this one. And that’s honestly the worst decision because Kang SUCKS! Following up Thanos, an all timer of a villain would always be tough, but Kang in his brief Loki appearance was cringe as hell. And in a full movie, he’s just the worst. He has infinite dimensions to his personality and yet they’re all boring. I think Jonathan Majors only really works as a big tough guy, which is fine in something like Creed III. But in this he just doesn’t have the range needed to pull off a character like this. If news is to be believed maybe Jonathan Majors may not be returning to Kang, who knows? But whatever he’s like in real life, I just don’t think he’s a good enough actor to carry off the kind of character they want Kang to be.

So honestly this is not worth your time. It’s better than Eternals or Thor: Love and Thunder, but nothing happens in the film itself and nothing really happens for the wider MCU that you couldn’t just work out by watching the Honest Trailer. Please MCU you can do better, I know you can! 2 Stars.